Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's your librarian personality type?


What's your personality? Are you quick to make judgements and decisions, or do you take your time? Are you an introvert or an extravert? Check out the books below and let me know who you think you are?

There are two fairly new books that might interest you. The first is Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman.  
The two basic themes of his book are how people think intuitively and how they think deeply on specific subjects, or any subject for that matter. He is particularly interested in how people make decisions and derive conclusions for visual and written evidence. Take a look at the book, or even at excerpts and reviews, to see what you think. Does his argument make sense? In a world where students and individuals tend to skim articles and books, does deep thinking exist?

The second title that I found fascinating is Quiet by Susan Cain who examines the role of introverts in today’s mostly extroverted society. When I read the introduction, I realized that I’m a pseudo-extravert. I pretend to be an extravert when I’d rather disappear into a book than socialize with strangers. Yet, I force myself to do the latter and, after a fashion, do just fine talking to people. Cain looks at defense mechanisms and learned behaviors of introverts and how they cope with the need to be extroverted and gregarious. Where do you place yourself on the scale of introvert / extravert? As a librarian and information scientist, and archivist, you must learn to interact with others, particularly with strangers. How will you do this if you natural inclination is to be shy and retiring?

No comments:

Post a Comment