What material possession(s) do you think say the most about a person? (please check no more than 3). Please comment about *what* you think these things say about the person.

Hobby stuff first...I'm a little scared of what someone might think of my collection of stuff. House/apartment second, more how they keep it than what type of house. Lastly, books/magazines. Car/truck etc. might make me think something about a person, particularly if it's odd (I have odd vehicle choices, I'm not quite sure what this says about me. I have one tiger-striped SUV, one Volvo station wagon, and one UJM, sometimes with a sidecar)

I said home furnishings, literature, and hobby stuff. People many times live somewhere because they have to, or because it was a compromise. Same with cars, many people don't have the car "they'd love to have" and settle for something. So neither really tell much about the person. Even clothes are tough - I lived dressed in Salvation Army-shop clothing for much of my married life because of finances. All they said about me was that I lived frugally, which wasn't a choice of mine!

However, the "things they use to personalize their house" are definitely indicators of the things they like. Do they like Americana? Oriental stuff? Modern stuff? Literature tells about their intellectual taste - do they read lots of sci-fi? Lots of romance? Mysteries and thrillers? These are all things that someone chooses for a reason, not usually for money (i.e. you don't buy a certain book "because it's cheap"). And the hobby stuff is really telling, because they actively spent money on this "non-essential" thing. What did they think was important? Mountain biking? Cross-stitch? Puzzle books?

I chose their home furnishings, decorations, art and their misc. hobby stuff. I think that these items are the things that they can mostly control and decide on themselves so their personality shows through. *** daver I think your tiger-striped suv suits you and lelle perfectly.

OK, I checked the three I think I notice most about people, but really, it's all-of-these and none-of-these. How people maintain themselves and their surroundings is the most important thing, I think. I do get a fair amount of my impression of people from looking at their book collection, but it can be deceiving (i.e. my boyfriend has a relatively small collection of books, but whenever he likes a book he generally gives it to the next person who he thinks would be interested in it, so they don't tend to stay around). And people's homes give a strong sense of who they are and what's important to them. And how they dress tells me a lot about what impression they want to give (or that they are clueless/uncaring about same). But as I type this, I think of the exceptions to these comments.

All says something about a person, but, ...who knows what?

Their choice of books and magazines (& favorite movies) shows the depth of understanding that person has or is searching for. It shows if they have truly faced themselves and strive for a true understanding of life and humanity, even when frightening or contrary to all we've been taught. For example, if a person is interested in ONLY romance novels or Stephen King or Dragonlance or Star Wars (there's nothing wrong with these for light entertainment), then a depth is lacking, the True Self and/or a full understanding of the Big Picture has not yet been faced.

I couldn't decide on just 3 of them, they all have significant meanings behind them.

I chose two things from the list. One is their car. If your under thirty and have a new car then you aren't frugal or you live at homes with your parents. I also chose clothing, but that is because shoes was not an option. You can tell how laid back or aggressive someone is by their footwear. Try it sometime.

it entirely depends on the person. This is more a question to determine things about the people who are doing the looking. If you look for certain things in a person, then the lack or presence of these things will 'tell you something'. what tells me about people is people. it is the way they carry themselves through life and how they act/react. material possesions don't say anything about people other than 'hey I like this' or 'hey I am materialistic' or 'I care what others think, therefor I have an image to maintain'. any of these can be gotten through observation or just chatting with the person. do not judge a person by their stuff, judge them by them. it peeves me when opinions are swayed/changed by possessions, or dress.

I picked music collection, books, and hobby stuff. These all indicate what types of things a person enjoys. I don't believe what type of car someone drives, how nice their house is, or how expensive their jewelry pieces are say much of anything about someone, other than that they may have money, or at least aren't opposed to carrying debt.

**reality: you hit the nail on the head. This was my own twisted social experiment to look at the people making the judgements...

For me, someone's book collection is the primary key to understanding them

It really depends on the person. For some, their automobile defines them; for others, their taste in music and/or literature is paramount; and so on ...

It's not the stuff, it's what you do with it. I checked the categories I think are most reflective of that, as opposed to things like cars which there's not much you can do about.

I checked music, books, and hobby stuff. If somebody has no hobbies or music or books or anything like that, I instinctively distrust them, since they don't _do_ anything. I also can usually get some idea of where someone came from and a general idea of their mindset by looking at their music collection. And hobbies, well, that's how the like spending their time. People who have no books but lots of golf clubs I would avoid. People who have lots of cheap romance novels and an arc-welding rig in the back yard I also would probably avoid (but maybe not... Hm.). All of this can be pretty superficial, though-- I'd have to get other clues from how they act, what they talk about, and so on.

I think it really is much more interesting which items the person owns that s/he is passionate about. It doesn't matter what kind of car you have if you don't care what kind of car you have.

Most of the things on this list that I own say "damn, are you poor" (my elderly car which barely works, my computer which was pieced together by a friend, etc.). The only one that says anything significant about my personality is my music collection. And that's one of the first things I usually check out upon first seeing someone else's home.

Where they live what they do and how they behave

their books, their music, and their home (more specifically the decoration in their home). of all material things, these three give me the most insight into a persons' head.

It depends on the person, really- though I know might be an annoying answer. I mean a music collection, for instance, may not say anything about the person, but if it contained, for instance, only the complete works of Tex Ridder and the complete works of Bauhaus, now that would say something significant, I think. I might not notice jewelry on someone, but some people have jewelry that really makes a statement (positively or negatively). ***mute: not having hobbies does not always mean the person doesn't do things they like- it may mean that they've made their lifework out of their interests.

They tell what interests a person on his/her own time and with no other influences like family or requirements

Talk about "your milage may vary"... Some people have specific ties with certain kinds of things. There are indeed folks who you can tell a whole lot about from what they read or listen to. Somer cars do indeed say a lot about their owner. Still, I think the only way to get a clue about somone is to get to know them, not look at their toys.

I said home, books and music. I feel like I can often get to know someone better by poking through those than by talking to them for an hour.