VI: What it is, misconceptions, and how to learn it
A good understanding of VI on this forum could advance the English-speaking Socionics community by leaps and bounds… I’m writing this post to address some misconceptions about Socionics VI, to tell the truth about it.
VI—the visual identification of Socionics types –is the easiest way to make Socionics benefit you in your day-to-day life. It can help you to make ACCURATE snap judgments about friends', co-workers' personalities—anyone'.
After one becomes competent at Socionics, becoming good at VI is simple; however, like many things, (e.g. a musical instrument,) it takes A LOT of practice to become good at VI. (There are pitfalls too, which I’ll address.)
Unfortunately for VI as a concept in the English-speaking Socionics community, there are less than a handful of VI experts on this forum—and currently, there are ZERO 100% correct VI galleries. The myriad of incompentent VI opinions expressed on this forum, elsewhere, and in VI galleries makes VI look like a crapshoot.
VI is not a crapshoot. It only looks this way because currently, it is practiced incompetently.
(Same principle as when I first picked up the guitar—it sounded like shit… But now that I know some chords, I can play songs.)
Skepticism regarding VI in this community:
Thus far, what’s been published about Socionics VI in English has been very confusing and often, flat wrong (e.g. most of Gulenko’s Socionics.com VI section… Frankly, it’s taken years to un-tangle the mess that site has made of the English Socionics’ community’s understanding of VI… Likewise, Ashton’s Delta and Gamma Socionix VI galleries are full of incorrect typings, which cause a lot of confusion among the ten or so people who subscribe to Model X… To be fair though, Ashton’s beta and alpha typings are often quite good… In a much different vein, Rick’s VI of the actor Robert DeNiro as SLI has led to confusion regarding that type, which continues to this day re: SLI vs. LSI. Giving credit where it’s due, however, Rick is one of the most accurate English-speaking Socionists and most of his typings are spot on.)
Currently, many in our community to write-off VI as quackery, or at least on the fringes re: Socionics’ value—mostly due to its seeming unreliability, which is, unfortunately, engendered by the incompetency of the aforementioned practitioners and randoms on this forum. (Again, this is not to say these are incompetent Socionists—they just have some bad VI typings which have led to confusion.)
What Socionics VI is:
Socionics VI, when done by a VI expert, (one without any agenda except to get the typing right,) can NEARLY ALWAYS help identify one’s leading function or quadra—and thus give great insight into one’s probable type.
Less often, (but remarkably often all things considered,) Socionics VI, when done by a VI expert, can help identify one’s exact type, and even subtype (!) (Subtypes, indeed, have recognizable VI traits.)
In theory, learning VI is simple; (however, it’s currently hard because no accurate VI galleries exist in the English-speaking Socionics community… I’m offering to compose one; however, I don’t have a shitload of time atm.) After studying an accurate VI gallery, a Socionist must look at hundreds of photos (of friends, relatives, celebrities, etc,) and memorize the physical looks/shapes of faces and especially eyes. The Socionist must also note the feeling (the empathetic “vibe” as Steve would say, lol,) he/ she receives from each individual photo.
The eyes are BY FAR the most important and telling characteristic in Socionics VI.
The Socionist will soon notice how often these physical features/"vibes" repeat. (I was when my eyes were opened to genuine Socionics VI a few months back… I made a new friend the other day just after I VI’d him as LSI and just went up to him.)
I’ll post some pictures in a reply to test those who want a test.
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-leading or 
ego, or neither, can often become clear.
Originally Posted by JuJu
. I never coined it. Actually I think I remember first hearing Sarah use the word in this context and liked it. I think it was the people who were frustrated by my usage of it that first attributed it to me haha.
