About

Why Historical Figures?

I choose to focus on historical figures for a few reasons. First, it's a matter of consent and respect. Typing someone who is alive and didn't ask for it — or worse, who identifies as a different type — feels invasive. Historical figures, by contrast, are mostly neutral ground. Their lives are already public, already interpreted, already part of the collective conversation.

But honestly? I also just love them. As a kid, I was always reading stories about historical figures, hearing about their lives, feeling inspired by their choices and their struggles. They represent some of humanity's finest — not because they were perfect, but because they were real, flawed, and deeply human in ways that still resonate centuries later.

That said, I'm not opposed to typing modern figures as well. If someone is public enough, if their cognitive patterns are visible enough, I might offer my interpretation. But I want to be clear: my attempts are not definitive. Typing anyone — especially someone you've never met, someone who lived centuries ago — is inherently speculative. It's interpretation, not diagnosis.

I offer my guesses anyway because I think the exercise itself is valuable. It's a way of engaging deeply with a life, of asking how someone thought, not just what they did. And if I'm wrong? That's okay. The conversation is more important than being right.

On Personality Psychology

Why do individual differences exist in the first place? I believe personality variation serves an evolutionary purpose — not just in humans, but across the animal kingdom. Diversity in temperament and cognitive style prevents populations from becoming too monotonous, too predictable, and ultimately too vulnerable to extinction.

But there's something deeper here. Because each person is wired a bit differently, we become inherently curious about one another. We need each other. As a social species, our differences don't just make us interesting — they make us interdependent. The INTJ needs the ESFP. The INFJ needs the ESTP. We survive together precisely because we are not all the same.

MBTI is not a perfect framework. It's not scientifically rigorous in the way that the Big Five is, and it doesn't capture the full complexity of human cognition. But I think it's a good framework — a useful lens for understanding cognitive patterns, motivations, and interpersonal dynamics. It's a tool for curiosity, not a box to trap people in.

This archive is my attempt to use that tool with care, humility, and respect for the depth of each individual life.

Image Sourcing

The portraits in this archive are AI-generated, inspired by historical records and artworks where available. These visuals are intended to bring a consistent, lifelike presence to each figure, serving as artistic approximations rather than historical documents.