What Are You? The Bank Robber Test and Our Ten Most Important Identities

Why Our Many Identities May Contradict Each Other

Ten Kinds of Identity:

1. Scientific: You are defined by your DNA.
2. Familial: You are defined by the people who raised you.
3. Tribal: You are defined by your language and customs.
4. National: You are defined by your tribe’s alliances.
5. Gendered: You are defined by your tribe’s expectations of people of your sex.
6. Racial: You are defined by your tribe’s expectations of people of your ancestry.
7. Legal: You are defined by the law.
8. Communal: You are defined by your immediate community.
9. Personal: You define yourself as you want others to define you.
10. Philosophical: You define yourself as you define others.

Scientific identity

Imagine a bank in California has been robbed. A taunting note signed “Parker” was left on paper that had been handled with gloves. The name reveals nothing useful: it could be a pseudonym, a nickname, a surname, or a first name given a boy or a girl.