Category: not a typing post

Do you think that people on the autism spectrum actually don’t have an mbti, or just that it is harder/impossible to type them in video in the same way that you do others? I’m pretty sure autistic people have personality types and it just expresses differently, but curious to hear your thoughts.

To answer, I don’t know, sort of and yes.

I think you kind of are getting at it with the direction of your questioning.

1. First – and correct me if I’m wrong – my understanding of autism is that the neurons aren’t connecting the different parts of the brain (or not well, at least).  You get either a monofocus in one region, or the entire brain lighting up at once. It’s difficult to switch between using one section of the brain and another.

MBTI doesn’t really map onto what’s happening physically in the brain (no one section directly corresponds to a function), but making connections between seemingly random things (which requires the different parts of your brain to connect) is essentially a description of Ne.  Ni also deals with patterns of random things (and some people on the spectrum are highly gifted at processing patterns, but I’m not sure that Ni is the function they’d be using).

Since MBTI types rely on a specific order of function stack, if you cannot access or have limited access to one or more function, does your function stack still correspond to an MBTI type? Do your other functions become more important?  Do you end up with a type (or two) that you are most like?  Do you have something completely new?  Do you have a grant and a crack research team?

2. As for typing people behaviourally, in some cases, it becomes impossible.  In other cases, people are high-functioning enough that I would have no clue unless they were talking about it.  From the standpoint of trying to have everyone in a tag to exhibit the same behaviours – well, not everyone does anyway.  There’s a range.  

To be honest though, what’s weirder – that out of the billions of people in the world, there’s only 16 ways your brain can function, or that there are ways of functioning that MBTI doesn’t describe?

Hey, INFP anon again. I just wanted to add that I am told that I am generally expressionless as well as that I come across as mean (most people say I seem harsher and tougher than my ENTP best friend). But, I am also of the belief that to use logic in every, or even most, situations is illogical because using logic to deal with humans, who are completely illogical and impossible to put into a clear science, doesn’t make sense and we should instead deal with each other in a value based way.

Anonymous said: Okay, INFP anon again. I am rephrasing my question, do I seem like an INFP to you?

You are not really selling yourself as an INFP.

Okay, what I’m getting from you is that you know what you think but want a second opinion, which would make you the fourth INTP to ask me to type you in basically this exact way.

I can’t recall for sure, but I don’t think I’ve had an INFP ask me to confirm their type.

ETA: Sorry, I got kind of snippy – I’ll try and get back to you when I’m not blogging tired and hungry. Bad combo.

I’m an INFP (have researched the functions, taken tests, etc., etc.) but I am also extremely logical (so much that, since I was eight, my dad would call me in arguments to give the logical standpoint) and I am not as non-confrontational as INFP’s are often described to be. I am willing to argue with people and even play devil’s advocate, and I am a fan of brutal honesty with very little sugarcoating. Should I reconsider my type?

It sounds like you are already reconsidering your type.