Apr 2, 2019
Sad but true lol. MBTI is not the final word on anything.
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@mbti-is-cool
Sad but true lol. MBTI is not the final word on anything.
Dom Ni (and inferior Se)
I’m going to use the rough format from my enneagram post because I think that’s helpful here.
Also, a lot of the arguments I see in typing in favor of dom Ni also hinge on a corresponding typing of low Se…and typically display a very poor understanding of low Se. As a result, since the two are inseparable, this is going to be just as much about Se as Ni.
What is Ni? While we’re at it, what is Se?
Ni is an intuitive, introverted perceiving function. This means the following:
-it is based on abstract concepts. Ni is about the overarching theme.
-it is internal, subjective and convergent. It’s about summarizing everything conceptually into one big end picture, typically based on the person’s past understanding of and experience with thematic patterns.
-it is a method of processing information.
Se is a sensing, extroverted perceiving function. This means:
-it is based on sensory, concrete information. Se is about what exists in reality at this time.
-it is external, objective, and divergent. It’s about using the information currently at hand to inform decisions about how to proceed from there, without bias
-it is a method of processing information.
What dom Ni/inf Se typically looks like: Dom Ni and inferior Se result in someone who is all about the big picture, and often not very good at the smaller picture. Dom Ni is highly subjective and personal, in addition to being conceptual and theoretical. As a result, the dom Ni user takes a long time to process things and synthesize them into a vision before acting, and are one of the slowest types to take action, both because of their information processing method and because as an intuitive, they are less invested than sensors in acting in the real world. Ni users are always trying to figure out what everything truly means. This has the potential to provide great insight, but often at the expense of actually doing anything in the meantime. Additionally, Ni users often come up with elaborate, thematic big-picture visions for the future (for, not of - this is an important factor) but struggle to incorporate conflicts with these themes.
Inferior Se shows up in that dom Ni users are typically intrigued by but not particularly comfortable with the physical, concrete world. It’s random, not thematically organized at all, and spontaneous. While they do engage with it, they often do so in controlled, safe environments, and often ones that link physical things to the abstract (eg: the arts, individual sports that have rules or specific positioning like martial arts or yoga), or ones that provide a meditative aspect (again, martial arts, yoga, and additionally running, swimming, or hiking). Note that these are typically hobbies, not full-time jobs.
Dom Ni users are typically not very observant of details in the physical world because of inferior Se. As with all high intuition/low sensing pairs, there is a risk of reading in between the lines but not actually reading the lines themselves.
What healthy dom Ni/inf Se isn’t: a healthy Ni dom is still typically cautious and likes things to be planned out and predictable, in line with their conceptual understanding. However, they do acknowledge and respect the realities of the situation, even if that isn’t their preference - failure to incorporate new hard evidence would be a sign of low health in anyone, but it’s a hallmark of an Ni-dom with Se desperately in need of development.
‘Normal’ inferior Se can manifest as lack of observation, inattention to detail, and some discomfort with reality, but again, healthy but weak inferior Se at least acknowledges that the situation is constrained by reality. Delusion is by definition unhealthy. This low level of observation sometimes comes out as clumsiness (in the sense of walking into things because they don’t notice them) but more normally it’s just not noticing the specifics of the physical world that aren’t necessary for normal life (ie, they can cross the street just fine, but they don’t notice little changes in their environment the way a sensor would). Ni doms are not good with uncertainty or unpredictability as they prefer having considerable time to process information before acting on it.
Both Ni and Se can get focused on a particular “true” outcome, vs. the Si/Ne axis which tends to usually assume multiple possible outcomes.
What isn’t necessarily dom Ni or inferior Se: like or dislike of luxury/decadence/particular standards of beauty; inattention to detail in general (high Ne is equally likely to do this), liking to plan (high Si is equally likely to do this), clumsiness (can be but by no means always), creativity in general, having goals (those are things any normal person possesses). Additionally, most people can get annoyed by some degree of interruption/disruption of plans, depending on the specific nature. It’s true that high Ni (and high Si) types are more regimented in their schedules, but if you cancel plans on an Ne or Se-dom who was looking forward to them they’ll be just as annoyed.
Since this was prompted by a couple of questions I do want to address those specifically:
Ni-doms are slow to act. Seizing the moment is typically associated with higher sensing (especially higher Se).
The weird pro-introvert cult aside, there is some logic in calling Ni-doms the most introverted of the introverts. Both the combination of introversion and intuition leads them to often favor the mental world over the physical. If someone seems extroverted (not just middle-of-the-road, but outright extroverted), they are almost certainly not an Ni-dom.
Ni doms are often more likely to go into relatively stable careers. They can be very high achieving but I would expect to see them more in business/tech/academia/some aspects of healthcare and for lack of a better way to put it, creative white collar jobs (I know an INTJ in publishing, for example). The exception would be entrepreneurship, but even that is something where I’d expect to see an extrovert or perceiver heavily involved in the early stages of the startup as a partner, advisor, or similar. Obviously this is all tendencies and not absolutes - there will be occasional exceptions, as there are for any type.
Finally, discomfort with the physical world doesn’t mean discomfort with any specific aspect. It’s general and all-encompassing, and without any specific agenda. It’s not, for example, about things that you might call shallow (and the concept of shallowness is itself so subjective and loaded that it’s a terrible thing to type off in the first place)
You’re not an ambivert, you just don’t know what extroversion and introversion really means
The Enneagram, Simplified
Below is a simplified overview of the Enneagram types and their wings, useful for introducing people to the theory objectively – I tried my best to keep all descriptions unbiased and to-the-point. They should be okay to print, too, depending on the formatting. Translations into other languages are available in the notes. With that out of the way, the rest is below the cut!
Keep reading
Enneagram: what it is, what it isn’t, and what’s not definitive
What 1 is: fear of being morally corrupt.
What 1 typically looks like: some self-righteousness, some perfectionist tendencies, generally kind of uptight, willing to be confrontational but not comfortable with openly expressing anger, can be resentful as a result.
What (healthy) 1 isn’t: total and complete perfectionism, constant martyrdom/fighting every single battle/lecturing everyone all the time
What isn’t necessarily 1: having morals, confronting other people about immoral/problematic behavior.
What probably isn’t a 1: free-spirited or impulsive behavior, lazy or apathetic behavior
***
What 2 is: fear of being unworthy of love
What 2 typically looks like: helpful, puts the needs of others first, people-pleasing, desiring of affection
What (healthy) 2 isn’t: being a complete and total doormat, constant martyrdom, never considering their own needs or alternately being extremely needy and passive aggressive
What isn’t necessarily 2: wanting to be helpful, wanting some level of appreciation for their efforts
What probably isn’t a 2: selfishness, brusqueness, high level of independence
***
What 3 is: fear of having no value
What 3 typically looks like: competitive, image-conscious, tries to be high-achieving, often somewhat pragmatic regarding hierarchies and structure
What (healthy) 3 isn’t: backstabbing their way up the corporate ladder
What isn’t necessarily 3: caring about what people think of you professionally/academically, being at all competitive
What probably isn’t a 3: laziness or apathy as a baseline behavior, unwillingness to confront people, complacency.
***
What 4 is: fear of lacking a unique identity
What 4 typically looks like: heavy emphasis on self-expression, may try on different personas, can be stubborn
What (healthy) 4 isn’t: abnormally high selfishness, depression, lack of emotional control
What isn’t necessarily 4: having a sense of identity, being creative
What probably isn’t a 4: dislike of art, people-pleasing, unemotional
***
What 5 is: fear of being incompetent or unprepared
What 5 typically looks like: withdrawn, analytical, interested in learning
What (healthy) 5 isn’t: no social skills, no emotional expression, constant daydreaming
What isn’t necessarily 5: being smart, developing expertise, being curious
What probably isn’t 5: being very open and extroverted, disliking intellectual pursuits
***
What 6 is: fear of being without support or guidance
What p6 typically looks like: cautious, responsive, community-oriented, somewhat reliant on others
What cp6 typically looks like: the same, but more confrontational and focused on self-reliance
What (healthy) 6 isn’t: suffering from actual severe phobias or anxiety, paranoid
What isn’t necessarily 6: wanting to have some guidance or a support system
What probably isn’t 6: being very adventurous, risk-taking
***
What 7 is: fear of being trapped, deprived, or hurt
What 7 typically looks like: spontaneous, acquisitive, adventurous, scattered or flighty sometimes
What (healthy) 7 isn’t: no impulse control, addictive, refusing to commit to anything
What isn’t necessarily 7: enjoying fun, wanting to travel or have nice things
What probably isn’t 7: being very cautious, preferring stability to adventure, being extremely laser-focused.
***
What 8 is: fear of being controlled
What 8 typically looks like: decisive, dominant, confrontational, tough
What (healthy) 8 isn’t: fighting everything, being a control freak themselves, violent or cruel
What isn’t necessarily 8: confronting problems, liking leadership positions
What probably isn’t 8: passivity, reliance, indecision
***
What 9 is: fear of disharmony and loss
What 9 typically looks like: peacemaking, easygoing, calm, laid-back, avoidant of conflict
What (healthy) 9 isn’t: dissociated, numb
What isn’t necessarily 9: disliking conflict, being interested in spiritual topics
What probably isn’t 9: being confrontational, highly driven, or competitive
What do you think about INTPs?
From personal experience:
INTPs are adorable when they talk about whatever nerdy thing they’re into. They LIGHT UP. It’s wonderful.
Strange recluses who survive on little/no sunlight, food or water. I don’t get it. To INTPs reading this: go outside!
Clueless about reading people, generally, but once they’re your friend, you’ll have a super tight friendship.
Not aggressive. Not passive-aggressive. Just…passive in a way that is, in all honesty, a struggle to deal with.
Just say what you think, INTPs. Speak up. We want to hear it.
I love Intjs
LITERALLY wake me up from the dead when yall have come up with The courage and common sense to trash high Ne. Fe vs Fi? Dead and boring, I’m asleep already. Ni is delusional? BIG news. I need some fresh and sexy takes y'all. Where are they
BBC’s Sherlock Holmes, from INTP to ISTP: A Reasoning
Breath
I know this will cause some waves. But for those who are willing to stick with me, I hope this explanation pays off. Now some will be mad that I don’t have Sherlock as INTJ and others infuriated or confused (or a bit of both) of why I would have retyped a character so clearly INTP. I get it. I do.
For whatever reason this character is one of fascination. One that many hold close to their hearts, so I get typing him can be a sensitive topic: hit some nerves. Especially, when the typing of fictional characters gets close to people’s self-identity. I want to be clear that I don’t think a single adaptation of Sherlock Holmes is the same. The Sherlock from Elementary is most likely an INTJ. The Sherlock from the most recent films is most likely an ENTP. Meanwhile, the original Sherlock is most likely an ESTJ. This well-known detective has been reinvented and reinterpreted in so many different ways. Each an interesting take that has captivated wide audiences making the character still relevant today.
Understand, the typing of the character is solely based on the text of the adaptation itself. Let us now dive into the reasoning of how I arrived at ISTP (some readers thinking, “finally!,” while others are irate).
First, I will quickly go over his Ti (Introverted Thinking) over Te (Extraverted Thinkinh) use in BBC’s Sherlock so we are on the same page of him being an ITP type. This brings us to the part where I explain Ne (Extraverted iNtuition) versus Se (Extraverted Sensation) in Sherlock and why I have come to the conclusion of ISTP over INTP, INTJ, or an alternative type.
Ti is a perceptual logic, while Te is conceptual. This makes more sense as we see this Sherlock demonstrate a need for interaction in order to be engaged in his logic. He needs to be doing something, be active. He isn’t one to be held up reading and planning. He has a need to constantly be involved in order to use his logic, his judgement (Ti). He would rather have to improvise to solve something than take time away laying out a plan or delegating between systems. We see this contrasted by his brother Mycroft, whom I type as INTJ and others as ESTJ. Either way, both types agree upon Mycrfot’s conceptual use of logic rather than perceptual. This contrast in use of the rational should indicate to a viewer that Sherlock and Mycroft are not sharing the same Thinking function.
Despite the quote from the original text that is the definition of Te being reiterated by Sherlock in the show,
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
his BBC interpretation bleeds Ti. In fact, Mycroft is often impatient with Sherlock’s lack of using Te and lack of thinking like the quote. Mycroft, whether actually there or an apparition of Sherlock’s mind, often pushes Sherlock out of his accustomed form of logic Ti. Sherlock craves to figure a situation out once within it, not from afar with objective rationality like Mycroft so often demonstrates. So, although the quote is a nice nod to the original source text of which the show gets it’s inspiration, it does not fit the character the writers found themselves creating.
Secondary Se: “Quiet. Calm. Peaceful. Isn’t it hateful.”
Both ISTP and INTP types need interaction with a situation in order to engage in their Ti logic. For the INTP it is less apparent. My big argument for INTP versus INTJ was this perceptual need. But Sherlock pushes this need further than an INTP. This comes from a use of secondary Se and not Ne. Sherlock has an obvious need for physical stimulation in order to be interested in a situation in the first place to engage strongly with his Ti.
An INTP uses Ne to explore possibilities of situations and pushing boundaries (often pushing social boundaries, that inferior Fe). But it comes through the form of needing the truth for the sake of it. There isn’t a need for utility, but one of understanding. This is the direction Ne provides for Ti in the INTP. However, we see right away for Sherlock that he needs a practical reason to be interested in something. He needs to wield knowledge in a situation in order for it to be valuable to him. It is most obvious when he has a clear knowledge gap when it comes to astronomy. For him the concept was too abstract, it didn’t have utility or practical meaning so he had no reason to be interested in it. He, in fact, found it useless. He isn’t just Se because he sees and is aware of his physical surroundings (though that does help drive the point home that he has higher Se than any INTJ would), but because of his need for physical stimulation. Remember that episode of him waiting for that right case to engage and challenge him? Secondary Se!
He doesn’t have multiple cases preoccupying his time. His Se makes him in or out of a case. In classic ISTP fashion it is obvious when Sherlock is not interested in something. He won’t ever feign interest in something for the benefit of others. His Se secondary function makes it obvious whether he is in or out of a situation. When he is in, he is all in and incredibly action-oriented. When he isn’t, you couldn’t see someone more bored. Because his Se is secondary it isn’t always apparent. Unlike Se dominants, he doesn’t needs the novelty of a situation to keep him engaged. He repeats the same tasks as a detective, he doesn’t switch up his career or style for the sake of needing a new situation. In the secondary position it allows him to enjoy each new case, each new challenge, like it is brand new. Like all ISPs, Sherlock can become incredibly focused when his dominant function (Ti) and Se align in interest.
All of these observations of this character started to itch at my brain. Questioning my INTP typing. I started not being able to explain how an INTP would behave in the way that Sherlock does, see the world the way Sherlock does, engage with the world the way Sherlock does. Hence, my eventual retyping of this major character that so many love and debate over. Maybe this explanation does not satisfy, but it is done. He is now retyped on this blog officially as ISTP.
i have said this from the beginning of time
Shut Up: The Power of Understanding what Introversion Actually is in a World of People Who Won’t Stop Using it as an Excuse
Since I’ve started tagging some posts as “shitty introverts” I decided to make this post to serve as a reference without being quite as sarcastic and salty as I have been, though I’m pretty sure I’ve already failed with that title. Will I change any minds? It’s doubtful, but if you ever want to know why I’m tearing into that introvertunites/introvert, dear post, you can look at this.
First, a brief definition of introversion in two different systems.
In MBTI: Introverts are people who have a dominant introverted function. Extroverts are people who have a dominant extroverted function. Ambiversion does not exist in the MBTI system - more on that later.
Outside of MBTI: Introverts are people who are energized more by time alone than by time spent with others. Extroverts are people who are energized more by time spent with other people than by time spent alone. Ambiverts are people who fall close to the middle.
In reality, everyone is somewhere along a spectrum (ie, we all need some alone time and some time with people), so arguably we’re all ambiverts, but it’s commonly used for people who find themselves needing a pretty even balance of the two.
Now, ambiversion still doesn’t exist within the MBTI system. If you want to call yourself an ANFP* or whatever, then you are making things up and that is not an MBTI type - it is a personal adaptation that uses some concepts from MBTI. Does this mean that MBTI doesn’t acknowledge that some people are non-MBTI ambiverts? No! It just means that MBTI theory uses the introvert and extrovert terms in a particular way, and doesn’t fully explain what social situations energize you, just like it doesn’t explain fully your favorite ice cream flavor or whether you like sports. It’s perfectly fine to say “I’m an ENFP, and I’m pretty ambiverted.”
Okay now that that’s out of the way, what does introversion, outside of MBTI, not mean?
It does not necessarily mean shyness, awkwardness, or lack of social skills. There’s probably a correlation, because people who prefer to spend most of their time alone have less of a vested interest in getting over shyness, awkwardness, or developing social skills, but there are awkward extroverts and socially adept introverts everywhere.
It does not mean misanthropy/hating people in general. I personally think hating people is not a particularly great way to be, as it means you’re closing yourself off to a whole lot of great experiences, and it definitely is going to be more common in introverts as it makes extroversion really hard, but if that’s your deal, fine. Just know that it’s not at all synonymous with introversion. Introversion means needing a good deal of alone time. It doesn’t mean that you hate the time spent with others, just that it’s going to require more energy.
It does not automatically make you smarter, kinder, more creative, or ‘deeper.’ Whatever psych studies may say, they’re going to be based on a subset, so even if introverts are, on average, smarter, it doesn’t mean you, arbitrary introvert, are smarter than an individual arbitrary extrovert. Another way to put it: more Americans have Olympic gold medals than Jamaicans, but I don’t have more gold medals than Usain Bolt. Use your alleged intelligence to learn and understand basic statistics.
Introversion, or for that matter shyness, awkwardness, or whatever do not excuse rudeness or flakiness, and nothing excuses expecting people to understand you without any explanation.
Look. I get that if you’re depressed, or have social anxiety**, you may say yes to a party invite only to find that when the party actually comes, you can’t bring yourself to make it or even to call. That’s okay. But it’s also okay for the host to be upset that you didn’t show up or let them know that you couldn’t come, and it falls to you, when you are up to the task, to explain why.
Is that hard as fuck to do? Yes. Is expecting other people to read your mind and know all the details of your life and mental health and accept all of your actions completely unfair to them? Also yes. Because here’s the thing: you can’t control other people’s reactions, and it’s ridiculous to think you can.
Which brings us to the shitty introvert. The shitty introvert does the following:
Assumes they are in some way better than extroverts - smarter, more creative, better listeners - and may believe that because they let so few people into their lives, including someone is an honor in itself.
Assumes that having emotional responses is unique to them - that no one else dislikes public humiliation or unpleasant surprises.
Either complains that they’re getting dragged to parties, or complains that they’re no longer getting invitations to the parties that they repeatedly turned down, as if the host has nothing better to do than send you an invite they know you’ll refuse***.
Is rude to others and blames it on being introverted instead of considering that other people also have feelings and either putting in enough effort to maintain civility, or apologizing and taking full responsibility of their actions.
Expects to be understood and accommodated automatically without any explanation, and generally does not put in effort to understand or accommodate others.
Sees introversion as an excuse to never try to improve or challenge themselves. If something is hard for them, they will just give up or avoid it.
In summary, they insist they are more considerate, feeling, and creative while being rude, selfish, and stagnant.
Don’t be a shitty introvert.
*For some reason the example fake MBTI type with Ambiverted is always ANFP. I suspect it’s because Ne both is associated with being towards the middle of the itnrovert/extrovert spectrum and with being like “what if we didn’t follow the rules,” and Fi is associated with “your labels cannot contain me” but that is another post for another day.
**Social anxiety and depression are mental illnesses, and I’m not going to go into them or other mental health issues in this post in more depth, but please note that they are not tied to introversion. Will they often make people withdraw from social situations? Yes. That is a symptom of the illness, not an indicator of extroversion or introversion.
***”I want to be invited, I just don’t want to go!” shitty introverts cry, as if the hosts of the parties are not also human beings with needs and emotions. “Oh, yeah, sorry” the hosts are apparently supposed to tell the person they actually want to invite who would show up and bring a decent bottle of wine, “I’d love to invite you but I have a tiny apartment, so I can’t invite any more than 15 people, and I need to reserve a spot for my friend who not RSVP, ignore my calls, and will most likely either text me with some lame excuse an hour after the party started, or just completely flake. But you see their desires are more important than yours or mine.” Honestly what the host should do is just queue up a few automated invites to nonexistent parties, and on the off chance the shitty introvert does indeed show up without RSVP-ing to one of them, the host should just be like “Oh sorry, I know I said I’d have a party but I’m just not feeling it tonight.” GOLDEN RULE IN ACTION MOTHERFUCKERS.
*sigh*
xNTJ: I may seem like an asshole but deep down I’m a good person.
xNTJ: And even deeper down i’m a bigger asshole.
Hi :)
Lil thing I made. Haha.
This video took me a lifetime to make but I’m quite proud right now. Consider watching and if you like it, maybe read the description - thank you 💕
No,
You don't hate small talk because you're more intelligent than other people
You are not smarter than everyone just because you don't like popular things
Other people are not telling you are an asshole because they are too sensitive
You are not in fact secretly cooler than everyone just cause an online test told you you are "one of the rarest types"
You're just immature
MBTI Sarcastic Functions (Introverts)
Get this on a sticker, card, T-shirt, or mug—a perfect gift for MBTI enthusiasts →
You can give MBTI sarcastic function gifts to your friends, family, and teachers to let them know what kind of annoying douche bags they are based on their type.
Version 2: I redesigned the series to look more modern & look good on any color clothing. I also rewrote some of the functions to be a bit funnier (hopefully :p) and made the font thicker so it’s more legible on small merch like greeting cards/stickers.
Extraverts → Individual types →
chart template: @snubberdoodle
