Re: CHAT: Conlanging and Myers-Briggs tests (was Re: Profile of a Conlanger)

   Date:         Thu, 13 May 1999 22:44:01 +0300
   From: Dan Sulani <dnsulani@...>

   Hi  everybody.
       I'd never heard of the Myers-Briggs test, but out of curiosity,
   I went to the web-site and started to take the test that was there
   (called the Keirsey Temperment Sorter II ). I _gagged_ after the
   first four questions and couldn't continue! I'm sorry, but I don't
   happen to see the world in terms of black or white: there's a lot
   of black _and_ white out there (not to mention a whole lot of
   gray!)!

I'm sure that when I took it, there was an explanation that said in
effect: If you're in doubt, just choose one, it doesn't matter. It's
not an exam, you won't be held accountable for all the answers, it's
just a test that gives one of sixteen results. Of course it's possible
that truly arbitrary choices will skew the test by chance --- but the
choices will probably not be truly arbitrary anyway.

Also, they stress that your result will change according to whatever
stresses and expectations you encounter in your daily life. If you
want your "real," underlying temperament, you need some kind of
trained assistance to help sort out the various influences.

BTW, the professional interest in the Myers-Briggs classification
apparently stems from studies that show that it groups people the same
way as other people do, i.e., it formalizes some kind of common
intuitive knowledge about personality types.

The interest of Dr. Keirsey, on the other hand, seems to be to promote
self-help books published by his own imprint, and counselling services
from his institute. His test is genuine enough, it seems, having been
used in various published trials --- but I'd discount most of the hype
about the importance of understanding your type (by buying his books),
choosing the right partner (by ... you guessed it), and so on.

Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@...> (Humour NOT marked)