- Joined
- Dec 23, 2009
- Messages
- 26,578
- MBTI Type
- INTJ
- Enneagram
- 6w5
- Instinctual Variant
- sx/sp
So this person wrote a two part article. I'm interested in anyone's thoughts. I'll provide mine.
Why INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP Types Struggle in Modern Life
Why INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP Types Struggle in Modern Life (Part 2)
An excerpt: "Collectively comprising little more than 10% of the general population, the IN types (INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP) are rare and unusual birds. If we harken back to humanity’s tribal days, we would likely find only a few INs in a given tribe. At that time, they would have assumed roles such as sage, healer, Shaman or prophet—anything that capitalized on their powers of insight and intuition. Indeed, their rare and unusual gifts would have made INs a precious commodity. Knowing that they played a critical role in their tribe’s well-being would have engendered a deep sense of self-worth in these types.
Fast-forwarding to the present day, INs find themselves in a very different and ultimately more difficult predicament. Instead of being born into a tribe and assuming a meaningful role within that community, INs must now find or create their own tribe, as well as their purpose within it. Unfortunately, many INs discover that the path to doing so is a rough and rocky one; finding themselves and their best-fit niche rarely proves as smooth or easy as they anticipate.
Further complicating this situation is the growing concentration of power and influence among a small subset of individuals. Due to the reach of the internet and other forms of mass media, a single individual can now command the attention of millions. And while this may be a boon for a fortunate few, it can leave many INs feeling as though their own ideas and insights are superfluous or unimportant."
What do you think about this?
I sort of think it's crap and here's why.
The article states that today's world is shifting - towards the EPs being prominent and in charge and that the introverted intuitives have such difficulty with the fast paced current world where we are bombarded with stimulation and information.
What? Let's take the statement, "At that time, they would have assumed roles such as sage, healer, Shaman or prophet—anything that capitalized on their powers of insight and intuition. Indeed, their rare and unusual gifts would have made INs a precious commodity."How many shamans, sages or prophets would there be? People would be rewarded for gathering resources - hunting, fishing, tending to crops, raising animals to eat, etc. Men who were strong, a good provider and could protect their families were valued. Let's go back to the year 1800 which is more recent - at the time when the right to bear arms was important. At that time, 80% of people were farmers in the US. It could be that INXXs would be great farmers but I don't think as a rule they would enjoy it so much as other things.
A fast paced world with a lot of change forces a lot of ambiguity upon us. I believe that intuitives have some natural advantages over sensors in dealing with this - well at least as compared to SJ types. The second thing is the increasing importance of the written word. Let's compare to fifty years ago and take a look at a typical office job. It was before email. You could hand write notes and type up memos on a typewriter but I imagine this was not an incredibly efficient way to communicate. So naturally people had lots of meetings, business lunches and dinners with each other and talked on the phone. It was an environment naturally suited for extraverts who liked to talk and introverts were at a distinct disadvantage in a room full of extraverts where they couldn't get in a word edgewise. The importance of electronic written communication in todays world cannot be underestimated and introverts tend to gravitate more towards this kind of communication than extraverts. They tend to be good at it. I suppose Facebook is more suited to EPs but how important is that particular medium to our everyday lives? It's mostly a form of entertainment and chance to snoop on what others you know or have known are up to.
Also, what is this about introverted intuitives being overwhelmed with information and that they can't keep up. Who says introverts can absorb information any better than extraverts? Are EPs better suited to texting each other throughout the day? Maybe. Then again, maybe using a mobile phone can waste a lot of time and interfere with our ability to relate to people (i know heresy).
Let's take the fact that personality types has become a mainstream things and INFPs, INFJs, INTPs and INTJs realize that there are actually other people out there like them. A LOT of them. That's a nice thing to know. It's certainly comforting, affirming and helps to build self acceptance and self esteem.
So mostly I think those articles are complete garbage - which typifies the junk about personality type on the Internet today. It surprises me to see the comments from those that are saying, "oh you are exactly right!". My guess is that today's world is ideally suited for introverted intuitives in a way that that hasn't been seen in history.
Why INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP Types Struggle in Modern Life
Why INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP Types Struggle in Modern Life (Part 2)
An excerpt: "Collectively comprising little more than 10% of the general population, the IN types (INFJ, INFP, INTJ, & INTP) are rare and unusual birds. If we harken back to humanity’s tribal days, we would likely find only a few INs in a given tribe. At that time, they would have assumed roles such as sage, healer, Shaman or prophet—anything that capitalized on their powers of insight and intuition. Indeed, their rare and unusual gifts would have made INs a precious commodity. Knowing that they played a critical role in their tribe’s well-being would have engendered a deep sense of self-worth in these types.
Fast-forwarding to the present day, INs find themselves in a very different and ultimately more difficult predicament. Instead of being born into a tribe and assuming a meaningful role within that community, INs must now find or create their own tribe, as well as their purpose within it. Unfortunately, many INs discover that the path to doing so is a rough and rocky one; finding themselves and their best-fit niche rarely proves as smooth or easy as they anticipate.
Further complicating this situation is the growing concentration of power and influence among a small subset of individuals. Due to the reach of the internet and other forms of mass media, a single individual can now command the attention of millions. And while this may be a boon for a fortunate few, it can leave many INs feeling as though their own ideas and insights are superfluous or unimportant."
What do you think about this?
I sort of think it's crap and here's why.
The article states that today's world is shifting - towards the EPs being prominent and in charge and that the introverted intuitives have such difficulty with the fast paced current world where we are bombarded with stimulation and information.
What? Let's take the statement, "At that time, they would have assumed roles such as sage, healer, Shaman or prophet—anything that capitalized on their powers of insight and intuition. Indeed, their rare and unusual gifts would have made INs a precious commodity."How many shamans, sages or prophets would there be? People would be rewarded for gathering resources - hunting, fishing, tending to crops, raising animals to eat, etc. Men who were strong, a good provider and could protect their families were valued. Let's go back to the year 1800 which is more recent - at the time when the right to bear arms was important. At that time, 80% of people were farmers in the US. It could be that INXXs would be great farmers but I don't think as a rule they would enjoy it so much as other things.
A fast paced world with a lot of change forces a lot of ambiguity upon us. I believe that intuitives have some natural advantages over sensors in dealing with this - well at least as compared to SJ types. The second thing is the increasing importance of the written word. Let's compare to fifty years ago and take a look at a typical office job. It was before email. You could hand write notes and type up memos on a typewriter but I imagine this was not an incredibly efficient way to communicate. So naturally people had lots of meetings, business lunches and dinners with each other and talked on the phone. It was an environment naturally suited for extraverts who liked to talk and introverts were at a distinct disadvantage in a room full of extraverts where they couldn't get in a word edgewise. The importance of electronic written communication in todays world cannot be underestimated and introverts tend to gravitate more towards this kind of communication than extraverts. They tend to be good at it. I suppose Facebook is more suited to EPs but how important is that particular medium to our everyday lives? It's mostly a form of entertainment and chance to snoop on what others you know or have known are up to.
Also, what is this about introverted intuitives being overwhelmed with information and that they can't keep up. Who says introverts can absorb information any better than extraverts? Are EPs better suited to texting each other throughout the day? Maybe. Then again, maybe using a mobile phone can waste a lot of time and interfere with our ability to relate to people (i know heresy).
Let's take the fact that personality types has become a mainstream things and INFPs, INFJs, INTPs and INTJs realize that there are actually other people out there like them. A LOT of them. That's a nice thing to know. It's certainly comforting, affirming and helps to build self acceptance and self esteem.
So mostly I think those articles are complete garbage - which typifies the junk about personality type on the Internet today. It surprises me to see the comments from those that are saying, "oh you are exactly right!". My guess is that today's world is ideally suited for introverted intuitives in a way that that hasn't been seen in history.
