personality type and the written word - June, 1999
About the Guesses in the Last Issue
The Types of the authors in the last isssue are:
'Under the Sea', by Anne Maxwell, INFJ, 4w5
'To Pass the Night Away/Succor and Comfort', by Paul Sturtevant, ENFP, 4
'I, Borg', by Keith Rogers, ISTP, probably 5
'Corporate Politics, (An Interview)', anonymous, INTJ, 1
To begin, a small confession: I deliberately chose the first two pieces to
be together in one issue because of their author's closely connected
types: both are 4s and NFs. I was curious about whether people would pick
up the common Etype, and whether the different MBTI type would be clear as
well.
There has been some controversy in the Type community regarding Keirsey's
temperament theory, as apart from the Myers-Briggs approach. For these two
pieces, it seemed to be easier to pinpoint the NF temperament than to be
specific about the MBTI type.
A number of people were able to accurately guess not only 4 but also NF
for 'Under the Sea'. One reader guessed INFP, noting that the author
seemed 'creative and spontaneous.' Since both INFPs and INFJs can have
strong creative tendencies, it may be hard to differentiate them in one
sample of writing. Another reader typed the author as a 5, which,
considering that the author has a strong 5 wing (and at one time has
considered whether she might be a 5) is pretty close to accurate.
It has been sometimes observed that 4s very much enjoy playing with words
and images - which the author certainly does in this piece - so perhaps it
is this trait, especially where there is a strong 5 wing, that has here
given the impression of 'detachment' or of their being 'observers',
descriptors usually attributed to the 5 Etype.
Malia Fee (ENFP, 6w7), whose poem appeared in the last issue of Type
Writer, nearly chose ENFP because of the poem's 'punnish nature', and was
also tempted to choose INFP. However, Malia decided to choose INTJ and 5,
because 'the writer seems to be a thinker and perhaps observer.' It seems
that perhaps Malia, having picked up on the 5-ish element as others did,
then postulated NT, and INTJ in particular. Given that INTJ is a not
uncommon Etype for 5s, this is not surprising.
Malia was more accurate in her guess for 'To pass the Night Away/Succor
and Comfort'. While considering ENFP - the 'correct' answer - she chose
INFP. She felt certain about her guess of 4w5,
... because it [the idea/feeling of the poem] seems more intensely unnerving than something coming from a 4w3. His/her simple three phrases really scares the reader
into the coldly brutal understanding that yes, that is all there is.
It seems that for Malia, while ENFP and INFP felt almost indistinguishable to
her in this case, she was not only able to chose 4 with certainty, but to
identify a 5 wing. Paul himself has not indicated which wing is stronger.
Carol Seger is another who guessed 5 for Paul, but INTP for his MBTI type.
Carol gives no reasons, but we can speculate that, as with Malia's guess
for 'Under the Sea', perhaps she made the assumption that INTP would be a
likely correlation for 5, or vice versa.
And now for another confession. One reason for my including 'I,
Borg' - apart from my having enjoyed it - is that so far, there have not
been any writers on Type Writer who are clearly S rather than N, and I
have always intended to represent as many types as I could. Some
stereotypes do exist among Ns about Ss and creativity, and this piece
is - to me at least, clearly both creative and SP in theme - so I was
curious to see how people would type it.
Two people guessed that Keith is INFJ. Malia, who was one of these, wrote
that she was going to guess SP, because of the 'parts about knowing he'd
do better than anyone there, talking aobut how it was a really exciting
adventure, very tactile, etc.' but she changed her mind. I should comment
here that it has become very clear to me over the past few issues what a
strong talent for typing Malia seems to have. She is so often spot-on with
her perceptions and the conclusions she draws - even if she later changes
her mind!
Both of those who typed the author as INFJ, Malia and Carol, also saw him
as a 9. Malia explained: ' ... he seems both moderately withdrawn and able to
merge with others and his surroundings peacefully.' Keith is not sure of
his Etype, but thinks he is most probably a 5. However, perhaps enough
similarity exists between 9 and 5 to make this guess not entirely
improbable, especially as Malia's second guess was 5w4.
Lisa Prince, (INTJ,1) is a college-level English teacher who is currently
recuperating from a long illness. For many years she has used Type (the
MBTI) to help her understand her students, and to help her find teaching
methods that will be likely to encourage each type to enjoy writing. Lisa
knows the author of 'I, Borg' and his MBTI type, and therefore did not
actually make a guess for his piece, but she had some comments about the
piece in relation to ISTPs:
Probably the most obvious thing I notice about this piece is both
the sensory language and the seeming organic flow. Concrete details that
many Ns would probably fail to notice seem to be very obvious to him - yet
he doesn't just catalog them, rather he describes them in very loving and
poetic language, with humor injected here and there almost unexpectedly.
This points to not just the S nature, but also one of the overwhelming
drives of an ISTP - a fascination with and love of the sensual experience.
The writer's words point to a complete and intense involvement in his
experience - he is one with his machine. This shows other fairly obvious
ISTP characteristics. It shows both the above mentioned sensory experience
fascination, along with a fascination with the mechanical - and ISTPs have
an overwhelming love of the mechanical. In addition, his description of
his almost instinctive ability to 'know' whether or not the equipment was
functioning properly, and exactly what to tinker with when it needed a
quick fix is a hallmark of ISTPs, who excell at unconsciously collecting
data from their five senses. Therefore when something seems 'off' they
know instinctively what should be done to make it work perfectly again.
And for a born ISTP tinkerer, this ability to fix things so that they work
perfectly again is almost as joyous an experience as being one with a
perfectly functioning machine. As to Enneagram Type, I would guess that he
is probably a 5 with aspects of 7 - he seems very analytical and
perceptive, but he also seems to have fun-loving and impulsive aspects to
his personality.
Lisa, who had no prior knowledge of the author's Etype, of course guessed
it very accurately.
'Corporate Politics' attracted two guesses that verge on the accurate.
Carol typed the writer as an INTJ - which is accurate - and a 5, which is
less so. However, Keith did originally express an atraction to both 1 and
5, which can often be hard to distinguish. Malia, typing the author as
ENTJ, notes,
I guessed NT because
- He is a strategist, but I didn't get
the idea that he is an SP. The other natural strategists are the NTs.
- In his comments he mentioned why he wrote it, to be entertaining and to
demonstrate his grasp of the subject.his motivations came through to me as
being distinctly NT.
She adds, 'I guessed J because he seemed like he was
a guy who could make decisions and be orderly and stick things out, etc.'
Given that Malia's second guess was INTJ, this is remarkably perceptive
and accurate.
Malia guessed the author's Etype to be 6, with a second guess of 5w4.
Interestingly, both 5 and 6, Carol and Malia's guesses respectively, are
the Etypes most frequently confused with 1.
Lisa Prince - who again did not actually guess the author's MBTI type, as
she already knew it, commented:
While this piece is ostensibly an interview with a senior
management member of the company for which this individual works, in
actuality it is a very precisely structured, very organized, and neat
critique of what he sees as an aspect of management practices that needs
improving. This in itself lends this piece the flavor of an INTJ
writer - we excell at seeing what needs improving, and we then set out to
use any means at our disposal to get our message out. The piece also
contains a number of very plain spoken statements about both the company
and about the interviewee. This bluntness is what causes some individuals
to feel that INTJ's are cool and aloof individuals, but we feel the best
approach is to cut to the chase - quicker pointed out, quicker corrected.
It also seems to have a slight flavor of frustration - as if a very
'don't-fence-me-in' INTJ had already tried the direct approach for
suggesting improvements and had been ignored or chastized. In addition,
the author mentions how he is trying to discover the 'hidden meaning'
behind Sam's actual responses - INTJ's are always trying to find underlying
meanings in both written and spoken words. As to the writer's Enneagram
Type, I would say he is a definite 1, possibly with some 8 thrown in. He
is definitely an idealist who feels a strong need to be right, and he has
aspects of self-confidence and a frustrated need to be in control in order
to perfect the imperfect business practices he has noticed in the
company.
Although the Etype was something Lisa did not know about the author, she
is right on target with it once again. Perhaps it was not difficult for
Lisa to identify a fellow INTJ as a fellow 1 as well.
Interestingly, rather than zoom in on certain words in a mechanistic way,
or use some formula for typing, Lisa has managed in both this case and in
Keith's, to beautifully capture the feel and tone and main traits of each
type from the pieces. She draws attention in each case to the underlying
drive, motivation and language evident in each piece. From describing the
motivations of the MBTI type, she was able to extrapolate the Etype as
well, which does suggest the existence of some correlation between MBTI
and Etypes. At least, there do seem to be certain patterns in some cases.
As with previous issues, this issue's guesses seem to indicate that,
whether or not such patterns are applicable in every case, people do tend
to make assumptions about the way certain MBTI and Etypes correlate. What
we also see suggests that it often seems to be easier to ascertain
temperament (NT, NF, SP, SJ) rather than pinpointing a specific MBTI type.
Also evident is the continuing association of particular Etypes with
others - 1s being taken for 6s, for instance - which seems to me to suggest, not the inaccuracy of people's typing efforts, but precisely the opposite.
Readers are often accurate about the flavour of type they are reading,
even if they are not always successful in identifying the exact one.
As always, please feel welcome to comment about anything you read on this
page. Submissions of short pieces of writing are also very welcome. Please
send them to gross@interfusion.net.au, together with your MBTI and enneagram type, if you know them. Some comments about how you go about writing and why you wrote this particular piece are often as helpful in
guessing an author’s type as the piece itself.
You can also comment on this column, or the poems, at our Message Board
Three New Pieces
Below are three new pieces. Once again, you are invited to guess the MBTI
and Etypes of each author, and to explain why you make your choice. Please
keep in mind that the emphasis is not so much on literary merit as on
trying to understand what the connection between writing and type. Also
please remember that these pieces are copyrighted to their authors and may
not be used without their permission.
Enjoy the pieces, and happy guessing!
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Ramblings of Mad Love
I walked a while
Past poppies
And wild things.
I sat astrune
gold, and purple firbank
Girls drizzled by,
As this momentary
Flirtation with peace
Rose out of my
Head.
Where I live is
Further passed the
Mess of my species.
Oh, where I walk...
Looking over my
Shoulder at the beasts'
Open mouth.
Looking over there
to greener pastures
and fields where I
am yours. Really.
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Stumped
the stump was short and stout
where the willow used to be
no more nests were built
no birds singing merrily
The stately elm stood watching
his treefriend in the distance
The old oak swaying just enough
to protest this cold indifference...
Day by day tree by tree
they chopped down all the beauties
and not once was there remorse
for any of those old trees
The stately elms, the old oak trees
all fell to the same fate
to become another piece of wood
in someone's garden gate.
for what was left for all to see
from what was once so grand
what once was green has turned to brown
dirt, rock gravel and sand
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City Eavesdropper
When you live in the city, bumping and stampeding across the street with
the crowds, you sometimes hear amusing snippets of conversation. Often,
conversation is unintelligible in the city din. The crackle of tires
rolling over wet asphalt, the groans of distant jack hammers, the
screeches of traffic cop whistles echoing around every corner, the
continuous hum of a million cars on a hundred intersecting streets, the
wails and blasts of a hundred horns, the tinkle of water dislodged from a
puddle as it drops in shards to the pavement - all this can make even the
scream as inaudible as a whisper. Still, there are ways of hearing folks
talk.
The real estate folks talk of 'location, location, location', and so do
the urban eavesdroppers. The trick is to nudge your way towards the front
of the crowd waiting at that red light, until you stand just ahead of
someone who looks like he might be a big mouth. No one will suspect you
of eavesdropping; they'll just figure you for another impatient, rude city
clicker who has to push his way through everything. Then, in your
position of Rude City Slicker Non-Gratis, you can listen - until the light
changes to green.
If you recorded all the overheard conversations sequentially, you'd get a
mish mash of nonsequitors, a logician's nightmare rivalling Joyce's
Ulyesses in incomprehensibility. An amusing retort, a few intriguing
sentences - that's about all that you're likely to hear, unless you have
the good luck to be followed by the same chatterboxes down an entire
block, an entire crowded block where the chatterbox is forced to poke his
nose into your butt.
I turn the corner, past a place selling chocolates wrapped in red foil and
lace, each brand with an alluring female name; I move past that Indian
bargain hole-in-the-wall, where the $9 watches are probably all hot and
the cheap radios probably all have traceable serial numbers. At the curb,
I smell the bittersweet, tingling aroma of pipe tobacco, hear a belch,
speculate that the man behind me has a beer belly to rival the Buddha's
and a neon-red nose.
'Yeah,' he drawls to someone, 'She was built like a brick shithouse that
knows everything. And this shithouse comes after me with the flying pots
and the divorce papers, wants everything. Everything! Well, I tell her,
she's not gonna get any shit, she's full of it, let me tell you....'
I wanted to ask the smoking Buddha how a brick shithouse, obviously a very
heavy ediface, could possibly move herself to hurl dishes. But,
unfortunately, he was gone with the traffic signals and the wind, just
like his acrid smoke.
'It's Thursday night,' I hear at the next corner. A high voice, not quite
falsetto, but pinched and nasal enough to suggest chronic tension. A
small woman, I see when I glance sideways, with dark, neat hair and a
dark, neat suit. She steps painstakingly over the puddles, which might
splatter her polished brown heels.
'Are you sure?,' Her companion asks.
'Yes, I'm sure. I can show you, I have it written down...Besides, I'm
meeting John that night, and I never forget when I'm meeting John.'
Boring, I think; better luck at the next street corner.
At the next corner, I find myself in front of some students who are
recovering from finals:
'I swear, the guy's a first class jerk, Dr. Jerko,' the one on a
skateboard proclaims. 'Talk about eggheads; well, he's a cracked up
one... Ever watch Star Trek? He's a cross between that android and a Borg,
but I don't think he even wants to be human.'
'That's for sure,' the other retorts, 'It's just like what my mother used
to say - a bunch of Ivory Tower robots. They live on the 20th floor of
those towers, in these dungeon rooms filled with books, and don't talk to
real people for years. Sometimes, they just talk to their microbes and
their computers. If they weren't jerkos to start with, they become that
way.'
I wonder whether Dr. Egghead, in his Ivory Tower, eats omelettes or
scrambled eggs with spam for breakfast daily, served to him on a sterling
platter by a maid speaking Shakespearean English; I want to ask the
students bout this. However, the red light turns green; the students,
their complaints and their hopes, skate away to the horizon. I turn into
a bagel shop, for a taste of cream cheese on sesame.
And that's how I, a city eavesdropper, spent my lunch hour.
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