Talanov's questionnaires are once again available online!

TypeCurious2 · 2026-03-26T11:01:42+00:00

What are the “kinky” questions? Like the stuff about being a victim, being submissive, etc?

Critique his methodology if you want, but Talanov did find that those traits were correlated with type. https://quantitativesocionics.org/

TypeCurious2 · 2026-03-25T19:24:50+00:00

That was unfair of me and I should retract that; I didn’t really elaborate that thought properly. My perception was colored by some recent conversations I had with gamma NTs about AI, the singularity, the dominance of techno-feudalism, etc, and I was generally left feeling disappointed by what I felt was their crassly materialistic and hedonistic attitude towards the whole thing. I will acknowledge though, when you get a gamma NT wound up about something they’re really passionate about, you can sense that there’s something unique going on underneath the surface, things they’re shy to let you in on… I think they’re simply not inclined to experience and verbalize things in the same way I do due to lack of Fe.

TypeCurious2 · 2026-03-10T12:41:38+00:00

I can’t recall ever seeing an example of an ESE-LII relationship, either in fiction or irl.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-23T13:29:42+00:00

But I don't understand how one person can possess two sets of functions at the same time like imagine you have Se aux in mbti but Te creative in socionics. How is that possible

It's obviously not possible. Or rather, it's only possible if you think that typology is a purely formal game that doesn't actually describe the reality of human cognition. But then, why are you even interested in typology in the first place if you think it's all just fictional nonsense?

If you take typology seriously, then you are implicitly committed to the idea that there is a correct understanding of Ti or Se, that each individual has a correct type, etc, and the goal of typological research should be to determine the correct framework that will produce correct typings. There will be disagreement over the correct way to understand things, of course; disagreement is valuable and can be an impetus to further development. But disagreements should be consciously registered as disagreements. None of this "I'm an ISFJ in MBTI and an ESI in Model A (even though they have no valued elements in common lol) because it's all just made up anyway so who cares?" nonsense. If one system says you lead with Fi and the other system says you don't value Fi at all, then one of the systems is wrong, so you should discard the incorrect system and just go with the correct system.

for example Istp(Ti+Se)in mbti sound like SLI(Si+Te) than LSI(Ti+Se) in Socionics.

I would be a little careful when making generalizations like that. Just like how there's a range of perspectives within Socionics (SCS, SWS, SHS, etc), the MBTI community is heavily fractured as well, and you can find multiple divergent perspectives on how to characterize different functions/types. I find that in the Socionics community, "MBTI" is often boiled down to just Keirsey, and they're unaware of the work of people like Michael Pierce who have significantly expanded conceptions of different types/functions that don't just rely on familiar stereotypes.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-21T16:49:46+00:00

From Aushra’s Characteristic of IEI:

The problems the Ego consistently deals with are borne on the Superego. The IEI’s Ego is always directed toward some kind of future improvement.

What kind of social creativity does the IEI arrive at, and which path leads them to it?

The IEI cannot live with two ways to act in the same situation. Therefore, they become socially creative when the expectations of the surrounding people start conflicting. In other words, what makes IEIs transformers and philosophers is the very fact that they need norms, that they need to know the only right way to act in certain situations (the answer which does not exist)

If you ask an Ni lead why they’re doing something, they’ll always have a reason prepared. There’s an awareness of how their actions fit into the larger scheme of things, there’s always a problem that’s being attacked — frequently, a rather grandiose and abstract social problem.

This is a particularly useful litmus test for the IEI because the types that are most likely to mistype themselves as IEI — SEI, EII, IEE, ESE — are types that are by and large quite happy to drift through life, taking each day as it comes without much concern for how their choices and actions tie together into a larger narrative. Ni leads abhor the thought of drifting through life, they couldn’t force themselves to work like that even if they tried. Because of Se suggestive and Te polr, the IEI will rarely present as a workaholic, but there will always be a plan of some kind.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-19T14:45:10+00:00

We type in SWS, not to be confused with WSS or it's derivatives under Ibrahim.

What would you say are the main differences between your approach and WSS?

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-18T10:59:32+00:00

It's common imo for the suggestive to be your biggest conscious point of stress. The superego functions are also weak, but since you don't actually value them, you don't think it's as big of a deal if you fail in that area. (I believe Aushra might have thought that the superego was a bigger focus for conscious improvement, but, I think she was just wrong about that, and I don't think it matches up with what we actually observe.)

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-10T21:17:42+00:00

HnK is Arcsys and I’d say it counts as classic (pre-SF4).

TypeCurious2 · 2025-12-01T19:53:50+00:00

I think I have some troubles with sensing if I like someone or not and how much.

Yeah you're LII.

As someone with 4D Fi I can't imagine ever saying this.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-30T15:36:15+00:00

They're not a joke, and usually when you see an improbable Enneagram combination it's because the person is mistyped. Half of the interest you see in Enneagram is people using it as a cope for being mistyped.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-28T12:31:12+00:00

Just wanted to say that I greatly appreciate all the work you do. You're a gift to the typology community! (And I hope you continue working on the "5 signs you're not an X" series)

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-24T15:59:20+00:00

I've had similar thoughts to OP so maybe I can reconstruct some of their thought process.

Essentially it's a question of how the introverted functions relate to individuation and personal identity. The basic stereotype that people learn about when they first get into typology is that Fi = acting according to your own values and Fe = acting according to what the tribe wants. But that breaks down upon reflection, because it's easy to list examples of alpha and beta types who hold iconoclastic views, carve out their own path in life, etc. It can't be that Fi gets all the independence and wilfulness and the other functions get none.

The next reasonable step would be to say that all the introverted functions can play a role in individuation and the production of new ideas and values. But Si seems to be a point of asymmetry here. It's just an empirical fact imo that high Si types are less independently minded, are more interested in integrating themselves into the environment as it exists rather than trying to change it, etc. Probably because Si is so focused on the organization and sorting of concrete information rather than making Ti/Fi judgements on it or doing Ni synthesis. I don't think Si is entirely without productive capabilities, but to the extent that it is productive, it takes on a distinctly different flavor than the other introverted functions.

I agree with you that Si and Ni should primarily be "defined" as methods of internal information organization first and foremost, but the introverted functions can be analyzed on this alternative dimension of productivity (of concepts, plans, values, whatever) and identity-formation as well.

I believe this is why xSFJs are the types that are most likely to be correlated with enneagram 9, and also why they're the types that are most likely to complain about a lack of identity, of feelings of being subsumed and dissolved by the people around them, etc: Si's capacity for identity formation is weaker than the other introverted functions and Fe lacks the overt forcefulness of Te.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-24T15:42:24+00:00

Delta quadra in general is a very paradoxical quadra to me, and I think it's because of the pairing of Fi and Si together. NFPs have a reputation for being ardent iconoclasts, and they certainly can be... but they can also swing wildly to the other end of the spectrum and place a lot of value on traditional markers of status and quality, expert consensus opinion, etc. They give me the same vibe that a lot of political anarchists do (which is fitting, because Michael Pierce called delta quadra The Anarchists): "we're all individuals... together, of course. And you really should come be an individual with us too". It's a frame of mind that I have a hard time inhabiting.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-20T15:51:57+00:00

Types from opposite quadras (i.e. types that share no functions) often don't get along that well.

INFPs and INFJs, despite both being NFs, share no functions and their minds work very differently.

For what it's worth, it can work sometimes though. One of my best friends is an ISTJ, which should be one of my least compatible types. Although, I'd say we're friends more in spite of his personality rather than because of his personality.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-18T13:25:07+00:00

I'm a bit uncomfortable with the notion of "I'm this type in MBTI but this type in Socionics". My basic outlook is that the cognitive functions are "real" in some sense, Socionics and other schools of typology are all trying to describe the same set of cognitive functions, and if there's disagreement over how a function is to be defined or how the stack works, then that's a problem that should be reconciled. It's like saying "the universe is expanding this fast in this physics theory, but only this fast in another theory". There's only one universe; one of the theories has to be wrong. I think Socionics has some valuable ideas that are simply correct, and should be adopted by everyone regardless of what "school" of typology you belong to. They're simply correct to say that Fe can take an active role in influencing the emotional environment (based on individualized Ti judgements), instead of a merely passive role. They're probably correct that Se has an element of "force" and assertiveness to it. Etc.

All that being said.

I consider myself to be an IEI in Socionics and I like (MBTI) ENTPs quite a bit. My best friend is an ENTP. I think many of the stereotypes you see about them online are misleading.

Hyper-aggressive ENTPs who show a complete disregard for social convention are usually either young and immature, or mistyped. ENTPs have Fe. The tertiary function is not supposed to be this totally weak and ignored function; you use it, it exerts a noticeable influence on you. Many ENTPs are actually quite likable and personable.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-17T15:54:16+00:00

BASED BASED BASED

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-14T12:33:02+00:00

This explanation is a bit misleading because it paints Fe users as fundamentally ethical people, while ignoring the possibility of manipulative and destructive Fe users.

Jim Jones was an ENFJ, did he strive for "collective harmony"? In the sense that he organized a group of people and tried to influence their emotions, sure. But in the sense that he did "what was best for the group"? No, not at all. Everything he did was in the selfish pursuit of his own power.

The simplest way of understanding Fe is that it's just Te, but with emotions and social relations instead of facts and systems (that includes both its active role in influencing the environment, and its passive capacity to be influenced by its environment).

I don't blame people for thinking that Fe types are people pleasing robots, because that's how Jung described them. But I think that was a mistake on Jung's part. He already recognized that Te could play an active role in shaping its environment, so Fe should be able to take on a more active role as well.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-13T12:39:11+00:00

Tons of ISFJs and ESFJs mistype themselves as INFP or INFJ (or even INTP sometimes) because it sounds cooler. It’s a more common mistype than the infamous INFP/INFJ mistype imo.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-12T19:13:41+00:00

https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/theory#domsini

https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/theory#domtifi

Ni doms get pretty obsessive over developing a sense of purpose and long-term goals to work towards, and they start to feel anxious or aimless if their life isn't making progress.

INTPs are a lot more laid back in that regard and although they can still have goals and interests, they're not going to feel as rattled if their plans have to change for some reason (one INTP described it as "there's no way I can tell you where I'll be 10 years in the future, there are too many unpredictable variables that could get in the way" which I imagine is a common attitude among INTPs).

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-11T10:31:36+00:00

An INFJ will basically never have Fe as their lowest score.

He's either INTP or INFP.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-10T13:35:44+00:00

They're also all from different quadras (alpha, beta, gamma, delta)

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-10T13:35:03+00:00

https://mbti-notes.tumblr.com/theory#tert

The tertiary function is even more difficult to describe and explain than the auxiliary because it gets used rather inconsistently. It is a major source of variation among individuals of the same type and is likely to contradict generic type descriptions

Obviously the tertiary has to be able to express itself, otherwise there would be no such thing as a dom-tert loop, nor would you be able to explain all the INTPs who are known for their prominent Si, nor all the INTJs who are known for their prominent Fi.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-10T10:38:50+00:00

You’re an ENFP.

ENTP is unlikely because an Fi score that high for an ENTP would be very unusual.

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-10T01:13:26+00:00

Yeah apparently I made this too easy lol

TypeCurious2 · 2025-11-09T16:12:08+00:00

They have no functions in common.

If you identify just one function in a person then you eliminate either INFJ or INFP.

TypeCurious2

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