No One Says No to Knowing Himself

‘Know thyself’ is advice that’s travelled through time. It was one of the maxims inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. In 1651, Thomas Hobbes used the Latin term ‘Nosce Te Ipsum’ or ‘Read thyself’ in The Leviathan. In 1734, Alexander Pope composed a poem titled An Essay on Man, Epistle II, which began with the legend, ‘Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, The proper study of mankind is Man.’ In 1831, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote Gnothi Seauton (or ‘Know Thyself’), on the theme of ‘finding God in man’. More recently, another Latin version of the aphorism (‘Temet Nosce’) appeared over the modern-day Oracle’s door in The Matrix films.

Truth be told, there’s no need for so much prodding. Even without being exhorted to do so, man has a fundamental drive to explore and understand himself. It’s a rare individual who will stop you midway if you’re analysing him or her. It’s even rarer to find a person who’s never taken a personality quiz. Therein lies the ubiquity, and popularity, of self-analysis tools. In India, we’ve been consulting the stars and planets on marriage, money and other material goods since time immemorial. Linda Goodman showed up on the other side of the world in the ’60s, linking sun and moon signs to personality and got us hooked to that too.

Japan, and to some extent Korea, have given astrology the go-by and let capillaries decide character. In 1927, Japanese professor Furukawa Takeji concluded that there was a link between blood type and personality and assigned character traits to each group. He described Type Os as calm, strong-willed and unyielding; Type As as indecisive, non-combative and self-sacrificing. Type Bs as independent, talkative and sociable while ABs as ‘Group B on the outside, Group A on the inside’. Since then, the Japanese have been what they bleed. Firms plan departments around the blood types of their workforce; sports coaches use it to pick teams. During WW II, Japan’s Imperial Army is rumoured to have formed groups as per blood group.

British researcher Mindlab says the sports you play indicates your personality. It says cyclists are laid back and the least likely to suffer stress. Runners are extroverts and materialistic. Yoga practitioners have been labelled agreeable, conscientious and ecologically conscious. Walkers like their own company, shun attention and are not materialistic. Gym-goers are happy and extroverted, while swimmers are charitable, tidy and make the best lovers.

It’s not all games or self-indulgence. Personality tests are also used for purposes like diagnosing mental health disorders, screening job applicants and assessing employee preferences. Psychologists give patients personality tests like the Rorschach Inkblot to identify symptoms. Companies use the MBTI test to predict new applicants’ work ethics and to identify their existing staffers’ disposition to think and respond in a certain way. Since man’s desire to ‘know himself’ and his limits has no limits, everyone happily goes along.

And now, there’s a way to know man’s best friend too. A team of scientists, trainers and behavioural specialists has created an online test to understand your dog’s personality. The ‘Dognition’ programme uses 20 games to lead your pet through tests of memory, communication and reasoning. There’s no number score; instead, dogs fall into one of nine types like ‘Charmer’ and ‘Einstein’. The other Einstein said, “To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.” Maybe we just hit a new frontier. 

shampa@newindianexpress.com

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