Once upon a time I knew a guy who used to ask people he met, "So... Rolling Stones or Beatles?" Years before the This or That tendency, it was a surprisingly effective way to learn about people.
Occasionally I add items to my mental list, and the other day when I was doing a really lot of highway driving, I realized I had developed a pretty decent temperament sorter from seemingly arbitrary but actually fairly telling preferences. Please feel encouraged to use these at parties, on dates etc.:
- Beatles / Rolling Stones
- James Joyce / William Faulkner
- Carly Simon / Carole King
- Steve McQueen / John Wayne
- Led Zeppelin / Pink Floyd
- Almonds / Pecans
- Black leather / Brown leather
- Football / Baseball
- Cats / Dogs
- Silver jewelry / Gold jewelry
- Green / Blue
- Running / Bicycling
- Jeans / Corduroys
- Stripes / Plaid
- Lager / IPA
- Whiskey / Rum
- Swiss cheese / Cheddar cheese
- Heidegger / Sartre
- Italy / France
- Flip-flops / Sneakers
- Olives / Pickles
- (For fans of 90s music) : Pearl Jam / Nirvana
- (ditto) Soundgarden / Smashing Pumpkins
- Chocolate chip cookie / Brownie
- Sweater / Hoodie
Some slightly New York-centric ones:
- Yankees / Mets
- Jets / Giants
- MoMA / Whitney (I amended this one - it used to be MoMA / Guggenheim)
- Williamsburg / LES
- Subway / Bus
- Starbucks / Dunkin Donuts
- Urban Outfitters / American Apparel (this one is for which is worse)
Useful favorites that tend to reveal fascinating things:
- Dinosaur
- Scientist
- Meal to cook v. Meal to eat
- Decade in the 20th century
- Time period in art history
- Song or band in high school
- Book as a child
- James Bond movie
- Concept or formula in math or physics
- Planet or star
- Month
- Holiday
- Sport to play v. Sport to watch
- Olympic event
- Musical instrument
- Chemical element
- Caffeinated beverage
- Superpower
- Breakfast item
I guess I have a tendency to quiz people, but the key is that there are no right or wrong answers (except sometimes "Neither" in the dichotomies). If you have a particularly good sorter, I'd love to keep expanding this list.
