Can a good short form of the MMPI ever be developed?

At least seven short forms of the MMPI have been proposed in the last 15 years. In each case, the initial enthusiasm has been replaced by questions about the clinical utility of the abbreviated version. It is argued that the statistical properties of the test (high intercorrelations among scales) and reduced reliability due to shortening the scales always will produce these poor results. Our efforts would be better spent in developing new tests rather than attempting to validate new versions of a dated instrument.