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The Smartest type.

Mal12345

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14,532
MBTI Type
IxTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
SJ's? I know ISTJ's do well in school, but I'd take an INTJ in the classroom over an ISTJ any day of the week. Especially graduate level stuff - Master's, Ph.D., etc.

If you're talking something like accounting, then yeah, ISTJ's. But, the deeper you go into a subject, the ISTJ's will lose interest. I know 2 ISTJ's who did awesome in high school and college (accounting; engineering), but when you started talking about the Master's type material - the deeper understanding of the subject, they checked out. They didn't want anything to do with it. When you get into more complex subjects like Physics, neuroscience, and medicine, stuff like that, SJ would not be the *best in the classroom*. Also, stuff like languages and humanities would, all things equal, tend to be more fit for some of the NF types. It really just depends on what types of skills are required for each subject.

Ta-dahhhhh! Yes folks, sometimes it does take an INTP.

This whole subject was dealt with decades ago. Some types excel at the grade school level. After that, their interest begins to wane and they begin to drop off academically. The stories I could tell you...
 

onemoretime

Dreaming the life
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
4,455
MBTI Type
3h50
Bingo. My issues with MBTI have always been the forced-choice test method and the fact they use questions which are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Upon retest, the person can easily flip choices since both answers were true for the person, to begin with. What some people conveniently ignore is there is a big difference between a forced answer, and an accurate answer.

I always thought that the best way to test personality would be to throw a bunch of hypothetical scenarios at a person, and see how that person reacts to them. Furthermore, the answers would be written out, and not multiple choice. Finally, it would be taken in a standardized room, with several different things to interact with; the test would be video recorded.

The scorer would then take different aspects of the entire testing process (like if the person had to straighten a messy desk in the corner before getting to work, or became bored in the middle and started playing with something in the room) and combine them with the written answer to come up with a response based on a rubric developed from previous observation. If this correlated with Jungian functions, fantastic; if it did not, that makes it even more interesting.
 

FDG

pathwise dependent
Joined
Aug 13, 2007
Messages
5,903
MBTI Type
ENTJ
Enneagram
7w8
I know one ISTJ and one ISFJ that are good at graduate-level type of stuff, meaning they get it and can generate new ideas and connect them well. However:
- they don't enjoy how doing a phd extends life in "poverty", would prefer something which allows for material gain (and that's understandable when you're past 25)
- they sometimes have to coerce themselves into thinking that some kind of abstract point or alternative or completely new theory should be considered as worth the effort / worth examining. Their level of curiosity is a little bit narrower when compared to many N types.

so uhm I guess one of their strongest points (how much effort they're willing to put in focussed learning) kinda wanes when you reach a certain level, because either they feel they're not getting something out of it, or it just doesn't bode that well with their general life philosophy.
 
G

Glycerine

Guest
I think pretty much anyone who knows how to adapt fully to and utilizes his or her talents with a competitive IQ are the smartest types. Those types of people can excel at whatever they want to do. One can be amazingly smart but if he or she does not know how to how to adapt to things that are not their strengths, then it's like a golden egg sitting there with no real purpose, rotting away.
 

Perch420

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
381
MBTI Type
NiTi
Enneagram
5w1
The "smartest" type is whatever type the constituency of which is, on average, more intelligent than that of other types. By this definition, the "smartest type" would be either INTJ or INTP.
 

Perch420

New member
Joined
Jan 21, 2011
Messages
381
MBTI Type
NiTi
Enneagram
5w1
You have different kinds of "smart". S's are smart in a way that is measured by grades in school. N's are another type of smart. If you put all the types together, then you'd have the smartest group of people. Kind of what Mace attempted actually :)

Edit: not any more xD

No. There is only one type of "smart". Getting good grades in school is demonstrative of certain skills; time management, the ability to follow directions, and so on. Those are skills. There are other skills, like the ability to run fast or the ability to play video games. I doubt anyone would say that a runner is "smart" because they can run fast. Intelligence isn't a skill; it's an innate ability to problem solve. That ability manifests itself most commonly in INTJs and INTPs.
 

Walking Tourist

it's tea time!
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
1,452
MBTI Type
esfp
Enneagram
7
If you want to learn a foreign language quickly, it's helpful to be an esfp. We talk a lot and that is a good trait for a language student. I found that, in Ecuador, I absorbed Spanish very quickly because I spoke it all of the time. Having an analytical mind isn't always a benefit. If you spend your time analyzing a language, instead of practicing it, you won't learn as fast.
 

onemoretime

Dreaming the life
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
4,455
MBTI Type
3h50
No. There is only one type of "smart". Getting good grades in school is demonstrative of certain skills; time management, the ability to follow directions, and so on. Those are skills. There are other skills, like the ability to run fast or the ability to play video games. I doubt anyone would say that a runner is "smart" because they can run fast. Intelligence isn't a skill; it's an innate ability to problem solve. That ability manifests itself most commonly in INTJs and INTPs.

Yeah, no.

If intelligence is problem solving, then why do we not see too many INTx as NFL quarterbacks? They have to constantly solve a chaotic mix of problems nearly instantaneously to be successful at the game.
 

Rasofy

royal member
Joined
Mar 7, 2011
Messages
5,881
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
If by smartest you mean highest average IQ, I'd bet on INTXs anyday.
Which doesn't exclude the possibility that they may find themselves working for an ESTP with an IQ 60 points beneath his.
IQ alone won't get you much far.
 

KDude

New member
Joined
Jan 26, 2010
Messages
8,243
I think young INJs and INPs have the most defensive outlook on what intelligence even is (or what's worth their time in general) making them the most stupid types. That is, until they stop being defensive, become a little more agnostic and open, and simply apply their judgment in troubleshooting things. Rather than using their judgement on the value of things.

Then they appreciate how much intelligence it takes to carry out some activities/projects they previously judged as stupid.. that this whole time, people weren't being stupid.. that they were merely interested in other things.
 
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