Live data from Hacker News

HN Poll: What is your personality type?

news.ycombinator.com

51–60 of 80 posts

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#51
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're a Saggitarius, aren't you? Yeah, you must be.

Nope—Leo. But I just read the description of Sagittarius and, wow, it sounds a lot like me. ;-) (I'm also a Phlegmatic, and we're a naturally skeptical bunch.)

Well, I'm a Capricorn, and us Capcricorns don't believe in astrology.

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#53
post #20

See http://www.andrewlipson.com/lstest.html for the Lipson-Shiu Corporate Type Test, a tongue-in-cheek variant that I suspect will appeal to many HN readers. (I'm apparently an ICIE.)

ILUG - the Mensch. It may be tongue in cheek, but its right. :) Forer effect may have been active, though.

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#54
post #48

Our team did Insights [1] training, which is like the Meyers-Briggs test but with different pivots (it's sort of hard to explain). One of the great things that came out of it was a team graph showing where each person was, so when you interacted with each other you could be mindful of the personality of your coworker (do they appreciate public praise or do they want a quiet personal thanks? do they prefer a get-to-th…

We might have been in the same class. I just took Team Dynamics at a conference a few weeks ago, which is how I was spurred on to this test once again. I was an analyzer-stabilizer in that class, which also fits quite well with my MBTI type.

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#55
post #48

Our team did Insights [1] training, which is like the Meyers-Briggs test but with different pivots (it's sort of hard to explain). One of the great things that came out of it was a team graph showing where each person was, so when you interacted with each other you could be mindful of the personality of your coworker (do they appreciate public praise or do they want a quiet personal thanks? do they prefer a get-to-th…

We might have been in the same class. I just took Team Dynamics at a conference a few weeks ago, which is how I was spurred on to this test once again. I was an analyzer-stabilizer in that class, which also fits quite well with my MBTI type.

If you're seriously wondering if I was in the same class, I'd have to say no. My team did the Insights training a few years ago (our team churn has resulted in about half the team not having an Insights profile). I'd say it was most effective immediately after the training, and wore off after time since we fell out of practice. We have these little lego-like blocks that you keep on your desk to remind others of what kind of person you are, but in the day-to-day life of turning the crank, it's sort of hard to always keep that sort of stuff in your head and end up falling to normal habits.

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#56

My I traded out for an E during high school. I'm now ENTJ. Perhaps a P would make me a better programmer. I have to admit, I'm not really a fan of Myers-Briggs. It makes loose, mutable categories, and doesn't make any helpful, testable predictions other than sweeping generalizations (such as INTP = programmer). The enneagram, however, that I like. Its proponents attempt to attach mystical garbage to it, which is unfo…

Yes, the Enneagram is much more accurate and much more profound than the MBTI.

The MBTI is really a confused mess. It purports to be based on Jung's type system. However, a close reading of the relevant section of Jung's Psychological Types reveals the following. Jung identified eight types. The descriptions in his book correspond quite closely, in fact, with eight of the Enneagram types. (The omitted one is the Three.) Myers and Briggs then took the dimensions Jung had identified and multiplied them out to get 16 types which now correspond more poorly to the Enneagram types.

If you don't know about the Enneagram, you might say, "okay, so what? so they don't correspond well -- that doesn't prove the MBTI is wrong." But if you will study the Enneagram you will see there is much more to it. For instance, the connections between one's type and how one related to one's parents; the spectrum of expressions of each type, from unhealthy to healthy; and the concepts of integration and disintegration, which connect the nine types in a clear, fixed, and quite beautiful structure. If you prefer not to hear the mystical overtones in that structure, that's certainly your choice, but they're there.

The Enneagram is a profound tool for self-understanding and self-improvement. The MBTI can be a useful place to start for people who are new to self-exploration, but it won't take you nearly as far.

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#58

I just read a book called "The Millionaire Code" http://www.amazon.com/Millionaire-Code-Paths-Wealth-Building... that talked about these personality types as well. The premise of the book is that by understanding your type and choosing a career that is a good fit you are more likely to achieve financial independence. One thing that occurred to me while reading it was that so many of the holy wars in software might be…

Well, it's wrong about Edison and Jung. Edison was a classic Enneagram Eight, which corresponds to ENTx (Jung's "extroverted intuitive type"); Jung himself, I'd wager, was a One, which I think corresponds to ESTx (Jung's "extroverted thinking type").

Re: HN Poll: What is your personality type?

#60
post #9

ENFP checking in. Been doing this test every year or two for about 6 years now and has by far been the one I find the most accurate. I'm actually pretty interested to see how this survey turns out as well. Anyone have any predictions on what the distribution might look like?

I am an ENFP too. I've heard that Isabel Myers (one of the creators of the MBTI) was ENFP, and I wonder if she optimized the test for our type without meaning to, making identification more accurate than for other personalities.
Post reply on HN