[Jennifer]

Originally Posted by Bethy

Once again, Jennifer comes through!
Thank you!

Well, please keep looking around -- I am sure that there are things out there I haven't found yet that could be good as well. I will check when I get home tonight and look through my current Enneagram books for other useful titles.

Originally Posted by Xander

Exactly. Always wondered why people argued against the integration of MBTI and enneagram theories. They so obviously overlap and interact it's blinding.

It only makes sense that you could merge at least SOME aspects. Each personality theory has to exclude certain types of perspectives /approaches, just like a painting actually involves the purposeful limitation of certain shapes and colors, or a book involves the purposeful exclusion of certain words. [My sentence here only makes sense because I excluded every word not shown in it.]

So if you can somehow use two in conjunction, you would think you could find more clarity in the points of intersection, as well as additional "pieces" of parts not covered in both.

Right well personally I think that type 5 tends to magnify the INTP detached side and tends to suppress the open mind (well it does from an exterior viewpoint as trying to give 5s information is like pulling teeth but they seem to go and pick it up quite merrily).

Ha, that last sentence was funny. But it's because the Five has to verify the information had no "spin" on it, so they can trust it. Otherwise their entire thought process (and any conclusion drawn) is potentially untrustworthy. So they go pick their own cherries so to speak.

I've never considered the 9 to do much to the profile other than make it more people focused, though those people can still be selective and not include everyone ..... but I guess that's more because it's what I'm used to.

Oh. I consider the Nine to make the INTP more people-friendly, simply because being a peacemaker demands the development of observable friendliness and people skills. Fives merely detach to "find peace," they do not actively engage others if necessary to make peace happen; so they are less "peoplefriendly" in some ways.

One thing that this whole investigation did turn up is that INTP 5s tend to be more passionate and less concerned with balance and objectivity than INTP 9s are (unless it's the limited group skewing the results, which is always possible in these kinds of investigations/ observations).

I am not sure I agree on the "objectivity" part since I tend to associate that with detachment. I think the Nines create more balance if it is being used to minimize conflict/friction. The Fives create more balance in their thoughts, not externally in relationships.

I have to wonder what an ISTJ 9 would be like. The ISTJ I know never considers people really unless he's feeling all ENFPish.

Well, the caveat is that I don't think all MBTI types can be any enneagram type. Some combinations/overlaps would be rare or non-existent. ISTJ is much more prone to be at Six, if anything. I would have to think more about ISTJ and Nine, to figure out where any overlap COULD be... and whether I can imagine some potential environment influences/situations that could permit such an overlap.