What if most of the Sensors here are really iNtuitives in disguise?

[lunalum]

Well... if the iNtuitives are really Sensors, maybe the Sensors are mistaken also...

Maybe all the data shows that they are actually N but they are repelled by the 'my type is rare so I am so special' fun... and think of it as an arrogance that they don't want to have.

Perhaps they want to be unique on a forum where N is the norm.

Maybe they think that just because they don't talk theory all day long like some Ns here that they must lean to the S side.

Perhaps their tremendous talk of theory here and little about pratical and sensory stuff indicates that there is something being hidden

So I encourage us all to look at all the facts, be true to ourselves, and find the type of best fit. iNtuition is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of

(BTW, remember that this is a 'what if?' scenario)

 

[KDude]

That Socionics thread in this section reminded me of something interesting: There aren't any rare types in Socionics. It discourages any kind of elitism. The entire basis of Socionics is intertype relations, where everyone is basically brushing shoulders with the others enough to describe what kind of understanding or various compatibility "levels" one will have with the other. The whole thing falls apart if there are two or three unique snowflake types - because that means their duals, semi-duals, activity partners, and other possible types who could bond well with them are screwed from having any good friends themselves. But I don't think that's the case in reality - people actually do find others who they are more comfortable with.

 

[Bamboo]

Isn't it about preference?

There is nothing in MBTI that can be "disproved" about any person's responses (in terms of written test taking). MBTI is more about preferences than behavior, because there is nothing in the test to validate whether behavioral responses are accurate (or not). Preference is subjective, and so, this is a subjective tool to measure what someone prefers and then to make conjectures about their personality based on those preferences.

If none of that made sense to you, the main point is: you're not a conglomeration of four letters, and this whole thing is built on a pretty shaky platform.


A variety of tests I have taken suggest that I have high abstract reasoning ability compared to the other people who were tested (true/false questions and small logic puzzles). I don't really remember, but somewhere in the 80-95th percentile. But really, I associate much more with "S" type thinking and behavior and the "whole type" of ISTP fits me much better than INTP.


But it is perhaps true that people choose certain types for the reasons you listed. The point is, I think the whole concept of "choosing a type" as a definition for yourself is a somewhat sketchy practice. I see it a lot. I think what is important is that you have a concept of what type of behaviors you might associate with and what strengths and weaknesses go along with that.

 

[lunalum]

Isn't it about preference?

Yes, I emphasize that it is about the type of best fit, not a type that defines you.

There is nothing in MBTI that can be "disproved" about any person's responses (in terms of written test taking). MBTI is more about preferences than behavior, because there is nothing in the test to validate whether behavioral responses are accurate (or not). Preference is subjective, and so, this is a subjective tool to measure what someone prefers and then to make conjectures about their personality based on those preferences.

Exactly, the test cannot measure the behavior. The test tells you what you told the test that you are. It's all so very subjective. An objective way of typing people is impossible until we can read their every thought and action. So the test is fine....

A variety of tests I have taken suggest that I have high abstract reasoning ability compared to the other people who were tested (true/false questions and small logic puzzles). I don't really remember, but somewhere in the 80-95th percentile. But really, I associate much more with "S" type thinking and behavior and the "whole type" of ISTP fits me much better than INTP.

Type is not at all about ability. I'm horrible at most puzzles... but it doesn't stop me from obsessing about how to solve things better.

 

[entropie]

the test...is god !

 

[Quinlan]

Shushhh you'll blow our cover!



This ^ is my intuitive disguise.

 

[SilkRoad]

I don't think it's all that likely. The hypothesis that some Sensors are mis-typing as Intuitives seems more likely to me. It has nothing to do with any kind of superiority. It's just that it's a very Sensor-ish world out there, and they're not the ones who feel like misfits...

 

[entropie]

But if they mistype themselves, they'ld need to feel as misfits

 

[SilkRoad]

I think people who "need" to feel like misfits are more likely to be those who have a slight tendency to be misfits anyway...then they exaggerate it to feel special.

Seriously, I felt like a misfit for much of my life...still do some of the time, though less so in recent years. It is NOT one of my preferred experiences and I'm not sure why anyone would choose it!

 

[entropie]

Didnt you just say sensors dont feel like misfits and that's why they dont know how it is for Ns ?

 

[SilkRoad]

What I meant was that I don't think there are many Sensors going "oh, I'm such a misfit". I think the I'm-such-a-misfit brigade is more likely to be Intuitives who feel a bit that way already and then exaggerate it to be a bit more special...

But I don't really know whre I'm going with this...

 

[entropie]

yea, the whole discussion is a bit pointless. Mbti is like one of those tests in which you can determine if you are a fighter, a mage or a priest. It's nice to have something seemingly in common then later in a group of priests, but truly spoken the priest type is only the entry ticket to get close to strangers and to talk to them. It's like the non-smoking course I am doing with my gf atm, we hang out with people there, we otherwise would have never met in our life. But a shared experience made us friends.

I am with you that the fact N types are rather into thinking they are misfits aswell. The problem with mbti is that this Intuitive function is like magic, it's nothing you really understand yet you want to have it. Before I joined this forum, I was thinking to myself if it would be the better strategy to sign up as a S - type because that probably would make me more special and people would talk more easily to me and be intrested in me. But there's one thing in my life which alienated me from people all my life and that is my way of cluttered speaking. People need to ask what I mean several times in a discussion and I very very rarely have the feeling that a person I am talking to really gets the full meaning of what I've said. This made me curious if this could be what the guys who made the test meant with N.

Well after all this time now I think it's safe to say that I made a lot of friends thru mbti and I dont want to miss that. I still think that I am differently but not necessarily because of something called N, but because I have a very unstructured mind and am intrested in a billion of different things. Yet I have found my peace with society thru mbti and nowadays dont feel towards everyone I meet like I am a superior N force no more . I've come to value the views of others who think differently than me.

Where is this post going ? Well I think mbti can cure your soul. But if you really think people are made of mbti like they are of atoms, you'll loose. It is and never will be real psychology

 

[Randomnity]

I wouldn't be surprised if there were a couple just by chance/inherent flaws in typing, although given the rarity of Ss here (less rare now, but still a small minority) and the fairly obvious N-bias on most online tests ("do you consider yourself down-to-earth or intelligent?" ), I doubt it would ever be "most" Ss. N bias on the forum may play a role but it's a pale shadow of what it used to be, so I doubt it's a big factor now. Like I posted in the other thread, if many people are close to the middle ground on mbti traits, you'll have many "mistypes", "unsures", or people going back and forth, but it won't really matter all that much. S/N (or the other traits) is hardly an insurmountable difference of alien cultures.

I admit I'm repulsed by the "special snowflake" attitude, but I also was back when I thought I was INTP way back on intpc, too - I didn't think it was a required attitude for Ns (still don't).

 

[SilkRoad]

Where is this post going ? Well I think mbti can cure your soul. But if you really think people are made of mbti like they are of atoms, you'll loose. It is and never will be real psychology

You think it can cure your soul and yet it's not real psychology? I think I know what you mean, though. It is pop psychology. But I still like it. And I think it has helped me with some things. Let's be honest, occasionally I rejoice a bit in that "I am in a special INFJ club" feeling. But...not most of the time. I am no longer as interested as I used to be in being special/different/a misfit/all alooooone. I outgrew that some time ago (before I learned about MBTI).

Whether or not it's highly accurate and scientific, I think learning about the 16 types helped me to quantify the fact that not everyone is like me, but kind of hiding it just to fit in. Because it's easy to go through life thinking that. It's like, no, most people ARE significantly different from me. But maybe this bit of pop psychology can help me relate to them better, even if it's by understanding that they think and communicate differently from me.

 

[entropie]

You think it can cure your soul and yet it's not real psychology? I think I know what you mean, though. It is pop psychology. But I still like it. And I think it has helped me with some things. Let's be honest, occasionally I rejoice a bit in that "I am in a special INFJ club" feeling. But...not most of the time. I am no longer as interested as I used to be in being special/different/a misfit/all alooooone. I outgrew that some time ago (before I learned about MBTI).

Whether or not it's highly accurate and scientific, I think learning about the 16 types helped me to quantify the fact that not everyone is like me, but kind of hiding it just to fit in. Because it's easy to go through life thinking that. It's like, no, most people ARE significantly different from me. But maybe this bit of pop psychology can help me relate to them better, even if it's by understanding that they think and communicate differently from me.

Yea I have to clarify that a bit: I am generally an enemy of psychology or any other pseudo-science of that sort. I can accept psychology that says "because of a factual imbalance of neurotransmitters he feels sad", but psychology that talks about "father complexes" or the "über-ego" is something I handle with care. It is like you said, a good description for pßhaenomena you may witness within other people, but it's not really the sole key to understanding the world.

The same it is with mbti, you can describe a thing or people to someone with it and enrich his thoughts with new ideas about society, but in the end it's still describing the color blue to a blind man, cause men just will never be described that scientifically correct that you can say: we are finally at the end and have a science we'll call psychology.

Disregardless of that I agree with you and that's why I said "it can cure your soul", like real psychology maybe could aswell. It's nothing tho that can ease your mind on the quest to find a truth

 

[AOA]

[@ OP.]

Who knows...

 

[Aquarelle]

I think people who "need" to feel like misfits are more likely to be those who have a slight tendency to be misfits anyway...then they exaggerate it to feel special.

Some people really are misfits.... and maybe they decide to embrace it and emphasize it as a means of empowerment (not to feel special). And yes, I am talking about myself.

Seriously, I felt like a misfit for much of my life...still do some of the time, though less so in recent years. It is NOT one of my preferred experiences and I'm not sure why anyone would choose it!

Same here.... but since I don't have a choice in the matter (I spent wasted a lot of time when I was younger trying to change in order to fit in better) I choose to embrace it and feel pride in it rather than let it bring me down.

 

[skylights]

I admit I'm repulsed by the "special snowflake" attitude, but I also was back when I thought I was INTP way back on intpc, too - I didn't think it was a required attitude for Ns (still don't).

i really don't like it either. we're all misfits in some ways, and to isolate oneself as a misfit is just to put oneself above everyone else as a means of coping, playing the victim while you really elevate yourself...

(edit - not aimed at you, aquarelle. i understand the need to reinterpret difference as empowering )


i think Ns are inherently a little more "removed" because our thought process is very jumpy - the way i understand it, we sacrifice (not consciously, of course) attention on what actually is, in exchange for an enhanced ability to manipulate ideas. i hope that doesn't come off as N-biased, because it definitely isn't - in some ways Ns forsake reality, which is a huge disadvantage. i mean i essentially just said that Ns exchange reality for the ability to delude ourselves. i think that's what is meant by N "abstract" thinking - we don't necessarily pay attention to what is actual. and maybe that can lead to a feeling of being a misfit, because our thought process inherently separates us from the world we are a part of. it's really actually quite unpleasant sometimes - i know i mentioned this is another thread, but i love yoga because it makes Ne shut the hell up and helps me pay attention to being and the beautiful, tangible world.

 

[Stanton Moore]

Maybe it points to the possibility that N/S is a false dichotomy. We all use both, and switch back and forth effortlessly.
I'm not say that there isn't a difference in the way people see and understand the world, but N/S doesn't define those differences well enough to be useful.

 

[prplchknz]

("do you consider yourself down-to-earth or intelligent?" ),

yes I hate that question, because I don't really consider myself either one and I know people who are both.