Figuring Out People

Rating:
Summary: Egad... like reading a field manual for army truck repairs
Review: Information, information everywhere and yet the boards did shrink... information everywhere and not a drop to drink.

As far as NLP literature goes, and that isn't saying much as NLP *qua* a socio-scientific discipline has never gotten much farther than a self sustaining cottage industry with tedious mediocrities and their tediously mediocre books which say the same boring things over and over again, redundantly, forever, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, ad eyerolleum, this is definitely one of the better catalogs of NLP distinctions of thought processing styles....or as they say with typical pomposity, Meta-Programs!.... as if the term "Meta" confers some special status to otherwise banal groupings of stylistic dichotomies...

A crucial, rather rude, and potentially enlightening question is...envelope please...where is the evidence that these assertions are true ? What controlled experiments were done to
validate this work ? At which universities ?

Regrettably, none appear to be cited or referenced. This material is presented as settled fact when it is conjecture... is this how people really think ? Do they KNOW what is going on in anyone's mind at a given moment ? Doubtful... And ,then, how closely do these distinctions conform to the actualities of mental functioning ? We should take the author's word for it ?

OK... how did he test these models ? What was his methodology for determining these categories of thought. Can we rely on his questionable theory of how different cultures represent time ? How does HE know how cultures influence the representation of time ? And on, and on, and on....

Not all that deep.

Rating:
Summary: Very Interesting look at Meta Programs
Review: I`m not sure if the ideas contained in this book occur elsewhere but they are well presented here. Not an easy book but very impressive. It will take some time to incorparate all the information contained within into your daily relationships so beware. Otherwise a super book.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best yet!
Review: This has to be the most useful and comprehensive portrait of character and personality ever written. Hall paints many aspects of character and personality in a well-formatted and easy-to-read/easy-to-use manner. Despite such a complex topic as humanity, this book shows you the ways in which individuals are really different from each other, and how we are not so different after-all.

Hall takes you from the lofty thoughts of thinking out your identity down to the nitty-gritty of emotions, thoughts, awareness and feelings. If you're looking for a complete guide to interpersonal or social skills, and better yet self-knowledge and development, this is the book for you.

The typical 'typology' approach (Keirsey-Bates, Enneagram, etc.) doesn't do justice to individuals who don't 'fit' into any one distinct category. Hall bypasses this mistake in grouping by giving us the ways in which people can differ from each other, how to think like them, and how to communicate with them! With this book you can look at yourself and others as unique individuals while building understanding and cooperation.

I've read many of Hall's books and favor this over all the rest.