I took the Political Compass test

My scores were

Economic Left/Right -3.63

Social libertarian/Authoritarian -4.15

This puts me halfway between the centre and the extreme left and about halfway between the centre and the extreme libertarians.

Anyone else care to take the test and put up their scores so that we can guage the political tenor of BH?

Entropic Man, it has the stench of Lewandowsky, Cook and Skeptical Skunks, so I didn't get passed the first page.

Was it designed and funded by a 97% Consensus of Progressives, intent on proving Clinton and the EU are still right, despite Electorates voting for them to be left out of US and UK Politics?

I have done the test but wonder where my supporters and detractors here might put me. Any guesses?

Gc. I disagree. Many of the questions are of the type devised by those creating personality tests from way back (at least the 1960s). These tests were used by senior management of big companies for staff recruitment. If you wish to alter your personality scores altering your answers to some of the obvious questions will get you the result you want. More recent tests that I have seen ask much more subtle questions or make links between widely separated questions that are difficult to spot.

You may not like the products of Lew's work but it is based on decades of research on the methods used. UEA students doing social science environmental undergraduate projects were given classes in questionnaire design. I only know this because occasionally I had the misfortune of having to second mark such projects.

Go on try it - just for fun!

Supertroll, golf Charlie

Think of this as a light-hearted experiment. Please take the test and publish your results.

Supertroll

+3, +1 ?

Although I found it a little too simplistic, and wasn't happy that I never had the option to say "neither agree nor disagree" I've given it a go. My results were:

Economic Left/Right: -4.75
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -2.77

So far as I understand it, this seems to make me libertarian left?

Same for you, Supertroll?

Mark Hodgson

I sympathise. As such tests go, this one has been designed to overcome the more obvious pitfalls, but is still lacking detail.

I remember an old story of a man given a similar test. He left every question blank and wrote at the bottom

"None of these questions can be answered without more information."

As I hold some views that are associated with Left and Right, why do I need someone else to try and pigeon-hole me? It then tends to involve people assuming what I should believe about something else.

I have previously stated that on balance, I am Centre/Centre-Right. My adult life has been scarred/enhanced by the best and worst of Left and Right wing politics in the UK alone. My work and private life has taken me into some "interesting" places, environments and countries, and I have listened to first hand experiences from individuals about the best and worst excesses of the Left and Right, plus different Religions.

According to the typecasting so beloved of Progressives, Supertroll and Mark Hodgson are traitors to their Left of Centre beliefs, about Climate Science. According to Climate Science, Judith Curry is a heretic, for rejecting the beliefs of Mann.

Do Supertroll, Mark Hodgson and M Courtney represent the 3% from the Left of Centre, that have doubts about Climate Science? Election results from the US indicate that the Rust Belt voters preferred Trump to Clinton.

Polarising and Politicising debate about Climate Science, has helped undo the EU, and US Democrats. Trying to further polarise and politicise Climate Science seems like another disastrous polarising and politicising Climate Science strategy. Climate Science gave up on Science years ago. The Political Climate has now changed.

In "The Life of Brian", Brian addresses the crowd, and tells them "You're all individuals!". The crowd chant back in unison "We're all individuals". A lone voice meekly says "I'm not".

By the time the next US Presidential race starts (2 years?) 97% of US Political hopefuls, won't believe in Climate Science. Political fashion will have moved on from vote losers.

2, -2.7 A bit right, a bit libertarian. Which I could have told you.

I didn't like the questions much either. I don't even recognise degrees or agreement. You agree or you don't, or you have no opinion. I find I can't go further without more data.

As such tests go, this one has been designed to overcome the more obvious pitfalls, but is still lacking detail.

Jan 7, 2017 at 2:39 PM | Entropic man

Do you know why someone was paid to design it, and what it was designed to prove? Starting with a conclusion and then looking for proof, seems to fit with Climate Science methodology, which is Politics and PR, not science.

Sometime as a youth I became aware that when I was misunderstood, it often told more of the person misunderstanding than it did about me. In this case, it is a robot misunderstanding me.
===============

https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/01/06/huff-post-focus-on-feelings-before-people-notice-climate-economics-is-a-mess/

The Huffington Post is now saying the the "Economics" contained within the Stern Report was what drove politicians towards their belief and trust in Climate Science. Now the Huffington Post is expressing doubt.

I do not know the Politics of Northern Ireland, but this could prove embarrassing for UK Politicians from ALL parties, not just Right or Left. Climate Science has made fools out of too many people, including me for a while. Politicians from the US and UK will be quicker to reject Climate Science, now that the Political Leaders have given Climate Science the "thumbs-down". 2017 is going to be interesting in the EU, and belief in Climate Science could be the crucial factor.

As I remember it, this assessment technique was used in two different ways. First as a screening test, applied to all applicants (perhaps hundreds) then in one-to-one interview situations where the applicants could seek amplification of the basic questions. However, the very act of asking as well as the type of question asked gave the assessor additional material to make a judgement.

I only half remember this stuff. I was doing my PhD in northern Spain and had little written in English to read. Someone had left a paperback tome on this subject, which I less than avidly consumed. I recall most being appalled that these techniques were being developed and used without the subjects' full knowledge or approval (perhaps also because I judged I would fare poorly). Oh the innocence of youth - I suspect my younger self would judge my present attitudes rather harshly.

I think gC you are taking this all too seriously. If you did the test you could see if it judges you accurately. With our experience of life we should be able to make the best assessments of ourselves, if we are honest. The test suggests I am more authoritarian than I judge myself to be.

I took the test. The results were not that surprising. +1.75, -0.97. So perhaps I am a radical centrist.

Supertroll, if the benefit of the test is for someone else to gain more information, so that they can earn more money, then I might take the test, but not remotely seriously.

As Cook and Lewandowsky could not be honest about the purpose of the questionnaires they sent out, who they sent them to, and how the results were judged and collated, I have 97% confidence in avoiding scams, however they are dressed up.

I wanted to answer some of the questions ‘sometimes’ or ‘it depends’. Otherwise, not a bad questionnaire, or at least the result was roughly in line with my self-identified political position.

Score: -3.25; -2.87

Gandhi to the left of me; Friedman to the right.

My score.
Economic Right/Left. -3.88
Social Libertarian/Authoritarian/ -1.38

So not a leftish Ghengis Khan.

Second score rather high relative to other tests I have taken. The actual values are probably meaningless but people's positions relative to each other may be relevant.

Are you my long lost twin given away at birth super troll?

Economic/left/right -3.13

Social libertarian/authoritarian -1.38

Don't know what it all means, I am by any standards right wing in my economic views, believe that where democracy and capitalism flourish so will the people (eventually). I don't know that why views on religion/abortion/race/homosexuality would put you on the right or left. Although I suspect that if you're for religion but against abortion, immigration and homosexuality you would be on the right in the view of the pollsters, god knows why they would assume that, they've probably never mixed outside of their own middle class circles. They've certainly never mixed with working class people who tend to hold common sense views on these matters.

The question on abstract art. If you are right-wing you're a philistine? Takes me back to 'two cultures', being arts vs sciences, CP Snow I think in the 60s. As if scientists and engineers can't read fiction or appreciate art, you have to be a special person. Although I rarely meet a classicist who can pass my simple test of how many watts in a horsepower.

I went back to political compass to read their justifications. On their page of UK politics however you will find both Labour and Libdems to the right of the centreline. And all UK parties pretty high up on the authoritarian scale but not the Greens. In my observation there is nobody left and libertarian. It is the province of Robert Owen style communes, and they never work. To put Gandhi down there is to credit the legend, not the history.

geronimo. I don't believe so, but we could be physically linked. How did you answer the question about willingness to participate in massacres?