32 Comments
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Alexander de Vries's avatar

I'll note for the purpose of avoiding selection bias that while the archetype I got was directionally correct, a lot of the description was off (as it tends to be with most personality tests).

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normality's avatar

For a coarse model like this, I think it'll get a lot of deep description wrong, and needs to be nuanced to get more accurate. You may enjoy reading about my next steps here https://renormalize.substack.com/p/eristics-as-a-formal-scientific-theory

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Dan Avia's avatar

hi, both the term archetype and the externalising /internalising distinctions (introvert/extrovert) were made by C.G. Jung a century ago, though he objected to the idea of a test to label a personality and used it as a tool to start(!) the inner journey of individuality. It would seems you have made just such a start with a similar test. cheers

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Robert Rode's avatar

Hey, I just want to say take care. Mania can coexist with other developments in one's life. I love that you are silencing an inner critic, and making strides in your life. But I want to share that I had a similar moment in my life, and my mania managed to derail some of my progress by sneaking into my life at the same time. Beware of fixation beyond the utility of what's in front of you.

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normality's avatar

Thank you for your insight and kind concern. I am keeping a close eye out. If you have a twitter account I would be more than happy to discuss the details of your situation by DM and see if there's anything for me to learn.

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David Eddings's avatar

Had a deep revelation with this test more accurate than anything I’ve ever taken. Appreciate the write up this is the scariest personality quiz ever indeed. Checked out your twitter and found some interesting thoughts as well, followed and subscribed

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Aurora Bonzo's avatar

I've recently taken the test and was accurately given the Fixer archtype as well. I don't think of myself as often being "disgusted" with things because the word sounds so harsh, but i am often disappointed/ frustrated with how people behave and that sounds like disgust. This has been a fun little insight!

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normality's avatar

The eristic emotional system is coarse, sometimes distorted even, but it's systematic, which is not how we normally think about emotions. That makes for a really unique perspective. I think it can be a helpful reference when you don't quite know what you are feeling.

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Ali Mehdi Mukadam's avatar

Found myself to be the Architect. Thanks for sharing!

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normality's avatar

Scientists and architects may enjoy the follow-up https://renormalize.substack.com/p/eristics-as-a-formal-scientific-theory

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Applied Psychology's avatar

Interesting- I think I'll have to look more into this, maybe the e-book as well. I got scientist.

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Interested Party's avatar

i got fixer but i didn't like it so i read it to understand how the test works and then got hero

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hope adrift.'s avatar

Thank you for this. I've gone down a rabbit hole, and read a couple more of your posts, including the one on serious hobbyism. I'm a Fixer as well, and a door has been unlocked.

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normality's avatar

I'm so glad! If it unlocks more meaning in life for one person, that means more to me than all the likes and subscribers in the world.

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Melanie Cole's avatar

I was The Giver. It doesn’t come as a surprise as I am solidly an INFJ on the Jungian personality types.

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Everly Esoteric's avatar

Labeling something this inherently Aneristic as an Eristics test is hilarious... It's like opening a punk club that makes you follow a dress code and wear a name tag.

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normality's avatar

At this point, that sounds like the only genuinely punk thing that's left to do, as punk in its usual meaning is merely entrenched and conventional.

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Everly Esoteric's avatar

What exactly do you mean by that? Because to me it reads like you're saying the system's so broken, we might as well contradict ourselves and call it subversion.

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The Pilgrim's Journey's avatar

I’m the Artist! I’ve never felt more seen. Thank you for suggesting this test! Very intriguing!

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Bram's avatar

I got the Giver and indeed I recognized a lot in it. I read some of the other descriptions as well, for instance of the Hero and found some things that fit my personality too. But, the thing is, the Giver and it's characteristics have been most persistent and have had the most effect on my life. I can totally see how it fits. Thanks a bunch!

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Pedro Gomes's avatar

If it has been useful to you, it has served its purposed. You do well in sharing it as it may be useful to many others as well.

In any case, I can't help but feel like the questions are simplistic and unclear. The archetypes' descriptions remind me too much of the astrology section in a pop maganize, they're vague enough to apply to anyone under certain circumstances. But again, even astrology is useful - many would argue for it, anyway.

My main reservation with the Eristics tests is it doesn't improve on the Big 5, or seem to stray far from Miggs-Breyers, where the test simply parrots back at you precisely what you told it. Unfortunatley, I guess that's the case for most personality tests, uh?

PS: If this is something that interests you, you'd probabely enjoy Dynomight's takes... https://dynomight.net/in-defense-of-myers-briggs.html

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normality's avatar

I can understand this perspective, which many have advanced in recent days. To be honest, the real reason I love this test -- other than the extreme predictive value on myself which may not generalize to others -- is the beautiful mathematical structure, and the way it seems to derive almost ab initio from evolutionary considerations. Self/world/society x protect/expand seem like a catalogue of the primal moves a social organism can make on the evolutionary chessboard.

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Pedro Gomes's avatar

"real reason I love this test (...) is the beautiful mathematical structure"

- I find this very insightful. These are just models after all. What matters most is which one can you leverage the best, not which one has had a greater success in peer review studies. The best map is the one you can read!

Good article and thank you for sharing your personal experience.

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My Name's avatar

To The Fixer: pseudonymous is spelled psuedonymous

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normality's avatar

Thank you!

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elephant writer's avatar

Must all quizzes be scary?

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