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What function makes one great at trivia?

GZA

Resident Snot-Nose
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
1,771
MBTI Type
infp
My brother has an amazing ability to remember trivia. I don't mean he purposely researches useless "trivia", but rather he has an uncanny ability to always know the answer to Jeoprady, and has in fact kept track of his score and he would have won if he was actually playing.

This is obviously in part do to his reading and education, but I'm wondering if there is a particular function that makes it particularly easy to bring these facts up on command when they are called for.

It will also help me try to type my brother...
 

Athenian200

Protocol Droid
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Messages
8,828
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4w5
My guess would be strong Si and/or Ne. One tries to keep track of all the facts, the other rapidly tries to make connections/patterns that could trigger memory of the relevant fact.

If you're talking about how quick you are on the buzzer, however, that would be strong Se. ;)
 

The Ü™

Permabanned
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
11,910
MBTI Type
INTJ
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5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I think it has a lot to do with the position of Si. If a person is good at trivia, I would suspect that his/her Si and Ti work together. That said, I'd say the INTP or the ISFJ could be masters of trivia.

As the "knowledge-seeking personality," I'd say the NT temperament as a rule would probably be good at trivia, or any T type, for that matter, since Ts prefer working with systems and facts.
 

pure_mercury

Order Now!
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
6,946
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ESFJ
I think it has a lot to do with the position of Si. If a person is good at trivia, I would suspect that his/her Si and Ti work together. That said, I'd say the INTP or the ISFJ could be masters of trivia.

As the "knowledge-seeking personality," I'd say the NT temperament as a rule would probably be good at trivia, or any T type, for that matter, since Ts prefer working with systems and facts.

I regular win teamed trivia games like Trivial Pursuit as a one-man team, and I recently did the online test to be on Jeopardy!, but no response as of yet. I have no idea if it is related to my type, but I have always been a voracious reader, and a lot of my interests coincide with trivia games, it would seem (geography/cartography, 20th Century history, popular music and film). Are there correlations between memory and type? I can recall entire conversation almost verbatim from years previous, if they were important to me in some way. And sometimes I forget why I entered a room 5 seconds after I get there. LOL
 

Randomnity

insert random title here
Joined
May 8, 2007
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9,485
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
6w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Both of my ESFJ friends are huge trivia buffs, and nobody else I knows even tries to play either of them at trivial pursuit anymore.

So I would say, Si, since Fe doesn't make much sense.
 

arcticangel02

To the top of the world
Joined
Oct 5, 2007
Messages
892
MBTI Type
eNFP
My guess would be strong Si and/or Ne. One tries to keep track of all the facts, the other rapidly tries to make connections/patterns that could trigger memory of the relevant fact.

Not Ne - sure, rapid connections and patterns, but as far as information retention... hopeless! ;)

But Si sounds like it's right on the mark.

My ESTJ dad is an encyclopedia of all entertainment/music trivia.
 

The Ü™

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I have extensive knowledge in movies and video games but I have almost no knowledge of the lives of celebrities and who they're dating, nor do I care about such matters. On the other hand, I can cite the directors of a great percentage of movies as well as the special effects companies that worked on the film, along with what special effects sequences each of the companies worked on.

And just by watching a movie, I usually find it quite easy to even pinpoint just by sight (without prior knowledge) what sequences each special effects company worked on.

I am not good at entertainment crossword puzzles, however.

The same goes with roller coasters, as well, just by observing their design, I instinctively know what roller coaster manufacturer designed it.
 

pure_mercury

Order Now!
Joined
Feb 28, 2008
Messages
6,946
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ESFJ
I have extensive knowledge in movies and video games but I have almost no knowledge of the lives of celebrities and who they're dating, nor do I care about such matters

I guess you are not a fan of Who's Dated Who? - Famous Relationships - Hollywood Couples, then? :) That's cool about special effects, though. For being a film guy, I am fairly ignorant of many of the more technical processes of special effects/CGI technology (I could barely make it through Final Cut Pro for my student films). And very interesting on the roller coasters. Do you design them as a career?
 

INTJMom

Well-known member
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5,413
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w4
I think the best people at trivia are S types
 

Jae Rae

Free-Rangin' Librarian
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
979
MBTI Type
INFJ
Wait, are we talking about who was Liz's third husband and who wore what to the Oscars in 1999? Or are we talking by how many votes Harry Truman beat Dewey?

My INTP husband has a steel-trap mind for esoteric facts. He'll dredge up the most amazing pieces of information, but they're not in the former category.

My INTJ friend also has an amazing mind for storing information. Want to know when the Mongols invaded Hungary? What to put in your mulch if you're growing tomatoes? She doesn't go into who's in fourth place on American Idol, but if it's historically or practically relevant, chances are she knows it.

It's probably a T thing for straight facts, but if we're talking about people (dates of marriages, birthdays, number of children), it's going to be a Dominant F thing. How many NTs can't even remember their own anniversaries?

Jae Rae
 

owarinoTenshi

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2008
Messages
18
MBTI Type
INTP
I used to be really good at memorizing stuff as a kid, and so I'd compete in stuff like the National Geographic Bee, which involves knowing a lot of facts, and do really quite well. (Yes, that's me). Unfortunately, I have no ability to remember anything for very long. Now that I've been in college for a while, I have a harder time memorizing, but I think that's mainly because of my insomnia and WoW addiction now.
 
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