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[Tom]

...is a term used to describe a person's tendency/willingness to deceive and manipulate others for personal gain. Richard Christie and Florence L. Geis developed a test for measuring a person's level of Machiavellianism in the 1960s which eventually morphed into what is known as the MACH-IV test. It is a twenty-statement personality survey that is now the standard self-assessment tool of Machiavellianism. Never put you're faith in anything but i took an online version of this and sored 91. Does that make me a bad person? If so I might care but it depends.

LINKY-LINK-LINK

[KvP]

45. Low Mach. Unsurprising.

[hipster jesus]

I got a 75. I figured it wouldn't be quite that high, but I'm not all that surprised.

[Tom]

but.... but you're Jesus, aren't you?

[McTaggart]

59. I found it hard to choose anything other than three for a lot of those questions. There's a whole lot of 'it depends' so I'm not sure how a great a test it is. Unless that's what you're after in tests like these. I've never read up on it.

(my eve character scored 86)

[hipster jesus]

Uh... yes. Yes I am. Nothing to be worried about here. Move along now.

To be honest, my resemblance to Jesus begins and ends with appearance. I can be quite the manipulative little fuck should the opportunity arise.

[Jimmy the Squid]

78.

BAHAHAHA

[Thaes]

Hm, 62. A bit higher than I expected, but oh well...

[Eris]

I got a 75. I figured it wouldn't be quite that high, but I'm not all that surprised.

Ditto. I probably would have gotten lower if I left ones neutral that I debated about for a bit before choosing a number.

[CamusCanDo]

High Mach 64. I was actually hoping higher.

[est]

76 here, but there were a few questions I was iffy over

[waterloosunset]

but.... but you're Jesus, aren't you?

He managed to convince 2 billion people to believe in him, a fair bit of machiavellianism was probably involved...


EDIT 

I got 82...

[jhocking]

Personally I think that test is a little unfair, in that it is clearly biased toward people being Machiavellian. Like, just because I believe most people at the top have skeletons in their closet doesn't mean I'm being Machiavellian, it just means I don't aspire to be a politician.


ADDITION: I'm not sure what this question has to do with how Machiavellian you are, and I'm even more confused by how your answer relates to your score:

19) People suffering from incurable diseases should have the choice of being put painlessly to death.

Agreeing with that statement makes you more Machiavellian. huh?

[Lines]

I got a 45.

[Liz]

83.

Tee hee.

[ForteBass]

I scored a 37. This may come as a surprise to most you though.

[Johnny C]

I scored a sixty, mostly out of apathy I think.

[öde]

38, although I dislike how the questions were worded, like Joe.

[Chesire Cat]

I was on the higher end with 70.  I found there were very few instances when I graded about a 3 most were 1-3.  Then again the questions werent as blatant as I woulda thought.

[RedLion]

I got a 56, so just about in the middle. Does that make me semi-Machiavellian? I don't really understand the rating system here I guess.

[Dimmukane]

61.  Halfway through I got a bit cynical.

[Uber Ritter]

Man Machiavelli gets a bad rap.  Sure he was a teacher of wickedness, but as a political scientiest, this is kinda his job.

[bbqrocks]

89...But I'm not that manipulative.

[tommydski]

The most amusing thing about the fact that my score of 92 is currently leading is that I was going to do second run-through whereby I deliberately gave Machiavellian responses. Then my honest dry-run scored 92 and I didn't have to bother duking the results.

[Slick]

Personally I think that test is a little unfair, in that it is clearly biased toward people being Machiavellian. Like, just because I believe most people at the top have skeletons in their closet doesn't mean I'm being Machiavellian, it just means I don't aspire to be a politician.

Likewise, 'It is hard to get ahead without cutting corners here and there' can be agreed with without implying a personal tendency for cutting corners.

[mooface]

The thing is about Machiavelli is that he was a realist, and it's very hard to argue against the things he said even if you are morally opposed to them.  A lot of the questions on the test basically determined how Machiavellian your view of the world is rather than how Machiavellian your actions are.

For example, how can you possibly "strongly agree" with the statement that "Most people who get ahead in the world lead clean, moral lives"?  Just because you can see that many of the people who are wealthy and powerful in the world are obviously immoral and selfish doesn't mean that you yourself condone it.  In fact, you can strongly disagree with that statement but also strongly agree that "it is better to be humble and honest than to be important and dishonest."

The questions should have either focused on how Machiavellian you yourself are in your morals, values, and actions; or just tested you on whether you have a Machiavellian philosophy on human nature & society.  It was a weird mix of the two and it didn't really work out too well.

I scored a 47, by the way.

[Patrick]

You know, I know some mighty influential people. *Mighty* influential. People have tried to flatter them to get ahead, and it did not work out well for them.

Basically, Machiavellianism has absolutely no value in the real world, in my eyes. Maybe back then it was easier to flatter your way into promotions because royalty was inbred to an absurd degree.

My score was 43.

[tommydski]

On a localised scale (say that of the business world), I think there is definitely something to be said for the key aspects of Machiavellian theory.

I've definitely used it in all of my past jobs and I use it today. It's a survival trait in this eternally bureaucratic world.

[tania]

i scored a 53.
the test says i'm supposed to be dependent and submissive but i'm pretty sure most on my answers were instead influenced by the fact that i've just been in school studying people and the criminal justice system and psychology and all that dang stuff for a really long time. for example, i gave a 1 to the question "the biggest difference between most criminals and other people is that the criminals are stupid enough to get caught" because it just isn't true, period. but most people haven't studied enough crime stats to know that.
also like joe mentioned the questions were poorly worded and way too general. my definition of being good and kind is basically not being a complete fucking psychopath since i'm sure everybody has done at least one selfless thing in their lives. obviously other people will hold a different definition.

[E. Spaceman]

Basically, Machiavellianism has absolutely no value in the real world, in my eyes. Maybe back then it was easier to flatter your way into promotions because royalty was inbred to an absurd degree.

My score was 43.

You still see this to a ridiculous degree, as tommy pointed out. Think no-bid contracts and that huge company with a name beginnning with E

[Alex C]

Nepotism is here to stay. It's eternally useful to be friendly with those who can get you ahead. I'm certain Machiavelli was operating under the assumption that you have other assets that will make people take notice of you beyond just employing empty flattering. There's a huge difference between being a simpering, vacuous toady and assuring someone that you'll be quite happy to scratch their back if they'll do the same for you. Whether you're honest when making such overtures is almost beside the point.

I scored a 61, which hits me as fair, since I'm cynical enough to agree with how he views the world at times but idealistic enough to lend money to an unreliable friend despite knowing that I'll likely never get it back.

[Vendetagainst]

Mine was 51. I'm going to go have vanilla sex with my plain, slightly sumbissive wife now.

[sean]

man i just started taking this test and already i hate it. maybe I am stupid but I do not understand how to answer some of the questions. also, i predict i will get below a 50. we shall see if this holds up.

edit: so my final score is a 43. i personally think maceavelli was a giant dick, so this does not suprise me. and i still think some of those questions were worded just terribly.

[jhocking]

Likewise, 'It is hard to get ahead without cutting corners here and there' can be agreed with without implying a personal tendency for cutting corners.

Yeah that was another silly one. But really, we could criticize most of the questions in exactly the same way. As moo pointed out, the questions ought to be direct personal statements like "I usually cut corners to get ahead."

[calenlass]

71. My most recent D&D character surprisingly scored only 78; I was expecting him to score higher, although I guess it makes sense because he's not really manipulative so much as a blunt and cynical asshole.

[Blue Kitty]

44

[celticgeek]

36  and I agree that the questions are interestingly worded.

[mooface]

71. My most recent D&D character surprisingly scored only 78; I was expecting him to score higher, although I guess it makes sense because he's not really manipulative so much as a blunt and cynical asshole.

NERD

[akashacatbat]

57, which qualifies as a "Low Mach", although it must be on the higher end of that category, looking at everyone else's scores.

[Tom]

but.... but you're Jesus, aren't you?

He managed to convince 2 billion people to believe in him, a fair bit of machiavellianism was probably involved...

I was actually expecting more from him.

[imapiratearg]

43.  Hm.

[Hairy Joe Bob]

64 which is higher than I was expecting, but strangely lower than I wanted. I want to be a mad, bad, dangerous to know Machiavellian motherfucker.

[Inlander]

I thought you wanted to be Jimmy McNulty?

[Hairy Joe Bob]

I can be anything you want me to be Harry. Purr.

[jhocking]

I thought you wanted to be Jimmy McNulty?

whee can't wait for season 5 to hit dvd

[Hairy Joe Bob]

'What the fuck did I do?'

[Inlander]

whee can't wait for season 5 to hit dvd

http://www.amazon.com/Wire-Complete-Fifth-Season/dp/B00123BY6S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1218428924&sr=1-1

Your order has shipped

FUCK YES.

[ruyi]

65

Interesting in theory. A longer test with questions that are better thought out might be nice.

[fifthfiend]

I can't help but think this test is some kind of devious scheme to analyze people in order to discover and then exploit their personal weaknesses.

[Vendetagainst]

That was actually the point of this thread.