Beneath the array of Myers-Briggs charts sweeping the Internet — turning your average Joe into Obi-Wan or finally proving your two best friends actually are Harry and Ginny, and thus obviously destined to be together — is a serious school of psychological thought which presents a concise explanation for the way human beings relate to each other. 

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is a personality assessment based on the typological theories of psychiatrist Carl Jung. The test categorizes individuals as one of 16 personality types, made up of four of eight cognitive processes. The MBTI serves as a practical tool to evaluate yourself and your relationship with others.

The 16 personality types are split into introversion and extroversion, sensing and intuitive, feeling and thinking and judging and perceiving. Initially, it may seem arbitrary that four simple letters can explain so much of your individual make-up, and it may not be fun when your test reveals your 60 percent Judging — a characteristic personified by type-A tendencies and impeccable attention to details. Therefore it is unlikely a judging person will  ever  muster the nerve to traipse to New York City on a whim and achieve life-long dreams of being a Random House Reader. And the fact that you’re an introvert suddenly explains the hours you spent listening to Death Cab for Cutie while your friends cheered on your high school football team. But hey, maybe you’ll be lucky. My personality type is INFJ, and apparently I’m supposed to be excellent at practicing extroverted tendencies, as long as I get an hour alone with my morning coffee prior to embracing the world.

Which brings me to my next point. What do these letters mean? Why are you Gandalf? How has someone determined you have the same personality traits as Abraham Lincoln? (Don’t worry, I’m still keeping my fingers crossed for “The O.C.” MBTI chart to surface on the Internet any day now, too).

I would say it’s as easy as apple pie, but as we all know pie-making is actually a rather complicated ordeal and so is the research of Carl Jung. However, I’d like to present a practical guide alleviating the arbitrary accusations posed against the MBTI.

Introversion vs. extroversion is often overly generalized into the bookworms versus the cheerleaders, which is wholly inaccurate — there are perks to being a wallflower. While introverts do tend to be shyer, and extroverts do tend to exercise more gregarious personalities, it actually boils down to from where an individual gets their energy. 

An introvert gets their energy from alone time, but they can be just as friendly and outgoing as an extrovert. An extrovert gets their energy from others, but they could easily truly enjoy a night in with the Gilmores and a hot cup of tea.

The two middle letters are best understood when paired together, not apart. They are the couple of your personality, and ever so ironically they determine your emotions and how you approach relationships. STs are analytical and practical, while SFs are warm and sympathetic. NTs are interested in a plethora of possibilities and ideas but view them from a logical standpoint, while NFs are warm and enthusiastic and focus on the possibilities people hold and relate to things on a personal level.

Judging and perceiving are typically the easiest to pick out in individuals. Js are organized, impeccably on time and future oriented, while their P counterparts are lackadaisical, comfortable in disorder and risk-takers.

The beauty Myers-Briggs holds is that there is a necessity for the type-A’s, the risk-takers and the analysts — the world needs the scientist must as it does the artist. And once you mull it over, it suddenly makes a lot of sense how you have miraculously managed to maneuver a way to make up your bed as you simultaneously get out of it, intentionally not taking up any more time than necessary, while your roommate, a perceiver, characterized by spontaneous decisions and loose time tables, manages to make up her bed maybe once a week. 

It helps you understand each other, love one another for the differences you bring to the table and learn to use those differences to love and better the world around you.

If you’re curious as to which of the 16 personalities your fate lies, the most accurate free test can be found at humanmetrics.com.