I'm a real Nowhere Man...

In the mid 1970's, I found myself unemployed and married to my college sweetheart. I had been submitting applications for employment to various institutions in Chicago, where I was born and raised. But, I had no success in landing a job.

However, one morning, I received a phone call from a man who identified himself as the vice president of a company that manufactures steel products. He said he had received my application from a friend of his that worked in a personnel office where I had applied for a job. He said he had my college transcripts and thought I'd be perfect for a position at his plant. He asked if I would come for an interview and I agreed, although the factory was quite a distance from where I lived.

I went and interviewed with the man who was impressed and thought I'd be a perfect fit. I told him that I didn't think I would be a good fit! The job was as a personnel manager. He wanted me to develop a training program to teach Spanish-speaking laborers how to work with steel! I had had two years of Spanish in college and aced the courses, but I couldn't speak a word of Spanish! And I knew nothing about working in a steel factory. But that didn't deter this vice president. He said he wanted to hire me but first he wanted me to have some psychological tests as a routine matter. He made an appointment for me at a psychologist's office which was in the Mag Mile district in downtown Chicago.

So, I appeared at the office on the appointed day. The office was quite large and had a room with tables where about ten of us sat for the tests. It was a four-part multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks type test asking all sorts of questions. There was a break between each part and each part was timed. When the tests were complete, they were taken away to be assessed. There were several young professional-looking people who I assumed were psychologists or psychology interns working for the principle psychologist. These young interns came to fetch individual test takers and apparently discussed the results with them. I sat waiting for someone to fetch me, but no one came for about an hour and a half after the last test-taker left the building.

Finally, an older professional-looking gentleman came for me and led me to his office. He introduced himself as Doctor Whatever and said he was the man who developed the test and owned the building and the practice. He said he looked at my transcripts and noted that I had graduated with honors and highest distinction in psychology. He noted that my course of study in psychology was directed toward testing and statistics and that I had aced all my psych courses.

He then asked how had I been able to sabotage his test!

What?!? What did he mean? He said this test was developed and perfected over a span of 30 years. He had tested his own test each year and it proved to be reliable to the highest degree. He explained the statistical results which I understood then but is lost to me now. He then said that he had NEVER encountered results (of my test) such as mine and never so extreme. He said that the only way he could imagine results like mine is if I had somehow gotten a copy of his test and deliberately sabotaged it. I assured him I did no such thing and asked him to explain himself.

He said that one trait his test looked at was whether an individual was extroverted or introverted. He said that there is a continuum on a line at one end of which is introversion and the other end is extroversion and the level of either end is scored from 0 to 100. A score of 0 would be perfectly neutral. Most people are either introverted or extroverted to some degree, usually scoring between a 5 and 15. Some people tend a little farther on the continuum, but the farther they go, the higher they score on their level of neurosis. There is a direct relationship between your level of introversion or extroversion, and your level of neurosis. The higher your score on the introversion/extroversion scale, the higher your score would be on the neurosis scale.

He said that the highest level of introversion he ever encountered on his test was a 63 and that level was unusual. He said that the person who scored that level also scored very high on the neurosis level, too, and, in fact, was taking antidepressants.

Well, he again asked me how I sabotaged his test. I assured him I did not. So, he said, again, that he had NEVER encountered results such as mine. He said that on the continuum of introversion/extroversion, I scored a 100 on the introversion side. However, on the neurosis scale, I scored a perfect 0. He said that meant I was perfectly well-adjusted but at an extreme of introversion that he had never seen. He said he couldn't believe I was married, that I had attended school or even left my house. He couldn't believe I wasn't institutionalized! He told me he couldn't recommend me for that job and I never again heard from the man who sent me for the test.

So, what do I think of the results of the test? I think they were accurate and reflected an accurate assessment of my mental status. I don't think I suffer from any neuroses: I don't suffer from clinical depression nor anxiety-related disorders, no bipolar disorders, no substance abuse disorders. But I do think my hypertension is a result of my introversion. I discovered my hypertension about the same time as when I took that psychological assessment. I have what is called "white coat hypertension." I, like most people, assumed "white coat hypertension" occurred when someone, a nurse or doctor, took your blood pressure. The blood pressure is high when a white coat takes the measurement, but if you take a measurement at home, the reading is normal. That is exactly my situation. I can take a reading at home before leaving for a doctor visit and my reading is normal. A half hour later when the doctor takes it, the reading is dangerously high. So much so that I've been taking three different medications for hypertension to bring the reading down to only a mildly dangerous level. Yet, whenever I take the reading at home, it's normal.

What I've come to realize is that the reading doesn't just increase when a white coat takes it, it increases whenever I'm in a situation that is uncomfortable for me. I wouldn't know it unless a reading is taken, and the only time a reading is taken is when a white coat is taking it. And the situations I'm uncomfortable in are whenever I'm in a social setting. I do leave the house to do things I enjoy, like taking walks in the woods, spending time in cemeteries photographing graves for Find A Grave (not many people to encounter in cemeteries), etc. So, virtually all of my interests are solo endeavors.

I'm a real Nowhere Man...

In the mid 1970's, I found myself unemployed and married to my college sweetheart. I had been submitting applications for employment to various institutions in Chicago, where I was born and raised. But, I had no success in landing a job.

However, one morning, I received a phone call from a man who identified himself as the vice president of a company that manufactures steel products. He said he had received my application from a friend of his that worked in a personnel office where I had applied for a job. He said he had my college transcripts and thought I'd be perfect for a position at his plant. He asked if I would come for an interview and I agreed, although the factory was quite a distance from where I lived.

I went and interviewed with the man who was impressed and thought I'd be a perfect fit. I told him that I didn't think I would be a good fit! The job was as a personnel manager. He wanted me to develop a training program to teach Spanish-speaking laborers how to work with steel! I had had two years of Spanish in college and aced the courses, but I couldn't speak a word of Spanish! And I knew nothing about working in a steel factory. But that didn't deter this vice president. He said he wanted to hire me but first he wanted me to have some psychological tests as a routine matter. He made an appointment for me at a psychologist's office which was in the Mag Mile district in downtown Chicago.

So, I appeared at the office on the appointed day. The office was quite large and had a room with tables where about ten of us sat for the tests. It was a four-part multiple choice and fill-in-the-blanks type test asking all sorts of questions. There was a break between each part and each part was timed. When the tests were complete, they were taken away to be assessed. There were several young professional-looking people who I assumed were psychologists or psychology interns working for the principle psychologist. These young interns came to fetch individual test takers and apparently discussed the results with them. I sat waiting for someone to fetch me, but no one came for about an hour and a half after the last test-taker left the building.

Finally, an older professional-looking gentleman came for me and led me to his office. He introduced himself as Doctor Whatever and said he was the man who developed the test and owned the building and the practice. He said he looked at my transcripts and noted that I had graduated with honors and highest distinction in psychology. He noted that my course of study in psychology was directed toward testing and statistics and that I had aced all my psych courses.

He then asked how had I been able to sabotage his test!

What?!? What did he mean? He said this test was developed and perfected over a span of 30 years. He had tested his own test each year and it proved to be reliable to the highest degree. He explained the statistical results which I understood then but is lost to me now. He then said that he had NEVER encountered results (of my test) such as mine and never so extreme. He said that the only way he could imagine results like mine is if I had somehow gotten a copy of his test and deliberately sabotaged it. I assured him I did no such thing and asked him to explain himself.

He said that one trait his test looked at was whether an individual was extroverted or introverted. He said that there is a continuum on a line at one end of which is introversion and the other end is extroversion and the level of either end is scored from 0 to 100. A score of 0 would be perfectly neutral. Most people are either introverted or extroverted to some degree, usually scoring between a 5 and 15. Some people tend a little farther on the continuum, but the farther they go, the higher they score on their level of neurosis. There is a direct relationship between your level of introversion or extroversion, and your level of neurosis. The higher your score on the introversion/extroversion scale, the higher your score would be on the neurosis scale.

He said that the highest level of introversion he ever encountered on his test was a 63 and that level was unusual. He said that the person who scored that level also scored very high on the neurosis level, too, and, in fact, was taking antidepressants.

Well, he again asked me how I sabotaged his test. I assured him I did not. So, he said, again, that he had NEVER encountered results such as mine. He said that on the continuum of introversion/extroversion, I scored a 100 on the introversion side. However, on the neurosis scale, I scored a perfect 0. He said that meant I was perfectly well-adjusted but at an extreme of introversion that he had never seen. He said he couldn't believe I was married, that I had attended school or even left my house. He couldn't believe I wasn't institutionalized! He told me he couldn't recommend me for that job and I never again heard from the man who sent me for the test.

So, what do I think of the results of the test? I think they were accurate and reflected an accurate assessment of my mental status. I don't think I suffer from any neuroses: I don't suffer from clinical depression nor anxiety-related disorders, no bipolar disorders, no substance abuse disorders. But I do think my hypertension is a result of my introversion. I discovered my hypertension about the same time as when I took that psychological assessment. I have what is called "white coat hypertension." I, like most people, assumed "white coat hypertension" occurred when someone, a nurse or doctor, took your blood pressure. The blood pressure is high when a white coat takes the measurement, but if you take a measurement at home, the reading is normal. That is exactly my situation. I can take a reading at home before leaving for a doctor visit and my reading is normal. A half hour later when the doctor takes it, the reading is dangerously high. So much so that I've been taking three different medications for hypertension to bring the reading down to only a mildly dangerous level. Yet, whenever I take the reading at home, it's normal.

What I've come to realize is that the reading doesn't just increase when a white coat takes it, it increases whenever I'm in a situation that is uncomfortable for me. I wouldn't know it unless a reading is taken, and the only time a reading is taken is when a white coat is taking it. And the situations I'm uncomfortable in are whenever I'm in a social setting. I do leave the house to do things I enjoy, like taking walks in the woods, spending time in cemeteries photographing graves for Find A Grave (not many people to encounter in cemeteries), etc. So, virtually all of my interests are solo endeavors.