A Personality Test with Personality

I like personality tests. I find them interesting, though I take them all with a grain of salt. A close friend of mine who is really into Myers-Briggs swears I’m an INTP (Intellectual, iNtuitive, Thinking, Perceiving), which corresponds to the Architect Rational role variant on the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. I find both these descriptions to be fairly accurate, but I’m hardly a subjective judge. I figured it means I’m in the right line of work, though. Of course, there is an outside chance I'm actually an INTJ and a Mastermind, which is so pompous sounding it's silly. (Hmmm...if I am a Mastermind, maybe I should look into getting a sidekick and taking over the world.)

I once took a very extensive personality test as part of one of my positions for the university. It took me several hours to complete and in then end it said my results were too contradictory to be accurate and I should retake the test at a less stressful time in my life. I thought that was very funny.

I recently found the Advanced Personality Test on Facebook, so, of course, I took it. In one spot it asked me the accuracy of the statement “I seek out patterns in the universe.” That is misleading. I would rate it as very accurate, but I would also say that I don’t particularly expect to find any. However, in the end I thought it was fairly on the ball. I was not prepared for the snarky comments hidden in the detailed analysis. Whoever wrote this app has a good sense of humor. Just a sample:

“Low Mystical - you probably are not big on fantasy or new age material. You have a low risk of wasting money on Astrology.” – Which I don’t.

“Low Romantic - not very romantic, eh? :( for you! Researchers have found that romantic love can act like a powerful narcotic on the brain. That can't be all bad.” – Since when was narcotic addiction a good thing?

“Low Wealth - You're not rich. You're probably not even a fiscal conservative.” – I’m not even sure what a fiscal conservative is.

“Low Peter pan complex - you are very mature and probably may even be responsible. I hate you (sarcasm).” – Well, I love you anyway.

“Low Histrionic - you are not an attention whore. That's very un-American of you.” – Call me a global citizen.

“Humanitarian - you want to make the world a better place. I hope to hell you recycle.” – I do.

“Accountability - you admit when you're wrong / at fault. This is admirable unless you're just a masochist.” – I am.

“Low Extravagance - you are not into the bling-bling. Vapid attractive people might not want to sleep with you.” – Oh well.

“Low Family drive - you are against or not particularly driven to have a family. No big deal, the third world will have enough kids for everyone.” – If Angelina Jolie can collect third world babies, so can I.

“Low Cautiousness - you appear to be reckless. Until you become reasonably more cautious consider befriending someone that is, to keep you alive.” – I’ve done okay so far.

If you’re on Facebook and absolutely need a half hour break from spreadsheet world, I recommend it.