MBTI, Enneagram, Human Design, astrology, numerology. There is such a dopamine hit to read a result describing one’s self and see the traces of something you could never find the words to, or didn’t realize the pattern of. But here it is, laid out, though how could you be possibly reduced to this one thing, this quiz or system based on a birth date that has never even spoken to you?
Here’s why we love frameworks:
- We love to detect patterns in people. We compare and contrast, form judgments, and use metaphors and archetypes to understand. It’s a way to hack the brain so it doesn’t have to think so hard to understand something completely foreign every time.
- Dopamine hit from recognition, from being seen. I mean, isn’t this why people are increasingly talking to AI? (which is literally built for pattern matching)
- There’s an anxiety to not having a clear definition of the self. We seek to conceptualize a selfhood
What makes a good framework:
- Clear definition
- Internally consistent structure
- Broad scope Study from Holland’s typology model (RIASEC)
Also think this could relate to Man and his Symbols