Category: Can We Talk?

This all started with me wondering why I was mimicking two YouTubers I watch from time-to-time. The first one is Dani Calleiro – the youngest sister from the Cimorelli group (which she has since left, but you can find out more about the why behind the decision on Dani’s channel). And the second is Colleen Ballinger.

Dani has a tic – it’s a thing she does with her mouth. If you watch her videos, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

And Colleen recently cut her hair and now has bangs, which she constantly touches. I also have bangs.

I found myself mimicking Dani’s mouth tic and touching my bangs like Colleen and when I realized I was doing that, I immediately stopped. I had to consciously make myself stop because I was subconsciously doing it, which was weird and hard, but I broke the habit.

My question is, why in the world did I even start doing that??

This led to me jumping down the rabbit hole of Googling why I was mimicking these people, which lead to mirroring people and reading the body language behind it and how it shows empathy for the other person. This lead to watching videos about what it meant to be an empath and realizing, this was not me, I don’t struggle with that, thankfully, because it sounds exhausting and then me thinking, “I’m not an empath, I’m empathetic.” And what does THAT mean, exactly?

And then after I started questioning what it means to be an empathetic person. I stumbled onto yet more videos of the different types of Myers Briggs test and how I wasn’t about to pay for the Myers Briggs test but went ahead and took the 16personalities.com test and now we’re here learning more about my results.

This is how my brain works – daily.

And my result shows I’m a Logician.

The Logician personality type is fairly rare, making up only three percent of the population, which is definitely a good thing for them, as there’s nothing they’d be more unhappy about than being “common”. Logicians pride themselves on their inventiveness and creativity, their unique perspective and vigorous intellect. Usually known as the philosopher, the architect, or the dreamy professor, Logicians have been responsible for many scientific discoveries throughout history.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! I mean … I’m not sure about the “vigorous intellect” part and I’m CERTAINLY no Einstein when it comes to scientific discoveries, (just ask Kevin), but I I do think I’m a fairly creative person when it comes to language and stories and I do feel like I have a unique perspective when it comes to people and situations so I guess I sort of, kind of, buy this?

Let’s read on …

They may appear to drift about in an unending daydream, but Logicians’ thought process is unceasing, and their minds buzz with ideas from the moment they wake up. This constant thinking can have the effect of making them look pensive and detached, as they are often conducting full-fledged debates in their own heads, but really Logicians are quite relaxed and friendly when they are with people they know, or who share their interests. However, this can be replaced by overwhelming shyness when Logician personalities are among unfamiliar faces, and friendly banter can quickly become combative if they believe their logical conclusions or theories are being criticized.

I buy this. I’m often told at work to pay attention or my eyes glaze over when someone is talking to me because I’m already analyzing what they’re saying and how I can respond to it or offer an alternative viewpoint. And I’m very shy around new people but I can disguise it very well by appearing engaging and present. Inside I’m thinking, “get me out of here!” I’m not argumentative, per se, it depends on the topic and the person, I pick my battles; I like to conserve my energy for things that are important, to me. Geez, that makes me sound cold but … I guess I sort of am.

Further, Logicians are unlikely to understand emotional complaints at all, and their friends won’t find a bedrock of emotional support in them. People with the Logician personality type would much rather make a series of logical suggestions for how to resolve the underlying issue, a perspective that is not always welcomed by their more sensitive companions. This will likely extend to most social conventions and goals as well, like planning dinners and getting married, as Logicians are far more concerned with originality and efficient results.
The one thing that really holds Logicians back is their restless and pervasive fear of failure. Logician personalities are so prone to reassessing their own thoughts and theories, worrying that they’ve missed some critical piece of the puzzle, that they can stagnate, lost in an intangible world where their thoughts are never truly applied. Overcoming this self-doubt stands as the greatest challenge Logicians are likely to face, but the intellectual gifts – big and small – bestowed on the world when they do makes it worth the fight.

I disagree with the first sentence, I’m not a robot. I DO understand, and empathize, with the people I like and care about when it comes to their problems. (Not so much with people I dislike or don’t know). And I do tend to analyze situations sans emotions to try and come up with best possible solutions because damn it people, you can’t run your life on emotions. I mean, you CAN, but it won’t get you very far and will cause a lot of unnecessary grief. I know removing emotions from a situation is hard, of course it is, but if you really want to solve said problem and move to greener pastures, it’s necessary.

The sentence that says, “the one thing that really holds Logicians back is their restless and pervasive fear of failure” is 100% true for me. That is the BIGGEST reason I haven’t tried to publish a book, or even finish a book. Why bother if it fails? The logical part of my brain KNOWS this is a stupid, irrational fear because who will you succeed if you don’t try, but the emotional part of me is scared to death of putting all of that work, blood and tears into something only for it to be a colossal failure. It’s something I’ve known about myself for years but I just can’t seem to conquer so my solution? Just write for fun and don’t stress about it.

Strengths:

Abstract Thinkers – Sort of
Imaginative and Original – Mostly
Open-minded – Somewhat – depends on the topic
Enthusiastic – again, depends on the topic
Objective – Most definitely
Honest and Straightforward – Erhm – most of the time – depends on who and what it is

Weaknesses:

Very private and withdrawn – 100% – YES
Insensitive – I can be, but don’t feel I am most of the time
Absent-minded – Disagree with this one
Condescending – I can be. I can be very cold at times
Loathe Rules and Guidelines – Meh – depends on what those rules are – do they make sense for the situation?
Second-Guess Themselves – Yes – when it comes to things I care about

Logician friendships are knowledge-based, defined by the exchange of ideas, theories, and concepts, and those who aren’t able to keep up with this, or who have sharply differing tastes (don’t talk to Logicians about celebrities) will find stony faces that border on rude. To Logicians, communication is often more of a nuisance than a pleasure, and conversation is reserved for topics that they find meaningful, or for people they already like enough to stick it out.

YES! I 100% agree with this. I am impatient 3/4 of the time with other people’s dramas. I don’t DO drama. I refuse. Life is too short. I have trouble understanding people who either like drama or who refuse to make changes to stop the drama. It makes no sense. If a person LIKES the drama, fine, enjoy, but don’t bitch about it.

In parenting roles, as with many social roles, Logicians find themselves facing a robust but healthy challenge. Not a naturally sensitive type, Logician personalities struggle to identify with the raw emotions and irrationality that are often the standard with young children, who have yet to develop the sort of self-control and logical thinking that Logicians take for granted.
People with the Logician personality type are nevertheless incredibly devoted – perhaps not in the traditional, emotionally supportive sense, but they are parents who are committed to encouraging their growing children to think and act independently, seek out new knowledge, and voice and defend their own opinions.

Oh, 100%. All I want for our boys is to grow up health, happy and secure in whatever decisions they make throughout life. I also hope we taught them to be empathetic to others because everyone has their own story and background, understanding that will only help them understand themselves.

Where Logicians do not thrive is in workplaces that require them to provide a high degree of emotional satisfaction – cruise ship masseuses they are not. Logician personalities struggle to understand emotional exchanges, and service-oriented positions will prove baffling and exhausting for them. Though Logicians are talented analysts who are perfectly capable of understanding the theoretical importance of customer service, the day-to-day application of such a scheme is simply better left to more people-oriented personality types.

Again, 100%. I like my job but I’m EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. My job sucks all of my emotional stamina and I MUST have some alone time to recharge. Being a medical assistant has been challenging and very rewarding in many ways, but I’m not exactly attached to it. Meaning, I could quit and move on to something else with nary a backward glance. For example, I would LOVE being a paralegal in a law firm, someone who gets to research all day and put information together to contribute to a larger cause. That would be dope. However, I’m old (ish) and I’m not sure I want to start over again when I plan on retiring soon (ish). I’m not sure it would make sense to put so much time and effort into a job I only plan on keeping for less than ten years. I’m not sure it would be fair to the employer, either.

Overall, I think this personality accurately describes me though I think I’m not as robotic in nature as this implies. I’m actually quite empathetic to people I like – and I can be to people I dislike but … why?

At any rate, this was fun (for me, at least, not sure how you feel about this – if you even made this far), and I feel like I understand myself a bit better now.

Hi. My name is Karen and I’m an INTP-A personality which breaks down to: Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Perceiving – Assertive. I should hand out business cards – or issue a warning, in some cases.

I don’t know how much stock you put into the whole Myers-Briggs test, but it’s interesting to read about various personality traits and I think it does help in understanding the people around us.

It’s also a great tool to develop characters, too.