Brian R. Little

It is generally thought that one's personality is the product of nature and nurture. The psychology field has pinned down five traits that are part of one’s inherent nature, referred to as one’s biogenic nature or first nature. Extraversion and or introversion is one such trait. The field has also noted the importance of “nurture” in shaping out personalties. One is "moulded by the nurturing and opportunities you are given" (where you live, how you were raised, perhaps birth order,…) These produce your sociogenic traits or our 2nd natures. Both nature and nurture influence each other (this is all a serious over-simplification, of course).

Many have believe that our personality is more or less fixed. But Brian R. Little argues that our personalities are far more malleable than than, that we are more than just nature and nurture; that our “identity is also shaped by your everyday personal projects. "Personal projects include endeavors small and large, from the intimate to the professional, from the mundane to the existential. Brian Little believes these “projects," which are expressions of our third or isogenic nature, affects our personalities much more than we could imagine. Perhaps our personalities are "flexible and ultimately" in our control?

Little’s theory absolutely fascinating. This is a scientist presenting his work to an interested audience. It’s not a "self-help" book but he brings his theory from the lofty heights of scientific research and results to a more general audience. He elaborates on the idea of personal projects and how you can shape them. He discusses the "myth of authenticity" (you know, the "just be yourself") and the "three ways to do authenticity." I was captivated enough to read it more or less in one sitting, and I plan to read it again on an upcoming flight.

This is a small, pocket-sized hardcover, a TED books ("small books, big ideas") and just under 100 pages. While others have thought this just a script of a TED TALK, these 97 pages would be a 6 hour or so talk.… (més)

Who Are You Really is a TED Talk, not a research book or study. It reads like a talk, not a book. It is peppered with mild laugh lines to keep the audience with the speaker. You can see them coming, and you can hear Little cash in. Basically, you are reading a script.

The script is a self-help through self-identification course. Little segregates people into buckets and deals with them that way. Do it yourself, and gain some perspective, perhaps. Or change your approach, your projects and your sensitivities to be more effective.

There are five buckets: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness and Neuroticism (OCEAN). On a scale of 1-5, you rate yourself, and formulas assign you a personality. If you are not self-aware or at least honest with yourself, this is the book for you.

The scoring however, doesn’t make sense. For example, the average score for Conscientiousness is 11. But the formula is question 13 (maximum value 5) less questions 3 and 8 (maximum value 10). For Agreeableness, you add scores from questions 2 and 12 (max 10) and subtract from the score from question 7 (max 5). The average score is somehow 12. This quickly puts everyone in the bucket Subhuman.

Possibly the most valuable chapter tackles authenticity, buzzword without equal in western society. Little says we can have multiple authenticities, conflicting authenticities, and private authenticities. They are all valid – and authentic. Plus, we need to understand their strategic value, and not just wear them on our sleeves. Bravo.

David Wineberg… (més)