Information Fascination

If you’ve spent much time with me, you already know that I like information.

But I think most of you would be startled to learn how MUCH I like information.

For those of you who know about such things, my top theme in the StrengthsFinder test is “Input.” They explain it like this:

“People exceptionally talented in the Input theme have a need to collect and archive. They may accumulate information, ideas, artifacts or even relationships.”

Gallup.com

Basically, I like to know all the things.

But I have very specific areas of interest. Personalities, certain celebrities, movies and tv, soccer, and technology are the top categories. Oh, and words. I really like words.

Let me give a few examples in order to describe the level of information-gathering we’re talking about:

• I have the Merriam-Webster Dictionary app on my phone and I check it every day for the “Word of the Day,” as well as to play vocabulary games.
• I can tell you every single item on the IMDb trivia list for the 2006 version of Pride and Prejudice.
• On January 10th, I became extremely interested in the British actress, Daisy Ridley, and proceeded to watch 48 minutes and 26 seconds-worth of YouTube videos to learn more about her. (Did you know that her sisters are also named after flowers – Rose and Poppy?)

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. I love information, but I am extremely low need-to-know. Planning a trip for us? Just tell me what to pack and when to get in the car, I don’t care where we’re going or what our itinerary is. Once when I was visiting my family in NY, and getting ready to leave, my mother asked what airport my layover was in for the flight home. “I have no idea,” I replied. That is simply not necessary information for me to carry around. The pilot will drop me off, I’ll get on the next flight, why do I need to know where I’m going?

The number of things I don’t care to know about is almost as high as the amount of information I’ve collected about a small number of things.

I realize that this is a bit of a paradox, and that’s made me think: don’t we all have a few paradoxes in our personalities? All of these tests we take to understand ourselves and others, don’t they all break down in a few places, where who we are conflicts with another part of us?

What do you think? What paradox exists in your personality?