...

[OrangeAppled]

NO. It's not an INFP thing, or an ISTJ thing, or related to type at all.
I think it's VERY important to be aware of the limits of MBTI. People put way too much emphasis on it when trying to relate it to general abilities.
I'm an INFP. No doubt about that.
I'm good at languages.
I'm good at math.
I'm very good at music.

Either I'm not an INFP (because my mathematic abilities don't fit the stereotype of the bleedingheart irrational, emotional INFP), or the steroetypes are wrong.

Assuming that someone's type gives you a glimpse into their faculties is truly nonsense.

But what the fuck do I know about it? I'm just an INFP.

I'm good at math too. It's always come easily to me. I hate that stereotype also!

 

[hommefatal]

I'd say INFPs have a hard time relating to ISTJ math teachers.

 

[simulatedworld]

Is there any significant correlation? On average, who is the smartest type? For that matter, how do all the types rank? I've done some Google research, and all I've really found are two articles on it. Ironically, these two seem to suggest that Feeling and Intuitive types have higher I.Q.s. I find this kind of strange because I would imagine that Sensing and Thinking would make one smarter rather than going by one's emotions. Strange...

IQ tests are biased toward NT intelligence, so they score higher.

We don't really have tests for the other types of intelligence, unfortunately.

 

[Valuable_Money]

Yes, there are definitely members at INFPg who excell at math, but I myself have these sentiments:



I might point out that there are INTPs I know who claim to be awful at math, so perhaps there are math simpletons and math geniuses among every type.

When I was in grade school they put me in special-ed math and then put me in gifted english. However just to point somthing out, my spelling is awful, my grammer isnt nearly as bad as my spelling but I do make mistakes. The thing I excel at is reading comprehension and creative writing. And I honostly think creative writing is a fluke just because Im always getting criticised for lack of emotion in my writing, I try and make up for it with humour and intelligence(did I also mention I KICK ASS in vocabulary) so needless to say as soon as poetry comes along....
</stroking ego>

Let's review that the N isn't about intelligence, it's about creative thinking. Math is quite the opposite way of thinking.

this

 

[Lithium Onyx]

I'm an INTP, and while I would consider myself fairly good at math and I really do love it, I also sometimes struggle with it like people who aren't as good because of my synesthesia. It's frustrating because while I can compute and reason rather fast, I make mistakes all the time because my mind is compltely color-coded.

Generally most NTs I know are fairly good at math, but not noticeably more than any other types.

As for IQ as a whole, I've never really believed in the system in the first place. IQ definitely favors the intuitives and the thinkers, and it'd be hard to include other abilities using the same standard. IQ seems more a test of skill than actual intelligence.

Another weird observation: I'm near dysfunctionally bad in spatial areas (I find it hard to mentally picture other sides of 3-D objects or rotate figures in my mind), which are emphasised heavily in almost every professional test I'd ever taken, but I still score in the 145-155 range. That's easily possible, especially if they give more weight to logical questions instead of geometrical questions, but with all the spatially-oriented elements it strikes me as...sort of unlikely? Ehh. I don't know, that's just what I think.

 

[NewEra]

I'm an INTP, and while I would consider myself fairly good at math and I really do love it, I also sometimes struggle with it like people who aren't as good because of my synesthesia. It's frustrating because while I can compute and reason rather fast, I make mistakes all the time because my mind is compltely color-coded.

Generally most NTs I know are fairly good at math, but not noticeably more than any other types.

As for IQ as a whole, I've never really believed in the system in the first place. IQ definitely favors the intuitives and the thinkers, and it'd be hard to include other abilities using the same standard. IQ seems more a test of skill than actual intelligence.

How would you test a person's intelligence? Just curious.

Another weird observation: I'm near dysfunctionally bad in spatial areas (I find it hard to mentally picture other sides of 3-D objects or rotate figures in my mind), which are emphasised heavily in almost every professional test I'd ever taken, but I still score in the 145-155 range. That's easily possible, especially if they give more weight to logical questions instead of geometrical questions, but with all the spatially-oriented elements it strikes me as...sort of unlikely? Ehh. I don't know, that's just what I think.

Yeah, the twisting around of 3D shapes and stuff is Visual IQ. Strange that you could get that high of an IQ without doing well in the spatial sections. I usually do well in the Spatial areas but not so well in the Verbal ones.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

IQ tests are biased toward NT intelligence, so they score higher.

We don't really have tests for the other types of intelligence, unfortunately.

Fortunately, NT IQ is biased towards kicking ass.

 

[Walking Tourist]

You must be my clone, in terms of being sent to special ed math and gifted English.
But my spelling is pretty good and I don't really have any problems with grammar.
Like you, I am good at reading comprehension and creative writing. I've always been good at storytelling with lots of description. I'm less good at putting emotion into my writing. I don't like to tell people how to feel! I'd rather just tell the story and let the reader decide how to feel. I like to put in lots of description to help readers visualize the surroundings that I'm describing.

When I was in grade school they put me in special-ed math and then put me in gifted english. However just to point somthing out, my spelling is awful, my grammer isnt nearly as bad as my spelling but I do make mistakes. The thing I excel at is reading comprehension and creative writing. And I honostly think creative writing is a fluke just because Im always getting criticised for lack of emotion in my writing, I try and make up for it with humour and intelligence(did I also mention I KICK ASS in vocabulary) so needless to say as soon as poetry comes along....
</stroking ego>

this

 

[Walking Tourist]

I don't think that IQ tests are all that accurate. They can only test a few types of intelligence. People with vivid imaginations tend to lose points on the test. (that would be me):steam:

As for IQ as a whole, I've never really believed in the system in the first place. IQ definitely favors the intuitives and the thinkers, and it'd be hard to include other abilities using the same standard. IQ seems more a test of skill than actual intelligence.

 

[BlackCat]

It's a shame that there isn't a better way of measuring IQ. The tests are clearly biased toward intuitive people. I'm not entirely sure about the T/F preference when it comes to this... I have a higher IQ (145) than a good bit of NTs I've met, at least when this topic has come up.

 

[NewEra]

I don't get how IQ tests are biased towards N's.

N's are more imaginative, between-the-lines, big picture, metaphorical, etc.
S's are more concrete, what's in front of you, detailed, practical, etc.

I don't see how either has an advantage in taking an IQ test. Many of the questions on these tests are very mathematical and spatial, these are traits that aren't limited to either N or S. In fact, the best math students I know are S's. And others are general knowledge questions, which doesn't limit you either.

 

[the state i am in]

i don't really like iq tests.

i do think there is something akin to total calculations per second. pure raw unadulterated speed/processing power.

but the overall approach to intelligence is mostly irrelevant. it measures something, as do most standardized tests, and the results are probably correlated with many co-factors, but it offers little actual understanding of anything useful. i could be wrong tho, maybe it does measure a form of intelligence based on problem-solving ability, tho this seems largely biased towards T. pattern recognition is biased towards N, but st(j) types make up for it with overall organization of their understandings, deduction, and memory retrieval.

i imagine nt, st, and nf do the best overall on iq tests with nt being the clear favorite and st and nf being about even. i would guess that the averages would roughly (in order) favor intp, intj, istj, infj, entp, enfp, istp, estj, infp, enfj, estp.

i would like to know more about iq test design/theory.

 

[NewEra]

but the overall approach to intelligence is mostly irrelevant. it measures something, as do most standardized tests, and the results are probably correlated with many co-factors, but it offers little actual understanding of anything useful. i could be wrong tho, maybe it does measure a form of intelligence based on problem-solving ability, tho this seems largely biased towards T. pattern recognition is biased towards N, but st(j) types make up for it with overall organization of their understandings, deduction, and memory retrieval.

Yeah, this is the 'visual' aspect of the test which is not really biased towards N. It's just common sense mostly. I don't see anything intuitive about it, mostly what you see is what you get.

i imagine nt, st, and nf do the best overall on iq tests with nt being the clear favorite and st and nf being about even. i would guess that the averages would roughly (in order) favor intp, intj, istj, infj, entp, enfp, istp, estj, infp, enfj, estp.

And all other types after them? I could potentially see that. Like you said, I think the STs do well on IQ tests.

 

[the state i am in]

yeah, although it is just speculation off the top of my head. i think this fits with the way the test works and what it privileges.

 

[BlackCat]

I heard that the top IQs were like... INTJ>INTP>INFP>INFJ though.

 

[NewEra]

I heard that the top IQs were like... INTJ>INTP>INFP>INFJ though.

I don't have any proof, I'm just going off what I think, that the STs would do well because of spatial ability, etc. I don't have a source, but do you have a source for this?

 

[BlackCat]

I don't have any proof, I'm just going off what I think, that the STs would do well because of spatial ability, etc. I don't have a source, but do you have a source for this?

Lol some dude posted it.

But I'm going to agree with STs doing well. I don't see why not.

 

[Wonkavision]

Is there any significant correlation? On average, who is the smartest type? For that matter, how do all the types rank? I've done some Google research, and all I've really found are two articles on it. Ironically, these two seem to suggest that Feeling and Intuitive types have higher I.Q.s. I find this kind of strange because I would imagine that Sensing and Thinking would make one smarter rather than going by one's emotions. Strange...

As far as I.Q. goes, statistics seem to show that Intuitive Feelers, on average, have the highest scores.

I'm not sure that's true, though.

Most NFs I know, including myself, say they have I.Q.s between 125-140.

But most NTs I know claim to have I.Q.s between 145-160.

Maybe some people are lying. Maybe they've mistyped themselves. Or maybe they are relying on unoffical tests.

I don't know, but I don't think I.Q. is the only gauge of intelligence, anyway.

I subscribe to the theory that there are different kinds of intelligence which are all equally valuable, and that the different kinds of intelligence do correspond to type and/or temperament.

I would recommend looking up David Kiersey or his book "Please Understand Me II" for more information on that.

 

[Lithium Onyx]

How would you test a person's intelligence? Just curious.



Yeah, the twisting around of 3D shapes and stuff is Visual IQ. Strange that you could get that high of an IQ without doing well in the spatial sections. I usually do well in the Spatial areas but not so well in the Verbal ones.

Sometimes I do better in spatial sections in some tests than in others, but over all, I think I'm lacking a bit.

Unfortunately I have no concrete ideas. I've contemplated this many a time, but I come up pretty empty-handed. The closest to an idea I can conjure is perhaps somehow including musical ability. As much as I love mathematical and formal logic, I'm sure there are people who are just as brilliant in other areas. (<---- 10% or so NF in me speaking; feel free to pay it no mind.)

Of course until some new innovation comes along, the old standard will have to do. I'm no help there.

 

[Elfboy]

I don't have anything to back it up, but I would say INJs are probably the most intelligent of the types. Introverted intuition is completely beyond my comprehension with some of the amazing results it can get. My best friend is an ENTJ (he seems INTJ to most, but once you get to know him, he's actually extremely extroverted which he pulls back from most people so as not to overwhelm. also his Se is pretty good but Fi is pretty much non existent) and as a dominant extraverted intuitor, I can get concepts at lightning speed and have 10 down before he even gets one, but, he will suddenly go into some sort of crazy mental state and synthesize 20 different concepts at the same time! introverted intuition works a lot slower but when it kicks in, it gets everything (he can even choose a problem to solve, put it in the back of his head and let it sit there and solve itself. during this time he'll go see a movie or something and his subconscious does all the work!) take all these abilities and make them a dominant function and you have INJs
ENJs and ENPs tend to be pretty close so I'd say they tie for second place (ENPs have dominant intuition but introverted intuition is higher intelligence than extroverted). As an ENFP, it almost gets annoying because even with school subjects I hate, my mind will come up with like 5 connections that I feel compelled to share if the teacher says anything that I remotely understand. If it's a subject I know a lot about, I can literally talk for hours (ex: in choir, we routinely have the upcoming sophomores visit us and ask questions about what choir is like and what kind of stuff they should know about singing at our school. being a classical vocalist in training, I could give a day long seminar on it so I just choose not to talk).
next are INPs (generally, some are more intelligent than ENs though): INPs seem to function best in places where they can create things. overall it's a less practical form of intelligence, but if you know how to capitalize on it, INPs can make hella cash (ex:INFP authors and INTP internet entrepreneurs).
Ss tend to be less intelligent (with some extreme exceptions), but there strengths are less intellectual in nature (SPs strength is mostly physical while SJs strength is their steadiness and work ethic)