Most of us don't want to know such things about ourselves though.
Ah, now there's an interesting philosophical/psychological point. For me, so much of my thinking lately has ben influenced by Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. As we move up the pyramid, we not only care about these things, but we can also position ourselves to make important changes to improve the world around us.
I'm really amazed at how many people come here and think of yet another great way to use what they've built. Like I said in one of my earlier posts I love seeing 100 people getting ten bucks for their thoughts but I step back a bit when I see one person get 1000 for a thought. Maybe your idea will change my experience that much for the better.
Then again how would it feel to pour yourself out there for a week, and come back to find that everyone said 'meh'?
I guess it doesn't really matter either way -- we were all fine without outside affirmation the week before joining steemit and we haven't changed.
Or maybe we just worked cheap? Maybe a like or a favorite was all we needed to keep our fragile egos from crumbling.
Don't get me started, 'psychological needs' are my favorites.