Keirsey Temperment - Portrait of the Architect

Reaction to Quotes taken from: Keirsey - Architect

For Architects, the world exists primarily to be analyzed, understood, explained - and re-designed. External reality in itself is unimportant, little more than raw material to be organized into structural models. What is important for Architects is that they grasp fundamental principles and natural laws, and that their designs are elegant, that is, efficient and coherent.

I can see this in myself.  How things function is significantly more important than why they have a function in the first place.  Understanding how a toaster works does not lead me to believe that we actually need to eat toast, but it does cause me to think of methods that toast bread more efficiently than losing all that heat vertically.  I absorb information at a prodigious rate.  I have always read voraciously, even when I am left with nothing but  technical journals or rag mags.  I found myself reading a car's technical manual once, just to explain what 2nd Gear was for.

 They tend to see distinctions and inconsistencies instantaneously, and can detect contradictions no matter when or where they were made. It is difficult for an Architect to listen to nonsense, even in a casual conversation, without pointing out the speaker's error.

This is a bad habit.  I find it necessary to  correct factual errors.  Even in situations where the error makes no difference to the topic or when correcting the error causes emotional distress.

 Authority derived from office, credential, or celebrity does not impress them. Architects are interested only in what make sense, and thus only statements that are consistent and coherent carry any weight with them.

I pride myself in being an alpha-adopter.  I love new information or even old information presented in a new, and logical manner.  My obsession with diet and fitness falls into this category.  The current movement towards "all things old are new again," is perfect.  Returning to primal eating, body-weight routines and all-around fitness are excellent examples that buck the CW of low-fat, cardio obsessed media personalities and experts.

 They are inclined to be shy except with close friends, and their reserve is difficult to penetrate. Able to concentrate better than any other type, they prefer to work quietly at their computers or drafting tables, and often alone.

I work best when I work alone.  I don't mind talking.  I frequently find myself dominating conversations that turn to topics that interest me, or I turn topics to something I find more interesting.  My best work, is done in the tumultuous quiet of my own presence.  I may grumble or even talk to myself out loud and often my internal dialogue has nothing to do with the task at hand, but this semi-randomness helps me focus on the task in front of me.  The interjection of topics or reactions to my methods often side-rail me from my tasks.

 Architects prize intelligence, and with their grand desire to grasp the structure of the universe, they can seem arrogant and may show impatience with others who have less ability, or who are less driven.

I am egotistical.  I am vain and I am filled with self aggrandizement.   Often, these feelings are justified, and when they are not they stem from a position of insecurity.  In either case they only serve to drive a wedge between myself and others.  This is a huge area of necessary personal development.

On the positive side, I am drawn to intelligence like a moth to a flame.  I crave new information.  Often the source can be more enlightening than the information itself.  A "diamond in the rough" with a new tidbit of knowledge is more valuable than a dry encyclopedia.

Rationals in a Relationship

 Rationals... do tend to be steadfast, being among the most committed.

My loyalty seems to come at the expense of my own emotions.  Recent events have taught me the value in being open and honest about my feelings.  Choosing the course that makes others happy sometimes results in emotional and mental breakdowns.  This serves no rational purpose, except causing the entire scenario to explode in unexpected ways.  Example: the fragmentation of my marriage.