This post is inspired by a random video on TikTok. Someone, supposedly a student of psychology, listed the top personality traits associated with certain hobbies. And then she said “Naivety: Reading”.

So the statement was that if we read a lot we might be susceptible to schemes and con artistry. We could be what is called a sucker.

Hm, well, I think there’s some truth to this.

But not because reading makes us stupid. On the contrary.

We may enjoy reading because we are open minded. A little too open to suggestions. In Jungian personality theory they say it’s about having intuition as the primary mode of functioning. This overshadows our capability to judge. So we do not apply judgement to a lot of things. That can be a good if we want to explore and enjoy the variety that our world has to offer. (Of which reading is a part.) But it can lead us astray. We may even be completely wrong at times. (And then we use our intelligence to rationalize these beliefs.)

This can obviously be exploited. By marketers and so forth. We may accept their offerings quickly.

So in summary: That person on my random TikTok video may have said something quite true.