This site, http://www.similarminds.com , has been all over livejournal today, it seems.
There’s no real medical or psychological basis for this stuff, is there?
god, that’s a stupid question. Of course not. I was actually wondering if this stuff was somehow related to phrenology.
Eh, your link won’t let me take the Enneagram test without giving them an e-mail address, which there is NO WAY I am going to do, I get enough spam as it is.
However, a wave of my magic Google wand and there appeareth an Enneagram Home Page, with a test that not only requires an e-mail address, but also requires a credit card number. :rolleyes:
http://www.enneagraminstitute.com/home.asp
Nine different personality types? And, Which one are you? Hardly new, folks have been categorizing personality types for years.
People have also been selling snake oil for years. Give this one a pass, is my call.
No way to tell whether it’s related to phrenology without giving them my VISA number. I’m not that interested.
Well, I entered “xxx@xxx.com” and was able to take the test. If Mr. Triple-X now starts getting spam, then I apologize.
I first learned about enneagrams about ten years ago from an ex-girlfriend. They were apparently developed many centuries ago by Sufi mystics. There’s a whole involved philosophy about what the types mean, how the different types combine in a single individual, how individuals with different types get along, etc.
I tend to resist any attempts to be placed in a category (which, someone once told me, is “typical of a 5” – grrrrrr :mad: .) My big complaint about the system was how perfectly, internally consistent it was – much more perfect than anything in the real world. Obviously, someone had come up with a basic theory of personality and built an elaborate lattice-work on top of it. All we see now is the lattice – very pretty, but not terribly substantial.
I tend to see it as akin to an ink blot test or astrology – no scientific validity, no predicitve power, but if it gets you thinking about how you live your life, how you interact with others, and – especially – how you might improve, well, that can be a good thing.
– Beruang
Now, why didn’t I think of that?
The test page. Does this link work for anyone else without having to sign in?
http://www.similarminds.com/cgi-bin/sminds/similarminds.pl
Entered “1” all down the list, “rarely me”.
Test #1: Male, under 19, blue. I am a 1.
Test #2: Male, under 19, green. I am a 1.
Test #3: Female, under 19, blue. I am a 1.
Test #4: Female, under 19, green. I am a 1.
Test #5: Male, 36-50, blue. I am a 1.
Test #6: Male, 36-50, green. I am a 1.
Test #7: Female, 36-50, blue. I am a 1
Test #8: Female, 36-50, green. I am a 1.
Okay, it’s obvious that the gender and age requirements have nothing to do with the scores, so I’m going to assume that they’re merely for marketing purposes, so they know what kind of spam to send you. The blue/green color choice, I dunno, maybe to make you feel “involved”.