Josh Galt

The study of Brain Typology began in my own head, studying myself. I've always wanted to know why things worked, how I worked, and how the foundational mechanisms caused it all to work.

Or not to work. As it seems humanity is more apt to FAIL than to evolve.

While I learned basic Meyers-Briggs® concepts in high school, I always tested out as what I believed my parents wanted me to be...rather than actually being honest with myself.

That of course was a deeper issue which I thankfully resolved upon leaving the Nurture nest, but in the years since I have found it incredibly common that people think they're a brain type they totally aren't, simply because they think they should be, or want to be.

I am all about balance, in all areas. All about growth. I believe that it's possible for a human to get to the point where they can consciously be competent functioning as any brain type for short, productive periods of time.

But that is impossible without first being completely honest and objective with one's self to admit one's shortcomings, and take pride in one's strengths. 

Then, you and I can each "Strengthen your weaknesses, Maximize your strengths."

I will credit Dr. Jon Niednagel's work as being the first to really draw me into serious study on this topic. His book about brain types and sports, and my willingness to be honest with myself, finally answered the questions about my struggles and successes and even my desires as an athlete.

From there I have engaged in more than a decade of serious study and growth, and found what I call Brain Typology to be incredibly life-changing, for me and many people in my life.

My goal in creating this site several years ago was actually much different than I think many people have assumed. I've never claimed to have infinite wisdom or insight on this subject, although give me 5 minutes of honest communication with someone and I can probably type them correctly. 

Click for larger viewBut the site originated as a fun outlet for me to explore and really, to seek answers. As others have written and you may have experienced, being interested - no, passionate - about this topic doesn't always lead to insightful conversations with skeptical friends or family. Writing on occasion, to contemplate an observation, has been an enjoyable outlet.

I want to continue to share what I've learned though and while exploring things on a deeper level, still keep them simple enough that anybody can understand. And I want to learn more. I seek balance. Perfection.

So, I've revamped this Brain Typology site to make it more user-friendly and scalable, the goal being a platform that the two of us current authors can use to explore ideas about the human psyche, and engage others in the learning process as well.

Yes, it's pop-psychology. I respect and appreciate the work that others have done and continue to do in the realm of science and the brain. I'm excited by some of the things that BTI® is doing, I've learned from the brain scan work of Dr. Amen, and I think it's evolutionary.

But I wasn't born to be a scientist of that type. And while many students in the field will disagree with my analyses, and many scientists will moan that it's oversimplified, I believe that the root motivations of a human really can be understood by a child. And should be.

I'll let the man who kick-started the whole typology movement close here in support of my views:

"Anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology.  He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar's gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart throught the world. 

There in the horrors of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs, in brothels and gambling-hells, in the salons of the elegant, the Stock Exchanges, socialist meetings, churches, revivalist gatherings and ecstatic sects, through love and hate, through the experience of passion in every form in his own body, he would reap richer stores of knowledge than text-books a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with a real knowledge of the human soul."

-- Carl Jung