I am The Investigator

"The Investigator." That's my new superhero name. In the past, it never really occurred to me that I could take the results of an online personality test and name myself based on those results, but by george, I've done it this time. While searching for a personality test to base this blog post around, I came across this 14-page quiz. After answering the prying questions faithfully and truthfully, it determined that my enneagram type is type 5, or, 5w4. I don't fully understand it either. However, they had a nice little description of the different types, and here's a bit of what they had to say about type 5's:

THE INVESTIGATOR Thinkers who tend to withdraw and observe

... Fives feel comfortable and at home in the realm of thought. They are generally intelligent, well read and thoughtful and they frequently become experts in the areas that capture their interest. While they are sometimes scientifically oriented, especially with the Six wing, just as many Fives are drawn to the humanities and it is not at all uncommon for Fives to have artistic inclinations. Fives are often a bit eccentric; they feel little need to alter their beliefs to accommodate majority opinion, and they refuse to compromise their freedom to think just as they please. The problem for Fives is that while they are comfortable in the realm of thought, they are frequently a good deal less comfortable when it comes to dealing with their emotions, the demands of a relationship, or the need to find a place for themselves in the world. Fives tend to be shy, nonintrusive, independent and reluctant to ask for the help that others might well be happy to extend to them.

...Fives are usually somewhat restrained when it comes to emotional expression, but they often have stronger feelings than they let on. (Heh. That's true. Though I don't really know why.) Few people know what is going on beneath the surface, as Fives have an often exaggerated need for privacy and a deep seated fear of intrusion... They sometimes deal with this by developing a minimalistic lifestyle in which they make few demands on others in exchange for few demands being made on them... Fives, unlike Fours, always retain some degree of discomfort when it comes to the expression of their emotional states. However much facility they may gain with it, the language of emotion is not their native tongue.

Though it's not a perfect description, that's actually a fairly accurate description of me. The type 5 won with 12%, while type 9, the peacemaker, came in at 10.7%. Type 4, the individualist, came in a third with 10.7% as well. Type 2, the helper, and type 6, the loyalist, round out the top five.

Now knowing that I'm a loyal investigative, individualistic peacemaker and helper, I wondered which superhero embodied those qualities in himself. According to this quiz, the answer is Spider-Man. According to the site, I am "intelligent, witty, a bit geeky and have great power and responsibility." Heh.

The results of the first quiz don't really surprise me at all. It's just kind of strange to see large chunks of my persona spelled out right in front of me like that.

Did this test ring fairly true for anyone else out there?