ENTJ

Myers-Briggs informs me that I'm more: 1) Extraverted than Introverted, 2) process information through Intuition more than Sensation, 3) Thinking, not Feeling, and 4) Judging, not Perceiving. This makes me controlled, decisive, logical, objective, opinionated, straightforward, and tough-minded, among other things.

More surprisingly, perhaps, is that I'm not really much of an ENTJ at all. None of my scores were sufficiently high to raise me out of the "slight" category. I suppose I'm either feckless or flexible, depending on your point of view.

Even more interesting than my session with career services (who administered the Myers-Briggs test), was another session by Professor Hammock on "Career Development Part II - Interests." Prof. Hammock began the session by asking us to turn to the person sitting next to us and to tell them what we felt passionately about.

And, don't you know, I don't think I've ever been asked seriously to articulate what it is exactly that I feel passionately about. Family, obviously. But what concepts, what ideas, motivate me? What ideas drive me socially, professionally, politically? And if I can't say, then how can I begin to look for fulfilling work?

My response in the moment, which I stand by, is the concept of a marketplace of ideas. Appropriately it is both a wholly American idea, and a legal idea. It puts faith in people to decide their own affairs when ideas, even repugnant ones, are exchanged without inhibition and people are free to make up their own minds. More broadly it places faith in people, and so in democracy.

I'll be trying to articulate other passions of mine in the next few days. I've got a break until Tuesday, thanks to Labor Day, which I'll be spending up in Concord, NH with Irene. We'll post some photos of Irene's new place soon.