Ellsworth

Here is some info that I have picked up over the years to consider when hiring a construction worker for your jobsite.

They are "tells" so to speak, that might reveal more about a person than the person would like to reveal.
But, they are not always accurate and some are controversial.

For most of these tells, the science is there (arguably all).
But what the science says might/can change in the future because some things on the list are, or might be, cultural expressions/constructs.

This is not an ordered list, it's random.
If you have characteristics that are on this list, please don't consider it a personal slight that I made this list.
I did not have you in mind.
And for some things on the list, I'm a match.

So please don't consider this list to be a match, and don't feel like gasoline when you read it.

This is not an inclusive list.

1. Blink rate.
2. Skin abnormality / picking.
3. Mirroring behaviors.
4. Eyes that do not align (one eye is 'lazy'). This can be a temporary, permanent or intermittent.
5. Asynchronous blinking (intermittent).
6. Shape of a person's philtrum.
7. Lip shape.
8. Tattoos / piercings.
9. Gait.
10. Whites of eyes visible both above and below the iris of the eye (at ordinary, non-emotional moments).
11. Stuttering, word selection difficulty.
12. Repeated use of a product or item (or repeated motions/words).

Each of the above has meaning, and potentially reveal a lot about a person and their history.
Many of the above lead to multiple different meanings, so it's science and guesswork (when lacking additional data/background).

And the list could be much longer.

I once hired a day laborer before I understood what it might mean when a person has white visible above and below the iris 100% of the time.
It was a really weird day. And then a few years later I found some studies that possibly explained why.

I knew someone who was hit with a widow-maker (tree branch, not heart attack). And iirc it took a while for their eyes to re-align.

The dog I most recently adopted, the one that barked for 6 months straight until it finally barked itself out.
IIRC it barked almost non-stop for 2.5 months +-, then it slowly started to recede like the tide for an additional 3.5 months.
It has intermittent asynchronous blinking.

Eventually I found the data that explains a likely cause: traumatic brain injury.
The dog had at least 8 homes in less than 1 year.

So before anyone does a lot of hiring of contractors, subcontractors, day laborers or working with friends and family, it's worth learning about the displays of human beings that can indicate physical or mental health issues. It's worth having some sort of quick guide or checklist.

There is nothing about this quick guide list that involves hard determinism.
There is nothing about this list that is intended to make any individual feel negatively judged.
The list is not inclusive, and made by a very interested/passionate amateur.
I left out the explanations of what everything on the list means because if you think this topic matters, then nothing can replace your own learning process.

If you research the things on the list (and more) then you'll have a greater ability to guess if the person you're about to hire or work with has OCD, past stroke, mental health issues, a drinking problem, past TBIs, risk tolerance, et cetera. Better assessment/guessing ability might allow you to make a workable plan of successful cooperation or distance.

In the old days, a firm handshake and looking each other in the eyes and not keeping hands in pockets mostly conveyed all a person needed to know about one another. That's not really a joke, just add in race and religion as the established, hard-line, pre-sort mechanism.

In these modern times, life is different.

Tech has this dialed in. Expressible conclusions that are mostly accurate, based on lots of data collected from searches and social media.

Thus the items on this list are exactly what a person who works in tech might be aware of because of work product development (advertising, social media, et cetera), and also their interaction with co-workers. It's an industry that consolidated neuroatypicals and programming/coding as a profession takes a large toll on a person.

Also, non-tech workers & neurotypicals of the younger generations in general (we're up to 7 living generations as defined by social/technological experience), interact more with the field of psychology subconsciously via simply having a normal online experience and also consciously through direct service from the profession. So more and more it doesn't take any specific professional background/training to be aware of the items on the list.

I found a list that said the use of ellipses are a sign of narcissism... I love ellipses and I'm not narcissistic. I can prove it... just ask me!
(attempt at self deprecating humor to add some levity toward the end of a serious topic, but the humor is 100% fact based. The above sentence is 100% true)

It'll be a larger digital divide when people wearing something like tech glasses with cam/mic/earpiece get instant reports about anyone they look at.

Edited to add:

13: Vocal fry

I just recently learned about it and then immediately learned that it's highly controversial. Which makes sense, because the way someone talks is a part of the person so it's easy to feel personally attacked by the subject.

What does the presence of vocal fry mean/imply?
Regional dialect, trauma response, adopted for effect, stress, physical vocal cord damage, natural development... take your pick or consider that it could be a blend and that everyone is unique.

I could attempt to explain it more than that, but then I'd just be interjecting bias.

This list blends data/theories from standard medicine and psychology.
I understand both fields might be problematic/triggering for some people and you have my empathy if this blog posts troubles you.
I feel the potential insights can increase personal safety and/or success and thus having any sort of quick guide for assessing people is important.

May the quick guides that anyone/everyone use always be as accurate, published, transparent, editable and unbiased as possible.

Please add to this list if you have any people checks that are different.