What is your interest in typology?

[/DG/]

It's always been for the lulz.

Somebody gave out a test on a totally unrelated forum years ago and I took it and discovered typology (which I'd never even heard of before) and I was a bit enamored with my (largely incorrect) result profile and ended up visiting the INTJ forum. Never really could get into the -ology part. I tried, but it seemed boring and stilted and it seemed like a lot of people tried too hard to be type-fit. Even at one point I was trying too hard to be type-fit.

I said screw INTJforum and went to PerC for a couple years and had some fun there. Then I followed some people here and said screw PerC.

I'm basically here for the off-topic shit.

I'm here because I like taking pointless personality tests. My older brother (with no knowledge of MBTI) found the test from the humanmentrics site and showed it to me. My result meant nothing to me, so I decided to delve further into it and would up here. I don't think it's useful in the real world, but I occasionally use it to satisfy my Te need to classify things into categories.

Now I'm just here mostly just to hang out. TypeC has a pretty awesome community.

 

[skylights]

I got into it as a late teenager (~5 years ago) when my dad and I were fighting ALL the time. It seemed like there was a consistent communication breakdown that occurred, so I started researching communication styles, and ran across the MBTI. I typed as INFP, but it didn't quite feel right, and I tentatively typed my dad as INTJ. Fortunately for me, that was close enough to get to work understanding that he was a non-emotional communicator, and I was a very emotional communicator. Things improved.

Unsatisfied, I continued studying, and found TypoC. Kept reading and began conversing, and eventually I realized with the forum's help that I was ENFP, dad quickly identified himself as INTP, and I just kept on digging into theory, moving on into Enneagram. Things seem to continue in a pattern of explore -> apply -> run into contradictions -> realize misunderstanding -> explore -> apply -> etc. I've come to enjoy some of the other non-type boards, too.

I love this site because I can express myself, and develop my thoughts, and expand my understanding, and work on actual problems, and just spin my little mind-wheels all in one place. You guys are my home away from home! :]

 

[garbage]

It was a step in my natural progression as a self-discovery/growth junkie, and I wanted a quick and easy shortcut in understanding other people. I didn't quite get what it and its dedicated followers seemed to 'promise'--most of what I extracted from it was mostly tangential, but still useful.

I still have a soft spot for virtually any theory/explanation of human behavior and cognition, as that's the realm that I wound up making a career out of.

I originally came here for the ideas, but ended up staying for the people long after I got turned off from the MBTI system because of the manners in which it was used around here by people

This exactly

gotta say, I have a preference for enneagram after this amount of time because it allows for more flexibility and growth in a way... more of an idea than a hierarchical structure somehow

This exactly

 

[Ism]

Primarily because it described me so well when I got my first result. Then I explored some, checked out some other types, and then found this forum. It kept typology in the front of my mind for a while.

What really made me stay, though, was its categorical aspect. I love organizing and categorizing things mentally, so to have a tool that did just that, but for people, was like a goldmine.

Then I realized it didn't offer much other than a general overview of people's priorities and demeanor. Everything else is left to individual personality, experiences, and upbringing.

 

[Flâneuse]

I mainly developed an interest in typology as a means of self-discovery, but I also have an interest in how others' minds work. It started out as mild curiosity tinged with skepticism - I wasn't sure whether it was Forer effect-reliant bullshit or not - but once I started reading profiles that seemed genuinely insightful about aspects of my personality and issues, I was hooked. Sometimes it was a relief to recognize pieces of myself in type and function descriptions, especially when it helped me clarify something I'd already been aware of but in a more nebulous way, and when it put words to something I wouldn't have been able to articulate well. I think the most important things about myself (what I needed to know in order to start freeing myself) that I brought to the surface using typology were also the most painful to confront. (Most of these were e9-related.)

Like most people who get into typology, I've also misused it. I've been tempted to accept at face value what I read about type for easy answers to who I am rather than using type as a heuristic. There have been times when I was seeking an appealing self-image rather than true self-knowledge, and I got attached to the idea of being certain types because I liked the positive aspects of the associated stereotypes (for example, IxFP as artistic, sensitive, and mysterious). I still struggle with developing a really strong, internally-based sense of self, and I've caught myself unnaturally displaying the "typical" attitudes and behaviors associated with the types I identify as. I know that many of the gaps in my sense of self need to be filled by things that typology can't tell me (at most, it could provide rough suggestions that may or may not fit). I think learning about type has helped me understand some of the mechanisms of my mind, but it doesn't go far in helping me understand the content of who I am - the essential me, what makes me unique.

I mainly treat typology as a fun on-and-off hobby these days.

 

[HongDou]

I mainly treat typology as a fun on-and-off hobby these days.

Same here really. I don't think about it that much outside of here now. I used to for a good year or two actually but it was pretty easy to get rid of that thinking once I decided I should.

It also helps me be more understanding and accepting of others. With Enneagram especially it just gives me a framework to work from - what does this person fear, what REALLY motivates them? I like examining that kind of stuff when I make a new friend.

 

[indra]

I needed to know from what stem the buds of evil fruit.

 

[ubot]

I don't even know anymore. The more I read, the more confused I get about what's what. It was just a fun thing to do, took a test in Psych class. I could see using typology if I was a leader of some sort, like a manager who has to deal with different people. Maybe my friends, like how they act and stuff like that.

 

[laterlazer]

I honestly can't say. The first time I took the MBTI test I was like 12 and I immediately found it interesting cos it was quite accurate, and also somewhat detailed. Since then I took it a couple times but only recently have I become more fascinated with typology. I think I've mostly used it to understand myself better, and recently other people as I'm trying to type the people around me now. It's probably just another huge distraction tbh.

 

[Kullervo]

I was drawn to typology mainly because I felt that it might be able to help me understand myself better. I also wanted to join an online community that wasn't politically charged, and I guess I just had a hunch that this was a right place. Looking back, I think I have been at least partially successful, Enneagram in particular has helped me realise why I'm depressed and how I could possibly improve my mental health. Typology has also made my sense of personal identity richer, as I've learned so much about my own emotions and what they mean.

 

[Susurrus]

I personally enjoy personality theories even though I do not take them seriously. They're theories I like to play around in my head, but they do not crossover to real life. Very much like astrology, metaphysics and conspiracy theories. Interesting from an abstract point of view, but become problematic on the physical realm. That doesn't mean they're entirely useless, but they're tools for different jobs and requires you to look at these from a different perspective.

 

[Researcher]

Deep understanding & acceptance of being a type:
- Instantly cures narcisism / psychic vampirism for both predator and victim (Because you cannot pose as "The All", if you are obviously just one type out of "The All".)
- Motivates you to specialize on your strengths (accepting your type's life mission) while accepting others to complement you on your weaknesses, enabling your group to do truly great things.
- Removes your own false expectations of others, if you type them correctly and understand their type. You will pick & appreciate people for their strengths instead of criticizing them on their weaknesses.
- Enables 1+1=3 "The sum is more than the parts" team work, however: this manifests itself only if all participants are all such "typology believers", and are the right mix of types. This can also be applied to your (start-up) familiy (e.g. your ideal spouse for romance seekers) or any other succesful human group formation.

Unfortunately, people seem to be withheld from the above "secrets" in main stream society. Typology is of practical use to break that spell.


And common "mass" uses of typology are obviously:
- Corporate structuring (abstract-level staff architecture over departments and job roles).
- Recruitment (psychological profiling of candidates who fit the pre-designed architecture).
- Marketing (Identify profile of target group and design campaign to their appeal).

 

[BadOctopus]

Deep understanding & acceptance of being a type:
- Instantly cures narcisism / psychic vampirism for both predator and victim (Because you cannot pose as "The All", if you are obviously just one type out of "The All".)

Unless you believe that your type is the best.

 

[Researcher]

Unless you believe that your type is the best.

True, spot on, unfortunately...

Even whole books are written about how the author ranks the types and which one is more "evolved" than the other.
Deeper understanding of opposites could have cured that for those authors. (e.g. understanding that you cannot have one side without the other one.)

 

[BadOctopus]

Even whole books are written about how the author ranks the types and which one is more "evolved" than the other.

Psh. How very... unenlightened.

 

[Researcher]

Psh. How very... unenlightened.

So what does that comment mean?

 

[BadOctopus]

So what does that comment mean?

Just that nobody can "rank" types by how "evolved" they are. There is no best or worst type, because typology is not a test; there are no right or wrong answers in the indicator. It's simply an assessment of one's personality and preferences, not a mark of their talents, intelligence, or abilities.

 

[Researcher]

Just that nobody can "rank" types by how "evolved" they are. There is no best or worst type, because typology is not a test; there are no right or wrong answers in the indicator. It's simply an assessment of one's personality and preferences, not a mark of their talents, intelligence, or abilities.

OK yes, I confirm. We are on the same frequency. They can only manifest all together, as in more of one is less of the other.

 

[reckful]

Even whole books are written about how the author ranks the types and which one is more "evolved" than the other.
Deeper understanding of opposites could have cured that for those authors. (e.g. understanding that you cannot have one side without the other one.)

Can you name three of those books?

 

[Researcher]

Can you name three of those books?

Sorry just 1 quickly pops to mind now, and is a great example:
Prometheus rising >> Author thinks N is highest rank, followed by T, followed by F, followed by S as the lowest. (Author is probably a nice guy who found out about the types in his own way, but mistakenly thinks its evolution of the human brain. Author doesn't know its interconnected/interdependant types that require each other.)

Prometheus Rising - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

P.S. Also any book on the AI subject of "the singularity", about the fantasy that one supercomputer could be all powerful, is basically saying that one type (this computer's type) can be superior. Same for any religion with a personal/idol-ized god of a certain type, the singularity is just a new theme. Its harder to find a book that doesn't think one type is superior, than the other way around.