Fun Friday Resources
/I’m sure we’re all familiar with Thesaurus.com, but here’s a nifty alternative: Panlexicon.com, which presents the results in a word cloud. Relevance is indicated by type-size and bold fonts.
Pretty nifty, eh?
One of the most useful tools I ever encountered for learning to work with other people was the True Colors personality test. This website is not the official test, but my results were spot on. Essentially, you get scores in four “colors” — blue, orange, gold, and green — that summarize your approach to life, the universe, and everything. (Note that no one is all “one color.”)
Blue: Emotional, caring, interpersonal relationships.
Orange: Thrill-seeking, fun fun fun!
Gold: Organized, goal-oriented, rule-following.
Green: Hyper-rational, analytical.
When I first took the test decades ago, it opened my eyes to why I was having difficulty serving some teachers in my school: We were not speaking the same language. I introduced the test to the counseling staff at the Governor’s Honors Program, and they proceeded to administer it to any class who asked — since one of our biggest struggles was trying to teach these gifted kids to work in groups/teams, showing them how to understand how these personality traits impact team interactions was critical.
For example, I’m a green, my wife is a gold, her cousin is a blue, and our son is an orange. If I need to ask them to do something for me, I’d tell my wife, “Okay, here’s the plan. You’ll need x, y, and z, and I’d like to get it done by Friday.” I’d say to her cousin, “Oh, man, I could really use your help with this. Thank you so much for your time and energy…” And my son? “Dude, this is going to be amazing!” (How would they ask me for help? “Dale, we need to get this done because x, y, and z. Can you see any flaw in the plan?”)
Here’s an interesting variation on the whole personality profile thing: Once you take this survey, the site shows you the kinds of political ads that would target you. It’s based on the OCEAN concept: Openness, Contentiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism.
Finally, a fun time-waster: Clone-a-Lisa, where you are challenged to paint the Mona Lisa in 60 seconds. I did better my first time than my second…
Remember the Lichtenbergian motto: Failure is always an option!
