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Add one part satire to two parts sincerity. Sprinkle on a couple of rants. Stir liberally.
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Daily Blah FAQ
Who are you?
I'm the newly-appointed Future editor at Business 2.0 and the former San Francisco correspondent for Time Magazine.
Wow, so does this mean everything you write reflects Time Inc's opinion? Or do you perhaps have some sort of standard disclaimer to the effect that it doesn't?
Naturally, the opinions contained in this blog are not those of my employers. In fact, some opinions may be the polar opposite of my employers. Some may be the same, for all I know. Hey, it's not like I ask my employers their opinions about everything in the news, okay? Let's just say that if this were a Venn diagram with one circle marked "my opinions" and the other one marked "my employers' opinions", there would doubtless be some overlap. But neither I nor my employers are able to pinpoint exactly where that overlap is.
What is this Daily Blah thing?
An experiment for a column I wrote about blogging back in December 2001. All these years later, I haven't been able to kick the habit.
If it's called Daily Blah, how come you don't ... hey, wait, you're writing every day!
See? Told you I'd try harder.
Mister, you talk funny. Are you one of them furrners?
Why yes I am, as it happens. I was born, raised and educated in Great Britain. I've been living in the U.S. since 1996 and identify as British.
I say, old chap, you forgot the "u" in "colour."
No I didn't. I may identify as British, but I am also an American journalist writing for an American audience about mostly American issues. These two different sides of me are a constant source of tension. Nevertheless, Daily Blah will adhere to American English grammar and spelling.
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Daily Blah for... Thursday, July 17, 2003
How Very INTJ of Me
I have way too much fun with personality tests. Or indeed any archetypal system that claims to predict past, present or future behavior, which explains my obsession with Tarot cards. (The one exception to this rule: I get bored by astrology). Here's what I've been getting into over the last couple of weeks: the Myers-Briggs system. For those who don't know it, Myers-Briggs breaks your personality down into sixteen types based on four categories. Are you more introverted (I) or extroverted (E)? Rely more on the evidence of your senses (S) or intuition (N)? Make decisions based on thinking (T) or feeling (F)? And are you happier perceiving (P) or judging (J)?
Of course, nobody is entirely one thing or another, and a comprehensive Myers-Briggs test -- like this one -- adds how far you skew towards one side or the other in terms of percentages. For the record, I am a whopping 89% more I and N, 57% more T, and swing closer to J than P by a mere 11%. If you haven't got the time to take that full test, here's a good quick one that will give you your basic categories.
What use is it all? Well, career counselors and consultants seem to think it enormously important. You'll get along great with the human resources guys at work if you happen to casually drop in your Myers-Briggs score. Myself, I think it's simply enormous fun -- and I'm amazed at how many resources there are for each personality type on the web. There are dozens of pages devoted to INTJs -- my people! -- known also, apparently, as the "Mastermind" group (I think that just means we're difficult to get along with). And most amusing of all, lists of famous INTJs throughout history and fiction, in which have been included JFK, C.S. Lewis, Thomas Jefferson (did they get his corpse to take the test?), Mr. Darcy and Gandalf the Grey. What would Austen and Tolkein say?
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