On 10/20/99, at 12:00 PM, Rob Harris wrote:
>You're not as alone as you think. I'm sure that most, if not all the
>subscribers to this list already see the situation you describe just as you
>do. It would take immense stupidity and arrogance to accept the
>classification of new "disorders" based upon deviations from the ideal
>social norms of deranged elitists.
Beyond defining new forms of deviation, APA members and their brethren have also promulgated the notion that there are preferred personalities. That some personalities are better, or healthier, than others. For example, that freely expressing your emotions is better than holding them in check.
Finding _Please Understand Me_ years ago was a breath of fresh air. Its tone in describing the 16 poles of the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory was that these are all valid personalities. You are encouraged to understand someone else's perspective rather than try to change them.
Ref: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0960695400 http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1885705026
I'm fascinated by how different professions attract different personalities, and the consequences of this. Most computer programmers are INTP, which is only 1% of the general public. If you are a programmer, how do you design software that a salesman (ESFJ) will use? 92% of teachers are SJ or NF, yet they have to connect with students of all types. If you are a Judging teacher, how do you avoid penalizing Perceiving students?
I would bet that 95% of the subscribers to this list are NT (only 12% of general public), that at least 70% are xNTP (6% of public), and that at least 40% are INTP (1% of public). This is a hurdle that no one has mentioned in propagating our ideas.
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