Writer's Block: Taking It Personally

[rocknload]

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Short answer: I think those tests are bullshit, and me saying hey, I'm an ENTP! is about as useful as saying hey, I'm a Leo/Virgo cusp! In fact, in my case the astrological sign is closer to describing my personality, but it's not like it's saying a lot anyway. The profiles are always filled with phrases like: "They tend to have a perverse sense of humor as well, and enjoy playing devil's advocate." Or: "Sometimes they exaggerate problems and overreact to stumbling blocks, but generally they are positive and their natural pride and stubborn streak keeps them from giving up." Those sound awfully specific, don't they? But honestly, how many people wouldn't identify with those statements?

Pop psychology usually pisses me off, though.

Comments

[unicorn]

I think you're an ixtroverted rational intuitive. And it occurs to me that most clear-cut categories like that only really work if it IS, in fact, clear-cut! People aren't in general.

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

They aren't! I mean, you can approximate, but if you're doing that enough then it's sort of like what's the point? Plus, the Myers-Briggs in particular sets things as opposites of each other, and we kind of accept that this makes sense but if you think about it, deciding that say FEELING and THINKING are mutually exclusive polarities is sort of arbitrary.

[unicorn]

YOU CANNOT DO BOTH AT ONCE

Your head explodes.

Though I do agree that there's a certain amount of truth to that? I mean, in general people DO either do things spontaneously or process them out logically, and don't either do both or switch them up ALL that often. I'm emotionally disconnected from my surroundings often enough that I make decisions based in feeling by quantitatively and qualitatively assessing how my reactions will probably affect myself and the people around me and weighing pros and cons. That's either your normal modus operandi or it isn't, right?

[rocknload.livejournal.com]

I ... don't know. I like, make decisions in that way and simultaneously do not—like, I can and frequently do break everything down to cold-blooded brutal logic that makes my family stare at me in open mouthed horror, but I also frequently make major life decisions based on WHAT I FEEL IS RIGHT and I rarely change my mind after the fact no matter which decision making method I use. I guess it's possible that I'm actually usually being impulsive and then making up rationality to justify it after the fact, or I'm usually weighing everything and I just do it really quickly so I think I'm being impulsive—either's possible, I'm not particularly self-aware.

But really, neither of them really seem to ring true, and I don't think I'm a special snowflake so I tend to think that if the descriptions don't work when I'm trying to analyze myself then it's not just me.

[maxiboom.livejournal.com]

I guess it's possible that I'm actually usually being impulsive and then making up rationality to justify it after the fact...

Scientific evidence bears that you are actually doing this all of the time.

You specifically.

[unicorn]

That would explain so much. I'm just going to go with that for everyone.