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Or a personality test, which will likely be based on the MBTI - complete BS. Just because there's an entire consulting industry behind convincing you that to b

Or a personality test, which will likely be based on the MBTI - complete BS. Just because there's an entire consulting industry behind convincing you that to build the perfect team you must have "complementary personality types", does not mean it's true. Not like the IT industry has the luxury of choice based on such a lot of the time either.

delusional 5y ago
I can kinda respect a personality test. It doesn't really mean anything, but they do stress that there's no "good" personality. IQ tests are different, because a higher number means better. That leads to superiority complexes.
- smugglerFlynn 5y ago
  MBTI (or other non-scientific test) stressing that there’s no “good” personality behave just like tobacco companies prior to regulations, trying to whitewash downsides of the product. People rely on these things to make hiring decisions. I personally know people who hire based on reported personality that closely matches their own. I’ve seen people making biased opinions after being coached on these tests. “No scientific backing, Makes people rely on confirmation bias” should be plastered all over these things, just the way we label cigarettes with photos of smoking consequences.
- ajuc 5y ago
  There's a difference between personality test taken because you're curious, and one taken as a filter on the way to get a job. Usually you can guess where the authors of the test are going with the questions and which answers are "a better fit". And then it becomes a test of "how much you want this job" vs "how strongly you feel about being honest". Also even if people answer honestly the science behind it is very shaky and when applied to real world situations it seems about as useful as astrology.
- gumby 5y ago
  For IQ tests, a higher number is supposed to mean better. The accuracy of such tests is dubious.
TheRealDunkirk 5y ago
I don't understand the hate towards MB. It does what any theory should do: predict behavior. And it does it pretty well, actually. I'm 52. I learned about it when I was 16, and my mother filled in some questionnaire in a computer program, and it nailed my internal thought processing to a T. Ever since, I've paid passive attention to it, and people seem to fit the archetypes pretty well, though I find the category division names to be utterly useless. Why do you say it's BS? What's the thinking behind the "anti" side?
- pseudalopex 5y ago
  It's a recurring debate here.[1] Wikipedia has a summary of the criticisms.[2] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26288772 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26288772 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indi...
- FpUser 5y ago
  I've been in development for way too long (still am). Every time I've spoken to a potential client I would only talk about what I do, how I do it and how I can solve client's problem. Also present list of completed projects with the references. Anything beyond I consider as infringement of my private life / BS and flat out refuse to participate. I might have lost few opportunities because of this but that was my choice.
- sascha_sl 5y ago
  Aside from the link already posted, MBTI testing provides an interesting slight of hand where it abuses nonspecificity. I can read myself into about 3 of the 16 archeotypes pretty easily, and I bet if you read descriptions of adjacent types you can too. The test has to be like that if it aims to categorize humans into just 16 categories anyway. The results, especially on 16personalities, is more about stroking your ego than anything else. It's a horoscope for smart people, with slightly more utility.
  - TheRealDunkirk 5y ago
    > It's a horoscope for smart people, with slightly more utility. Well, I guess there's the issue. You think there's very little value in it. I think there's much more than you do, though I agree it's certainly a subjective measure. I say that any of the 3 archetypes that you might "test out" as would give a potential manager some measure of useful context in predicting how you will respond/react to various situations and people, despite criticism of the accuracy of the system.

delusional 5y ago

I can kinda respect a personality test. It doesn't really mean anything, but they do stress that there's no "good" personality. IQ tests are different, because a higher number means better. That leads to superiority complexes.

smugglerFlynn 5y ago
MBTI (or other non-scientific test) stressing that there’s no “good” personality behave just like tobacco companies prior to regulations, trying to whitewash downsides of the product. People rely on these things to make hiring decisions. I personally know people who hire based on reported personality that closely matches their own. I’ve seen people making biased opinions after being coached on these tests. “No scientific backing, Makes people rely on confirmation bias” should be plastered all over these things, just the way we label cigarettes with photos of smoking consequences.
ajuc 5y ago
There's a difference between personality test taken because you're curious, and one taken as a filter on the way to get a job. Usually you can guess where the authors of the test are going with the questions and which answers are "a better fit". And then it becomes a test of "how much you want this job" vs "how strongly you feel about being honest". Also even if people answer honestly the science behind it is very shaky and when applied to real world situations it seems about as useful as astrology.
gumby 5y ago
For IQ tests, a higher number is supposed to mean better. The accuracy of such tests is dubious.

TheRealDunkirk 5y ago

I don't understand the hate towards MB. It does what any theory should do: predict behavior. And it does it pretty well, actually. I'm 52. I learned about it when I was 16, and my mother filled in some questionnaire in a computer program, and it nailed my internal thought processing to a T. Ever since, I've paid passive attention to it, and people seem to fit the archetypes pretty well, though I find the category division names to be utterly useless. Why do you say it's BS? What's the thinking behind the "anti" side?

pseudalopex 5y ago
It's a recurring debate here.[1] Wikipedia has a summary of the criticisms.[2] [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26288772 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26288772 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indicator#Criticism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers%E2%80%93Briggs_Type_Indi...
FpUser 5y ago
I've been in development for way too long (still am). Every time I've spoken to a potential client I would only talk about what I do, how I do it and how I can solve client's problem. Also present list of completed projects with the references. Anything beyond I consider as infringement of my private life / BS and flat out refuse to participate. I might have lost few opportunities because of this but that was my choice.
sascha_sl 5y ago
Aside from the link already posted, MBTI testing provides an interesting slight of hand where it abuses nonspecificity. I can read myself into about 3 of the 16 archeotypes pretty easily, and I bet if you read descriptions of adjacent types you can too. The test has to be like that if it aims to categorize humans into just 16 categories anyway. The results, especially on 16personalities, is more about stroking your ego than anything else. It's a horoscope for smart people, with slightly more utility.
- TheRealDunkirk 5y ago
  > It's a horoscope for smart people, with slightly more utility. Well, I guess there's the issue. You think there's very little value in it. I think there's much more than you do, though I agree it's certainly a subjective measure. I say that any of the 3 archetypes that you might "test out" as would give a potential manager some measure of useful context in predicting how you will respond/react to various situations and people, despite criticism of the accuracy of the system.