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I mostly dislike Jung's work, and I'm generally very skeptical about any IQ or personality test. However, after being convinced to try this one by a friend, ess

I mostly dislike Jung's work, and I'm generally very skeptical about any IQ or personality test. However, after being convinced to try this one by a friend, essentially doing it so that they would stop asking, I found the results to be shockingly accurate, and subsequently found this to be the common reaction for people that happen to have the same type. In my ongoing skepticism, I've read explanations and definitions for several other types, pretending they were mine, to see if I could somehow relate to all of them, but failed miserably. The wording was never vague, as in the case of astrology, for example, and the descriptions of my type all precisely described me, personally. Up until now, I presumed that this would be the case for everybody, but I see a lot of dismissal here. I would conjecture that either those people did not actually find their MB type, or that the results only appear to be impressive for certain types, like mine. To be fair, this was the first time that I answered one of those tests truthfully. During school, I'd give the answers for which I assumed I'd be less scrutinized for; for work, I'd give the answers I assumed were more likely to get me promoted. In any case, I found finding my type to be beneficial. The typical interview question "tell me about yourself" was always the one I dreaded the most, and finding my type has not only increased my awareness of who I am, but given me a way to explain it to others as well. The results have also brought me to see that I may not always be right after all, and that people who agree with me might simply belong to the same or similar category. Put differently, I now think that different types, while most of them clash with me, are necessary for the functioning of society, and I don't need to agree with them, or them to agree with me. Note that "live and let live" is apparently a defining characteristic of this particular type, which I got a good belly laugh discovering by reading another comment. It's funny to find out that you're a lot more deterministic than you'd be willing to admit.

thaumaturgy 14y ago
Think of it this way: you (presumably) answered a series of questions about your behavior, and then, based on the answers to those questions, you got back a result which describes your behavior. That doesn't invalidate whatever value you derive from it -- having your behaviors read back to you can be just as valuable as asking a trusted friend about their opinion of you -- but you do have to be careful not to allow yourself to be constrained to a particular type. I accidentally cured myself of this around 10 years ago when I first discovered the MBTI by immediately joining the INTJ-Open mailing list. The only not-regrettable outcome of that, for me, was that I learned that self-identifying as "INTJ" was a stupid thing to do.
- marblar 14y ago
  What do you mean by that?
  - thaumaturgy 14y ago
    Which part wasn't clear?
- surement 14y ago
  > The only not-regrettable outcome of that, for me, was that I learned that self-identifying as "INTJ" was a stupid thing to do. Are you sure you're an INTJ? If so, why was it stupid?
  - thaumaturgy 14y ago
    Mainly because self-identifying as any MBTI type is a stupid thing to do (I just didn't realize it until I interacted with a bunch of other people that self-identified as one). It can lead to silly conclusions like, "well, I'm right-handed, so I can't be good at art." The INTJ-Open list was filled with people whose favorite hobby seemed to be arguing, even when it was just arguing about arguing. They were some of the most eloquent and logical dense people I've ever read. They justified some of their more egregious antisocial behavior as "being INTJ", which seemed to me to be about the dumbest possible response. They agreed on nearly nothing -- for a bunch of self-described rationalists you'd think there'd be at least some kind of trends in, I dunno, socio-economic thinking, or education, or something. After a while I naively suggested that it might be a good habit to work on self-improvement a little. Y'know, go to the occasional party or mixer, have a drink, talk to people; chat with people in line at the store; let people say silly things without embarrassing them in front of others; treat people nicely even if you disagree with them; that sort of thing. The stuff that normal people do. IIRC, the most common response was that I must not be an INTJ. I got a couple of messages of support, but strictly off-list; the supporters were afraid of being ostracized on-list. And that's when I realized that this group was Mensa, but more argumentative and with lower requirements. I have an exceedingly low opinion of Mensa. Anyway, I was really glad that saved me from going around "acting like an INTJ" (jerk) all the time, and I realized that I had just accidentally dodged the real danger of the MBTI stuff: that it encourages you to put yourself into a tiny little box.

thaumaturgy 14y ago

Think of it this way: you (presumably) answered a series of questions about your behavior, and then, based on the answers to those questions, you got back a result which describes your behavior. That doesn't invalidate whatever value you derive from it -- having your behaviors read back to you can be just as valuable as asking a trusted friend about their opinion of you -- but you do have to be careful not to allow yourself to be constrained to a particular type. I accidentally cured myself of this around 10 years ago when I first discovered the MBTI by immediately joining the INTJ-Open mailing list. The only not-regrettable outcome of that, for me, was that I learned that self-identifying as "INTJ" was a stupid thing to do.

marblar 14y ago
What do you mean by that?
- thaumaturgy 14y ago
  Which part wasn't clear?
surement 14y ago
> The only not-regrettable outcome of that, for me, was that I learned that self-identifying as "INTJ" was a stupid thing to do. Are you sure you're an INTJ? If so, why was it stupid?
- thaumaturgy 14y ago
  Mainly because self-identifying as any MBTI type is a stupid thing to do (I just didn't realize it until I interacted with a bunch of other people that self-identified as one). It can lead to silly conclusions like, "well, I'm right-handed, so I can't be good at art." The INTJ-Open list was filled with people whose favorite hobby seemed to be arguing, even when it was just arguing about arguing. They were some of the most eloquent and logical dense people I've ever read. They justified some of their more egregious antisocial behavior as "being INTJ", which seemed to me to be about the dumbest possible response. They agreed on nearly nothing -- for a bunch of self-described rationalists you'd think there'd be at least some kind of trends in, I dunno, socio-economic thinking, or education, or something. After a while I naively suggested that it might be a good habit to work on self-improvement a little. Y'know, go to the occasional party or mixer, have a drink, talk to people; chat with people in line at the store; let people say silly things without embarrassing them in front of others; treat people nicely even if you disagree with them; that sort of thing. The stuff that normal people do. IIRC, the most common response was that I must not be an INTJ. I got a couple of messages of support, but strictly off-list; the supporters were afraid of being ostracized on-list. And that's when I realized that this group was Mensa, but more argumentative and with lower requirements. I have an exceedingly low opinion of Mensa. Anyway, I was really glad that saved me from going around "acting like an INTJ" (jerk) all the time, and I realized that I had just accidentally dodged the real danger of the MBTI stuff: that it encourages you to put yourself into a tiny little box.