The unreliable narrator of my own memories.

To lay down some groundwork for context before I begin:

First of all, I suspect that the reason why SJs represent 40% of the population is because Si as a function lends itself to traditional and ‘safe’ behaviors. SJs don’t really want to venture too far outside of their comfort zone; the caution-seeking component of Si would much rather be safe than sorry. This type of built-in aversion to risk would have led to SJs being much more likely to survive long enough to propagate their genes, and pass on their Si tendencies (assuming that personality traits can, at least to some extent, be passed on genetically).

Likewise, the same logic that explains why high Si users (SJs) would have been more likely to survive environmental risks can also be used to explain why low Se users (NJs) are four of the rarest types. Se is the function that notices and responds to external sensory stimuli - like, for example, an angry tiger defending her young; and higher-order Se users (SPs) process and react to this input much more quickly than lower-order Se users (NJs) do. My younger brother and one of my best friends are both Se-doms (ESTP and ESFP, respectively), and in the time I can even begin stumbling my way through trying to figure out what’s going on around me, they’ve already managed to both process and respond to whatever it is that’s just happened. In humanity’s early world of survival based on the ability to adapt and respond to threats, it’s not hard to imagine how being cognitively less aware of your environment could put you at a disadvantage when it comes to avoiding danger. I suspect that a huge part of the reason why Ni-doms are so rare comes down to the fact that we just simply aren’t as efficient as other types are when it comes to being aware of life-threatening situations.

Contrary to NJs, SPs - who are high Se users - thrive in environments that necessitate a quick response. ‘High risk, high reward’ is the name of the game for Se; because the same adventurous spirit that helps them find new resources while they roam far and wide can also contribute to their downfall in the form of their compunction for diving head-first into novel - yet potentially dangerous - sensory experiences. This trait is helpful during times of scarcity, but it can also make them impulsive, and prone to placing themselves in harm’s way. Personally, I suspect this is the reason why ESTPs are the rarest sensor type - their foolhardy and devil may care attitude towards risk sees them placing themselves in harm’s way more than any other type.

I think the large disparity between thinking and feeling functions for men and women (75% of women are feelers, compared to only 45% of men - despite the fact that all other dichotomies (I/E, N/S, and P/J) are relatively even) can be explained by how they’ve adapted differently in response to selective pressures. Women have always had a greater incentive for learning and displaying pro-social behavior: getting along with other women (and members of your tribe in general) was imperative to early humans, who used to raise their children communally (a tendency which can still be observed in non-Western cultures even today). Women are also, and always have been, the primary caregivers when it comes to child-rearing - it isn’t hard to figure out why it would’ve been advantageous for them to have a more natural and inborn capacity for emotional intelligence when they essentially have to devote half of their entire existence to interpreting and responding to the needs of another person (especially when that person is a small child who depends upon you entirely for their survival, all while trying to learn how to human). The much greater female requirement for being empathetic, nurturing, and understanding is, I think, why 3 in 4 women are feelers. At the same time, if you bothered to take a look at the second chart that I posted above, you may have noticed that the type ratio for men is much more even than the type ratio for women. Yes, some types are more common than others (although I think that can mostly be explained by type-specific strengths and weaknesses), but it’s clearly much more evened out. Personally, I think this phenomenon can be explained by two different things: a) the fact that men (who are generally the “doers” of the human race) probably require a broader skillset in order to venture out in search of resources to bring home for the group, and b) because natural diversity in men likely increases their individual chances of finding a mate, since they won’t be competing with each other over women who all have a preference for the exact same type of men.

This is kind of a random and subjective (and mostly unfounded) observation, but based on distribution- and gender-related type statistics, it seems like the most “ideal” type to be (in terms of social and environmental survival) is ISFP. Most of the reason why I think this is because of how evenly balanced the type seems to be among both men and women - ISFPs represent about 7.6% of men, and 9.9% of women.

People seem to gravitate towards romantic partners who “complete” them, in the sense of having strengths in the areas where they’re weak. For some reason, though, there seems to be a different pattern here for sensors and iNtuitives: sensors tend to stick to dating within their Kiersey temperament cluster (ex. SJs date other SJs, and SPs date other SPs), whereas iNtuitives seem to cross the aisle between NTs and NFs more often than not. I’m not really sure why this is (outside of a post I wrote about the symbiosis between Ne users (NPs) and Ni users (NJs); here it is, if you want to read it), so it’s hard for me to speculate; but my Se-dom brother (ESTP) and closest female friend (ESFP) joke together all the time about how complementary our skill sets are, despite how dramatically different we are on the outside. I’ve also noticed the same thing when it comes to introversion and extroversion, and (tentatively) enneagram types as well - there seems to be a natural affinity there for being attracted to people who naturally complement our personalities.

I could be completely wrong about this (if interacting with other people online has given me the false impression that iNtuitives are more common in this day and age than they’ve been at any other point in human history), but it seems to me like the population (at least in Western countries) is starting to become more evenly proportionate in terms of the balance between sensors and iNtuitives. If this perception is correct, then this phenomenon may just come down to the fact that mankind has NEVER been as peaceful and prosperous as we are at this point in history. Our current quality of life as a species is completely unprecedented - medical, technological, social, and agricultural advances mean that more people are surviving into adulthood than ever before, and the types that would have been less likely to avoid the culling process of natural selection (i.e. iNtuitives in general) are now surviving much more easily in the modern world of comforts and conveniences. If I’m right about this, then the historical and biological tide may be shifting towards evolution favoring iNtuitives over sensors in future generations.

ENFJs: Spend hours a day stalking your social media accounts. Will cry about it to every single one of their friends, who will see an uptick in the frequency of meaningless inspirational quotes on Facebook and Instagram about finally learning to love themselves. (Everyone finds this hilarious, because they all know how highly the ENFJ thinks of himself already.) Jumps straight into the next relationship, or indulges in casual, meaningless sex with random partners in order to fill the void.

INFJs: Sabotages you socially behind the scenes if they feel slighted by your rejection. Writes flowery, poetic ten-page e-mails to you that will never see the light of day. Is already back with their ex before you've even finished saying no because they were keeping them on reserve just in case they got rejected, so they'd have someone to go back to. Pretends to move on, but continues to pine for you in secret. Started following your new girlfriend's Instagram before you even knew you were dating her. Twenty years from now, you start getting weird hang-up calls on your cell phone. It's your INFJ ex. She's still mad.

ENFPs: Oscillate between throwing temper tantrums and pretending not to care. Will say or do something outrageous in order to goad you into reacting to them in some way so they can get your attention. Will explore every method of emotional manipulation they can think of in order to win you over. Disproportionately attracted to anyone who seems like a challenge so that they can ride the high when they finally get what they want. Start out being supremely confident that they'll be able to charm you into reciprocating their feelings; when they realize that you aren't falling for it, they will retreat to sulk and feel sorry for themselves.

ENTJs: Casually try to play it off like we both don't know that they just got completely annihilated. Will end the debate by changing the subject, but it's only because they're hoping they won't have to acknowledge their loss. Ask for alternative perspectives, only to ultimately revert back to what they already believed in the first place. Will eventually hang themselves with their own rope if you just let them keep talking long enough.

INTJs: Get angry and prideful, and keep arguing long past the point that they've clearly lost in order to save face. Easy bait for trolls. Will start to correct small grammatical errors when their point has been thoroughly discredited. Refuse to adjust their argument in the face of new evidence. Criticizes the reliability of your sources while ignoring the fact that their own sources are cherry-picked to support their point. Pretend not to care, but actually care a lot. Will spend three days straight trying to prove how much they don't care.

ENTPs: Start trying to twist arguments and make inferences about your conclusions that you never actually made. Move the goalposts incrementally throughout the argument until you somehow find yourself having a completely different debate than the one you started. Would rather die than admit to being wrong. Will pretend not to know what you're trying to say so they have an excuse to keep arguing. Continue arguing with themselves even though you left the room twenty minutes ago.

..You guys, I.. I did it. I finally did it. ;A; At long last, after two and a half years, I somehow managed to get my shit together enough to complete the ENFJ gf meme.

ESFJ - organizing their extensive Pinterest boards of all the wedding rings they want their boyfriend to propose with, even though they don’t actually have a boyfriend yet

ISFJ - complaining about having to clean up after everybody all the time (but secretly loving it and doing absolutely nothing to try and change it)

ISTJ - organizing their YouTube playlist of boring documentaries to watch before bed to help them fall asleep (but then staying up all night to watch them because they’re so interesting)

ESTJ - being called Daddy in private while morally crusading against the degeneracy of the DDlg kink in public

ESFP - making AMVs by splicing shots of their favorite anime together with Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco songs and then posting them on YouTube

ISFP - printing out smutty fan fiction written about their favorite fandoms and reading it in class

ESTP - posting Facebook videos of themselves doing parkour on the edge of the roof of a 50 foot tall building

ISTP - putting chips in their sandwich for maximum flavor and efficiency, to the dismay of every girl in the vicinity

ENTJ - tapping out the rhythm of their favorite songs on their desk while they work

INTJ - writing detailed essays analyzing their favorite books and movies before posting them in obscure Reddit and 4chan threads that nobody is ever going to read

ENFJ - forcing their healthy cooking on unsuspecting victims as a gesture of affection

INFJ - writing heartfelt and extremely revealing texts/letters/e-mails to loved ones before banishing it from existence, never to be seen again

ENFP - dyeing their armpit hair blue and daring you to say something about it

INFP - being completely submissive to Daddy in real life while pretending to be totally ready for the Marxist revolution on the internet

ENTP - pretending they don’t know what the person they’re arguing with is actually trying to say just so they have an excuse to keep arguing with them

ESTJ: Paula Cole - Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?

ISTJ: Edwin McCain - I’ll Be

ESTP: Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

ISTP: Eminem - Sing for the Moment 

ESFJ: Aqua - Barbie Girl 

ISFJ: Joan Osborne - One of Us 

ESFP: Pink - Get the Party Started 

ISFP: Goo Goo Dolls - Iris 

ENTJ: Mark Morrison - Return of the Mack

INTJ: Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun 

ENTP: System of a Down - Chop Suey!

INTP: Bush - Machinehead 

ENFJ: Tal Bachman - She’s So High 

INFJ: Jewel - You Were Meant For Me 

ENFP: Wish You Were Here - Incubus