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[NT] How can an NT be stupid?

goodgrief

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I know type is supposed to have little effect on intelligence, and I know not all NTs are supergenius's. But seriously, with N giving innovation, abstract thinking, forward thinking and seeing patterns and T giving logical planned decisions and ideals based mostly on what's rational, how can someone honestly be dumb?
 

Amargith

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Just becoz you have a preference towards something doesn't mean you're good at it. I love drawing and art, but I seriously and royally suck at it myself. A friend of mine is crazy about music but is shite at keeping rhythm or carrying a tune. Granted, practice can improve you somewhat but if you're not really gifted that way, it aint going to happen. Same applies to those that would prefer to use logic and looking in the future but are incapable of developing those talents because it's not what they're inherently good at.

And then there's the issue of where you can be gifted at it but so emotionally screwed up that those emotions pretty much interfere with your logic and reasoning skills without you noticing, completely skewing the results of your work.

Lastly, some NTs are emotional and social morons at times, no offense. And IQ is just one of the 9 types of intelligence out there.
 

Fluxkom

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I know type is supposed to have little effect on intelligence, and I know not all NTs are supergenius's. But seriously, with N giving innovation, abstract thinking, forward thinking and seeing patterns and T giving logical planned decisions and ideals based mostly on what's rational, how can someone honestly be dumb?

It's not about recognizing what needs to be done. It's about actually doing something when you have seen what needs to be done.
Not doing the right thing or anything at all is often referred to dumbness in this case, when it was just crazy pness.
 

Cypocalypse

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When it comes to emotional intelligence, NTs can be notoriously dumb.
 

tcda

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There is a saying, "some ideas are so stupid only an intellectual could believe them".
 

cafe

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Cussed stubbornness.
 

Martin997

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I think if an area doesnt interest an NT (in my case atleast), then the area might as well not exist. its like that with politics for me, I just found out who our prime minister is... wait I dont think i remember his name anymore. HES A MAN THO, and he might or might not have glasses! what was the question again?
 

Arclight

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Just because you know how to do something, doesn't mean you are doing it right.
For example ..I can type, but I can't touch type.
Therfore I am typing incorrectly. If I could touch type I would make less errors and could type faster. But instead I have learned to type in way that works, but that lacks fluidity and is error prone. The more I practice my incorrect typing the more I become accustomed to typing incorrectly
Now Thinking is like typing.. there is a right way to do it and a wrong way.
The wrong way might still work and get results, but it is flawed.The more you practice thinking the wrong way, the farther away you get from thinking correctly.
NTs can think and use intution but this does not mean that they are doing either correctly.

Make sense??
 

Craft

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It's not about recognizing what needs to be done. It's about actually doing something when you have seen what needs to be done.
Not doing the right thing or anything at all is often referred to dumbness in this case, when it was just crazy pness.

If a person is able to do something and chose not to do it because of preference , that is not "dumbness".

If I could jog the entire globe and chose not to, it's not because I'm dumb. If I can solve a complex equation and chose not to, it is not dumb.

Ability relies on aptitude, not choice. Choice is open, skill is ability.

"Pness" is a only small degree of innate antagonism towards decisive action; choice, want and need transcends this.
 

INTPness

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I think if an area doesnt interest an NT (in my case atleast), then the area might as well not exist. its like that with politics for me, I just found out who our prime minister is... wait I dont think i remember his name anymore. HES A MAN THO, and he might or might not have glasses! what was the question again?

This. There are so many areas in life that the common man knows a lot about, but I just don't care that much about it and so I think at times I come off stupid to someone who doesn't know me in-depth. A few examples:

1) I just found out that we have some huge oil leak/spill in the U.S. Even after someone told me about it, I still don't want to read about it. While most people know at least "the basics" of why this happened, etc, I really have no clue. I don't watch the boring, pessimistic, Debbie Downer news channels. I like to stay happy and upbeat.

2) I'll often go outside for the day wearing clothes that are "too hot" or "not warm enough" because I don't check the weather. I don't care to check it. I'd rather just bring a jacket (or a sweatshirt) so that I have more than one "layer" if necessary. Then, I'm prepared either way. But, I don't plan my day around the weather. People will say, "It's going to rain today." My response, "Is it really? Good thing I brought my jacket!"

3) I can live somewhere for years and still not really know where certain cities/landmarks are. If I haven't had a need to travel to these places and haven't had a desire/urge to read about them/study them, then I just won't know where they're at. People will say, "How long have you lived here?"

I think people are sometimes baffled at (a) how much I know about certain things, and also (b) how little I know about certain things. If I get caught at the wrong time and about the wrong subject, I suppose I can come off really stupid*.

*Give me 24 hours to research it, however, and I'll know more about it than 99% of the population. It just depends how interested I am in it and how busy I am with other things.
 

Craft

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@OP

You mean "how can an NT be stupid at *logic and etc*".

Natural inclination breeds natural talent. If, within your entire life, you're bad at what you've been focusing on, well....that would be very sad, wouldn't it?
 

tcda

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^^^yes exactly. NT's are unlikely to be "stupid" at logic and abstract thought. but these are hardly the only measures of intelligence.
 

Elemental Chaos

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I think that you said it yourself, type generally just doesn't affect intelligence.

An extreme example of someone with a great mind but who was unable to act NT wise in decision making is the semi-genius who tried to blow his brains out but only destroyed his right frontal lobe. After that he could still score extremely high on IQ-tests when someone got him to do one, but as person he acted as a complete maniac. This is because the right frontal lobe controls behaviour and makes sure it is really thought true before you act it out, but it is not directly involved in intelligence (I think that is more the left one).

If you're interested, the story is told here Brain Mind Lecture 3: Frontal Lobes: Mania, Depression, Catatonia, Confabulation beginning at 31:58 and ending at 35:45 in the video.



EDIT:
But for sure, someone who likes to think logically will improve their logic skills. That's a given.

Also, someone with a well developed left hemisphere would be good at logic but if they use that logic should be very affected by how their right mind is wired.
 
Last edited:

entropie

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miss fortune

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they can be stupid just like any other type can be stupid... EVERYONE has the capacity to be an idiot, no matter what they're type is...

you might as well have asked "how can NTs be tall?" :newwink:
 

Quinlan

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This thread has come up before.

What springs to mind for me is that a lack of sensing could lead you to miss crucial details so all of your innovation, abstract/forward thinking and pattern spotting may be based on a false premise.

Add to that a lack of feeling could mean that you have little sense of what really matters to yourself and others, which is stupid in it's own way.

The whole concept of intelligence (IQ in particular) seems to be something that really fascinates NTs, so I think they have played a big part in defining it. So "intelligence" comes to mean nothing more than "skill at doing things that NTs value".
 

Stanton Moore

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Yeah, Nt's are great. They're really on top.

My father was one. He estranged all of his kids, was abusive to his wife and died young of a heart attack.

But he graduated HS at 16 and college at 19, so I guess if that's all you're after in this thread, he was technically a success. Go NT.
 

goodgrief

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Yeah, Nt's are great. They're really on top.

My father was one. He estranged all of his kids, was abusive to his wife and died young of a heart attack.

But he graduated HS at 16 and college at 19, so I guess if that's all you're after in this thread, he was technically a success. Go NT.

Sorry about your dad. I don't think I ever said intelligence was all that matters or that NTs were perfect. And I don't think it's healthy to define a group of people based on your experiences with one.
 

simulatedworld

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Your definition of "intelligent" is probably "good at NT-oriented tasks."

There are lots of different intelligences.
 
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