“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.” spoken by Atticus Finch, in To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee.
![reverence_for_life_cover](http://keirsey.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/reverence_for_life_cover.jpg?resize=197%2C300)
How do you “truly” climb into another’s skin and walk around? It is a hard thing to do, well. For that person may be a different kind of person from you, from a different time, and from a different place.
My avocation since I was a child was as a Viking bystander. My vocation lately has been as a Viking reader of books and people.
One can try to “climb into another’s skin” through watching a movie or play, or reading a book. This is something we can do as humans. We can visit different lands and different tribes – the modern words for “lands” and “tribes” is countries and cultures. We can also visit some different “ages” – through movies and living in cultures that are different than your “culture” – although there are limitations and there is a possibility to not really get the “gestalt” of that age and place. Are you just a tourist or just an anthropologist?
Please Understand Me. Mostly, we don’t understand “truly” – the Temperament, the Tribe, the Age that is not like us.
But we can try.
Here are some autobiographies of the various Temperaments, many from a different time and different place. Climb into the person’s skin, and walk around in it – at least for awhile.
Rationals [Strategic]
Engineers [Reactive Rationals]
Ben Franklin (Inventor) [Expressive Engineer]
Mark Twain (Inventor) [Expressive Engineer]
Paul Allen (Inventor) [Expressive Engineer]
Charles Darwin (Architect) [Attentive Engineer]
Linus Torvalds (Architect) [Attentive Engineer]
Coordinators [Proactive Rationals]
Margaret Thatcher (Fieldmarshal) [Expressive Coordinator]
Ulysses S. Grant (Mastermind) [Attentive Coordinator]
Peter Drucker (Mastermind) [Attentive Coordinator]
Idealists [Diplomatic]
Mentors [Proactive Idealists]
Jane Goodall (Counselor) [Attentive Mentor]
Mohandas Gandhi (Counselor) [Attentive Mentor]
Jane Fonda (Teacher) [Expressive Mentor]
Advocates [Reactive Idealists]
Albert Schweitzer (Healer) [Attentive Advocate]
Karen Armstrong (Healer) [Attentive Advocate]
Joan Baez (Champion) [Expressive Advocate]
Artisans [Tactical]
Operators [Proactive Artisans]
Katherine Hepburn (Crafter) [Attentive Operator]
Lance Armstrong (Crafter) [Attentive Operator]
Donald Trump (Promoter) [Expressive Operator]
Theodore Roosevelt (Promoter) [Expressive Operator]
Entertainers [Reactive Artisans]
Neil Simon (Composer) [Attentive Entertainer]
Jim Cramer (Performer) [Expressive Entertainer]
Bill Clinton (Performer) [Expressive Entertainer]
Guardians [Logistical]
Conservators [Reactive Guardians]
Barbara Walters (Provider) [Expressive Conservator]
Sam Walton (Provider) [Expressive Conservator]
George H. W. Bush (Protector) [Attentive Conservator]
Administrators [Proactive Guardians]
Lilly Ledbetter (Inspector) [Attentive Administrator]
Andrea Mitchell (Inspector) [Attentive Administrator]
Mike Wallace (Supervisor) [Expressive Administrator]
Judith Sheindlin (Supervisor) [Expressive Administrator]
Sonia Sotomayor (Supervisor) [Expressive Administrator]
Hi,
I am a concerned INTP. Why am I concerned? Because I am an aspiring writer/director and I find that Keirsey seems to say that being a storyteller is not quite in the cards for the INTP. This seems hard to believe. Off the top of my head it seems like Woody Allen, Franz Kafka, Ingmar Bergman, Charlie Kaufman, Anton Checkhov, Alexander Payne and maybe even Shakespeare were INTPs, but I’m not the expert. Does anyone know some INTP storytellers who can give me hope that my natural aptitudes will serve me well in my profession? I’d really appreciate it.
Thank you!
I would not consider any of those who you cite as Architect Rationals, except maybe Shakespeare (but who knows what type he is, we only have his writings). I don’t know of Charlie Kaufman and Alexander Payne. Woody Allen– Artisan, Franz Kafka — Idealist, Ingmar Bergman –??, I would guess Checkhov — Idealist?
I am trying to think of a famous Architect Rational Storyteller, and only one Harper Lee (To Kill a Mockingbird) comes to mind. Obviously we have (as group) talents that tend to the “non-fiction storytelling.” Charles Darwin, Adam Smith, and Albert Einstein come to mind there.
Alfred Hitchcock is an interesting character: complicated man, he could have been an Architect Rational. He definitely was an interesting storyteller.
The Innovative Engineers, Walt Disney, (Inventor Rational, ENTP), created an empire for storytelling, Mark Twain, (Inventor, ENTP) was one of my favorite Rational storytellers, Gregory Peck actually produced a couple of films, Issac Asimov was an Arranger (Mastermind) Rational, (INTJ) one of my favorite writers…and from memory the Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw was a Rational. (Fieldmarshal, ENTJ) ..there would be more, but I would need to go back over the people I’ve studied they are all over the place and compiled by temperament. Organisational skill is your friend.
Alfred Hitchcock too, a Rational, the Inventor, (ENTP): http://brainsandcareers.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=509&p=8999&hilit=alfred+hitchcock#p8999
*NOT* compiled by temperament, revision and editing is also a good skill to have. I lack.
Which pair of temperaments is closer with each-other: a pair that shares the same word usage or a pair that shares the same tool usage? Specifically:
Rationals are better at Tactics or at Diplomacy?
Artisans are better at Strategy or at Logistics?
Idealists are better at Logistics or at Strategy?
Guardians are better at Diplomacy or at Tactics?
I think it depends on the individual (my father might disagree). Statistically I suspect it depends on the specific Role of the Temperaments, but I have no data to back that up currently. Statistically it is an interesting question, but remember there are Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics.
Why are rarely(to not write never) mentioned in Keirsey Temperament Theory the negative traits of each temperament, role and role variant? It is supposed that the intelligence and positive traits may be used for good or bad, depending of the person’s choice and beliefs?
In general, individuals are not happy about thinking that they have “negative” traits. Essentially it’s bad advertisement. Practically all of us want to know about our positive traits and inspiring individuals that are like us. Dark Escape is not a popular subject. It is seen as dark and damp — few are interested in moving towards the heart of darkness. I have blogs on Hitler and Lance Armstrong that I hesitate to publish, whereas as we can kind of laugh off Charlie Sheen foibles. Mistakes were made, but not by me!
In the Keirsey Temperament Forum, we have some very interesting discussions on Dark Escapes.