Delta: the "boring" Quadra?

[Raver]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious. It's almost as if people actually view the quadras as being ranked as:

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, in reality I've never seen people actually view it this way. What is this nonsense? Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

[Korpsy Knievel]

[Galen]

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I've never seen or even so much as induced any such ranking from others around here. If anything that would be totally dependent on the quadra of the person doing the ranking.

[UDP]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious. It's almost as if people actually view the quadras as being ranked as:

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, in reality I've never seen people actually view it this way. What is this nonsense? Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

You've been a member of the forum since 2005?
I wonder if you missed a lot of the 'glorious partisanship' of the last several years.
Maybe it's a joke post.

[rat1]

the rank is beta > gamma > alpha > delta

[Morcheeba]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious. It's almost as if people actually view the quadras as being ranked as:

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, in reality I've never seen people actually view it this way. What is this nonsense? Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

This is a huge misconception, and so many people on here say that one is more popular than another, more ambitious, etc. But I have to say the one person that seemed the most alive and vibrant in my point of view was an ENFp. I was very envious because of her ability to draw people in and find innovation and creativity in even the most mundane situations. I don't think Deltas are boring at all, I've been friends with quite a few and found them to be very engaging.

[Raver]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious. It's almost as if people actually view the quadras as being ranked as:

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, in reality I've never seen people actually view it this way. What is this nonsense? Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

You've been a member of the forum since 2005?
I wonder if you missed a lot of the 'glorious partisanship' of the last several years.
Maybe it's a joke post.

I was away from the forum for four years between April 2007 and June 2011. I guess I must of missed this glorious partisanship you speak about and no this isn't a joke thread.

[FDG]

It's because most socionics authors are Alpha, so from their own POV delta is the end of the cycle.

[DirectorAbbie]

When I saw the title of this thread, I knew right away it must be about Delta Quadra.

.

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

Don't be ridiculous. Beta is on the bottom. They're evil. And alphas are crazy and gammas are greedy.

Go Team Delta! Who's the most boring group of commoners? We are!

[Cat King Cole]

I think if you were to ask most Alphas they'd be like "Wait, there's a ranking?"

Not really giving a toss about anything that can't be discussed, eaten, or drunk is pretty much what Alpha is about.

[Radio]

In their defense, a lot of INFjs tend to be a little stick-up-the-butt, so I can understand the criticism.



Srs response: for some reason, the negatives are often emphasized more for Deltas than other quadras. They are often described with either neutral or negative adjectives, while the other quadras usually with neutral or positive. I'm not sure if I'm biased, paranoid, or if this is really the case.

[Kierva]

Deltas are prudes.

[willekeurig]

Don't be ridiculous. Beta is on the bottom. They're evil. And alphas are crazy and gammas are greedy.

Go Team Delta! Who's the most boring group of commoners? We are!

[EyeSeeCold]

In their defense, a lot of INFjs tend to be a little stick-up-the-butt, so I can understand the criticism.



Srs response: for some reason, the negatives are often emphasized more for Deltas than other quadras. They are often described with either neutral or negative adjectives, while the other quadras usually with neutral or positive. I'm not sure if I'm biased, paranoid, or if this is really the case.

Nah, Beta seems to get the least slack. Gamma, Delta and Alpha all get their turns to stand at the bullseye.

[Absurd]

In their defense, a lot of INFjs tend to be a little stick-up-the-butt, so I can understand the criticism.

I think INFjs are Fi dominant, correct me if I'm wrong.

[Raver]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious. It's almost as if people actually view the quadras as being ranked as:

1. Alpha
2. Beta
3. Gamma
4. Delta

I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. However, in reality I've never seen people actually view it this way. What is this nonsense? Is it some kind of contest where people see their quadra as their "team" and they're supposed to be proud of it like it means something?

This is a huge misconception, and so many people on here say that one is more popular than another, more ambitious, etc. But I have to say the one person that seemed the most alive and vibrant in my point of view was an ENFp. I was very envious because of her ability to draw people in and find innovation and creativity in even the most mundane situations. I don't think Deltas are boring at all, I've been friends with quite a few and found them to be very engaging.

That's encouraging. I think the reasons IEEs may seem boring to some because even though we have the potential to be engaging fun individuals. We can withdraw around people that don't value our and retreat into ourselves as a precaution. Usually around Betas mostly and sometimes with Gammas this happens. Around other Deltas mostly and even Alphas to some extent we open up more because they're more accepting of our wild . We are highly inconsistent with our behavior, where with other exxps this is not simply the case because they are more capable of turning the switch of extraversion on or off at will. With IEEs it happens subconsciously and we have little control over it.

[Marie84]

I think if you were to ask most Alphas they'd be like "Wait, there's a ranking?"

Not really giving a toss about anything that can't be discussed, eaten, or drunk is pretty much what Alpha is about.

That's how I feel too. The whole point of understanding Socionics, in my view, is to understand people and find compatible relationships in the process.
It's the little online play wars like this that make me hope that Socionics doesn't become mainstream because I know some people will wear it like badge and use it like a race card to make themselves feel superior

[moredhel]

Boring just means stable and friendly at the end of the day. I've seen enough drama and instability from other quadra's to last a life time, "interesting" =/= good. And lets be honest boring is probably the least negative label of all the derogatory quadra labels.
I mean beta's get to be evil, now that's harsh and I have to delicately word gamma description in particular to make it sound positive it pretty much say's they are judgemental and greedy.

[Korpsy Knievel]

Boring just means stable and friendly at the end of the day. I've seen enough drama and instability from other quadra's to last a life time, "interesting" =/= good. And lets be honest boring is probably the least negative label of all the derogatory quadra labels.
I mean beta's get to be evil, now that's harsh and I have to delicately word gamma description in particular to make it sound positive it pretty much say's they are judgemental and greedy.

Allow me to put those lies about gamma to rest by sharing this with you:

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/apostrophe

Na zdravi!

[noid]

just another bullshit thread

It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious.

But it have something right, sadly.

[jessica129]

Supposedly I'm Delta and I find it boring as hell....that's saying something

[Jarno]

Delta quadra to me means long distance travelers.

I haven't found any clear distinguised marks for the other quadra's though.

But nearly all people from Delta talk about they want to travel to far away countries, go walk in nature etc.

Boring? hmm can't say I find them that boring...

[jessica129]

Other deltas seem very hard to connect with...that's just my experience. They may be great people but there's a disconnect there...

[Pa3s]

@Jessica:

I really don't want to question your self-typing and I've probably not read enough of your posts to make an educated guess, but I think there is still the possibility that you're a beta type, namely LSI.

Your own quadra should actually be full of people you can easily connect with, that's the general idea of a quadra.

[jessica129]

If I'm beta, I'm not LSI

[Korpsy Knievel]

Your own quadra should actually be full of people you can easily connect with, that's the general idea of a quadra.

Presuming theoretical validity and excluding or accounting for extenuating extra-socionic factors that affect interpersonal relations, I concur. And note "should" and "idea", which allude to the idealized nature of sociotypes and their anticipated interrelations, abstractions which don't always jibe with the actualities they purport to represent.

[Suz]

Other deltas seem very hard to connect with...that's just my experience. They may be great people but there's a disconnect there...

Well tbh Jessica i find SLIs very hard to establish a lasting connecting with. Some are even hard to start talking to. I go out on a limb and try, despite my shyness, and at first it seems to be going ok with lots of like-mindedness and common values, but they just keep that thick shell up around them and ultimately do these unfriendly things (like ignore my emails or start seeming like they're avoiding me), which makes me wonder whether i was just annoying them and they dont want me talking to them. And so I withdraw big time. I've found that SLIs tend to opt to hang out more with other STs, and even SFs, perhaps due to club similarities and constancy (and fear of unfamiliarity of the Ne territory)?

So what am i supposed to do???

[Taknamay]

Well, I've recently determined that I'm an EII. I see scattered complaints, but can someone explain in a concise list why deltas are boring?

[Suz]

I agree with moredhel that while others might see delta as "boring" i personally think it's because we're not as weird, kinky, or crazy (i.e. "exciting") as the other quadras, so I see what others might perceive as "boring" as good and comfy and pleasant.

For example, when i initially mistyped myself as INFp when i first arrived on the forum (and into the world of socionics), i kept trying to learn more about the betas and talking to them, and after a little bit they were actually scaring me, upsetting me, and almost bullying me (with a few exceptions) and i was thinking to myself "wow, there are some WEEEIIIRD screwed up people in this place."

Once i realized my mistyping and started bonding more with the deltas (and some gammas, and some alphas too), my opinion totally changed. Now i'm like wow this place is full of really intellectual people!

The general way i see the quadras are:

Alpha - friendly, delightful people for the most part but tend to like being too kinky (in conversation) for my tastes, even if they're very sexually conservative, they still constantly bring up sexual topics and make overtly sexual references and jokes--seems to always be on their mind. And of course the occasional Fe/Ti disconnect from my Fi/Te.


Beta - weird, mean, too edgy for me. Expect things from me that i just cant deliver or even pretend to deliver.


Gamma - Still a bit edgy but a lot friendlier. Sometimes make these edgy jokes that seem offensive initially but i realize that it's meant in a sarcastic way. Like e.g. Ashton joking about killing people. Really bond over Fi/Te with these peeps. Some people though (like Korpsey) have a low tolerance for Ne and get very irritated by that thinking style; he seems to be the only one though that was affected to that extent. Oh also, gamma peeps tend to like discussing really dense, dry topics like politics, economy, government, which actually I find boring.


Delta - awesome. comfy. mutual understanding. I dont find it boring, we have some incredible intellectual conversations about more interesting (to me) topics. Low on the kinkiness, and even if some might have things on their mind, it's like hidden away deep below the surface and mutually understood that this is not something welcomed in conversation other than in very subtle innuendo if anything.

[Taknamay]

You say the other quadras are more kinky but... I'm into some things that would surprise some people, it's just that I want to do them all monogamously with my future wife :l

Is that an anomaly in deltas?

[Suz]

You say the other quadras are more kinky but... I'm into some things that would surprise some people, it's just that I want to do them all monogamously with my future wife :l

Is that an anomaly in deltas?

I mean do you talk about those things in public though?

For example, my mom (SEI) has very conservative values when it comes to sexuality. Like ULTRA-conservative. but she'll keep referring to sexual things like those things are on the tip of her tongue, like if she disapproves of how some guy is behaving, she'll outright say "look at him, he's so aroused! shame on him!" or something about his penis, or something like that. Among other things, this is just one example.


I guess my point is, deltas prefer to be very discrete about such things, even if there is some kinkiness on the brain. I'm referring to like normal conversation between people and humor in everyday settings (not the bedroom).

[Taknamay]

No... unless I'm using a sock puppet. Then yes, I go all out >_>

Or do you mean IRL? Because I don't have IRL sockpuppets.

[Absurd]

Well, I've recently determined that I'm an EII.

[Nico1e]

Yeah, I saw this thread title too and instantly knew it was talking about Delta.

I was *never* bored with my real-life IEE best friend. The conversations went on for hours and I don't even know how many calories I burned up from laughing constantly.

Deltas could be described as boring because they don't like expressing feelings outwardly amongst others. I wouldn't want to be surrounded by nothing at all but deltas for the rest of my life - I like variety in the world, and I enjoy seeing people from the other quadras too. I work with some Alphas, and I think it's hilarious and entertaining to watch the ESE and ILE joke around with each other; however, I can't participate.

Deltas aren't boring to other deltas.

I decided a couple of years ago that I was proud to be boring. I know that other people think I'm boring, and I also know that I'm attracted to people who are similarly boring.

I wrote a post a while back about how I had a crush on my literature teacher in college (some kind of NF), and even though he was talking in a calm, quiet voice, I felt like laughing at nothing at all whenever he was talking, and I thought he was exciting and fascinating even though he didn't actually say anything weird or openly 'interesting.' He merely talked about literature in a very serious way, and that seemed like the most wonderful thing I could imagine. Anyone else who clowned around and tried to be 'not boring' was actually more boring and annoying to me than this guy was. That's just one example. If you're a delta, you are actually attracted to somebody who seems 'boring.' It's like there's some kind of energy just beneath the surface.

[Galen]

Supposedly I'm Delta and I find it boring as hell....that's saying something

Are you talking about individual Deltas you know, or the group atmosphere you've identified as Delta?

[Korpsy Knievel]

Gamma - Still a bit edgy but a lot friendlier. Sometimes make these edgy jokes that seem offensive initially but i realize that it's meant in a sarcastic way. Like e.g. Ashton joking about killing people. Really bond over Fi/Te with these peeps. Some people though (like Korpsey) have a low tolerance for Ne and get very irritated by that thinking style; he seems to be the only one though that was affected to that extent. Oh also, gamma peeps tend to like discussing really dense, dry topics like politics, economy, government, which actually I find boring.

Thanks for the shout-out, though to be fair I also frequently advocate that specific individuals as well as broad classes of people be euthanized.

[DirectorAbbie]

Is that an anomaly in deltas?

I don't think so.

[Lobo]

There are people who think that boring means not wanting to go out at night to a club/bar where you have physically uncomfortable conversations and end up spending a lot of money on drinks... I don't care if someone would call me boring. I just do my own thing, and enjoy it.

[Galen]

Alpha - friendly, delightful people for the most part but tend to like being too kinky (in conversation) for my tastes, even if they're very sexually conservative, they still constantly bring up sexual topics and make overtly sexual references and jokes--seems to always be on their mind. And of course the occasional Fe/Ti disconnect from my Fi/Te.

Well maybe it's your fault for being uncomfortable talking about sex.

Beta - weird, mean, too edgy for me. Expect things from me that i just cant deliver or even pretend to deliver.

My best friend's ESTp and INFp parents are very domestic, well-mannered, industrious people. They're also both sp/sx, which probably pays a bigger part in all of this.

Gamma - Still a bit edgy but a lot friendlier. Sometimes make these edgy jokes that seem offensive initially but i realize that it's meant in a sarcastic way. Like e.g. Ashton joking about killing people. Really bond over Fi/Te with these peeps. Some people though (like Korpsey) have a low tolerance for Ne and get very irritated by that thinking style; he seems to be the only one though that was affected to that extent. Oh also, gamma peeps tend to like discussing really dense, dry topics like politics, economy, government, which actually I find boring.

fwiw I make jokes like that on occasion too. Plus most of the politics/economy/government discussions I see from Gammas are from the NTs, almost nothing from the SFs from what I've seen.

Delta - awesome. comfy. mutual understanding. I dont find it boring, we have some incredible intellectual conversations about more interesting (to me) topics. Low on the kinkiness, and even if some might have things on their mind, it's like hidden away deep below the surface and mutually understood that this is not something welcomed in conversation other than in very subtle innuendo if anything.

Eh, I've known 'boring' people of all quadras. I can't help but think it's more related to instinct stacking than anything, which seems to be the basis upon which most people get along in the first place as far as I'm concerned.

[silke]

I feel like out of all the quadras, I'd say the delta quadra is often looked upon as the worst generally speaking by non-deltas. It's usually seen as the boring conservative quadra that has little impact on the world. The types in delta quadra are often portrayed as the least sociable and least ambitious....I thought quadras were supposed to be viewed as a circle, with no quadra being superior or inferior to the other, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

I think quadra progression descriptions are partially to blame for this. They commonly portray Alpha as the origin of all progress and innovation and new ideas, while Delta is inevitably associated with stagnation in society. Alpha is thus the rising sun of the socion and that sun falls with Delta whose job appears to be sweeping the streets in repetitive motions after the other three quadra get done (and enjoying it!). This story sounds rather one-sided and there have been attempts at describing this progression in reverse, but somehow even in descriptions of the reverse process Delta still ends up being the epicentre of the exciting "well nothing is happening here". There is indeed a second wave that is lashing in the opposite direction that originates with Ne-Fi rather than Ne-Ti and Deltas are at the very forefront of this wave. May be somebody from Delta can investigate this and see if quadra progression descriptions can be improved upon, as right now the story seems to be incomplete where Delta's role indeed sounds dull and inconsequential.

Well, I've recently determined that I'm an EII. I see scattered complaints, but can someone explain in a concise list why deltas are boring?

search for quadra progression or read some quadra descriptions and you'll see it mentioned