Most useful part of MBTI?

To me it is the cognitive functions, which are the fundamental and key part of it. Even without getting into the different personalities and function stacks and shadow functions etc., to me the cognitive functions allow great insight into how our minds work.



They allow insight into why people see things differently; why there are so many misunderstandings. The fact most people have no interest in this subject feels to me like a tragedy, as it’s power is massive. I have been wondering if greater awareness could be achieved through combining the subject with others, rather than just looking at it in isolation. Even with my knowledge of the subject, the exact nature of the functions is not completely clear although my intuition does get the gist of what they are about. Greater explanation of the functions (probably with real world examples) could help a lot I feel. So much of this subject seems to get fragmented in discussions. We need more clarity. I am getting ideas for my own writing, specifically in relation to political thinking.
Hopefully Ren’s next book will help a lot.

 

The cog functions which interest me the most are Ti and Te. It seems to me that Te users are less able to untangle complexity than Ti users. They seem to accept things as they are and just work out how they can operate within the current framework. Ti users are more likely to work up from first principles, and by doing so, are more likely to see errors and gaps in status quo.

The combination of Ni and Ti in INFJs makes for a combination which is very analytical and gives them visionary and creative abilities. It’s looking for the best and perfect way forward. The weakness is that we can be blinkered and miss other possibilities, as well as being too removed from reality. We can see this in Hitler, who was at least sincere about his idealistic (but flawed) vision. He didn’t listen to his generals and ignored important details.

 

Exactly this. Can totally relate. I like ENTPs because of their mental clarity and dexterity. They also have Ti. It's also why I believe Hitler wouldn't take backchat or questions. He probably couldn't think quickly enough to come up with a response that he found satisfactory, and he may well have felt it could undermine his position. His speeches were largely rehearsed, although he interjected a lot of performance moves and inflections, all part of his presentation. I have found myself that if I talk to a good listener about something I am well versed in, I can flow and talk quite fluently and concisely. But debates, no, not enough time to think. I usually know that what the other person is trying to say, or saying, is not right, but I can't usually formulate an adequate response quickly enough. It's why INFJs are best as writers.

Because of this, I think INFJs should try and avoid getting into quick responses to challenges. Sometimes silence says the most. Or just say you don't agree but don't offer a response. That's your right.

 

Yes Hitler was the consummate actor and manipulator, largely due to Fe as you say. Probably the alienation and ambition were part of his evil. I’m reading a big book about him by Ian Kershaw just to confirm he was probably an INFJ, and everything so far strongly suggests it. Like the stare he gave people could really intimidate people. A worrying aspect of his psyche was that he enjoyed being in WW1. This can be linked to INFJ because of common purpose and camaraderie, but he wasn’t seemingly too? bothered by all the death. I think he must have been a psychopath or had another personality disorder, because a normal INFJ couldn’t have done what he did, even allowing for his drug habit as the war went on.

No problem, it’s a good place to talk deeply. I’ve got lots more to contribute yet.