suppose that there is a classification system that assigns people certain strengths and weaknesses in a way that is almost entirely without basis. the theory might be right about certain things but it is equally likely wrong. it claims some things in a completely random way, gets certain things simply right and sometimes fucks up to the extent of classifying people opposite to how they should be. the system is basically socionics as we know it.

another thing the system says is that one's weaknesses are a matter of imbalance that should be corrected by paying attention to them. the system purports to be a means of developing oneself through self-discovery.

now suppose that a community of people takes the system seriously.

...

the funny thing that will happen is that people will start paying attention to the things that the system arbitrarily classifies as their weakness. they will work at improving these skills in the name of self-improvement. to varying extents, they will succeed at this.

what is the end result? paradoxically enough, you get a situation in which people now possess mainly the traits opposite to what the system initially claimed. people that were arbitrarily told they were poor speakers are now good speakers on account of having made an effort at improving said skill. likewise for all other traits. things that the system said were their strengths are now weaknesses because they were treated with complacency, etc.

food. for. thought.