2008-09-15

Montana, eh?

Some people have been running a personality experiment by states. I threw some code together that told me which state I am most like using a mean-squared metric on percentile difference. This squares the difference between my percentile on a personality metric and the state's mean percentile on a metric, and then sums the squares. Apparently I should move to Montana. Note I was tired when I took the test, so my scores are probably a little more extreme than they should be.

My scores:

Openness: 41
Conscientiousness: 35
Extraversion: 7
Agreeableness: 10
Neuroticism: 7

Mean state resident (and mean DoC resident) I am most like (in order):

EDIT: I've modified the code to use the z-score instead of percentile, I'm still very Montana and Idaho. I've starred locations where I have lived. Sorry for the crappy formatting, I won't have time to fix it. Bigger absolute values of numbers means I'm less of a match on that characteristics - for example, I'm a good match for Washington's mean resident personality except I'm not agreeable enough nor am I open enough. Negative numbers mean I am less of a characteristic than the mean resident, positive numbers mean I am more of something. So I'm much more agreeable than the mean Alaskan resident.


#################### Z mean squared ####################
d^2 ['eP ', ' aP', ' cP', ' nP', ' oP']
1 Montana 1.65 ['-0.5', '-0.6', '-0.1', '-0.8', '-0.7']
2 Idaho 2.13 ['-0.3', '-0.8', '-0.3', '-1.1', '-0.2']
3 Nevada 2.76 ['-0.9', '0.1', '-0.3', '-0.6', '-1.2']
4 Virginia 3.99 ['-0.3', '-0.5', '0.2', '-1.7', '-0.9']
5 Washington 4.45 ['-0.1', '-1.5', '-0.3', '-0.4', '-1.4']
6 Wyoming 4.92 ['-0.7', '0.2', '1.1', '-0.9', '1.6']
7 California 5.16 ['-0.9', '-1.3', '-0.3', '-0.9', '-1.3']
8 Oregon 5.30 ['-0.4', '-1.7', '-0.1', '-0.2', '-1.5']
9 Maryland 5.67 ['0.5', '-0.9', '0.1', '-1.9', '-1.0']
10 Arizona 5.86 ['-1.4', '-1.2', '-1.4', '-0.4', '-0.2']
11 Hawaii 5.96 ['-0.9', '-1.5', '1.2', '-0.7', '1.1']
12 Colorado 6.21 ['-1.3', '-1.3', '-1.1', '0.5', '-1.2']
13 Alabama 6.59 ['-1.7', '-1.0', '0.1', '-1.2', '1.1']
14 * Connecticut 6.92 ['-1.1', '-0.6', '0.7', '-2.0', '-0.9']
15 Delaware 6.97 ['-1.6', '-1.0', '0.1', '-1.7', '0.7']
16 New Hampshire 7.25 ['0.4', '-1.2', '0.4', '-2.2', '-0.8']
17 Texas 8.30 ['-1.9', '-1.4', '-0.8', '-1.3', '-0.6']
18 Arkansas 8.45 ['-1.3', '-0.8', '0.2', '-2.5', '-0.3']
19 Vermont 8.61 ['-0.3', '-1.8', '0.3', '-1.9', '-1.2']
20 * Massachusetts 9.24 ['-0.7', '-0.8', '0.4', '-2.5', '-1.4']
21 South Dakota 9.41 ['-2.4', '-1.5', '-1.0', '0.2', '0.4']
22 Michigan 9.57 ['-1.8', '-2.0', '-0.6', '-1.4', '0.1']
23 South Carolina 9.89 ['-1.4', '-1.6', '-1.0', '-2.0', '-0.3']
24 * Iowa 10.22 ['-1.9', '-1.8', '0.1', '-1.6', '0.7']
25 Missouri 10.33 ['-1.8', '-1.8', '-1.4', '-1.4', '-0.2']
26 Ohio 10.56 ['-1.4', '-1.3', '0.2', '-2.6', '-0.3']
27 Oklahoma 10.57 ['-1.3', '-2.1', '-1.5', '-1.3', '0.2']
28 Indiana 10.76 ['-1.1', '-1.7', '-1.1', '-2.4', '-0.0']
29 Kansas 11.01 ['-2.0', '-1.8', '-1.6', '-1.0', '0.3']
30 Tennessee 11.14 ['-1.3', '-2.4', '-1.1', '-1.6', '-0.4']
31 Illinois 11.66 ['-2.3', '-1.4', '-1.3', '-1.7', '-0.4']
32 Kentucky 11.72 ['-1.1', '-1.5', '-0.8', '-2.6', '0.9']
33 Florida 11.73 ['-2.1', '-1.8', '-1.5', '-1.0', '-0.8']
34 Maine 11.87 ['-2.1', '-0.4', '1.3', '-2.4', '-0.0']
35 Louisiana 11.89 ['-1.3', '-1.8', '-0.1', '-2.6', '-0.2']
36 Rhode Island 11.89 ['-0.9', '-0.4', '1.2', '-3.1', '-0.3']
37 North Carolina 12.44 ['-1.1', '-2.3', '-2.0', '-1.4', '-0.0']
38 Pennsylvania 12.86 ['-2.1', '-1.1', '-0.2', '-2.7', '-0.3']
39 New York 13.00 ['-1.2', '-0.1', '0.3', '-3.0', '-1.5']
40 New Mexico 13.40 ['-1.6', '-1.1', '-2.8', '-1.3', '-0.4']
41 New Jersey 14.90 ['-2.0', '-1.1', '0.6', '-2.9', '-0.7']
42 Minnesota 15.82 ['-2.8', '-2.7', '-0.5', '-0.7', '0.4']
43 Georgia 16.54 ['-2.7', '-2.2', '-1.8', '-1.1', '-0.4']
44 Utah 16.97 ['-2.4', '-2.6', '-1.7', '1.0', '-0.5']
45 Nebraska 17.53 ['-3.2', '-2.0', '-1.5', '-0.5', '0.8']
46 Alaska 17.53 ['0.2', '3.0', '2.6', '-0.3', '1.1']
47 West Virginia 18.49 ['-1.5', '-1.1', '0.0', '-3.8', '-0.4']
48 Mississippi 21.00 ['-1.8', '-2.7', '-1.2', '-3.0', '0.6']
49 Wisconsin 22.52 ['-3.6', '-2.6', '-0.7', '-1.0', '1.1']
50 District Of Columbia 24.47 ['-3.2', '0.8', '0.2', '-1.1', '-3.5']
51 North Dakota 38.09 ['-4.6', '-2.9', '-0.5', '-0.6', '2.9']



I have to go to Switzerland, otherwise I'd turn the code into some kind of online test.

1 comment:

Jenn said...

I find it hilarious that neuroticism is the first characteristic on there and that Maine is in the top 10. I notice it's all in the north east, then then a splotch down by Louisiana. I wonder if this is because Louisiana was also heavily populated by Cajun French? That doesn't explain many other states in the northeast, though.

Have fun in the Swiss Confederation. Apparently Zurich and Geneva have the best quality of life rankings of any city in the world.