# Who are you? What makes you, you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 3, 2020, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106 "2020-10-03T10:05:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/1 "2020-10-03T10:05:40Z")
This is just sort of an open-ended opinion poll. I would like you to take a moment, and reflect on that question. What answer comes first to mind? Your occupation? Something you do, or something you are—whether by birth, or by your own design? Essentially, I’m interested what sort of categories people appeal to when reflecting on their own identity. Any answer is OK, from a single word to an essay—you don’t have to define your identity along a single dimension; if you’re a lover and a fighter, as well as a horticulturalist, then that’s a perfectly valid answer. Me, I think I still tend to think of myself as mostly a scientist, even though I’m employed in a different field nowadays. But I still do research, and once in a while publish a little paper, and to me, that’s what I’m here for; my job is something I do, sometimes gladly, sometimes not so much, but also something I could easily do without. So, what about you? Who are you? ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/2 "2020-10-03T11:05:09Z")
I’m here to produce carbon dioxide for the plants. I like to think I’m pretty good at it. ---
**Author:** ![Ponderoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponderoid/32/19221_2.png) [@Ponderoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponderoid)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/3 "2020-10-03T11:07:12Z")
I’m here to listen to the story my brain tells me about what happens in my life. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/4 "2020-10-03T15:07:13Z")
My first reaction when I read the title was “I’m the guy who won’t tell you.” ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/5 "2020-10-03T15:58:16Z")
What’s with all the questions? You a cop? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/6 "2020-10-03T17:36:07Z")
I am the interior landscape of my mind, which either amuses me or tortures me depending on its mood. Ninety percent of the living I do, and therefore 90% of my existence, is in my own head. Some may find that sad, but I usually like it in here. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/7 "2020-10-03T17:48:52Z")
My language skills. I’m a frustrated writer, and my writing style is at the heart of my self-identity. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/8 "2020-10-03T22:37:58Z")
A more pertinent question for me is, “Who wants to know?” ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/9 "2020-10-03T23:13:14Z")
I am a modern-day Jack Ryan. Tripler Any further is `-CLASSIFIED-` ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/10 "2020-10-04T01:07:00Z")
The who is in the name. Darth Vader fan Dork Father ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/11 "2020-10-04T03:56:47Z")
No one of consequence. That is a flippant answer, a quote from _The Princess Bride_ indeed, but I also think it’s true. As I age Iook back on a life of largely unimportant deeds, being overlooked, under-appreciated, and generally forgotten. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/12 "2020-10-04T14:01:03Z")
> [@digs](#): > > My first reaction when I read the title was “I’m the guy who won’t tell you.” My first reaction was “Hey, wasn’t that the title to chapter 1 from my old Philosophy 101 book?” ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/13 "2020-10-04T14:41:50Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Me, I think I still tend to think of myself as mostly a scientist, No, my occupation does not define me. I just happen to perform in a field of activity which, although it seems to both ensure a satisfactory revenue and fulfill my desire of permanent development, I happen to operate in due to a particular train of events. Without going into details, what defines me is my inborn makeup, my experiences and my reactions to them (especially those that have formed my character), and my choices. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/14 "2020-10-04T14:50:37Z")
Poor OP. It’s like he asked for the MBTI and got “Why are you asking me about butterflies? What do YOU see? Who sent you?!” ---
**Author:** ![Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/half_man_half_wit/32/21766_2.png) [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Half_Man_Half_Wit)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/15 "2020-10-04T14:55:43Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > My first reaction was “Hey, wasn’t that the title to chapter 1 from my old Philosophy 101 book?” Well, I didn’t mean it in any kind of metaphysical sense. I was merely curious what sort of categories people would appeal to—something they do, something they like, values they hold, whatever. Although the defensiveness is sort of interesting. It seemed a perfectly innocuous question to me, but of course, one can take it as a sort of challenge, a demand for justification—‘And who do _you_ think you are?’—but that’s not what was intended. > [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > No, my occupation does not define me. Well, ‘scientist’ isn’t my occupation, either—and what I do for money also isn’t what defines me. But it’s, I think, what best describes what I’m for, in some sense. > [@PlaceboTarget](#): > > Without going into details, what defines me is my inborn makeup, my experiences and my reactions to them (especially those that have formed my character), and my choices. Hmm, isn’t that a bit generic? It’s a bit like describing a building as defined by bricks, mortar, glass and steel—it’s undoubtedly what constitutes it, but if I were to ask, what’s that building?, getting ‘one made of brick, stone, and glass’ doesn’t really tell me much. Rather, I’d expect an answer along the lines of, the town hall, the local church, the birthplace of Roger Daltrey, what have you. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/16 "2020-10-04T14:57:21Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > > [@digs](#): > > > > My first reaction when I read the title was “I’m the guy who won’t tell you.” > > My first reaction was “Hey, wasn’t that the title to chapter 1 from my old Philosophy 101 book?” My first reaction was “Thanks for the [earworm](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNbBDrceCy8).” ---
**Author:** ![PlaceboTarget](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/placebotarget/32/1073_2.png) [@PlaceboTarget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlaceboTarget)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/17 "2020-10-04T15:31:26Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > Hmm, isn’t that a bit generic? Well, it _is_ generic and I thank you for your confirmation. Until now, no one has ever admitted that what I regard as what generically describes a person is one’s inborn makeup, one’s overall experiences and reactions to them, as well as one’s choices. And now, to particularize, I will mention that **A.** I am a mildly choleric (in terms of psychological temperament) person for whom ACTION is the most important value (whose bonus may be creativity); **B.** (i) the turbulent family life of my childhood had caused me to praise REASON/SENSE/RATIONALITY the best; (ii) my propensity for rationally learning new things has caused me to prefer to gain power through mastering information and the ability to put it into practice; (iii) the fact that I had to start making ends meet when I was an adolescent has caused me to become a practical person (despite an inborn proclivity for idealism, universalism and “the big picture”), to be extremely goal oriented, and to eventually consider mastering practical skills superior to gaining theoretical knowledge; (iv) I live in a country where the majority of the population is Christian and although I’m an atheist my philosophy shares many values with the moral systems of the people around me; (v) my equilibrium and peace of mind depend largely on the well being and happiness of my family, whom I love with all my heart; and **C.** (i) I believe I have free will and I make my own choices; (ii) I choose not to be involved politically; (iii) I choose to focus on my family; (iv) I choose to think positive and to ignore negativity in general (negative news in particular); (v) I choose to lead a healthy life and to keep busy in a pleasurable way - I have a lot of hobbies (and maybe talents) and too little time to do them all. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/18 "2020-10-04T21:35:38Z")
I’m an audience member. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/19 "2020-10-04T21:57:10Z")
I’m okay. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106/20 "2020-10-04T22:08:05Z")
I am not really sure right now. Until 16 days ago I was the senior lead technician at the largest fire alarm company in the area. I was the “go to” guy when the systems were not working correctly. I was the training technician, and pretty much at the top of my game. Then I retired. I am currently working on a reinvention of myself. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-are-you-what-makes-you-you/922106.md?page=2)