I am a 9w8– and I got that on the test! I was a bit surprised. My next highest score was 5, which makes sense as it's my head fix (5w6, the test thought I was more 5w4 but I am not). I am SP/SO/SX.
I find the enneagram a lot more useful than MBTI, actually, though I use both. It took me a while to figure out my enneagram (the 9 descriptions are not very good!), but once I figured it out it really hit home. My biggest problem in life is that I have potential that I don't use. Every evaluation I receive from a teacher boils down to, "What
happened?" I know I frustrate others when I won't take action. I also have quite a strong 8 wing, and am prone to sudden bursts of anger– this happened much more a few years ago, and as a child I threw lots of temper tantrums. Now it's rarer, but it happens. I'm actually pretty demonstrative with all my emotions– it's a kind of emotional purging. The emotions are not me, they are outside of me, and if I express them they will dissipate. So the 9 descriptions didn't fit me so well, because I'm likely to cause conflict in my quest for inner peace.
I've heard that 9s, especially 9w8s, tend not to be intellectual. I sort of doubt that, but I do think that the way in which 9 interacts with intellectualism is an interesting thing to explore. For me, my desire to merge comes out most in my studying– I actually feel a sense of merging with whatever I am reading, rather than to immediately read it with a critical eye. When my 7 roommate is reading her homework, she is always making comments (which is very entertaining), and might pick something apart before finishing it. I am much more critical when discussing ideas, because debate energizes me. I also feel a deep desire to connect everything to everything else– it's sort of a game to see what conclusions I can draw by comparing X to Y. Even if it's not a particularly valid comparison, I learn something about X and Y. Of course, I tend to spend years studying the same or similar material. I've talked so much about my experience as a student just because it's a big part of my life and I find it fascinating to see how my type affects it, especially since I supposedly am a non-intellectual type.
I've heard the 9's style of talking is "saga," I believe I'm a bit guilty of that here.
