Re: CHAT: The profile of a conlanger

> Date:         Fri, 29 Oct 1999 10:58:13 -0400
> From: Mia Soderquist <tuozin@...>
> Paul Bennett wrote:
> > This classifies "temprament types" into 16 groups, and though this
> > kind of labelling can easily be denigrated, IMO it might be at the
> > very least fun to see if we can add another trait to the "profile
> > of an average conlanger" that was apparently arrived at a while
> > ago. Lars mentioned it when we were in London, and IIRC it went a
> > little like this:
> >
> > male
> > non-hetrosexual
> > left-handed
> > goatee-wearing
> > dark-haired
Since I seem to be responsible for reviving the subject, I suppose I
should try to recall some of the original context.

The idea arose a while back when a number of the most active (male)
members of the list at that time accidentally discovered that they
were all gay, lefthanded and goateed. I think that there were four or
five people fitting that description.

That did seem to be a remarkable overrepresentation in the population
of active posters, but not enough to make it a trait of the 'average
conlanger' --- but perhaps of the 'typical' one, in the statistical
sense.

Males are overrepresented as well, but that is probably a property of
the medium as much as the subject, and hair color did not enter into
the discussion at all as I remember. (I told Jay that I had felt quite
atypical, and I must admit to being blond --- that may have caused the
impression).

> I think that we'd have to have that discussion all over again
> now, since I think it represented the general likely traits of
> conlangers subscribed to CONLANG at that particular time. The
> demographics may have shifted.
I think they have. Some of the 'typical' posters from back then are
gone, for one thing.

> > Anyone who wants to share their results is encouraged to, either
> > publicly or privately.
> I am an INFP according to this particular version of the test.
> Same as always.
I've been put into three of Dr. Kiersey's main temperament groups by
now. INFP, INTP, ISTP. 100% introvert, though, so that won't change,
and P seems quite stable too. But basically I don't know whether to be
a 'Healer,' an 'Architect,' a 'Crafter,' or a 'Composer'.

BTW, I noticed that some people found the test hard to use, or thought
that it must be flawed because they could justify both answers to many
of the questions. Apparently there is good psychometric practice
behind tests of this type; if there are questions enough, the end
result can reveal trends and biases that clear cut choices do not. In
particular, both choices are often phrased in an equally positive or
negative way, so you can't use conventional thinking ("common sense")
to decide.

Now, whether this specific test is a good application of the technique
is another question. It does seem to give rather consistent results
for me, even though I try to do it without thinking very much about
it. (I just happen to consistently place right on the border between
the categories).

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