• You are currently viewing our forum as a guest, which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community, you will have access to additional post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), view blogs, respond to polls, upload content, and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free, so please join our community today! Just click here to register. You should turn your Ad Blocker off for this site or certain features may not work properly. If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us by clicking here.

[NT] Defining Moments in the making of an NT.

ladypinkington

Rubber Nipple Salesperson
Joined
Jul 19, 2007
Messages
1,126
MBTI Type
INFJ
Have you ever had a defining moment that defined you as an NT?

For example, was there any book or conversation that really sparked your imagination like no other?

Or was there a defining moment that caused you to be interested in science, philosophy, journalism ect...?

If so could you share what the event was and the effect it had on you?

I am interested in defining moments in people's lives and I was curious what that would look like for an NT.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

JivinJeffJones

New member
Joined
Apr 25, 2007
Messages
3,702
MBTI Type
INFP
The very first time they correct a teacher for something other than pronunciation of their own name.

My guess.
 

Mycroft

The elder Holmes
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
1,068
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
I wish I could give you something concrete, but I pretty much followed the IJ -> INJ -> INTJ path without any "from now on I'm going to be a thinker!" kind of moments. It was a boringly natural progression I suppose!
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,036
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
I'm not really an NT, but my first great passion was astronomy at age 13. My bedroom was filled with posters of galaxies, the moon, solar system, the 'known universe'. I would look through my telescope every evening. My mother bought me two astronomy books for Christmas that were my most valued possessions. I never made many close friends at school. Most of the girls were giggling about boys. I had some long-term crushes even as a child, but never got involved with the fleeting social attachments that more emotionally driven kids did.

As a teenager, i dealt with emotional scars from childhood. I solved the problem of personal emotional crisis by switching my thinking to analyze something completely detached. I learned to use analysis and reason as a tool to cope with emotional pain imposed on me from my environment.

It's not so much a moment, but a process that led me to value objectivity. My mother, sister, and brother have all wrestled with very strong feelings and subjective reasoning. They are all deeply kind people, but have gotten attached to and hurt by some very malicious people. I'm the youngest, but observing this dynamic, I determined to stay detached and aware. My mind and its ability to reason is my greatest asset. I determined to marry the most logical, clear thinking man I could find, and I did exactly that. This has enabled me to be a source of objectivity for my dear family who often fall into the trap of dark, hopeless subjectivity. My mother typically leaves our conversations with a sense of reassurance and balance. She has also chosen me to be the one to make the tough calls if she is ever incapacitated. She trusts in my clarity of thought.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
The very first time they correct a teacher for something other than pronunciation of their own name.

My guess.


Lol, this does remind me of a time in the 5th grade when I had to correct the teacher on a math problem. The question was "If a quarter is one inch in diameter, and you lay quarters flat on the ground with the edges touching each other and forming a straight line for a distance of one mile then how much money is there?" The teacher said it was $158.40. I said no it's $15,840. You can't possibly have an answer ending in $.40 when dealing with quarters. The class then started joking that she should sit down, and I should stand up and teach the class. :nerd:

Looking back I think that must have been an embarrasing moment for the teacher, but luckily she had already liked me a lot before that, so I think that made it easier for her to get over. Go go ENTP l33t skeelz! :banana:
 

Zergling

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 26, 2007
Messages
1,377
MBTI Type
ExTJ
For as long as I can remember, I have been asking why things happen and are done a certain way, have been interested in science related areas (Starting out with space, the solar system, history and evolution of life, geological history of the earth, and going from there into math, chemistry, some physics, some basic "how things work", etc.) I also apparently have always been competitive, or at least wanted to be good at anything I did.

I have also over time gotten to be less showing of emotions, less relying on emotions to make decisions, more controlled in what I show. This happened later, though, in late middle school, high school, and even some college. It occurred after noticing that decisions based on emotions often went bad, and showing lots of emotions and revealing things like desires often resulted in someone taking advantage of it. I also tend to be suspicious of authority and social groups, though I'm not sure how much is directly "type" influenced, how much is random life experience, and how much slight personality changes would have completely changed these things. (A different set of parents, or teachers around me, may have changed a lot.)
 
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
7,312
MBTI Type
INTJ
Jivin Jeff hit the nail on the head for me. I was in fifth grade and wrote an essay that I included the word "hone" in. The teacher marked it wrong because she claimed there was no such word. I can't remember very many occasions as satisfying as showing her the word in the dictionary. That's when I learned that just because someone is older than you or in a position of authority doesn't mean they're smarter than you.
 

Cerpin_Taxt

New member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
132
MBTI Type
INTP
When I was nine, I got a 10 minute lecture regarding my usage of the word 'damn' from my teacher and principal. That was when I knew I was gonna be in for a long -- and irrational -- school life.:rolli:
 

Mycroft

The elder Holmes
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
1,068
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
so/sp
Jivin Jeff hit the nail on the head for me. I was in fifth grade and wrote an essay that I included the word "hone" in. The teacher marked it wrong because she claimed there was no such word.

It's good to see that ignorance isn't an impediment to becoming an instructor.
 

runvardh

にゃん
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
8,541
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
It's good to see that ignorance isn't an impediment to becoming an instructor.

Well, you know what they say: Those who can't, teach...
 

The Ü™

Permabanned
Joined
May 26, 2007
Messages
11,910
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Well, in my early youth, I had the typical Aspie trait of lining things up and an obsession with unusual objects -- such as speakers, ceiling fans, and sink drains. I remember a couple of times, my dad bought me some car speakers just because I thought they were cool. I got a cardboard box and cut holes into it to put in and wire up the speakers so I kinda made my own stereo system out of a cardboard box.

I think my first passion was movies. I used to go to the movies every weekend with my grandmother -- they were usually really bad comedies (like Ernest movies) -- and then I engaged in creative play by myself inventing and acting out my own stories. Often, this worried my parents, who often withheld my privileges to watch violent movies, because my mind was quite violent.

I also used to get my name written on the board in school for not paying attention and staring off into space. But my life long passion was always movies. And I used to also play 8-bit Nintendo games, particularly Zelda, and then I designed my own maps for the underworld levels. When I got a Sega Genesis, I did the same thing, designing my own levels for the Sonic the Hedgehog games.
 

Natrushka

Pareo cattus
Joined
Jun 7, 2007
Messages
1,213
MBTI Type
INTJ
Have you ever had a defining momment that defined you as an NT?

For example, was there any book or conversation that really sparked your imagination like no other?

Books. Finding books and realizing I got lost in them and that it wasn't something that happened to everyone.

Playing with words. FMWarner had 'hone', Cerpin_Taxt had 'damn' and when I was six or seven I had "phoque". For those of you who don't speak French, it is pronounced f-u-k and it means "seal". :D
 
O

Oberon

Guest
Lol, this does remind me of a time in the 5th grade when I had to correct the teacher on a math problem. The question was "If a quarter is one inch in diameter, and you lay quarters flat on the ground with the edges touching each other and forming a straight line for a distance of one mile then how much money is there?" The teacher said it was $158.40. I said no it's $15,840. You can't possibly have an answer ending in $.40 when dealing with quarters. The class then started joking that she should sit down, and I should stand up and teach the class. :nerd:

Looking back I think that must have been an embarrasing moment for the teacher, but luckily she had already liked me a lot before that, so I think that made it easier for her to get over. Go go ENTP l33t skeelz! :banana:

When I was in the second grade, Mrs. Glover (my teacher) asked for someone in the class to name an animal. I raised my hand.

"Brontosaurus!" I said proudly.

She gave me a look like she'd found a bug in her soup. "Well, if you can spell it, I'll write it on the board," she finally replied.

So I spelled it for her.

She didn't like me much after that.
 

Economica

Dhampyr
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
2,054
MBTI Type
INTJ
JJJ, it seems your guess was pretty good. ;) I'll share one of my moments.

I corrected many teachers many times, but one episode stands out: Correcting a teacher in middle school for pronouncing the word artisan ar-TEE-sian (note the i). She refused to check the dictionary, angrily mandated that her pronunciation was accurate and forced the class to say it that way for the rest of the year.

Obviously, her reaction wasn't professional, but looking back on it, I can understand why I got her back up: I was a complacently arrogant priss with no diplomatic or even strategic (!) priorities whatsoever. Nice new teacher already feeling insecure? Perhaps her teaching would suffer a setback from having her authority challenged just now? Who cares, all that's important is being right and showing off! :doh:
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,145
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
When I was in the second grade, Mrs. Glover (my teacher) asked for someone in the class to name an animal. I raised my hand.

"Brontosaurus!" I said proudly.

Too bad they don't really exist: They are actually just apatosauruses.

[NT info war! Slap! Your turn! :D]
 
O

Oberon

Guest
The first time I saw Spock on a rerun of Star Trek (the original series). Spock was my hero. He was strong, he always knew the answer, and he never let anyone get to him.
 
O

Oberon

Guest
Too bad they don't really exist: They are actually just apatosauruses.

[NT info war! Slap! Your turn! :D]

I'm aware of that now, but at the time they were brontosaurii who didn't yet know that they were actually apatosaurii.
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,145
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I'm aware of that now, but at the time they were brontosaurii who didn't yet know that they were actually apatosaurii.

I'm an Imnotasauri for teasing you anyway. (The pluralization correction is only worth half a point. Why do I know this? Because I am setting the rules. Ha!)
 

Siúil a Rúin

when the colors fade
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
14,036
MBTI Type
ISFP
Enneagram
496
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
The very first time they correct a teacher for something other than pronunciation of their own name.

My guess.
I suppose that shows I'm not an NT. There were plenty of times i could have corrected teachers growing up, but i never did. I especially remember my algebra teacher made so many mistakes. It took him quite a while to figure things out on the board. I'd see the solution very quickly and then drift off into my own thoughts. It never occurred to me to correct him because he seemed to be just slightly ahead of the rest of the class. I just figured it was an environment in which i didn't really belong, took my little scraps of info, and spent most of my time in my own little world. Correcting him didn't seem that productive to me since he needed it quite often. In the bigger picture, it was a problem beyond my sphere of control.
 

Economica

Dhampyr
Joined
Apr 23, 2007
Messages
2,054
MBTI Type
INTJ
I suppose that shows I'm not an NT. There were plenty of times i could have corrected teachers growing up, but i never did.

I am reminded of Keirsey's claim that demonstrating competence is key for NTs whereas NFs pursue authenticity. I'm sure the more gratuitous of my corrections must have elicited cringing from my NF classmates who probably caught the same error but couldn't care less about getting credit for it. :blush:
 
Top