It takes all sorts
There are three types of people in this world: those who believe that the full spectrum of human variety can be reduced to a few discrete personality types, those who don鈥檛, and Capricorns.
OK, maybe not, but we are all, to one extent or another, suckers for the idea of personality types. Maybe your preference is for the Western zodiac, which unerringly distinguishes between Leos, who are outwardly bashful but have a strong personality yearning to break free, and Geminis, who have a strong outer personality but an inner bashfulness yearning to go back inside.
Or perhaps you favour the Myers-Briggs test, which divides respondents into one of 16 subcategories based on their extroversion, intuition, feeling and perception. Some employers prefer a streamlined version of this test, which simply divides people into two camps: those willing to subject themselves to it, and those happy to seek employment elsewhere.
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However, the most popular classification mechanism of recent years has surely got to be the four Hogwarts houses in J. K. Rowling鈥檚 Harry Potter universe: Slytherin (interesting but evil), Gryffindor (dull but brave), Ravenclaw (intelligent but dull) and Hufflepuff (dull and not terribly intelligent nor brave but at least not evil).
Interested in getting a sense of the personality types drawn to different medical specialities, two US doctors sent a questionnaire to 251 of their colleagues asking them which Hogwarts house they felt best reflects their identity.
To a large extent, the results were unsurprising. Surgical specialities had more self-regarding, contrarian Slytherins, while general surgery was bursting with heroic Gryffindors. Paediatrics was stuffed with patient and unobtrusive Hufflepuffs, and obstetrics and gynaecology was full of brainy, self-proclaimed Ravenclaws.
Charming research of which even Professor Filius Flitwick would be proud.
Now, the next time you have a medical appointment, you know what to ask your doctor: are you one of those who wasted time filling in the Harry Potter survey, or can I actually trust you to take out my spleen?
Plane speaking
Big news, weight-watchers: Feedback has decided to go on a diet. From this day forward, we pledge to keep an eagle eye on the calories we consume, and to work rigorously towards reducing them to net zero. Outside of meal times, and perhaps barring the occasional palate-cleansing snack, we will aim to be completely calorie neutral.
We know this represents a dramatic undertaking, but it is one we feel is long overdue. It will, of course, involve much sacrifice, but the time for action is now.
We were inspired in this pledge by London鈥檚 Heathrow airport, which has announced it is carbon neutral in its emissions. There was, however, one small caveat. According to Sky News, it has achieved carbon neutrality 鈥渙nly from the parts of the airport it runs and not including flights鈥�.
Some might say that for an airport to claim to be carbon neutral without including the impact of flights would be akin to someone going on a diet and not including the calorie count of their food intake.
That sounds exactly right to us. So much simpler and more reasonable. So much less fuss! If you would like to join us as we undertake the Heathrow diet, then do please keep us apprised of your progress.
Unhumble pie
Top of the list of diet dishes for Feedback to try is one on the menu at Champneys, a UK spa and wellness chain favoured by the stars. The health resorts have welcomed everyone from Posh to Becks through their lavish doors, but what keeps them coming back?
Could it be that the menu includes an apple crumble so delicious it has health-boosting effects to rival even the most indulgent pampering? According to The Times, the spa chain allegedly told guests that the crumble 鈥渕ay help reduce the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes鈥�. Not since Steve Jobs revealed the iPod has an apple product shown so much promise.
Feedback suspects the word 鈥渕ay鈥� is doing a lot of heavy lifting. For fans of logical reasoning, the proposition is of course true. The crumble may have extraordinary health benefits. Just as Feedback鈥檚 true identity may be that of an intelligent and overachieving octopus kept in an ornate tank at 快猫短视频 HQ with access to a typewriter, an encyclopaedia, the day鈥檚 papers and a constant supply of artisanal coffee to help it churn out witticisms with just the right level of snark to be acceptable to its overbearing editor. Then again it may not.
Call a spade
Feedback knows to give the people what they want. Nominative determinism has made up the majority of the emails in our inbox in recent times, and as an astute reader of public sentiment, we are, once again, ready to provide you with highlights of the genre.
Just one this week, though, and that is because if one more person emails us to point out that the CEO of a human composting service is called Katrina Spade, we will arrange for an immediate introduction between the two of you.
Got a story for Feedback?
Send it to 快猫短视频, 25 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ES or you can email us at feedback@newscientist.com