#iei

I've been building the Indo-European Isoglosses explorer, an online database that — among other things — displays the phonological inventories of the various IE languages and traces the PIE origin of each individual phoneme.

The project has a section that displays the PIE phonological inventory itself. Simple enough, right? Except: which PIE inventory?

There are at least two serious options on the table. The classical model (itself a family of slightly different proposals, but broadly consistent) gives you the familiar system with voiced stops, voiced aspirates, voiceless stops, and — depending on who you ask — voiceless aspirates. Then there's the glottalic model, independently developed in the early 1970s by Gamkrelidze & Ivanov and by Hopper, which reinterprets the whole stop system: the classical voiced stops become ejectives, the voiced aspirates become plain voiced stops, voiceless stops remain as such, while voiceless aspirates get demoted to allophones (whatever that means).

I wanted to build a toggle that lets the user switch between the two. My first instinct was simple: just swap the symbols and relabel the distinctive features and their values: *b becomes *pˀ, and voiced becomes ejective, done. No symbol should move to a different cell, and the table should not undergo a restructuring.

But it turns out the two systems are not congruent in that sense — they can't be converted into each other by a simple renaming of features.

Let's consider a fragment of the PIE phonological inventory:

Now let's try to switch the symbols and substitute the labels. Applying the substitution gives the following: p→p, b→pˀ, bʰ→b and Voice± → Ejective±, Aspirate± → Voice±. The outcome should be the following:

But wait, is the new *b ejective as well? It is not: in both versions of the theory, it represents the plain voiced series.

Then, perhaps, should the table have had the following form?

This solves the inconsistency, but violates my initial constraint that no symbol should move across the table. Indeed, the new *b replaces the classic *bʰ, and should remain in the same cell.

Try as you might, no rearrangement of cells and feature labels will make it work.

The truth is that my constraint is simply untenable: the glottalic theory assumes one ternary feature, rather than two binary ones. The only meaningful way of presenting the data is the following (even if it is far from being clear how such a three-valued feature should be named):

Ni / Fe

“I already know exactly how this relationship is going to end in the long run, but I will still spend months accommodating their feelings just to keep the peace today.”

Ni / Ti

“Sometimes I can drop a deep pearl of wisdom that makes perfect, instant sense, but other times I can’t even verbalize the thoughts in my head because they are just too conceptual and abstract.”

Ni / Se

“I want to just take action and build momentum, but I end up analyzing the move so much that I kill my physical initiative before I even start.”

Ni / Ne

“I want to focus on the one, singular path that unifies my life, but a voice in my head keeps generating random ‘what-ifs’ that threaten to dilute my vision.”

Ni / Fi

“I can provide deep, highly attuned emotional guidance to individuals when they need it, but I rarely will open up about my own core feelings to anyone.”

Ni / Te

“I can come up with very interesting theories, but I often ignore basic pragmatism and efficiency as that stuff feels too cold to me.”

Ni / Si

Let me ask, to what extent would your self-worth differ if you concluded you were mistyped and to what extent would it change if you found typology to be a false idea?

Back when I believed socionics was the answer to everything at 15, I was negatively affected by that interest. I questioned many things about myself because I seemed to have traits that didn't fit my EII (INFP,INFj) type, but I settled on it eitherway because of my focus on morality. It didn't help how little self esteem I had to be of the least impressive of the 4 "intelligent" types (and in the circles I was in most types were dismissed as "normie idiots") Socionics changed how I saw others. I believed others lacked moral values and intelligence, thought in a manner inconceivable to me and would fundamentally be bad company for me (and I for them)

Enneagram too had me constantly questioning every aspect of my behavior in order to confirm that I was indeed a "5w4"

If you are invested in personality typing, I think you should consider the influence of your emotions on your investment and take a short break. It helped me realise these systems fail to predict human behavior and the categories are largely arbitrary: people believe because it allows them to be superior to the majority and because it's a safety harness. If you are no longer certain about these systems, it might be useful to share your opinion of them in retrospect

Соционическая подборка: «Есенин, ч.1»

Ego

Leading Ni

IEIs can be characterised by a continuous search for meaning and purpose in their lives and the world in general. With a tendency to detach from daily affairs, they enter a state of deep self-reflection, looking back through their recollections and looking ahead to the probable future which they feel humanity is heading towards. IEIs tend to possess a dissatisfaction with the superficiality of daily existence, instead believing in some greater calling that must be connected with and understood before being ultimately accepted. Frequently, an IEI will be disposed towards the wanderings of their imagination, running memories through their mind again and again to fathom the steps of their personal journey. IEIs may also try to look ahead and envision a shared utopia for themselves and those they identify with. This continual search results in a tendency of these types to philosophise on the reason for our existence, why we are here and what everything is leading up to. The focus on a single, teleological end directs much of their behaviour, with them having a strong, but often indescribable, feeling of how significant events of the present might help to shape future developments. Similarly, they will often place their actions in terms of their role in the bigger picture, adjusting their behaviour in a way serves meaningful ends. At each point, the journey is set out and IEIs seek to influence themselves and others into staying on track. Often such an approach results in a vague knowing of the importance or urgency of a moment and its relation to future developments. This allows them to know not just when it is urgent to act, but also when an outcome, whether desired or not, is inevitable.

Creative Fe

Usually, IEIs tend to focus on the interpersonal, creating the sense of not only their personal fate but also a shared narrative for others to feel part of. Frequently, they will seek to express their insights to people, often through some art form such as music or writing, or through some political or humanitarian outlet. Often there is an alternative, dark or gothic feel to such expression, providing a sense of the fantastical but which to them feels more real than cheesy cliché. Through such approaches, they seek to inspire others and will derive a strong sense of belonging and identification with those groups and congregations who openly support them in their endeavours. IEIs look ahead to future goals and higher causes and as such, they want to persuade others to join in with achieving these goals. To this end, IEIs can motivate and encourage others with romanticised language, better conveying the specialness and importance of such developments and making people want to assist. This is not to say that all IEIs are very expressive of their emotional states in conversation, as many can be more solemn or taciturn. However, when speaking or writing, the poetic use of language can give them away. Furthermore, they tend to be socially diplomatic and subtly charismatic, adapting themselves to the interlocutor in conversation and even mirroring their needs. In this way, they can be very likeable, often giving the impression that they are on the side of whoever they are talking to and finding the right thing to say that stimulates passion without causing offence. This approach rarely stands out in public settings, but is rather more subtle and supportive than dominant, allowing them to operate smoothly in the background of a community and make no enemies, often surviving any major social upheavals. Rather than drive the group conversation, they will likely focus on individuals, looking to draw them back into the fold. IEIs do well at looking ahead to see social consequences, having a good idea how to mediate and mitigate likely conflicts that would cause a schism in a group or prevent the greater goal from being achieved.

Super-Ego

Vulnerable Te

IEIs are given to heartfelt deliveries on their musings and thoughts. Such an approach is not well suited to demands for hard empirical evidence. As such, the narratives given by IEIs can come across as mystical and lacking in factual accuracy or any clear grounding. When they have a clear vision for what is going to happen in the long run, they can feel frustrated when circumstantial facts of the present contradict what they know inside. When presented with new factual information, the IEI will likely discard the information unless it can be shown to be consistent with other sources and able to be tied into a coherent ideology. Otherwise, the IEI will feel quickly confused by conflicting and changing sources of data and not know which to choose. It is often the case that an IEI can talk or write for a long time on their musings, what they think about the world, etc., without actually saying anything factually informative. IEIs tend to strongly dislike feeling quizzed and will try to avoid situations where they may be shown by others to lack knowledge in an important area. IEIs particularly dislike humdrum practical tasks where they can be easily shown to be inept and incapable of doing things properly. When faced with such chores, they will quickly feel the mental and physical strain, despairing over a messy house or unkept area that they are required to clean up but have no idea where to begin. IEIs tend to be clumsy and not so good at carrying out tasks efficiently or particularly well. Often they may seek distraction from their difficulty with carrying out procedure through appeals to humour, proclaiming their 'uselessness' as an endearing trait. However, should a person try to offer advice or instruction in how to do something better, they may be defensive or insulted, feeling that they are being condescended to or treated like an idiot. Additionally will quickly tire of long, dry, factual explanations for how things work, finding such advice not only condescending but also boring and unimportant in the greater scheme of things. IEIs find it naturally hard to motivate themselves and so little is more discouraging to them than being told what they are finally attempting to do is being done wrong.

Role Si

To an extent, IEIs can be in tune with the needs of their body and tend to look after themselves well, cultivating a good aesthetic, eating well, dressing appropriately and in general managing to make themselves appear welcoming and appeasing to others. Due to their tendency towards self-reflection, IEIs do not tend to place many demands on their bodies, allowing them to stay in a good physical state. They may even be able to relax and enjoy the moment in the company of their friends. IEIs tend to be naturally diplomatic and able to soothe tensions between people in the moment, should they feel the conflict is petty or not serving some greater goal. However, IEIs may just as easily cause conflict if they feel the peace of the environment is bringing stagnancy and a lack of meaningful development. Furthermore, the imagined, remembered or predicted worlds of the IEI can be filled with physical and aesthetic beauty, often of a slightly ethereal or unnerving nature to contrast with the dullness of present existence. However, at heart, IEIs are ascetics and do not see much value in the simplicity of the day to day. They are fundamentally dissatisfied with the world as it currently is, yearning for something more profound to give themselves to. Relaxation is often an anathema to fulfilling higher goals, and the IEI may look to artistic states of suffering as being more preferable for this reason. IEIs will see daily tasks as mundane and pointless unless it serves some higher purpose, lacking the crucial elements that contribute to the big picture. As a result, IEIs prefer not to indulge in such distractions, instead needing to relate it in some way to their purpose. IEIs instead seek out environments of exciting, more intense activity, where under great pressure, action needs to be taken with no time for leisurely delay. By doing so, IEIs are able to feel that they are getting somewhere, rather than stuck in the lazy temptations of the present.

Super-Id

Mobilizing Ti

IEIs tend to possess a strong desire to prove their intellect to others, and often approach this need in trying to form a consistent, clear understanding of themselves and the world they occupy. With a naturally fluid and ever-changing perception of events, it is common for an IEI to adopt an ideology or credo that outlines the principles they believe in, providing needed structure to their vision and beliefs. Sometimes, this can lead to fanaticism, with an obsession on their chosen ideology at the expense of real needs and common sense. Often drawn to philosophy and structures of thought, IEIs can spend a lot of time trying to figure out their priorities in life and the standards for them to live by. When deciding on these standards, they can become rather stubborn and resist challenges to their logic, instead being more open to those who can validate or add to their understanding and bring some of the finer points into clarity. Despite this stubbornness, the IEI may decide not to make their disagreement obvious to others, sometimes giving the impression of agreement. However, they can give way if exposed to superior or flawless reasoning. They will only appreciate structural or principle-based logic, rather than any practical 'how-to' advice. This brings a sense of integrity in their ideals, where, despite being agreeable and adaptable, the IEI maintains a sense of their core principles.

Suggestive Se

The introspective nature of IEIs leaves them quite unaware of the events happening to them in the present. Naturally caught up in their thoughts and reflections, IEIs often have a clearer view of vague future events than what is in front of their face. This causes IEIs to be very indecisive in their daily behaviour, knowing the outcome they are hoping for, but lacking the presence to take needed action and ensure such an outcome. The paralysis can be so severe that IEIs can come across as weak wallflowers, or people who bend too easily to higher authority. However, in order to reach desired outcomes, IEIs feel that reality has to be confronted and pushed onto the right path. As a result, IEIs tend to be attracted to those with strength of will, who have the energy to make things happen. IEIs may make subtle appeals to their emotions and sense of urgency when they feel it is the right time to act, causing the more powerful to fight in their stead. Alternatively, many IEIs will seek to be less passive, looking to strong, wilful people as examples that can inspire them to act, if only for a limited duration. Lacking a connection to the reality of the situation, IEIs can appreciate a firm shake by the shoulders to ground them and an authoritative tone to tell them how things really are. Indeed, no other type can maintain both a compassion for the suffering of the underdog, and a reverence for the brutality of the strong, as the IEI.

Id

Ignoring Ne

With their focus on a singular, underlying purpose, the IEI has little interest in speculating or brainstorming multiple possibilities. Although they are perfectly capable of considering multiple alternatives, they choose not to unless it is absolutely necessary to the situation. After all, considering back-ups or alternatives to the main vision suggests that the predicted outcome may be wrong, and would only lead to confusion and dissolution of resolve. Rather than dip into a variety of areas and interests, IEIs prefer to focus on a particular area that they feel brings personal meaning to their existence and will devote themselves to that area. However, they may be more happy exploring a range of areas within their scope of devotion if that somehow adds to the meaning of their activity. For them, what could possibly happen is unimportant and meaningless in comparison to the destiny that will happen, with their approach being to actually limit the number of possibilities available and ensure the desired outcome. For an IEI, the possibilities often serve as distractions from the right path and as such, possess no merit.

Demonstrative Fi

IEIs tend to operate on a one-on-one basis, being able to form intense, emotional connections with individuals. Furthermore, they have a good sense of people and tend to be able to make the right friends in the right situations. Nevertheless, IEIs are not so interested in character judgement and the formation of close bonds for its own sake. Instead of keeping good people close and bad people at a distance, IEIs prefer to assess whether a person's destiny is tied with their own and others, creating long term relationships with those that do. The purpose for this is less directed towards the individual's worth in relation to the IEI, but rather to pull compatible individuals together into a circle of belonging and camaraderie. Rather than judging the inner character of an individual, IEIs will instead look to see if a person belongs within their desired circle, being able to subtly draw the right people in and leading out those they feel do not belong. In this way, once they have the people they feel they need, they are less inclined to seek other people out to get to know. With those who they feel belong, IEIs wish to close the gap and connect profoundly and authentically, although successfully closing the gap often requires a clear demonstration of interest and desire from the other person. In this way, the IEI attempts to experience intensity of feeling and longing in a company of significant others, rather than deciding whether a particular person is appropriate to experience such feelings with. Within such circles of belonging, the IEI is able to feel that something momentous and important will come to pass.

The way you phrased this is a little bit vague, there's multiple ways i could interpret this, so i'll try to answer those i can think of. i'm really sorry if this isn't what you meant, please feel free to elaborate😓

Are EII and INFJ compatible? Yes and no, it's a little complicated. Socionics and mbti both stem from the same theory, jungian. mbti is very simplified while socionics is expanded by a multitude of different authors. There is nothing contradictory in EII and INFJ alone, however, counting in jungian, which needs to correspond directly to both, it's a bit odd. Socionics stays true to Jungs ir/rationality, making the alternative name for EII INFJ, though its base function is Fi (rational/judging function), like INFP in mbti (in which the p stands for perceiving, or irrationality in jungian). Myers Briggs messed up on that department (as many more). overall IEI INFJ or EII INFP would work better, but it depends on how serious you are about typology, imo this isn't a criminal contradiction and on its own it works fine.

What is the archetype of EII INFJ? Considering EII infj is kind of odd already, there's no real archetype, but I think the most ‘obvious’ (i don't know how else to call it, common?) typology would be so469 ELVF. sp6 LEFV works as well, LEVF (in case of so4).