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V.I.An introduction into the widely used Socionics Visual Identification technique
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Notes on V.I.
by Sergei Ganin
Quote: "...V.I. (Visual Identification) is the fastest and most reliable method of Type identification of today...". Apparently this particular statement appears to be largely misunderstood by sceptics. What this means is that in comparison with all other existing ... methods of Type identification, V.I. is the fastest and most reliable (in comparison!). And of course it is not 100% bullet proof. Even the experts can make mistakes using V.I. So imagine what the other methods are like in comparison - the Stone Age! But having said that, there is no way one can master V.I. on their own without mastering the Stone Age basics first.
Some narrow-minded people say that V.I. cannot be possible because looks are genetic. It is partially true (not that V.I. is impossible but that looks are genetic). However, ask two artists to paint the same portrait with the same palette. Even if the portraits end up looking identical, upon closer examination you should be able to notice different brush strokes, different techniques or different style. In V.I. one does not look at what is obvious: "Oh look, he has got no chin and she has got an upturned nose!" In V.I. one looks past the obvious. Once you are able to recognise what to look for then the rest becomes rather rudimentary. Some people are naturally observant and can grasp the essence of V.I. fairly quickly, some need more time and some are pretty useless.
Some people claim they can V.I. by a single photograph, which undoubtedly involves lots of guessing. A single photograph could be useful as it can give many clues as to which Type a person on the photo is, but it can not be definitive. Only in very rare cases might a single photograph be enough. Also, it is essential to know the handedness of a person. Without it the photo could be pretty useless. But because majority of people are genuinely right-handed, it almost works in majority of cases. Glasses, hats, makeup, plastic surgeries, photo manipulations can throw even the expert off course. This is why it is necessary to have more information about a person than a single photo. A video, for example, already contains tons and tons of useful information. Meeting someone in person is highly recommended.
V.I. is very intuitive method of Type identification. Imagine the equation with hundreds of variables. When everything falls into place - you just know. When something is not quite right - you just know. There is no way to explain this feeling, you have to experience it to understand. There is also no mystery in how intuition works. It relies on your memory and experience. Each variable in the equation is what you know about Type. The more you know the more accurate the prognosis will be. Intuition takes all the variables and processes them all at once. Bang!, and you get the answer in a form of gut-feeling. It is up to you then to verify the answer. This is why it is important that what you know about Type is quality data.
In conclusion, V.I. takes time to master. If you want to learn V.I. be prepared to admit you might be wrong. Only this way you can keep an open mind and maintain the right attitude towards this method.
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C1 How does one go about learning/getting trained in VI? -- Elena |
C2 You can learn a lot from observing many different people with known types. To speed this up you need someone who can reliably point out to you who is what type. It would also help if you are good at finding similarities on your own. -- SG |
C3 I get what you're getting at with V.I., but do you really think the height and weight descriptions are all that indicative of personality type? I'm a textbook ENTp (I've had people describe me as a combination of Nikola Tesla and Frank Zappa.), yet my stature does not match the physical description. I'm 6' 270lb with broad shoulders and relatively short legs and short fingers (at least in proportion to my hands). All the other "descirptions" of the ENTp fit me like a book. Would a person trained in V.I. be inclined to think I'm another type because of my build? -- JReed |
C4 I don't think you get what I am getting at with VI, otherwise you wouldn't be saying what you said. -- SG |
C5 You have to take everything about the person into consideration and try to look at the whole picture. Those articles that you're reading don't list all of the subtleties. Did I interpret the article correctly? -- g-rat |
C6 @C1, V.I. tips and lessons learned: 1) Study the characteristic facial expressions of people whom you know, 2) If possible, have them test/know their type, 3) Learn how to spot their dominant cognitive functions to validate their type - e.g., analyze how one formulates language and be observant of their inner priorities expressed (but be careful as your intertype relations can skew your perceptions!), 4) Begin seeing the connections among the similar types - this can take a long time to accumulate enough experiences to see the distinct personality patterns to emerge, 5) Use google images to study the proposed celebrities on this site - know that candid shots are better, 6) it's helpful to learn how to recognize one-type-at-a-time, but be sure to study them ALL for necessary contrasts lest you jump to conclusions, 7) Remember that you are looking at people more with "xray vision" for their animating, energetic patterns rather than static, physiological characteristics, 8) Watching people in action is a million times more insightful than studying photos, so rent celeb movies, 9) Be willing to admit you may've mistyped a class of people - this is part of the learning process, 10) Know that it takes years to get good at this, and even then you still may make some mistakes, 11) have fun! -- sparkling INFj |
C7 @C6. 12) Seek new people in wast quantities. The quantity will eventually become quality. -- SG |
C8 @C6+C7... 13) Oh! And visit a socionics dating website for LOTS of pix, fast - keeping in mind that some have mistyped themselves. -- sparkling hooligan |
C9 @C8 I personally wouldn't recommend doing this until you're quite confident in your ability to VI people. It could easily be misleading since, as you said yourself, there are people who have mistyped themselves. -- SG |
C10 VI makes some sense intuitively if looks are genetic because so are "internal looks", brain development etc. i suppose socionics is too new for any research to have been conducted on whether or not duals reproducing results in more balanced offspring; though i would imagine dual marriage would produce a favorable environment for a child also from the same quadra. and the most detrimental kind if the child is opposite to either parent ... -- Anonymous |
C11 i like v.i.ing celebs via movies (e.g. short snippets of interviews) rather than pics, because ppl are dynamic, it's a dynamic thing - you need to know how they move, mimics, gestures and even those can be influenced by education, status, officality of the situation and mood or what else... so it is more than just the look of the face, it's more what they are doing with the face, what they are expressing, how they talk, most of all how they react. and even then I'd never settle my decision. what i dont get: i cant v.i. most of my friends, although i know them rather good. maybe i just dont want to categorize them. -- Anonymous |
C12 @C4, if your motivation for writing this article is so that other people will understand VI more clearly, perhaps you would want to actually say what line of thought C3 should follow to get where you're headed. I realize that you may have just been trying to challenge C3 because he said he was an ENTp and, well, that comment looks like the kind of thing that would drive an ENTp crazy and make them read and reread the article until they actually understood what you meant. None of that negates that your comment sounds hostile, or at the very least, aggressive; furthermore, your terseness seems to give the impression that you just didn't feel any particular desire to help C3. Sure, there's a chance that your plan would work and an ENTp would be driven to figure out what you originally meant, but how certain is that plan? Not all ENTp's will react the same way to that situation. Would it not work better to actually explain, even if in only 3 sentences, what misconception you felt C3 had, and what correct idea you wanted to communicate? I mean, s/he DID ask you a direct and specific question. Does that not imply that C3 wanted help understanding? If C3 already knew what you meant, then that probably wouldn't have been phrased as a question. I hope that in the futute, when you write something to be helpful to others, something to make them understand something, you don't act in a way that makes it look like you're taking frustration out on the individuals who you believe don't actually understand. -- Anonymous |
C13 As V.I. needs some kind of intuition it won't work at all if you are ISTj,ISFj,ESTj,ESFj ([Ne] or as vulnerable function). It won't work very well if you are ISTp,ISFp,ESTp,ESFP ([Ne] or as role function). As V.I. also needs some kind of feeling it won't work very well if you are INTp or ENTp ([Fe] or as vulnerable function). ENTj (with as ignoring function) and ENFj (with as ignoring function) are normally not interested in Socionics. So V.I. can only be recommended to INTj,INFj,INFp,ENFp. -- INTJ |
C14 I agree C13. I'm ENFP and i believe i 'good' in this! -- Anonymous |
C15 @c13, maybe you're right however everyone I know regardless of type can tell by looking at someone if they are male, female, african, english, bob, chris or steve, so it seems everyone has capacity to distinguish between looks. VI is just something that requires more time to be trained in, and as we don't look to learn it until adulthood, that part of the brain is not *as* malleable as it is in infanthood, but it is still malleable nonetheless. -- ISFp |
C16 "V.I. takes time to master" Yes, because it is a very addictive hobby. There is a small mistake in the celebrities section of this site. John Cleese is an ENTJ and not ENTP -- jgbr |
C17 Another small mistake in the celebrities section. Vladimir Putin is unlikely an ENTP. He is rather an ESTP. http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200704/r140074_481199.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/assets/images/2009/06/24/090624111457_berlusconi.bmp http://blog.nz-online.de/tiergarten/files/2008/02/putin.JPG http://media.aftenposten.no/archive/01121/Italy_Berlusconi_G_1121660x.jpg http://www.politician-pictures.com/vladimir-putin.jpg http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/9/5325/z5325749X.jpg -- jgbr |
C18 Dunno, looks INFj to me Maybe not ESTp then???? -- Put out |
C19 Here is the future of VI. -- jgbr |
C20 The facegen.com website states the following. "We are a small company, and license our technology to other companies to reach end markets, with applications such as: Research in psychology and graphics, Biometric security and police applications." The 'research in psychology' statement presumably covers type identification. -- jgbr |
C21 None of these you tube links have hot girls? -- Anonymous |
C22 The following entries may need to be reviewed in the celebrities section. Val Kimmer ISTP->ESFP, Rowan Atkinson ISTP->ENTP, Britney Spiers ESTP->ENTP, Vladimir Putin ENTP->ESTP, John Cleese ENTP->ENTJ, William H Macy ESTJ->INTJ, Steve Buscemi ENTJ->INTJ, Jill Hennessy INTJ->ENTJ, Maria Bello INTJ->ESTJ, Jery Lynn Ryan ESTJ->INTJ, Bjork Gudmundsdottir ESFJ->ENFP, Laura Bertram ESFJ->ESFP. Perhaps even more celebrities are typed wrongly. -- jgbr |
C23 i think this vi method is quite misleading and rather sees a person more subjective, not objective then the plain 16 types. it leads ppl turns to reading faces, that's just alike reading palms or so and so fortune telling stuff. as types is changable, y seein a face can tell so much? i'd not agree. i'm an entp. -- pal |
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