Draft:Neurotyping

Beatrice's Neurotyping Chart

Neurotyping is a proposed psychological framework created by Béatrice Déraciné Collins, also known as Trixie the Golden Witch and formerly and most popularly known as Digibro. The framework originated in her 2020 YouTube video How Anime Characters Think. It is typically represented through the Neurotyping Chart, a 2-dimensional graph with Lexicality (defined as understanding concepts in structured or ordered ways through language) vs Impressionism (defined as understanding things without linguistic codification, typically through abstraction) on the X-axis, and Linearity (defined as having one active train of thought at a time) vs Laterality (defined as considering multiple things at a time, often jumping between them quickly causing expressions to be more disorganized) on the Y-axis, which is typically divided into 16 sections, indicating the different "Types" recognized within the system. The chart was initially made as a response to the Myer's-Briggs Type Indicator, which Déraciné saw issues with that her system sought to adress. From left-to-right and top-down, the labels most commonly used are: Human Calculators, Analysts, Fascinators, Newtypes, Technicians, Quick-Witted, Overseers, Aestheticians, Contemplatives, Understanding, Externalists, Impressionists, Bookkeepers, Level-Headed, Clearsighted, and Pure Instinct, although throughout the development of the system many alternatives have been proposed and many different versions of the chart with different labels and even entirely different numbers of subdivisions exist.

It should be noted that neither Déraciné nor any other contributors to Neurotyping have made any claim to being experts in psychology, and the system is firmly in the realm of pop psychology.

History

The Neurotyping system started development some time before April 2020, likely derived from Déraciné's previous concept of "Autism Levels" a system she developed to conceptualise neurodivergent modes of media consumption, which has similarities to the Neurotyping concept of Laterality. On April 13, 2020, Déraciné published her first video explaining the system, titled "How Anime Characters Think"[1], in which she used a plethora of examples of characters from anime to describe the system and the categories therein. Two days later, after some discussion with various other people, she published a second video elaborating on the system, changing many of the category names and introducing the first proper visual chart in the format of a 2-dimensional graph with gridlines and subdivisions that would later become ubiquitous and announcing the creation of the subreddit "r/Neurotyping" where many discussions about the system would take place from then on. Déraciné would go on to appear on podcasts, livestreams, and post further videos elaborating on her ideas.

Following the creation of the subreddit, many users developed new ideas, such as the concept of "Dendritic Emergence" created by user Timecake and "Zone Theory" created by Magicka which were then synthesized into a concept called the "Idea Verification Process" or "IVP" by monkaap and further elaborated on by other people. Others created new versions of the chart, using different colors and names, different numbers of subdivisons, or even adding additional axes. Most notably, many posts were made placing fictional characters, celebrities, historical figures, and various other things including abstract concepts on the chart, eventually leading to the creation of a Neurotyping database[2] using Google Sheets by a user known as CAT that currently comprises over 1000 entries. On October 3, 2020, the first episode of the Neurotypeline podcast was released, a podcast covering the ongoing development of the system, hosted by Ouroborista, Tarbuck Transom, Urcoy, and T0lgi01, on which Trixie Déraciné would eventually appear as a guest. The most recent episode released on April 15, 2023 after a year-long hiatus.