While laying in bed last night, I think I came to realize why I am such a Whovian (One who likes Dr. Who a lot).
I like Star Trek, sure. It's ok. But I don't love it or anything. The same is true for Star Wars. It's okay, but it doesn't give me a nerd on or anything. I'm like that for a lot of traditionally nerd topics. You won't see me obsessing about the latest anime with mecha or anything.
What I do nerd out over, however, is Dr. Who. It has a smaller budget, cheesy special effects, but it has a lot of character and charm. However, last night, I finally realized why the Doctor strikes me so much.
I AM the Doctor.
Ok, follow me on this.
I don't know if you have ever been exposed to the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator or not. Here's the quick rundown.
In order to classify various personality types, they created four spectrums of ways to analyze a person's personality. By charting each person on these four dichotomies, they can create 16 combinations of types.
Let's look at each of these in turn.
Everyone is either an Extrovert or an Introvert. How comfortable are they in new social surroundings? Do they have many friends with few close ones, or just a few really intimate friends. Do they energize by spending time alone, or with people? The extroverts thrive in new social circumstances, the introverts are less so. Are you an I or an E?
The next category is Intuitive vs Sensing. Where do you get the information you use to make a decision? Are you an N or an S? An N is more comfortable talking about nebulous ideas, whereas an S wants to talk about concrete things. One likes philosophy, the other math. One likes religion, the other foreign languages. One likes poetry or literature, the other science. Generally, these are very general terms.
The next level are Thinkers vs Feelers. How do you initially respond to a new situation? Do you think about it or feel about it? Logic or emotion? Would you rather be cold headed or warm hearted? Justice or mercy? T or F?
the last level is Perceiving vs Judging. Do you order your life? When you go on a vacation, do you plan it in detail, or just go with the flow? Do you send back RSVPs immediately? Do you have to have your calender with you at all times? P or J?
Now, let's look at me. I am an ENTP. I have a weak E, so I am close to I. I have a very strong T and P, with a decent N. I am ruled by my T, and it dominates the rest of me.
Let's look at the Doctor:
No question, the Doctor is first and foremost a P. I'd say that's his strongest category, no question. He never plans, he just heads in and improvises. He often doesn't even plan his course, just goes where the TARDIS takes him. Very, very P.
Right after P is the next obvious - T. There is no question that the Doctor is a thinker and a logician. He approaches problems analytically. He is so T, that when others are running for their lives, he will often stand in the gap and use logic to solve problems. He also regular misses what people are feeling, including his companions. That is the trademark of a T.
He is also quite, quite E. No question that the Doctor is extroverted. He thrives on social interaction. He loves meeting new people, new social interactions, and more. He inserts himself into conversations and social situations with glee. Very E.
That leaves the N/S category as the only one that is not obvious. Let's take a look - The Doctor is a scientist, but he loves talking about nebulous stuff. He is amazingly perceptive, but very intuitive. He will go by his gut at times and go by appearances at others. As such, I'd say he is very close to the line, just like I am close as an E.
However, at the end of the day, I'd say that he prefers to be an N, by a bit. He misses what people are feeling, and in addition to that sometimes being the result of a T, it is also the consequence of being an N. A T will say something logical, without intending for it to be anything other than logical, but say it in such a way that an F will take offense. An N will just miss that a person is ever feeling anything at all.
Take Martha for example. Doctor misses her feelings for him. That's an N thing to do.
So, although it is close, I'd say the Doctor is an ENTP, but you might argue he is, instead, an ESTP.
And I am an ENTP.
Is it any wonder that this guy who traipses all across the universe and helping others, and who is, in many ways (at least in England) a character as iconic as Santa, who has my exact personality type, would be someone I identify with (a lot)?
So. I think that may be the root of my fascination with El Doctore.
I like Star Trek, sure. It's ok. But I don't love it or anything. The same is true for Star Wars. It's okay, but it doesn't give me a nerd on or anything. I'm like that for a lot of traditionally nerd topics. You won't see me obsessing about the latest anime with mecha or anything.
What I do nerd out over, however, is Dr. Who. It has a smaller budget, cheesy special effects, but it has a lot of character and charm. However, last night, I finally realized why the Doctor strikes me so much.
I AM the Doctor.
Ok, follow me on this.
I don't know if you have ever been exposed to the Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator or not. Here's the quick rundown.
In order to classify various personality types, they created four spectrums of ways to analyze a person's personality. By charting each person on these four dichotomies, they can create 16 combinations of types.
Let's look at each of these in turn.
Everyone is either an Extrovert or an Introvert. How comfortable are they in new social surroundings? Do they have many friends with few close ones, or just a few really intimate friends. Do they energize by spending time alone, or with people? The extroverts thrive in new social circumstances, the introverts are less so. Are you an I or an E?
The next category is Intuitive vs Sensing. Where do you get the information you use to make a decision? Are you an N or an S? An N is more comfortable talking about nebulous ideas, whereas an S wants to talk about concrete things. One likes philosophy, the other math. One likes religion, the other foreign languages. One likes poetry or literature, the other science. Generally, these are very general terms.
The next level are Thinkers vs Feelers. How do you initially respond to a new situation? Do you think about it or feel about it? Logic or emotion? Would you rather be cold headed or warm hearted? Justice or mercy? T or F?
the last level is Perceiving vs Judging. Do you order your life? When you go on a vacation, do you plan it in detail, or just go with the flow? Do you send back RSVPs immediately? Do you have to have your calender with you at all times? P or J?
Now, let's look at me. I am an ENTP. I have a weak E, so I am close to I. I have a very strong T and P, with a decent N. I am ruled by my T, and it dominates the rest of me.
Let's look at the Doctor:
No question, the Doctor is first and foremost a P. I'd say that's his strongest category, no question. He never plans, he just heads in and improvises. He often doesn't even plan his course, just goes where the TARDIS takes him. Very, very P.
Right after P is the next obvious - T. There is no question that the Doctor is a thinker and a logician. He approaches problems analytically. He is so T, that when others are running for their lives, he will often stand in the gap and use logic to solve problems. He also regular misses what people are feeling, including his companions. That is the trademark of a T.
He is also quite, quite E. No question that the Doctor is extroverted. He thrives on social interaction. He loves meeting new people, new social interactions, and more. He inserts himself into conversations and social situations with glee. Very E.
That leaves the N/S category as the only one that is not obvious. Let's take a look - The Doctor is a scientist, but he loves talking about nebulous stuff. He is amazingly perceptive, but very intuitive. He will go by his gut at times and go by appearances at others. As such, I'd say he is very close to the line, just like I am close as an E.
However, at the end of the day, I'd say that he prefers to be an N, by a bit. He misses what people are feeling, and in addition to that sometimes being the result of a T, it is also the consequence of being an N. A T will say something logical, without intending for it to be anything other than logical, but say it in such a way that an F will take offense. An N will just miss that a person is ever feeling anything at all.
Take Martha for example. Doctor misses her feelings for him. That's an N thing to do.
So, although it is close, I'd say the Doctor is an ENTP, but you might argue he is, instead, an ESTP.
And I am an ENTP.
Is it any wonder that this guy who traipses all across the universe and helping others, and who is, in many ways (at least in England) a character as iconic as Santa, who has my exact personality type, would be someone I identify with (a lot)?
So. I think that may be the root of my fascination with El Doctore.
Here are some of the things that professional sites say about the ENTP type. See how much they apply to The Doctor.
"ENTPs are known for their quest of the novel and complex. They have faith in their ability to improvise and to overcome any challenges that they face. They are highly independent, and value adaptability and innovation. They may be several steps ahead of others in encouraging and valuing change. They hate uninspired routine and resist hierarchical and bureaucratic structures that are not functional. They need freedom for action."
Remember that The Doctor was a renegade from his own people, because he wanted to change people and Time Lords were sworn to non-intervention.
"ENTP's wish to exercise their ingenuity in the world of people and things. Found in about five out of every hundred people, ENTP's extravert intuition; thus they deal imaginatively with social relationships as well as physical and mechanical relations. They are very alert to what is apt to occur next, and always sensitive to possibilities.
ENTP's are good at analysis, especially functional analysis, and have both a tolerance for and enjoyment of the complex. Usually enthusiastic, ENTP's are apt to express interest in everything, and thus are a source of inspiration to others, who find themselves caught up by the ENTP's enthusiasm. This type is delighted over many things and so is easy to please, often showing the effervescence of their NF counterpart, the ENFP. The ENTP is the most reluctant of all the types to do things in a particular manner just because that is the way things always have been done. They characteristically have an eye out for a better way, always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures.
ENTP's are confident in the value of their pursuits and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this open attitude, they often bring a fresh, new approach to their work and their lives. The ENTP is a keen judge of the pragmatics of both the social and the mechanical, and may become expert at directing relationships between means and ends."
If that isn't The Doctor to a T (heh, mixed metaphor), I don't know what is.
"ENTPs are known for their quest of the novel and complex. They have faith in their ability to improvise and to overcome any challenges that they face. They are highly independent, and value adaptability and innovation. They may be several steps ahead of others in encouraging and valuing change. They hate uninspired routine and resist hierarchical and bureaucratic structures that are not functional. They need freedom for action."
Remember that The Doctor was a renegade from his own people, because he wanted to change people and Time Lords were sworn to non-intervention.
"ENTP's wish to exercise their ingenuity in the world of people and things. Found in about five out of every hundred people, ENTP's extravert intuition; thus they deal imaginatively with social relationships as well as physical and mechanical relations. They are very alert to what is apt to occur next, and always sensitive to possibilities.
ENTP's are good at analysis, especially functional analysis, and have both a tolerance for and enjoyment of the complex. Usually enthusiastic, ENTP's are apt to express interest in everything, and thus are a source of inspiration to others, who find themselves caught up by the ENTP's enthusiasm. This type is delighted over many things and so is easy to please, often showing the effervescence of their NF counterpart, the ENFP. The ENTP is the most reluctant of all the types to do things in a particular manner just because that is the way things always have been done. They characteristically have an eye out for a better way, always on the lookout for new projects, new activities, new procedures.
ENTP's are confident in the value of their pursuits and display a charming capacity to ignore the standard, the traditional, and the authoritative. As a result of this open attitude, they often bring a fresh, new approach to their work and their lives. The ENTP is a keen judge of the pragmatics of both the social and the mechanical, and may become expert at directing relationships between means and ends."
If that isn't The Doctor to a T (heh, mixed metaphor), I don't know what is.
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