How to Analyze People on Sight by Elsie Lincoln Benedict (best contemporary novels txt) 📖

them. Ordinarily these unaccountable moods are due to sensations reaching his subconscious mind, of which no cognizance is taken by his conscious processes.

Called "Intuitive"

¶ This ability to "get" things, to respond quickly with his physical reactions while devoting his mental ones to something else, has obtained for this type the reputation of possessing more "intuition" than others.

Source of "Hunches"

¶ That there is no such thing as intuition in the old sense of getting a "hunch" from the outside is now agreed by psychologists. The thing we have called intuition, they maintain, is not due to irregular or supernatural causes but to our own normal natural mental processes.

The impression that he gets this knowledge or suspicion from the outside is due, the scientists say, to the fact that his thinking has proceeded at such lightning-like speed that he was unable to watch the wheels go round. The only thing of which he is conscious is the final result or sum at the bottom of the column called his "hunch." He is not aware of the addition and subtraction which his mind went through to get it for him.

Easily Excited

¶ "Off like a shot" is a term often applied to the Thoracic. He is the most easily excited of all types but also the most easily calmed. He recovers from every mood more quickly and more completely than other types. Under the influence of emotion he often does things for which he is sorry immediately afterward.

On the Spur of the Moment

¶ This type usually does a thing quickly or not at all. He is a gun that is always cocked. So he hits a great many things in the course of a lifetime and leads the most exciting existence of any type. Being able to get thrills out of the most commonplace event because of seeing elements in it which others overlook, he finds in everyday life more novelty than others ever see.

The Adventurers

¶ Romance and adventure always interest this type. He lives for thrills and novel reactions and usually spares no pains or money to get them. A very slangy but very expressive term used frequently by these people is, "I got a real kick out of that."

This craving for adventure, suspense and zest often lures this type into speculation, gambling and various games of chance. The danger in flying, deep-sea diving, auto-racing and similar fields has a strong appeal for this type—so strong that practically every man or woman who follows these professions is of this type.

Tires of Sameness

¶ The Thoracic soon tires of the same suit, the same gown, the same house, the same town and even the same girl. He wrings the utmost out of each experience so quickly and so completely that he is forever on the lookout for new worlds to conquer. Past experiences are to him as so many lemons out of which he has taken all the juice. He anticipates those of the future as so many more to be utilized in the same way.

Likes Responsive People

¶ We all like answers. We want to be assured that what we have said or done has registered. The Thoracic is always saying or doing something and can't understand why other people are so unresponsive. He is as responsive as a radio wire. Everything hits the mark with him and he lets you know it. So, naturally, he enjoys the same from others and considers those less expressive than himself stiff, formal or dull.

The kind of person the Thoracic likes best is one sufficiently like himself to nod and smile and show that he fully understands but who will not interrupt his stream of talk.

People He Dislikes

¶ The stolid, indifferent or cold are people the Thoracic comes very near disliking. Their evident self-complacency and immobility are things he does not understand at all and with which he has little patience.

Such people seem to him to be cold, unfeeling, almost dead. So he steers clear of them. It was surely a Thoracic who first called these people "sticks." But the reason for their acting like sticks will be apparent in another chapter.

His Pet Aversions

¶ Whereas the Alimentive avoids people he does not care for, the Thoracic is inclined to betray his aversions. He occasionally delights to put people he dislikes at a disadvantage by his wit or satire. The stony individual who walks through life like an Ionian pillar is a complete mystery to the Thoracic; and the pillar returns the compliment. We do not like anything we do not understand and we seldom understand anything that differs decidedly from ourselves.

Thus we distrust and dislike foreigners, and to a greater or lesser extent other families, people from other sections of the country, etc. The Easterner and Westerner have a natural distrust of each other; and the Civil War is not the only reason for the incompatibility of Southerners and Northerners.

So it is with individuals. Those who differ too widely in type never understand each other. They have too little of the chief thing that builds friendships—emotions in common.

The Forgiving Man

¶ If you have once been a real friend of a Thoracic and a quarrel comes between you, he may be ever so bitter and biting in the moment of his anger but in most cases he will forgive you eventually.

Really Forgets Disagreements

¶ It is not as easy for other types to forgive; they often refrain from attempting a reconciliation. But the Thoracic's forgiveness is not only spontaneous but genuine.

The Alimentive bears no grudges because it is too much trouble. The Thoracic finds it hard to maintain a grudge because he gets over it just as he gets over everything else. His anger oozes away or he wakes up some fine morning and finds, like the boy recovering from the chickenpox, that he "simply hasn't it any more."

Diseases He is Most Susceptible To

¶ Acute diseases are the ones chiefly affecting this type. Everything in his organism tends to suddenness and not to sameness.

Just as he is inclined to get into and out of psychological experiences quickly, so he is inclined to sudden illnesses and to sudden recuperations. A Thoracic seldom has any kind of chronic ailment. If he acquires a superabundance of avoirdupois he is in danger of apoplexy. The combination of extreme Thoracic and extreme Alimentive tendencies is the cause of this disease.

Likes Fancy Foods

¶ Variety and novelty in food are much enjoyed by this type. The Alimentive likes lots of rich food but he is not so desirous of varieties or freak dishes. But the Thoracic specializes in them.

You can not mention any kind of strange new dish whose investigation won't appeal to some one in the crowd, and that person is always somewhat thoracic. It gives him another promise of "newness."

Foreign dishes of all kinds depend for their introduction into this country almost entirely upon these florid patrons. According to the statements of restauranteurs this type says, "I will try anything once." Many-course dinners, if the food is good, are especially popular with them.

"The Trimmings" at Dinner

¶ Out-of-the-ordinary surroundings in which to dine are always welcome to this type. The hangings, pictures, and furniture mean much to him. Most people like music at meals but to the Thoracic it is almost indispensable. He is so alive in every nerve, so keyed-up and has such intense capacity for enjoyment of many things simultaneously that he demands more than other types. An attentive waiter who ministers to every movement and anticipates every wish is also a favorite with the Thoracic when out for dinner.

Sensitive to His Surroundings

¶ Colorful surroundings are more necessary to the Thoracic than to other types. The ever-changing fashions in house decorations are welcome innovations to him. He soon grows tired of a thing regardless of how much he liked it to begin with.

Take notice amongst your friends and you will see that the girl who changes the furniture all around every few weeks is invariably of this type. "It makes me feel that I have changed my location and takes the place of a trip," explained one girl not long ago.

Wants "Something Different"

¶ The exact color of hangings, wall-paper, interior decorations and accessories are matters of vital import to this type. Whereas the Alimentives demand comfort, the Thoracics ask for "something different," something that catches and holds the eye—that makes an instantaneous impression upon the onlooker and gives him one more thing by which to remember the personality of the one who lives there.

This type considers his room and home as a part of himself and takes the pains with them which he bestows upon his clothes.

When He is Rich

¶ Wealth to the Thoracic means unlimited opportunity for achieving the unusual in everything. His tastes are more extravagant than those of other types. Uncommon works of art are usually found in the homes of this type. The most extraordinary things from the most extraordinary places are especial preferences with him.

He carries out his desire for attention here as in everything else and what he buys will serve that end directly or indirectly.

Fashion and "Flare"

¶ "Flare" aptly describes the quality which the pure Thoracic desires in all that touches him and his personality. It must have verve and "go" and distinctiveness. It must be "the latest" and "the thing."

He is the last type of all to submit to wearing last year's suit, singing last year's songs, or driving in a last year's model.

Likes Dash

¶ The Thoracic wants everything he wears, drives, lives in or owns to "get across," to make an impression. The fat man loves comfort above all else, but the florid man loves distinction.

He does not demand such easy-to-wear garments as the fat man. On the contrary, he will undergo extreme discomfort if it gives him a distinctive appearance. He wants his house to be elegant, the grounds "different," the view unusual.

Has Color Sense

¶ Whereas the fat man when furnishing a home devotes his attention to soft beds, steam heat and plenty of cushioned divans, the Thoracic thinks of the chandeliers, the unusual chairs, the pretty front doorstep, the landscape gardening and the color schemes.

When He is in Moderate Circumstances

¶ When only well to do this type will be found to have carried out furnishings and decorations with the taste worthy of much larger purses. When merely well to do he wears the very best clothes he can possibly afford, and often a good deal better. This type does not purpose to be outwitted by life. He tries always to put up a good showing.

When He is Poor

¶ The Thoracic is seldom poor. He has so much personality, ginger and go of the sort that is required in the world of today that he usually has a good position. He may not like the position. But in spite of the fact that he finds it harder to tolerate disagreeable things than any other type, he will endure it for he knows that the rewards he is after can not be had by the down-and-outer.

The natural and normal vanity of the Thoracic stands him in hand here more than in almost any other place in life.

The World Entertained by Them

¶ Behind every row of foot-lights you will find more people of this type than any other. The Alimentive manages the world but the Thoracic entertains it.

He comprises more of the dancers, actors, operatic stars and general entertainers than any other two types combined. In everything save acrobatics and oratory he holds the platform laurels.

As already pointed out, his adaptability, spontaneity and love of approval are responsible for this.

His Fastidious Habits

¶ The Thoracic is the most fastidious