If you've ever done a personality test or read a horoscope and thought, it seemed scary accurate, you may have fallen for something called a Barnum Profile. There's a psychological trick that makes us all vulnerable to personality tests, so let's get into the real science behind personality testing.When I search this blog's back catalog for personality, I found that I discussed personality types using the Big Five or OCEAN — Openness to experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism — or personality disorders. Here's what I wrote about my personality type results in We reveal ourselves on Facebook.
My results showed that I was liberal (duh), well organized, reserved, trusting, and calm. About the only one of those findings that surprised me was the reserved one. I generally test out as mildly extraverted on Myers-Briggs, so being labeled as the equivalent of introverted was inconsistent with that. Then I looked at the list of most reliable liked pages for each trait and discovered why. The pages for reserved included RPGs, Anime, Manga, Role Playing Games, and Video Games. I may not like all the pages with those exact names (although I like the suggestions for those pages), but I do like pages about all those topics, so I can see why my results came out that way. Seriously, what these pages tell me is that I am a geek, but not all geeks are reserved.More than a decade later, I stand by both the personality assessment and my mild criticism of it.
That's a wrap for flashing back to a topic I haven't explored on this blog since the first half of last decade. Follow over the jump for another look back, a retrospective of the most read posts featuring videos from SciShow during the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News.
Normal social media promotion and web search earned SciShow asks 'What Will Humanity Leave Behind?' from September 26, 2025 684 default and 899 raw page views during September 2025, placing it 16th by the former, 13th among entries posted during the month and 14th overall last September. It ended the 2025-2026 blogging year with 976 raw page views, ranking it 15th among entries posted last year and 21st overall. It also earned one share (tied for first for the month and year) and 1 like on 20 views on Instagram.
Normal social media promotion and web search earned SciShow explains 'How to Make a Warning Last 10,000 Years' from September 11, 2025 844 raw page views, ranking it 18th among entries posted that month and 19th overall during September 2025. It ended the blogging year with 910 raw page views by March 20, 2026, placing it 19th among entries posted between March 21, 2025 and March 20, 2026 and 25th overall. It also earned 2 likes (tied for first for the month) and 1 share (tied for first for the month and year) on 31 views on Instagram.
Infidel753 shared the link SciShow warns 'The Potato Famine Could Happen Again' from August 6, 2025 at his blog. That contributed to it earning 250 default and 293 raw page views plus three comments during August 2025, ranking it tenth by the former measure, seventh among entries posted during the month, and ninth overall by the latter measure. It continued to attract readers during the blogging year, reaching 294 default and 428 raw page views by March 20, 2026, placing 20th by the former, 57th among entries posted during the 2025-2026 blogging year, and tying for 83rd overall with Polar vortex and difference between climate and weather explained.
That's a wrap for this week's Flashback Friday. Stay tuned for a brief educational entry tomorrow, as I'll be leading my geology students on a field trip.
Previous posts in this series
- Happy Nowruz and happy 15th birthday to Crazy Eddie's Motie News
- Stats for the 15th year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News on Flashback Friday
- Silly and serious closer looks on gas prices, a driving update
- My Saturn Awards votes and predictions vs. the winners
- J.D. Vance gets the 'Last Week Tonight' treatment
- SciShow's '7 Of The Weirdest Fossil Forgeries Ever,' an April Fools holiday special for Wayback Wednesday
- The 1969 Cavaliers playing 'The Ten Commandments' for a drum corps Flashback Good Friday/Passover, a holiday special
- SciShow explains 'Why Geologists Lick Petrified Poop,' a Saturday science special
- 'Star Trek' Easter eggs on First Contact Day
- Randy Rainbow sings 'Not What They're Paid For,' a Tuneful Tuesday special
- PBS Terra warns 'A Hidden Antarctic Tipping Point May Have Just Been Triggered' for Wayback Wednesday
- Peaches and carrots, food history from Vox for Throwback Thursday
- The rise and fall of Boston Market, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse for Flashback Friday
- Bloomberg Television explains 'How Gen Z Is Bringing Back The Mall,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse
- Shane Campbell-Staton says 'I Visited America's Poison Sea' for Wayback Wednesday
- Howtown explains why 'The Moon's origin story doesn't add up' for Throwback Thursday
- Colbert and Kimmel comment with comedy on Trump's hush money trial
- 'SNL' mocks the Signal group chat in its cold open and Weekend Update
- Kosta, Colbert, and Meyers take closer looks at tariffs on Flashback Friday
- Trump implementing Project 2025 for a Flashback Good Friday
- PBS Terra tells 'The REAL Story of the LA Fires | Full Documentary' for Flashback Friday
- PBS Terra asks 'The Biggest Climate Scam Ever?' for a Flashback Friday Arbor Day
- Crossmen's 'Protest' for a drum corps May Day on Throwback Thursday
- Meyers, Lydic, and Kimmel take closer looks at meeting with Canadian Prime Minister on Throwback Thursday
- 'Earth's Worst Mass Extinction Is Actually a Warning' for Flashback Friday on Endangered Species Day
- PBS NewsHour explains 'How Meta's blockbuster antitrust trial could have major implications for big tech' — a Throwback Thursday special
- Bloomberg Television explains 'How Gen Z Is Bringing Back The Mall,' a tale of the Retail Apocalypse
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