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Why do people have a problem with people mistyping themselves?

greenfairy

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(Edit: )Update: explosion over, conflict resolved, problem solved.


Warning: :ranting: ahead.


Why exactly do people have such a huge problem with people thinking they are a certain type when they might actually be another type?

This is especially prevalent in the NT temperament. Do NT's think they are inherently more logical and rational than all the other temperaments, and this means they make up an exclusive little club that only the people who pass some NT test can join? Do people not think that there are plenty of NT's who value being rational but utterly fail at it half the time? Do they think that they are smarter than everyone else and that makes them better? If I think I'm smarter and better than everyone, can I join the club?

Why does it really matter? Seriously. It's just a category. It's a way to understand people. Getting hostile with people defeats this purpose. Unless you are just using it to feel good about yourself and as a form of mental masturbation.

A mistype means that this person either has an incomplete or flawed understanding of typology and cognitive functions. It usually doesn't mean this person is a "poser." And changing their minds requires educating them on typology and cognitive functions, not telling them over and over that they're a different type with no real explanation.

I mean, I started on here trying to figure out why I was atypical of my type, whether it was INFP, INTP, or something else. I was all obsessed with it because I found it fun and interesting and I like categorization. And people told me it didn't matter that much. I was kind of emotionally invested in it because I have ideas that I want to be taken seriously, and I was afraid people wouldn't if I had mistyped myself. I thought this was silly, but I was still afraid of it. Now I've gotten over it and I just think it's silly. I was told to have confidence and not worry about what people think, so I started posting as an INTP. Then people began seriously doubting my type, so I modified it. Then some people seemed really attached to me being INFP, so I took it off. I thought 'Great, now I can't piss anyone off. I'm unknowable.' Wrong. I start a thread about really feel-y stuff, (because I wanted to try something new, ironically)- and now people are all like "THIS THREAD IS PURE FI! YOU'RE INFP, AND EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS PURE BS BECAUSE YOU'VE MISTYPED YOURSELF!!" Which is what I was afraid of in the beginning, irrationally I thought, and now it's happening except that I don't care anymore.

I'm like, :fpalm::17425: REALLY?? Gah.

So why is this important? Can't we just accept that people generally know themselves better than anyone online? Can we be respectful and engage in serious dialogue about typology and how people fit or don't fit rather than saying "You're completely illogical, therefore you are not NT" or "Values and emotions --> NF" ? Does it really matter? And if you think it does, can you explain it to me? Because I don't think a person's knowledge of her or himself is relevant to any argument they may have. It's called an ad hominem fallacy.
 
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wolfy

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People on typology forums use a lot of heuristics to form their decision on your type. You can't use the word fairy in your name and be NT, the Cherokee thread is NF mystical. People tend to call out NT as NF, but never the other way. The answer to why is, because it is a typology forum and their isn't much else to do. Start a thread on Godel, Escher, Bach.

I have always wondered why no one ever called out my type.
 

greenfairy

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From Wikipedia:
"In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. These rules work well under most circumstances, but in certain cases lead to systematic errors or cognitive biases."

So basically people are pigeonholing people based on stereotypes, not using serious typology.

Yeah I'll be sure to start some of those kinds of threads.
 

UniqueMixture

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[MENTION=15773]greenfairy[/MENTION] you might burst their bubble with reality and we couldn't have that. People often try to define others because their stereotype is very important to them. It says something about them or reality
 

Totenkindly

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Warning: :ranting: ahead.


Why exactly do people have such a huge problem with people thinking they are a certain type when they might actually be another type?

This is especially prevalent in the NT temperament. Do NT's think they are inherently more logical and rational than all the other temperaments, and this means they make up an exclusive little club that only the people who pass some NT test can join? Do people not think that there are plenty of NT's who value being rational but utterly fail at it half the time? Do they think that they are smarter than everyone else and that makes them better? If I think I'm smarter and better than everyone, can I join the club?

Well, aside from your type (which I really don't care much about), I'll say that I take it pretty seriously when someone tries to say that 2 + 2 = 5, or makes scientific or historical claims based on bogus information, or just uses really shoddy logic to justify a POV. it can sometimes feel like a personal affront when someone finds it more important to believe whatever it is they prefer to believe rather than believe what the evidence says is true.

This is actually a good thing -- it is a firm commitment to the truth and wanting to see it be out there and accessible, regardless of what people might want to believe.

I find it discouraging that you would personalize NT behavior in that regard and try to make it about 'being part of a social club' or something else silly like that, as I would find it reprehensible to make something about social clubs or prestige or status than simply about what is demonstrably or most probably true.

As far as your type goes, aside from what seems most obvious, should it really matter to you whether you are an F or a T? You should be proud of either -- they are both good things to be.

People on typology forums use a lot of heuristics to form their decision on your type. You can't use the word fairy in your name and be NT, the Cherokee thread is NF mystical. People tend to call out NT as NF, but never the other way. The answer to why is, because it is a typology forum and their isn't much else to do. Start a thread on Godel, Escher, Bach.

Well, to give some kudos to F types, I think there's more F types that have learned some decent T skills (maybe partly because it's required to get a job in Western culture), whereas less T's end up developing decent F skills and usually manage to find a job where they can just do T-related stuff.
 

Laurie

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[MENTION=15773]greenfairy[/MENTION] I've noticed it too.
 

wolfy

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From Wikipedia:
"In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. These rules work well under most circumstances, but in certain cases lead to systematic errors or cognitive biases."

So basically people are pigeonholing people based on stereotypes, not using serious typology.

Yeah I'll be sure to start some of those kinds of threads.

What is serious typology? Seems like an oxymoron. Typing others is based off heuristics by necessity. That is why authors and that always say only you can truly type yourself.
 

highlander

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From Wikipedia:
"In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, hard-coded by evolutionary processes or learned, which have been proposed to explain how people make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems, typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information. These rules work well under most circumstances, but in certain cases lead to systematic errors or cognitive biases."

So basically people are pigeonholing people based on stereotypes, not using serious typology.

Yeah I'll be sure to start some of those kinds of threads.

A lot of people think they're much better at typing than they really are. I would think you are an NF just based on your name and avatar but I'm wrong in typing people all the time.
 

greenfairy

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Well, aside from your type (which I really don't care much about), I'll say that I take it pretty seriously when someone tries to say that 2 + 2 = 5, or makes scientific or historical claims based on bogus information, or just uses really shoddy logic to justify a POV. it can sometimes feel like a personal affront when someone finds it more important to believe whatever it is they prefer to believe rather than believe what the evidence says is true.

This is actually a good thing -- it is a firm commitment to the truth and wanting to see it be out there and accessible, regardless of what people might want to believe.
Well yes, I believe this too. So I guess I'm someone who values logic and rationality but fails at it some of the time. So I'm either a faulty T or an F who likes rationality more than feeling. Ok? I'm a fool. But I have a few good ideas.
I find it discouraging that you would personalize NT behavior in that regard and try to make it about 'being part of a social club' or something else silly like that, as I would find it reprehensible to make something about social clubs or prestige or status than simply about what is demonstrably or most probably true.
I don't think this is conscious behavior. I think people are emotionally attached to being rational and it makes them feel good about themselves. And if they perceive someone as irrational they don't want to think that person is their type. Or they are just so attached to being logical that they are quick to dismiss anyone who doesn't fit their ideas of what that means. Anyway, Fi or not, this is the vibe I get from some people. Maybe I'm totally wrong. I hope so.
As far as your type goes, aside from what seems most obvious, should it really matter to you whether you are an F or a T? You should be proud of either -- they are both good things to be.
It's not that important. I like INTP more than INFP at the moment. Which does not affect what the reality of my type is of course, but if I seem equally like each of them in my mind, I could just pick one and it wouldn't make a difference. And one reason I don't want to be INFP is that there are a lot of characteristics of the type that really annoy me, and I don't want to have them. It's like the reverse of the NT club. It's the anti-Fi club. Any traces of those characteristics which may have been present in myself, I have done a good job of wiping out. There's nothing that really annoys me about INTP's. There are a lot of ways I in fact don't fit INFP anyway, which is what prompted me to look more into typology. I thought INTP was a good fit, so I stuck with it. Most of my research confirmed my choice. I like to think my reasoning is reliable, so it's kind of important to me to make the correct choice. But whatever. As much as I hate it I'm not easily categorizable, and that's fine. the bottom line is that if I were to be INFP I would kind of suck at it. Whereas I'm pretty good at being INTP, minus people's stereotyping. I'd rather be something I'm good at. See?
 

Salomé

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Lots of people mistype themselves, but you abuse the privilege.

Your spectacular thread fail had nothing to do with your (mis)understanding of typology.

It just really, really sucked.
 

Rasofy

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It's called an ad hominem fallacy.
Seems like you are already getting familiar with TypoC vocabulary. Go you! :hifive:

I agree with you. I've actually joked about you being INFP about two times; but when people use your (supposed) mbti type to disqualify your idea, that's pretty low.

But you shouldn't give those people the power to affect you. If that ever happens again, just say ''Thank you for the feedback but I think you should focus on the topic.''.

There are people here who love to bait. Specially 2 Inferior F women whose names shall go unmentioned. Just make a mental note and avoid the bait next time.

Here's something for inspiration:
 

greenfairy

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What is serious typology? Seems like an oxymoron. Typing others is based off heuristics by necessity. That is why authors and that always say only you can truly type yourself.

Well presumably psychologists have put a lot of research and effort into studying types and cognitive functions, and it would make sense to use what they have discovered rather than just say fairies are NF. That's not very scientific.

Maybe not. Maybe it's just fluff, like astrology. In which case I don't know why so many NT's are on a typology forum but think astrology is BS and automatically in the NF category. Maybe typology is NF too. So we're all NF's.
 

greenfairy

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Seems like you are already getting familiar with TypoC vocabulary. Go you! :hifive:

I agree with you. I've actually joked about you being INFP about two times; but when people use your (supposed) mbti type to disqualify your idea, that's pretty low.

But you shouldn't those people the power to affect you. If that ever happens again, just say ''Thank you for the feedback but I think you should focus on the topic.''.

There are people here who love to bait. Specially 2 Inferior F women whose names shall go unmentioned. Just make a mental note and avoid the bait next time.

Here's something for inspiration:

Thanks. I was already coming to that conclusion.
 

greenfairy

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Lots of people mistype themselves, but you abuse the privilege.

Your spectacular thread fail had nothing to do with your (mis)understanding of typology.

It just really, really sucked.

Ok, thanks. That's a relief. :thumbup:

I'm such a fool I can't possibly be the type I say I am.

Well in any case, I'm not leaving, so expect more spectacularly failing threads in the future.
 

Siúil a Rúin

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It has to do with the history of these forums which started with iNtuitive Central which fell apart, then many types migrated to INTPCentral, then this site was formed to aid in limiting that forum to INTPs only. Because of this iNtuitives have more social power than Sensors and Thinkers have more social power than Feelers. It is harder to see as an NT because people who benefit from a system or who have the most power tend to see it as fair because there can be a tendency to place more weight on benefits to self than others. It is a touchy subject, though.

There is one guilty pleasure I must confess that I enjoy about presenting as a Feeler. When you do win a logical debate with a "Thinker" it is more amusing, and it seems more impressive because expectations are subconsciously lower.
 

greenfairy

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There is one guilty pleasure I must confess that I enjoy about presenting as a Feeler. When you do win a logical debate with a "Thinker" it is more amusing, and it seems more impressive because expectations are subconsciously lower.

Haha. :hifive:
 

Totenkindly

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I don't think this is conscious behavior. I think people are emotionally attached to being rational and it makes them feel good about themselves. And if they perceive someone as irrational they don't want to think that person is their type.

I think that's operational in various types, not just NTs. But I'd agree that there are some NTs who are like that. I remember having a kind of disdain for Fe values and illogic when I was a teenager, partly because I (or others) kept getting burned by people who were making capricious or irrational decisions, and I hated it. I remember my self-esteem also sucked, so being hyper-rational was an ego booster for me. But it ain't very conducive to relationships, and when I got married, I had to suddenly face those conceited, self-interested attitudes in myself.

I think it's just a journey people of different types have to go through, and not just T's; there are F's in my family who I think are pretty judgmental and conceited because they really don't grasp the truth that T people might still feel loyalty and love and concern for others but just don't express it as directly as they might, and so they dismiss it as non-existent and then take it out on said T people.

Put another way, we all suck to start with and have to get over it. :smile:


Or they are just so attached to being logical that they are quick to dismiss anyone who doesn't fit their ideas of what that means. Anyway, Fi or not, this is the vibe I get from some people. Maybe I'm totally wrong. I hope so.

Like I said, I think sometimes what you're saying is what's in play. But I don't think all the people who have disagreed with you on type on this forum have been operating from that principle, and so I gave you a different basis from which you might understand it.


It's not that important. I like INTP more than INFP at the moment.

Lol. And I am here wondering, "What does LIKING a particular type have to do with anything?" See what I mean? It's funny you even mention it as part of your decision process.

Which does not affect what the reality of my type is of course, but if I seem equally like each of them in my mind, I could just pick one and it wouldn't make a difference. And one reason I don't want to be INFP is that there are a lot of characteristics of the type that really annoy me, and I don't want to have them. It's like the reverse of the NT club. It's the anti-Fi club. Any traces of those characteristics which may have been present in myself, I have done a good job of wiping out. There's nothing that really annoys me about INTP's.

Welll... aside from the fact they apparently give a shit about what your type is and how you've figured it out? ;)

There are a lot of ways I in fact don't fit INFP anyway, which is what prompted me to look more into typology. I thought INTP was a good fit, so I stuck with it. Most of my research confirmed my choice. I like to think my reasoning is reliable, so it's kind of important to me to make the correct choice. But whatever. As much as I hate it I'm not easily categorizable, and that's fine. the bottom line is that if I were to be INFP I would kind of suck at it. Whereas I'm pretty good at being INTP, minus people's stereotyping. I'd rather be something I'm good at. See?

So what things do you think you are good at, in terms of INTP?

It's funny that you spent this whole paragraph talking about what you like and don't like, what you want to be associated with and not associated with, and this thread in getting outraged at people for excluding you from their group... this is all more an F province, if anything. I mean, I'm just tossing this out there as an observation... I'm still waiting for you to come up with some hardcore T approach to your dilemma, while so far you seem to be focused on your preferences. Again, nothing wrong with each other approach, but that is all I'm seeing right here.
 

wolfy

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Well presumably psychologists have put a lot of research and effort into studying types and cognitive functions, and it would make sense to use what they have discovered rather than just say fairies are NF. That's not very scientific.

Maybe not. Maybe it's just fluff, like astrology. In which case I don't know why so many NT's are on a typology forum but think astrology is BS and automatically in the NF category. Maybe typology is NF too. So we're all NF's.


It is not just fluff, neither is it a hard science. It is psychology, it is an about science. Now that you have started this thread a funny thing occurred to me. I have been on this forum a long time and you do notice patterns in behaviour on the forum. Threads like this are usually NF fair. Just saying, you decide on your type.
 

Totenkindly

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Maybe not. Maybe it's just fluff, like astrology. In which case I don't know why so many NT's are on a typology forum but think astrology is BS and automatically in the NF category. Maybe typology is NF too. So we're all NF's.

Well, decent typology seems to be at least based on observation of behaviors, even if behavior is complex enough it can be difficult to sift through and certain behaviors can be reflected in various personality types rather than being exclusive to one.

Meanwhile, believing that your personality has been determined by what position the stars were in when your mom gave birth just seems like crap all around.
 
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