Personality Survey for James

Have you noticed how desperate some people can be to find out "who they are?" I'm fairly certain this is why teenagers act the way they do. When one of the trumpet players in my band makes flatulent sounds into the wrong end of his instrument for the sixth time, his primary reason for doing so is to find out who he "is." Is he a comedian? Is he popular? (It turns out he "is" a person who has detention next week) I don't have behavioral problems from my church choir, because they all know who they are. (Although, some of the older ones might soon be in danger of forgetting this.) There's an enormous market in America for self-discovery books, self-discovery religion, and middle school drama club. I don't want James to have to go through this, so I'm going to figure out who he "is" now. I've decided that this is a good use of my time, since I don't have any more lessons for the afternoon, and maybe it will save him some embarrassment in his teenage years. (I had to find out the hard way that I was not the soccer-playing athlete, hip jazz musician, bearded intellectual, or surly rebel, and especially not the guy with handsome long hair. There are very painful photographs proving this.)

This is how James would answer the following survey

1. You are almost never late for your appointments
 YES, although sometimes my parents are late for theirs. I am certainly very punctual about starting my day at 6:30, even if it is a weekend or a holiday. And God spare them if they don't give me lunch right at noon.

2. You like to be engaged in an active and fast-paced job
YES, especially if that job is "emptying the tupperware cabinet of all its contents."

3. You enjoy having a wide circle of acquaintances
NO, strangers give me the willies. Also, aunts and uncles who I haven't seen in the last week, unless they are offering me food.

4. You feel involved when watching TV soaps
NO, because Mom and Dad have hid the remote controls and taped off the TV buttons, which prevents me from turning on the TV in the middle of the afternoon.

5. You are usually the first to react to a sudden event, such as the telephone ringing or unexpected question
YES, and know exactly what to do when I hear a phone go off. I hold up whatever is in my hand, even if that thing is food, and put it to my ear.

6. You are more interested in a general idea than in the details of its realization
NO, I am interested in putting pens in the toilet.

7. You tend to be unbiased even if this might endanger your good relations with people
YES, I am willing to endanger good relations with my Mom and Dad if that's what it takes to point out some of the horrible injustices they practice, such as refusing to let me go outside in the snow whenever I want.

8. Strict observance of the established rules is likely to prevent a good outcome
NO, I think the best outcome would be if I DID play with the electrical sockets. (I will shake my head "no" as I do it to acknowledge that I hear their shouting.)

9. It's difficult to get you excited 
NO, not in a world with BUNNY RABBITS!

10. It is in your nature to assume responsibility
YES, that's why I have a Super James cape.

11. You often think about humankind and its destiny
NO, I think about taking books about humankind and its destiny and spreading them around the kitchen.

12. You believe the best decision is one that can be easily changed
YES, I like to change my decisions several times before I do anything. I do this especially when my Mommy is asking me what I'd like to play with.

13. Objective criticism is always useful in any activity
NO, Steven Bear is useful in any activity.

14. You prefer to act immediately rather than speculate about various options
YES, speculation is for those who are too cowardly to leap off of furniture

15.  You trust reason rather than feelings
YES, except when my feelings are "hungry," "sleepy," "upset," "wound up," or "awake."

16. You are inclined to rely more on improvisation than on careful planning
YES, although I do plan my bowel movements quite carefully so that I can fill a diaper that has only just been changed.

17. You spend your leisure time actively socializing with a group of people, attending parties, shopping, etc.
NO, because Mommy and Daddy always take their credit cards back as soon as I can steal them out of their wallets

18. You usually plan your actions in advance
NO, because I don't want to plan out a whole afternoon of playing with blocks when at any moment I might be allowed to brush my teeth. Best just to live in the moment for me.

19. Your actions are frequently influenced by emotions
YES, because when Mommy or Daddy takes something away it breaks my heart and the entire world is ending before my very eyes.

20. You are a person somewhat reserved and distant in communication
NO, I have discovered how to shriek with maximum value, and I always make my point by clinging to Mommy's knees

21. You know how to put every minute of your time to good purpose
YES, three words: Tomato paste bowling

22. You readily help people while asking nothing in return
YES, I am always willing to help comb Mommy's hair with my fingers or to hold Daddy's cash.

23. You often contemplate the complexity of life
YES, especially what makes those funny sounds in the thing called "furnace."

24. After prolonged socializing you feel you need to get away and be alone
YES, but if you leave me in the crib for more than 15 minutes I will scream bloody murder.

25. You often do jobs in a hurry
YES, because I have so much to do. Oftentimes I have to draw on my magnadoodle at the same time I'm supposed to be pushing around the shredded wheat in a laundry basket.

26. You easily see the general principle behind specific occurrences
YES, and the general principle is that Mommy and Daddy are magic

27. You frequently and easily express your feelings and emotions
YES, YEAH! <shakes head> WAAAHHH!!!!!!!

28. You find it difficult to speak loudly
NO, are you kidding?

29. You get bored if you have to read theoretical books
YES, so I put them in my mouth instead.

30. You tend to sympathize with other people
YES, especially if those people are holding food.

31. You value justice higher than mercy
NO, I'm not tall enough to reach either of them.

32. You rapidly get involved in the social life of a new workplace
YES, all the women coo at me. But if I had my way, I'd just be looking for stairs to climb.

33. The more people with whom you speak, the better you feel
NO, when Mommy and Daddy ask me to say my words in front of people it is my solemn duty to be absolutely silent and hide my face.

34. You tend to rely on your experience rather than on theoretical alternatives
NO, I live my life based on the theoretical alternative that one day the front door will be unlocked.

35. You like to keep a check on how things are progressing
YES, especially if those things are laundry cycles.

36. You easily empathize with the concerns of other people
YES, because clearly everyone's primary concern is whether or not I am sufficiently entertained.

37. You often prefer to read a book than go to a party
NO, I'd prefer to pull the dust jacket off of the book and scribble in it with a stolen pen.

38. You enjoy being at the center of events in which other people are directly involved
YES, such as when everyone came up with the party called "Christmas" to celebrate me visiting and gave me presents.

39. You are more inclined to experiment than to follow familiar approaches
YES, I try many different methods of going down the stairs. Sometimes, though, my parents stifle my creativity.

40. You avoid being bound by obligations
YES, if "obligations" means "socks."

41. You are strongly touched by stories about people's troubles 
NO, unless the story involves a dog. I am only interested in stories with dogs.

42. Deadlines seem to you to be of relative, rather than absolute, importance
YES, when Daddy says "3...2...1..." he clearly doesn't mean it and I feel I ought to keep on doing whatever it is I'm doing

43.  You prefer to isolate yourself from outside noises
NO, because the garbage trucks that make those noises have flashy lights that are fun to look at.

44. It's essential for you to try things with your own hands
YES, and once I've held it I usually need to put it in my mouth as well.

45. You think that almost everything can be analyzed
YES, why do you think we have mouths if not to analyze the world?

46. You do your best to complete a task on time
NO, if I can't finish a project before bedtime I just leave it lying on the floor. By morning, all my toys are put away and the floor is clean. I think it must be house-elves? I don't know why Mommy and Daddy always complain about this.

47. You take pleasure in putting things in order
NO, it's Mommy's job to put the blocks in order, and then it's my job to knock them down and spread them around the room.

48. You feel at ease in a crowd
NO, I'm very uneasy in crowded places, and I find that the best solution is to scream and cry until someone takes me back out to the car.

49. You have good control over your desires and temptations
NO, if I am standing anywhere near a mug of coffee a magnetic temptation force draws me over to dip my fingers in it. But this is not my fault.

50. You easily understand new theoretical principles
YES, I understand that Mommy and Daddy sometimes try to use new ideas they read about on the internet. It is my job to defeat these ideas and get a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead.

51. The process of searching for a solution is more important to you than the solution itself
YES, because Mommy always hides her solution where I can't reach it. Once I find it I squirt it out on the floor and then throw the bottle in the tub.

52. You usually place yourself nearer to the side than in the center of a room
NO, my placement in the room is determined only by where the staircase is located.

53. When solving a problem you would rather follow a familiar approach than seek a new one
YES, my familiar approach of "bang it against the floor really hard to see what noise it makes and if it does anything" is tested and true.

54. You try to stand firmly by your principles
YES, I will always live by the motto that "if I can't move it or get it open, the only thing to be done is to shriek at the top of your lungs."

55. A thirst for adventure is close to your heart
YES, my I'm never so happy as when I'm being tossed wildly up in the hair and swung around upside-down.

56. You prefer meeting in small groups over interaction with lots of people
YES, I prefer to keep my company limited to me Mommy, and Steven. Daddy is allowed to come if he brings ice cream.

57. When considering a situation you pay more attention to the current situation and less to a possible sequence of events
YES, because if I had to stop and worry about the "sequence of events" for every little thing I did no enormous stacks of sheet music would ever get pushed over.

58. You consider the scientific approach to be the best
NO, I laugh at scientists and I make nasty swipes at their glasses, as I do to all people who are foolish enough to don eyewear in my presence.

59. You find it difficult to talk about your feelings
YES, and you would too if the only words you could say were "Yes," "Mama," and "Dada."

60. You often spend time thinking of how things could be improved
YES, and I think that most everything could be improved if I had my own puppy

61. Your decisions are based more on the feelings of a moment than on the careful planning
NO, I will sometimes wait for over 20 minutes for both of my parents to leave a room if it will give me opportunity to pull on electrical cords.

62. You prefer to spend your leisure time alone or relaxing in a tranquil atmosphere
NO, I prefer to spend my leisure time banging on pots and pats with Celine Dion cranked up full volume in the kitchen

63. You feel more comfortable sticking to conventional ways
NO, I feel more comfortable sticking to the 1/4 inch layer of old food that no one wants to clean up from the cushions of my high chair. Sometimes I can find old cheerios.

64. You are easily affected by strong emotions
YES, you have no idea that panic and despair I feel when I temporarily forget where I left Steven Bear.

65. You are always looking for opportunities
YES, but those blasted people put all the interesting stuff up on tables and cabinets. It's like they know I'm looking for it.

66. Your desk, workbench, etc. is usually neat and orderly
NO, not since I learned to crawl, and especially not now that I can walk.

67. As a rule, current preoccupations worry you more than your future plans
YES, why would I worry about the future? Clearly Steven and I will live in my nursery forever looking for lost coins under the dresser.

68. You get pleasure from solitary walks
NO, even if I don't have an immediate use for them I like one of my parents to come along and keep an eye out for the vacuum cleaner. It's just safer that way.

69. It is easy for you to communicate in social situations
YES, when other children come to play I have no problem expressing to them that all of their toys are now MINE.

70. You are consistent in your habits
YES, I brush teeth EVERY NIGHT after bath. If Mommy or Daddy forget I make sure to remind them.

71. You willingly involve yourself in matters which engage your sympathies
YES, even though I can be a pestilence upon her house, I give my Mommy hugs when she looks sad.

72. You easily perceive various ways in which events could develop
YES, one event that could develop would be us getting a dog.


Here's the result of James' survey:

Your Type

ENFP

Extravert(33%)  iNtuitive(12%)  iNtuitive  Feeling(25%)  Perceiving(22)%

• You have moderate preference of Extraversion over Introversion (33%)
• You have slight preference of Intuition over Sensing (12%)
• You have moderate preference of Feeling over Thinking (25%)
• You have slight preference of Perceiving over Judging (22%)

Image and Shape

I'm continually surprised by women. I'm mostly surprised by one woman, but that's because she's so surprising I don't really have the power to pay attention to any more. For example, I used to think that the male-female roles came down to us from ancient times by necessity. The cave people, I reasoned, must have apportioned the tasks of hunting, building, and making war to the men because men are physically larger, stronger, and tougher; it would follow quite naturally that women would tend to home and hearth, being of a generally smaller and more fragile stature.

Then I watched my wife give birth. I am no longer under any illusions about men being tougher than women. I don't know why the men were sent off to war and the women kept the infants in the ancient tribes, but it certainly wasn't because the women were too delicate.

The modern woman is also a strong and marvelous creature, but she thinks, I am now realizing, far more about her weight than I ever suspected. Women say they are thinking about their weight, but that actually means very little. A person's weight for them is really a shorthand way of talking about their shape, and they are deeply and almost frighteningly concerned about that. I notice my shape about twice a day, once in the morning when I put my clothes on and then again in the evening when I change into pajamas. Most of the women I know think about their shape nearly constantly. It's something like the "ticker" at the bottom of the screen on ESPN or CNN, and it's attached inseparably to the habits of dress, eating, and sex.

Now, when some idea is joined so strongly to dress, food, and sex, I think it's safe to call it a religious idea, and the present concern for shape can appropriately be described as a cult. Of course women (and men) have always been concerned about their shape, just as they've always been concerned for their health and hairline and smell. There's nothing unnatural in that. The concern becomes a cult when every meal eaten is publicly prefaced with either an "I know this is bad for my waistline, but such-and-such reason for eating it" or "This is surprisingly healthy and I commend myself for eating food that helps my shape." A mild vanity becomes an identifying ritual when all my female co-workers gather for a Bible Study on Tuesday nights and a Weight Watchers meeting on Wednesday nights. When clothing is judged by how well it flatters, conceals, and accentuates without a thought of whether it warms or cools, and when measurements have nothing to do with fitting comfortably and become abstract benchmarks of how successful a shape you are, you may have joined the Cult of the Shape.

Two things must be said here: First, that this is by no means some odd feminine practice which men have nothing to do with. We are just as involved with what the words "attractive" or "beautiful" mean as they are. These words have meant different things to different ages, but they have always been determined by both sexes. Second, as far as vanities go, I'd much prefer the person who is a little too fussy about her shape to the person who is a little too fussy about how important or intelligent or perfect a parent she is. As far as prides go, this one isn't so bad to be around.

I do, however, think this ought to be addressed. For one thing, it's a perfectly healthy phenomenon for a woman to look very differently at 63 and 43 than she does at 23. God made young ladies spectacularly lovely, but trying to stay 23 forever is a strange, expensive, and ultimately futile project. My wife has received more praise on her beauty over the past few months than ever before, not because of anything she's done to improve her shape, but simply because her body returned itself to its prenatal shape almost immediately after giving birth. And of course, she is gorgeous. But she isn't being complimented on that, she's being complimented on overcoming the destructive force of childbirth, which many women are unable to do. J tells me that she is secretly relieved herself, and that this was a concern about her pregnancy.

Since the mass distribution of the camera and the screen, we have come to think of ourselves as images in a way that no other people before us have. If I were to ask a man to think of himself catching the game winning touchdown pass in the Superbowl, or a woman to picture herself receiving an award at a fancy dinner, neither would think of themselves in "first-person," as they would actually experience the event, should it happen to them. They would assume the camera, and see themselves in "third person," being videotaped in their mind's eye.

Facebook has removed the image one step further from the pre-photographic culture, by placing one's identity in a editable portfolio of carefully selected images. Having the great misfortune of working with teenagers, I've heard them refer to their Facebook pages as themselves on several occasions. They are liked, approved, and commended where their consciousness resides, which is not in flesh and blood, but in electronic images!

It isn't hard at all to see how a cult of image and shape could grow so quickly in these circumstances. What can we do? I can be very thankful, first of all, that I had a son first. Second, we can appreciate youthful beauty--let's not pretend it doesn't exist, and that very powerfully--but call it for what it is, which is of course ephemeral and of secondary importance to domestic happiness. Third, we can give our sisters and wives every opportunity to know they are loved for who they are, and not what they look like, and we can refuse to adjudicate any other woman's value by their shape or lack of it. What a sad and desperate thing it must be to be a 60-something year old woman who stakes her self-worth is a shape that she can't and shouldn't ever be again, denying herself every pleasure of food and clothing in order to twist back to it, and even--this is frightening, but I've heard it more than once--praying to God that he would intervene in the matter. If I've come across as glib throughout, I apologize. I know that this is a deeply personal issue, and it has to be dealt with for our grandmothers as well as for our daughters.

I think today especially of my sister M, who turned 16 yesterday and is blooming now into the splendor of her loveliness. For the next 10 or 15 years she'll be the envy of many women and the desire of many boys. (Boys, beware--she has five older brothers.) Then she'll begin to age and have children, and the beauty that is so easy for her now will need to be kept up, and then even fought for. I hope she knows now and then that what makes her so remarkable are her inner charms. Her patience, maturity, and tender heart are rare and precious. She is beloved by her niece and nephew, and each of her older brothers are chained to her with a powerful love, her being their only sister and the baby of the family. She is her Father and Mother's delight. I can't imagine that she would ever evaluate her identity and her personhood--the whole robust collection of wonders and virtues which she is--based on the silly and fleeting shape she sees in the mirror. Much love to her and to all women, all of you ex imagine Dei.

Identity and Quiddity

From The Thing: Unless Sir Arthur Keith is very badly misreported, he specifically stated that spiritual existence ceases with the physical functions; and that no medical man could conscientiously say anything else. However grave be the injury called death (which indeed is often fatal), this strikes me as a case in which it is quite unnecessary to call in a medical man at all.


Reading today The Thing, Aeneid 6, Il 3, Rev 18 and Is 44.

One of the more interesting words I hear tossed around nowadays is "identity." The word comes to us from the Latin idem, which comes from the neuter masc. of is, and is roughly translated as the same or sameness. The difference between identity, which is a subject of much interest to the modern person, and quiddity, which comes from the pronouns quis/quid, and is unlikely to be heard from except on Jeopardy, is enormously important. The difference between id and quid, as a matter of fact, is like unto homoousios and homoiousios.
Identity is sameness or equivalency. This can be predicated of that. I, for example, am a musician. I am, in many obvious respects, the same as other musicians. About my brother Pax you might predicate "musical." You may also predicate "man," and "two-legged." Over the course of his life some aspects of his identity were predetermined. For example, he shares a last name with his father and brothers. This gives them all the identifying marker of "Smith." But Pax has chosen to grow a beard. Pax is bearded. He is the same as bearded men, and this is most likely how a stranger would describe him if he was attempting to distinguish him to a police officer. ("He is a tall bearded man with glasses in a gray pea-coat.") A closer friend of Pax's might be able to give them a closer look at his identity. ("He is music teacher, and he loves children. He is a lifelong Buffalo Bills fan, and has a great sense of humor.") Clearly the second description says more about what sort of person Pax is, but it does so by using sameness; he is the same as a person who teaches music, or who cheers for the Buffalo Bills. It is understood what this characteristic is, so the description makes sense. Pax would be much better known by this description, and not merely recognized. (Incidentally, I have know idea what it was that got him into trouble with the police officer.)
The Medieval theologians talked at great length about the quiddity and the accidents of a think. Two legs are accidental to Pax. He has two legs, but if he lost one of them, he would be no less essentially (from esse, to be) Pax than he was before. The word essence usually conjures fragrances to the modern mind; but the old technical usage of the word was to describe the absolute characteristic of a thing which made it what it was. Its quiddity, if you will. Consider Aquinas on whether there are accidents in God:
From all we have said, it is clear there can be no accident in God. First, because a subject is compared to its accidents as potentiality to actuality; for a subject is in some sense made actual by its accidents. But there can be no potentiality in God, as was shown. Secondly, because God is His own existence; and as Boethius says (Hebdom.), although every essence may have something superadded to it, this cannot apply to absolute being: thus a heated substance can have something extraneous to heat added to it, as whiteness, nevertheless absolute heat can have nothing else than heat. Thirdly, because what is essential is prior to what is accidental. Whence as God is absolute primal being, there can be in Him nothing accidental. Neither can He have any essential accidents (as the capability of laughing is an essential accident of man), because such accidents are caused by the constituent principles of the subject. Now there can be nothing caused in God, since He is the first cause. Hence it follows that there is no accident in God.
Or in Latin
Respondeo dicendum quod, secundum praemissa, manifeste apparet quod in Deo accidens esse non potest. Primo quidem, quia subiectum comparatur ad accidens, sicut potentia ad actum, subiectum enim secundum accidens est aliquo modo in actu. Esse autem in potentia, omnino removetur a Deo, ut ex praedictis patet. Secundo, quia Deus est suum esse, et, ut Boetius dicit in Lib. de Hebdomad., licet id quod est, aliquid aliud possit habere adiunctum, tamen ipsum esse nihil aliud adiunctum habere potest, sicut quod est calidum, potest habere aliquid extraneum quam calidum, ut albedinem; sed ipse calor nihil habet praeter calorem. Tertio, quia omne quod est per se, prius est eo quod est per accidens. Unde, cum Deus sit simpliciter primum ens, in eo non potest esse aliquid per accidens. Sed nec accidentia per se in eo esse possunt, sicut risibile est per se accidens hominis. Quia huiusmodi accidentia causantur ex principiis subiecti, in Deo autem nihil potest esse causatum, cum sit causa prima. Unde relinquitur quod in Deo nullum sit accidens.

Consider for one wild moment what a different world it would be if angry teenagers shut themselves up in their rooms looking for quiddity instead of identity; if political interest was put forward based on the arguments of a person's essential nature rather than an invisible and subjective identity. I think it would at least revolutionize the high school guidance office.