Rarest male type?

[Economica]

After having a 1/2 hour conversation with someone, I can quick size their personality type.

Not that I necessarily believe this to be impossible, but just out of curiosity, how do you know you're typing them correctly?

 

[Totenkindly]

Not that I necessarily believe this to be impossible, but just out of curiosity, how do you know you're typing them correctly?

Silly rabbit, you just check the tag sticking out of their back!

 

[Economica]

Silly rabbit, you just check the tag sticking out of their back!

*stifles a snort and waits for Zhash to reply*

 

[Totenkindly]

*stifles a snort and waits for Zhash to reply*

Sorry, Zhash -- I *tried* to deflect the question, but she would have none of it -- you INTJs are just too wiley...

(Well, if either of you ARE really INTJs. I could be SO wrong, after all.)

 

[Economica]

you INTJs are just too wiley...

I'm not wily, I'm single-minded.

 

[Shimpei]

Though I didn't give it a second thought (and voted otherwise), I agree with those who voted for NFs, because:

1. Ns are in minority compared to Ss anyway;
2. Fs are in minority among males anyway.

 

[Totenkindly]

I'm not wily, I'm single-minded.

Fudge -- I *thought* I had misspelled that but was too lazy to check...

*grumble*

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

Not that I necessarily believe this to be impossible, but just out of curiosity, how do you know you're typing them correctly?

After about 30 minutes or so of meaningful conversation I can type most people to 3 out of 4 of their letters. Usually there is one letter I am not sure about and need to get to know the person quite a bit better to distinguish (or sometimes I don't bother and think of them as a hybrid between the two types). If you know the 16 descriptions well, understand the eight functions (Ni, Ne, Ti, Te, etc...), and also personally know people who closely fit each type, then it's actually pretty easy to figure out a person's type. With most people though there is usually one area of ambiguity and you need to get to know them better to figure out that last letter.

 

[Zhash]

Not that I necessarily believe this to be impossible, but just out of curiosity, how do you know you're typing them correctly?

Zhash is finally responding--sorry guys for the delay but I haven't been online much. I have a major construction project going on in my house now and my energy has been focused there.

The book, "The Art of SpeedReading People" by the Tiegers really teaches you how to do it. If you are at all intuitive, you'll pick up quickly. It's really an art, so to speak. There are clues and you can actually ask people open ended questions to stimulate conversation to get your answers.

Now, I hope that people don't think that I'm constantly placing people in boxes. That's not at all true as I really enjoy many different types of people (and I don't enjoy many different types of people--if you know what I mean).

Keep in mind that you must always make a 30% allowance for the way people are socialized in life but I must say that the 70% is usually right on. It's all so fascinating. Get yourself the book, study it and soon you will be an expert, too.

BTW--It's so much fun.

Sorry, Zhash -- I *tried* to deflect the question.

Thanks, Jen

 

[rhinosaur]

I've never gotten acquainted with a male in real life who I thought was INFJ.

 

[Economica]

After having a 1/2 hour conversation with someone, I can quick size their personality type.

Keep in mind that you must always make a 30% allowance for the way people are socialized in life but I must say that the 70% is usually right on.

Uh, Zhash, the right time to add a disclaimer like this one is when you make the assertion, not when someone starts questioning it.

(Incidentally, what does it mean that 70% of your typings are usually right on? That the true percentage is even lower?)

Let me ask you again: How do you know whether your 1/2 hour typings are accurate?

 

[Zhash]

Uh, Zhash, the right time to add a disclaimer like this one is when you make the assertion, not when someone starts questioning it.

(Incidentally, what does it mean that 70% of your typings are usually right on? That the true percentage is even lower?)

Let me ask you again: How do you know whether your 1/2 hour typings are accurate?

I'm smart, intuitive and I know and I'm usually right on. I may miss one of the components but I'm very good at it. If they are very good friends, I ask them to take the test to confirm and guess what? It confirms it.

Instead of asking me questions and challenging me, try reading the book and perhaps you can become good at it, too.

 

[Ivy]

I'm smart, intuitive and I know and I'm usually right on. I may miss one of the components but I'm very good at it. If they are very good friends, I ask them to take the test to confirm and guess what? It confirms it.

Instead of asking me questions and challenging me, try reading the book and perhaps you can become good at it, too.

I've read the book and I enjoy casually typing people. However, I also realize it's a self-verifying system in my own mind (even if they take the test later, it's already influenced by what I've said to them) and there's absolutely no way to know if I'm typing them objectively and accurately or not. It's enough for my purposes (deciding how I can approach them to get along or make progress with that individual) but I would consider it hubris if I were claiming a high percentage of accuracy for something like casual personality typing that is absolutely unscientific.

 

[Eileen]

I know TONS of INFP guys. [edit: it should probably be noted that I know more INFPs than is probably statistically likely.] I'd say (in this order)... INFJ, ISFP, ENFJ

 

[Economica]

I'm smart, intuitive and I know and I'm usually right on. I may miss one of the components but I'm very good at it. If they are very good friends, I ask them to take the test to confirm and guess what? It confirms it.

Your very good friends do not count as 1/2 hour typings.

Instead of asking me questions and challenging me, try reading the book and perhaps you can become good at it, too.

I have asked you a simple and reasonable question which you have now twice refused to answer. Considering that you have added a belated disclaimer to your original statement, reframed my question as "challenging you" and even gone ad hominem by insinuating that I must be jealous of your expertise, I'd say the reality here is that you in fact don't know whether your typings are correct and that you can't stand to admit it.

---

My motivation for putting your folly on display like this? Part self-therapy part attempting to raise quality of debate on this forum and part being cruel to be kind. Like I wrote elsewhere:

We INTJs base a lot of our self-esteem on being insightful and decisive, but we are not always right - and that's okay. Making errors (of fact and of judgment) is forgivable. (People don't mind that we are not perfectly oracular. Really! ) Refusing to recognize and own up to our errors, however, costs us serious points. And it's idiotic, really, given that we aren't fooling anyone, just alienating them. Some strategists!

 

[Langrenus]

I have to ask, how do you people know that these people are what you claim?

At some point, you need to trust your own judgment.

Of course, polls like this are dependent, if they are to have any value whatsoever, on a mass of people trusting their own judgement to type an even bigger mass of people, and then the original mass of people trusting the ability of the rest of mass to accurately type their section of the bigger mass.

Which sounds, to me, like:
a) a stupidly lazy sentence; and
b) a recipe for disaster

Zhash saying 'a formal education teaches you nought about people, but I found a book and that told me what I need to know' reinforces my fears here (I know the paraphrasing is more than a tad unfair, but let me make my point damnit).

I really would love to try some of you out sometime. So to speak.

[Edit] - Oh, and Economica - speak for yourself. I'm always right.

 

[runvardh]

I know TONS of INFP guys. [edit: it should probably be noted that I know more INFPs than is probably statistically likely.] I'd say (in this order)... INFJ, ISFP, ENFJ

My brother and uncle are both ISFP (fun too, ^_^)

 

[Zhash]

I have asked you a simple and reasonable question which you have now twice refused to answer. Considering that you have added a belated disclaimer to your original statement, reframed my question as "challenging you" and even gone ad hominem by insinuating that I must be jealous of your expertise, I'd say the reality here is that you in fact don't know whether your typings are correct and that you can't stand to admit it.

The Tieger's live in West Hartford, CT., (the town at which I am employed) and I have been working toward certification in "The Art of SpeedReading People". I'm very, very good at it. Enough said?

---

My motivation for putting your folly on display like this? Part self-therapy part attempting to raise quality of debate on this forum and part being cruel to be kind. Like I wrote elsewhere:

No need to do that.......it's not necessary. Enjoy your evening.....

 

[Totenkindly]

Of course, polls like this are dependent, if they are to have any value whatsoever, on a mass of people trusting their own judgment to type an even bigger mass of people, and then the original mass of people trusting the ability of the rest of mass to accurately type their section of the bigger mass.

Which sounds, to me, like:
a) a stupidly lazy sentence; and
b) a recipe for disaster

I understand that, and in some sense, you are right.

But what is the alternative? Never being willing to make a judgment about anything, even if you have the skill and experience to do so?

Perhaps in the field of "MBTI typing," not everyone will succeed admirably by trusting themselves, and yes, there are some people I'd rather see doing anything but categorizing people based on perceived personality traits; but that doesn't mean that there are not people who will do very well typing, using reasonable mature judgment and monitoring their own assessments and self-correcting when necessary.

We are probably not as differing on the issue as it sounds, we're just focusing on different facets. You're saying "applied in a very general way, this logic can be very dangerous," and I'm saying, "applied in a more specific way, this logic is empowering."

 

[Langrenus]

I understand that, and in some sense, you are right.

But what is the alternative? Never being willing to make a judgment about anything, even if you have the skill and experience to do so?

Perhaps in the field of "MBTI typing," not everyone will succeed admirably by trusting themselves, and yes, there are some people I'd rather see doing anything but categorizing people based on perceived personality traits; but that doesn't mean that there are not people who will do very well typing, using reasonable mature judgment and monitoring their own assessments and self-correcting when necessary.

We are probably not as differing on the issue as it sounds, we're just focusing on different facets. You're saying "applied in a very general way, this logic can be very dangerous," and I'm saying, "applied in a more specific way, this logic is empowering."

Fair points. I've no doubt that there are individuals here, and elsewhere, who are more than capable of typing people accurately. However, my experience is that this skill is not one that is found all that commonly. I think your question about the alternative is disingenuous - if you have the skill and experience making judgments need not be a problem. My concern here lies with the cases in which people making judgments without the required skill or experience. Furthermore, other people are then relying on their judgments when drawing conclusions from polls, etc - so really your own skill and experience becomes nothing more than one more figure in the averaged equation. Unless, of course, you don't trust the results other people have supplied but only your own, in which you can be confident - in which case we haven't really moved anywhere.

I'm a hopeless cynic, and to be honest we're probably not that far apart. But it's good to argue debate