William Melvin "Bill" Hicks (December 16, 1961 – February 26, 1994) was an American stand-up comedian and satirist. His humor challenged mainstream beliefs, aiming to "enlighten people to think for themselves." Hicks used a ribald approach to express his material, describing himself as "Chomsky with dick jokes." His jokes included general discussions about society, religion, politics, philosophy and personal issues. Hicks' material was often deliberately controversial and steeped in dark comedy. In both his stand-up performances, and during interviews, he often criticized consumerism, superficiality, mediocrity and banality within the media and popular culture, describing them as oppressive tools of the ruling class, meant to "keep people stupid and apathetic."
Hicks died of pancreatic cancer, which had spread to his liver, in 1994 at the age of 32. In the years after his death, his work and legacy achieved significant admiration and acclaim, of numerous comedians, writers, actors and musicians alike. He was listed as the 19th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central in 2004, and 6th greatest in 2007 and 4th greatest by Channel 4 in 2010.
Engaging, plausible and entertaining the ENTP personality type will be like a breath of fresh air, infusing people and situations with a whole array of new ideas and creative ways of doing things. However, they can become bored and withdraw their energies as they go off in search of the next thrill. Curious, child-like wonder characterises the ENTP, they are flexible, open-minded and love possibilities. They tend to see everything as a challenge, seeing opportunities even in the most difficult of circumstances. ENTPs can at times display impatience with those whom they consider wrong, and may show little restraint in demonstrating this.
The ENTP is constantly on the lookout for opportunities and possibilities, which will feed their strong desire for something new. An ENTP will bring energy, dynamism and creativity to people and projects. They are of the moment and are great at creating momentum for anything new but may become bored after the initial fascination has passed. ENTPs love telling conceptual stories. They will often go off at tangents, weaving apparently contrary pieces of information into a conceptual whole, bringing others in and teaching them in the process. Curious, communicative and challenging, the ENTP loves intellectual debate, is spontaneous, (at times shockingly so), and assertive. They sometimes confuse, even hurt, those who don't understand or accept the concept of debate or argument simply as a ‘sport.’ ENTPs are as innovative and ingenious at problem-solving and verbal gymnastics, as they are bored with the routine and the detail.
They are also far better at the 'front end' of projects and may slide out when it becomes tedious. The ENTP is expedient, and can disregard rules, regulations and even obligations and follow their own instincts and urges. The upside of this is the ability to bring whole new perspectives and ways of looking at things. The downside is that they may leave loose ends, and lack follow-through. The ENTP's independent streak make them excellent at challenging the status quo, self-deception and self-delusion, but this challenging can, at times, become critical or negative if the ENTP becomes bored or feels stultified or threatened.
They have a kaleidoscope type vision, seeing all the disparate parts and then, in one twist, pulling them all together into something often quite wonderful. These characteristics also mean the ENTP can be intellectually promiscuous, enjoying one new experience after another, one new idea after another and constantly looking for bigger and better things. ENTPs are excitable and this excitement is very often contagious. They have ‘the gift of the gab,’ and are at ease in social situations, winning people over and can adapt to any level and any conversation - if it interests them. They are generally confident and possess the ability to look far beyond the present, the mundane, the facts and the horizon. However, their dislike of detail, practicalities and closure, often means that their dreams, aspirations and ideas may come to nothing as they can lack the propensity for follow through and the attention to detail required to ‘complete.’ This does of course make the ENTP very flexible and they have the ability to change tack in a nano-second much to the consternation of those following, who ask ‘but I thought we were going in that direction?’ Radical experimenters, rules are there to be (gently but firmly) bent; they like to get their own way and will happily rationalise, intellectualise and build a sophisticated argument to prove they were right. Of course, next week they may change their minds because ‘right’ for the ENTP is about what is right for ‘now.’ ENTPs are nothing if not unique, having an enquiring mind, real sense of adventure and excitement for new ideas and opportunities. They thrive on a new challenge, the more impossible it seems, the more thrilling it is! But smaller, less significant issues can really get to them and see them becoming scratchy and impatient, and this will communicate itself to anyone in the vicinity
Choose another celebrity type to compare side by side the different approaches work, attitudes to conflict and the way they engage with others.
