How do you hold typology?

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Lmao...yeah and then it comes true because of actions when its only true because it pushed you to do it. It wouldn't have naturally happened.

On a side note it is crazy how much I match being a Leo, Monkey (Chinese zodiac) and everything else. Most nail who I am more accurate then most typology descriptions on a whole. I think alot of issues with typology is being able to differentiate objective data and subjective data when typing.

I don't know. Sometimes I read things about Aquarius and find it very accurate, but I'm not sure if it's just the Barnum effect.

I do think that time of birth can have some effect on one's personality. "Summer babies," for instance, might be less prone to depression due to being born when they are likely to be exposed to more sun (I believe some scientific studies have already indicated this could be true); also the mother's exposure to sun must affect the fetus in some way involving a greater level of vitamin D, perhaps.

I wonder if it might also be dependent on their mothers' psychological states after birth--are mothers less likely to experience postpartum depression during the summer therefore effecting the child's general temperament?

It's not that I have any problems with astrology; I just think some people place far too much weight in it. You're right, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy if someone follows the advice of their horoscope, after which point it's going to be difficult to determine if it was just coincidence.

 

[Cellmold]

About as high as I can throw Danny DeVito.

He's heavier than he looks.

 

[kyuuei]

As a short-hand gateway into understanding others and one's self. The more you delve into it, I think, the more bullshit it becomes.. but if you take it for what it is, without all the details and absolutes, I think it's entirely useful and has a definite place in psychology and in human interactions in general.

I mean, it immediately changed my attitude from being ethnocentric (in the extroverted/sensing sort of way I was) into realizing some of the core processes behind other type's of people. I'll forever be thankful for that much. And it is a really convenient shorthand to use.. telling someone, "they're ISTP, they need some space for a while." is just VERY useful and practical in daily life without having to go into the whole, "Really, it isn't you.. it is them. You see, they've always been that way, ever since we were kids. They always needed space to think and don't really want many friends, so they're quite resistant to the idea right now..."

It just makes a lot of sense to have psychological short cut explanations for ourselves, others, and strangers. Yeah, people get stupid with it easily, take it too seriously, go bananas and worry their husbands are suddenly wrong for them because some typology quiz said their types were opposites. Whatever. I still like it.

 

[Mole]

Well, why are we so superstitious in the 21st Century?

Some of us are more superstitious than others and a lot depends on our history. For instance, both America and Australia were founded after the Reformation so both of us practise freedom of religion. But America was founded before the Enlightenment while Australia was founded after the Scottish and English Enlightenment. So Australia values evidence and reason above superstition, while America is still steeped in superstion.

A huge proportion of Americans still believe in creationism and fully one half of Americans believe torture is justified even though the Treaty of Westphalia of 1648 banned Government torture.

So as the tree is bent, so it grows. So America grows out of the Reformation and so values freedom of religion, but America did not grow out of the Enlightenment and so does not value evidence and reason above superstition. While Australia grows out of the Reformation and out of the Enlightenment so Oz favours freedom of religion, and evidence and reason above superstition.

And each of us has all the pride of obedient children, Americans are proud of freedom of religion and proud of being open minded to any belief, while Australians are proud of freedom of religion, and evidence and reason.

 

[Patrick]

I never understood why some liken it to astrology. Could anyone explain?

I think I can. I was into astrology years before I ever heard of Myers-Briggs/Keirseyan personality typing. One main thrust of astrology--the natal horoscope--is about the very same thing as 16-types theory: defining basic types and features of human personality.

The only significant difference is the basis for interpretation. Astrology uses a map of the heavens, the theory being that the relative positions of the sun, moon, and planets at the moment of your birth can reveal a lot about your personality. And 16-types theory uses a self-assessment questionnaire which leads to a pattern of Jungian function-attitudes; and that pattern is believed to say a lot about your personality.

In both cases, interpretation is key. Neither a natal horoscope nor a cognitive-process pattern can say anything about you directly; the chart or pattern needs to be interpreted--transformed into a description. Even then, the description will only be a general outline; as an individual, you have to "try it on for size" and see how well it fits the unique person you actually are.

Most people are pretty lazy, so they don't do much with either astrology or 16-type theory. They know their sun sign, but that's all they know about astrology. They learn their type code--and change it whenever they feel they've gotten it wrong--but then they jump right into descriptions and never bother to learn how the system works.

The fact that my sun sign is Pisces means nothing more than the fact that I prefer iNtuition over Sensing. The minimum requirement for getting anything out of your natal horoscope is sun sign + moon sign + rising sign. And the minimum requirement for getting anything out of 16-types theory is your four-letter code. Even then, there's a lot more you can get if you delve deeper and find out more.

But you still have to interpret it all. And you do that by self-searching and being aware of your experiences.

Either approach can be a good vehicle for self-discovery. Many people reject astrology because the "sky map" it's based on doesn't seem to have any scientific validity: why should the positions of planets mean anything at all? Well, it's faith-based to a large extent. But so is 16-types theory, when you stop and think about it. Nobody has scientifically verified Jung's hypothesized "function-attitudes" or "cognitive processes." Keirsey was sure those were nothing but figments of Jung's imagination.

Still, you can use most anything as a basis--the lines on your palm or whatever. The key is in the interpretation of what the signs mean to you or say about you. If you go around saying you're an INFP (or whichever type) and asking what other people's types are, you're saying "INFP" means something to you or describes something about you, and you're curious about how others understand their codes and what interpretations they've made.

Ultimately these are all just labels that we apply to ourselves to facilitate communication with each other.

 

[Luke O]

I find MBTI is a useful tool to help find out how people tick. It is not an answer to everything, but it has helped me understand myself and others a little more. When you know 2 or more people with the same type, and see the differences between them, you know there's more to people that MBTI can't explain.

 

[Mole]

Evidence and Reason and The Suspension of Disbelief

We are meaning creating animals, or another way of saying it is that we see patterns in everything as a means of survival. So patterns and pattern recognition is most important to us.

And during the Western Enlightenment of 1650 to 1800 we discovered that we could apply evidence and reason to patterns. So we were and are able to discover which pattens are true and which patterns are false.

We found that many of the patterns we took for granted were false, such as astrology, phrenology, iridology, the literal interpretation of sacred scripture, creationism, that demons caused mental illness, that slaves and women were inferior, that usury damaged the economy, the divine right of kings, government torture, traditional medicine, and all those things we now call superstitions.

And we based the modern world around us on those patterns we found were true.

However we still intuitively see patterns all around us, but we now know some are true and some are false. And if we want to find out what is true and what is false we apply evidence and reason.

Where we do not apply evidence and reason is in art and religion. The question we ask of art and religion is, does it suspend our disbelief?

So what is the correct question to apply to mbti? Is it evidence and reason or the suspension of disbelief?

If we apply evidence and reason to mbti, we find it is false; but if we apply the suspension of disbelief to mbti, we find it is part of art and religion.

 

[Little_Sticks]

It's a fair starting point for me before I get to know someone. Like statistics, I can use it to estimate what my best likely options in dealing with people are, but once I know them a little more intimately, typology matters very little because they become more of an individual person over a type.

 

[Opal]

Fort Minor - Cigarettes

It mainly reminds me how alien other ways of thought are, and thereby gives me patience.

 

[Qlip]

For me it's a starting point in understanding people. I often believe function order holds some truth in human psychology, but even when I disbelieve, at the very least typology is a cardboard tube to focus in on trying to understand an individual, it provides a focus.

In my daily life I use it in that way and as an icebreaker and party trick.

 

[Passacaglia]

If, in a one-on-one situation, somebody told me they were super into it, I would be delighted to discuss it.

I have a personal anecdote in this vein.

Shortly before stumbling upon TypeC, I went on a date with a woman who turned out to be super into MBTI. I had stumbled across MBTI years before, but had all but forgotten about it, so I encouraged her to talk my ear off about it. It turns out we were the same type, and it was probably the best date I ever had. Sadly, she didn't feel the same way -- we went on a second date, but she told me at its conclusion that the second date was just her confirming that she didn't feel any chemistry with me. Needless to say, I was super-bummed.

 

[Passacaglia]

As for myself, I've lost virtually all interest in MBTI since joining TypeC. I may have maintained some interest, had I friends or family to talk to about it. But of the two who I thought might be interested and who took the type quiz at my suggestion, neither were interested. One, my mother, took the quiz, read her type description and said "This is for young people." The other, my best friend, took the quiz and then mentioned it to his therapist, who said "*sigh* Tell your friend to get a therapist."

Still, I don't think that typology is devoid of value; like [MENTION=4939]kyuuei[/MENTION], MBTI got me thinking about people in a different way, so if nothing else typology can be a layman's introduction to the fact that "People really are fundamentally different, but not necessarily in the ways that I think." Plus, MBTI still strongly appeals to my sense of symmetrical aesthetics, and I've become curious about the enneagram stuff.

(I've skimmed the 9 type descriptions, but have no idea what the subtypes and wings even are. The information is is oddly decentralized. Maybe I'll start a thread to get help.)

 

[Morpeko]

I'm not sure. It's not really a passion of mine (although I have been passionate about enneagram in the past), more of a little interest to past my time. These days, I'm often at the point where I don't give much of a fuck about the topic, but indulge in conversations related to it since I can't seem to leave typology-related communities since I enjoy the people and don't want to put the time into finding a better online alternative for socialization. So unless I'm willing to give up this place and another little group I have, I'm going to have to keep talking about it. I'll talk about it in-depth if I think that the person is actually interested and I have some interest in them.

I don't have any interest in discussing typology in person. I naturally type the people I come across based on what I know about them, what they tell me, and their observable behaviors. Still, I'm not attached to my typings of them, it's just something I do. If I were to tell them about MBTI or enneagram, they'd probably mistype themselves based on stereotypes or test results since they'd most likely not be willing to delve in deeper. Therefore, it'd be pretty pointless.

I initially got into typology to "explore and understand myself" further, but I'm gaining little value from it at this point, so it's just a stupid thing I discuss from time to time. If I'm very bored, I'll try typing myself again, or re-assessing my types, but other than that, it's really just something to pass the time.

 

[Tina&Jane]

I wouldn’t say that I’m guarded about it, just that most people I know aren’t interested in typology beyond the tests. For them it’s just something to do online when you’re bored and not much thought is put into it after that, which isn’t a bad thing. You don’t need typology to understand people or what makes them tick, it’s just a framework that can help the process along. But if I’m going to talk about it with someone, I’d rather them have more of an understanding about the theory behind it, cognitive functions, etc. and done some actual self-study, because I find the tests to be pretty meaningless and unreliable without that foundation.

Even with saying all that, I wouldn’t say that I’m very invested in typology as an interest or hobby, at least at this point. My interest tends to come in waves, and even then I wouldn’t say that what I know is super in-depth. Definitely more than the average test taker, but nowhere near as knowledgeable as some people here. I guess I would label it more of a casual hobby? Something that I read about when I have down time or need an escape from stress, but try to not let influence my perceptions and interactions with people when out in the “real world.”

 

[GoggleGirl17]

It gives me an excuse to connect with people. I don't take it seriously. Sometimes I will reference typology if someone who is not knowledgeable about it starts discussing something that happens to touch on an aspect of a particular theory, but I don't especially enjoy talking about it.

 

[Mole]

Typology is the study of types.

It is the study of all kinds of types from musical types to psychological types, to the types of atoms to political types.

Our original name was Mbti Central, but the business of Mbti wrote to us threatening us with legal action if we continued to use their registered legal name of Mbti without paying. So we changed our name to Typology Central.

So Typology Central is a weasel word used by weasels in order to deceive the innocent and naive.

And it works.

 

[RadicalDoubt]

I treat typology like a puzzle game. It helps me increase my interest in others and works to help build upon empathy in areas that I'm lacking and learn new ways of dealing with people. I am not naturally people savvy and am generally not as curious as I'd like to be (especially about people), so anything that can incite thinking about others and pay more attention to the external world more is important to me. It's a hobby to me and something I stick to more because I don't have much else to do to pass the time. I've shared typology with people irl before more recently and I seemed to receive a relatively positive response.

 

[miss deceit]

With my hands

 

[chickpea]

in my arms like a beautiful bouncing baby

 

[Kanra Jest]

It provides a system of understanding. Such is why all systems are important on some level. That it provides clarity and insight.

Ultimately in efficient terms, it is a useful tool for personal understanding, relations, and evolution. If used correctly.