Dichotomy: The Myers-Briggs Personality Test

This weekend, I decided to amuse myself and take the Myers-Briggs personality test. Rooted in Jungian psychological theory and developed by Isabel Briggs Myers, the exam seeks to find consistency and order in seemingly random human human behavior through a four part personality dichotomy. These dichotomies stem from the fundamental differences in how individuals perceive and interact the world around them as well as their “inner self,” thus corresponding to variations in passions, values, ideologies, inspirational sources, and skills. The first division relates to our attitudes towards the inner and outer world as well as the source of their energy, with the two options being extraverted (outgoing, outspoken) or introverted (appreciates solitude,

I ended up receiving INFJ (the rarest personality type [1% of the human population!]!), so I was pretty stoked about that. Specifically I was 79% introverted, 88% intuitive, 75% feeling, and 71% judging. Not to mention, I was up there with the greats: MLK, Nelson Mandela, Morgan Freeman, Goethe, and last but *certainly* not least, Jon Snow, so I feel that I definitely deserve INFJ bragging rights. I was not too surprised with most of my results. According to my chart, I was soft-spoken yet with strong opinions, insightful, sensitive, and highly imaginative. I prefer working inside my head or a few people rather than in large groups of people, (which is another reason why office hours scare me). I match my idealist goals with my determination and passion into creating change in my community, and I look to make meaningful and long-lasting connections with a select few who share my values, interests, and dreams. (Many apologies if it sounds like I’m “gassing myself up” right now. I’m really not trying to inflate my

Because personalities are so dynamic in that they require fine-tuning in order to help us adapt to our many social settings. Do people with personality ENTJ automatically go to ENTJ-type jobs, or could it be that people who find themselves in ENTJ-type jobs develop ENTJ-type characteristics that were initially dormant or unexpressed based on the demands on such work? Perhaps, their personalities developed independently of their workplace altogether through interpersonal relationships. Who knows? On a more philosophical note, I see the personality test as a sign of hubris. If we go with the idea that the human self is as enigmatic as we purport it to be, because of our ability to think rationally and abstractly compared to “lower beings,” who are we to think that we can somehow find patterns in the untangled, to truly understand something that’s not meant to be analyzed, but rather appreciated for all its beautiful