
Sam Powell
120 posts

Sam Powell
@SamPowell_Neuro
MD-PhD Resident Physician in the Research-Track Residency in Psychiatry at Harvard/BIDMC. Opinions are mine alone.




1/ The “evidence-based therapy” game—explained with 🥞 I have a pancake recipe. I do randomized controlled trials (RCTs) showing that people like my 🥞 better than getting no breakfast at all My🥞are now “evidence-based” & yours aren’t. I start telling everyone my🥞are superior

The Big Five test is about twice as accurate as the Meyers-Briggs test for predicting life outcomes, placing the usefulness of the MBTI test halfway between science and astrology—literally. When we use personality tests that impose categories—like the Meyers Briggs or Astrology—we risk exaggerating the differences between groups and the similarities within them. When this occurs with other types of identities like race or gender, we typically call it “stereotyping” and we try to avoid it. When consultants do it in companies, they are creating the same dynamics and doing it on dubious scientific grounds. Our latest newsletter explains why the MTBI is a bad measure, but why we are nevertheless obsessed with it! powerofusnewsletter.com/p/why-are-peop…



This Thanksgiving, let's be thankful that we live in a country where you're free to express your opinion, but it's still ok not to have one. #NoOpinion



