quiz thingie

Usually I don't really go for the quiz thingies that are on the internet, because so often they seem to be mostly Barnum statements ("say what the people want to hear, be very general about it, and they'll think it's true") or the questions on the quiz have no answer I agree with (e.g., "I like this musician best" followed by the names of four people in pop that I've never even heard of)

But this one, I like.

If it's Barnum statements, at least they're Barnum statements I agree with:

I'm a Mandarin!

You're an intellectual, and you've worked hard to get where you are now. You're a strong believer in education, and you think many of the world's problems could be solved if people were more informed and more rational. You have no tolerance for sloppy or lazy thinking. It frustrates you when people who are ignorant or dishonest rise to positions of power. You believe that people can make a difference in the world, and you're determined to try.

Talent: 41%
Lifer: 28%
Mandarin: 74%

Take the Talent, Lifer, or Mandarin quiz.

(The funny thing is - the Time article linked to - claims that the Clintons are "mandarins" and also that much of Republican thinking now is very anti-Mandarin; that the so-called "elites" of the Democratic party are Mandarins. I'd disagree; I think that there are people across the political spectrum fall into every category.

I think Time's article really doesn't fit with the quiz results.

It seems to me that

Lifer = "I've been here the longest, I've put in my time, I deserve good things"
Talent = "I have natural skills and talent. I'm special. I deserve good things."
Mandarin = "I worked hard for what I have, and I continue to work hard. I deserve good things."

I suspect the basic principle behind all of these groups is that they feel they are the deserving one by virtue of whatever characteristic they consider is the most vital: seniority and reliability, or talent, or hard work. Probably everyone's a little bit wrong.

But I have to admit I'm a little proud of that description given up there.

And I'd also argue against the perception, claimed in the Time article (and yeah, it's an article from '96, so whatever) that people think the Mandarins didn't earn what they have. Education? Trust me, it's hard work getting a degree. It's hard work training your mind so you are not a victim of lazy or sloppy thinking. And it's hard holding on to your principles in a world that often seems to have lost them - which is what seems to me to be a guiding characteristic of those who value hard work and achievement as the path to success. Not that any of the groups - the Talents or the Lifers - seem particularly predisposed to dishonesty or sloppiness; perhaps a better way of looking at it is that these are the Platonic ideals of different paths and far too many people fall off them. Clinton may be a Mandarin in some respects, but I don't see a person who truly hews to the path as being willing to do some of the things he did to get/keep power or privelige.)