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Comment by binarymax | Hacker News Reader

So I took a dive and signed up for Crystal, then did a vanity search. I have to say I'm impressed with the analysis:

"Max prioritizes achievement, pursues goals aggressively and methodically, and doesn't like when someone makes a decision on his behalf."

That last one really does piss me off. The rest of the analysis is quite good as well. Basically I like it when people get to the point. It possibly gleaned that from my short writing style - I don't carry on, and I tend to write short emails and posts.

Not sure what I'll be using this for in general now that I am a subscriber, but next time I need to write an ice-breaker I think it would come in handy.

--EDIT-- It just occurred to me that this may be of the horoscope variety, where analysis is on the safe side and can apply to almost anyone. I may have been fooled!

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect

"It just occurred to me that this may be of the horoscope variety, where analysis is on the safe side and can apply to almost anyone."

One of the better defenses is to look for where it is wrong, instead of where it is right. If it is really "correct", it shouldn't be wrong anywhere. In your own message, you highlight the thing that you think it really got right... is there anything it's really wrong about?

In a sentence that short, it's hard to tell, but if there's more content you didn't paste you can have a look at that.

Reading for myself the classic Forer text [1], sure, like everyone else, there's a lot of hits. But there's also a lot of huge misses, like, 100% diametrically-opposed wrong. It's not hard to tell a lot of the hits aren't all that direct either, if you look at them and ask "How many people would this be false of?" If the answer is "nearly 0%", then it's worthless.

I actually think your Crystal profile is more specific than that... it might describe a lot of HN people, but in general people do not pursue goals aggressively and methodically. (It's why "make goals and pursue them" is a frequent self-help message... for a lot of people the entire idea is a bit of a revelation! It may sound lamely obvious to $YOU but it isn't in general.)

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnum_effect#Forer.27s_demons...

> in general people do not pursue goals aggressively and methodically.

On the other hand, people may want to believe that they do this.

"Stay positive and radiant today, Max. This is a great day for you to take control. Connect with others on group projects and feel free to offer creative input. Let the artist within take the spotlight, and cultivate this talent in any way you can. Take the time to engage in long conversations with people regarding recent events. You have a great deal to share."

Paraphrased from http://my.horoscope.com/astrology/free-daily-horoscope-leo.h...

I'd say your edit sums it up nicely.

If it would say "John really likes when someone makes decisions on his behalf", you think John would say "yeah, I love that!" :P

That's really not so weird. In taste decisions (order a drink for me, decide what movie we're going to watch) I'm often glad to get outside my own head and try whatever you're into. In practical but short term or roughly equivalent consumer matters (which hotel are we booking, which rental car) I'm often happy not to have had to expend any executive function in choosing.

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