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> I saw something interesting on the net -- and thought I'd throw it out for
> discussion. It's definitely a much more fluffy discussion than the legal/ethics
> thread (which I enjoyed tremendously). I read that technical writing is a good
> career fit for those of writers with the ISTJ personality type (this is Myer's
> Briggs by the way). I found that to be interesting since my type is somewhere
> between INFP and ENFP -- the exact opposite of ISTJ. Any thoughts on the
> validity of the ISTJ-techwriting claim?
>
Like many psychological models, this one has problems. For example:
- Why divide personalities along four axises? Why not two, or
sixteen?
- Why these four?
- Can either/or choices accurately map personality?
- Are people always the same, or would results differ depending on
circumstances?
In the form in which they are usually used, such tests give a
illusion of scientific method with absolutely none of the rigor.
That illusion is popular, especially among HR types, but that
doesn't make it any more accurate. So, any conclusion drawn from
such a test should be regarded with considerable suspicion.
I've seen similar conclusions made about teachers. Yet among a group
of university instructors who took a version of this test, there
were almost as many different types as there were people.
I suspect it would be the same for tech-writers. If we asked what
zodiac sign made a good tech-writer, we'd probably get information
just as useful.
--
Bruce Byfield 604.421.7177 bbyfield -at- progeny -dot- com
"We did it ! And everything else as well,
We're all Libyan students from hell."
- Attila the Stockbroker, "Libyan Students from Hell"
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