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[INTJ] Bizarre behavior of my INTJ friend

SolitaryWalker

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A few months ago, I worked with an acquaintance of mine who is a very self-centered INTJ. In my opinion, it is unclear what his type is, but he seems to be absolutely convinced that he cannot be any other type than INTJ. When I ask him why he is so interested in typology and how he can be certain what his type is, I usually get answers that resemble the following.

-I am very smart and all INTJs are smart, think Ayn Rand or Nietzsche.
-I am very imaginative and creative, INTJs are visionaries.
-I am very logical and organized, INTJs are organized.
-I am very good at contingency planning, all INTJs are planners.

Anyways, I think that's enough for now, can someone tell me what's wrong with this outlook?
 

Lark

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A few months ago, I worked with an acquaintance of mine who is a very self-centered INTJ. In my opinion, it is unclear what his type is, but he seems to be absolutely convinced that he cannot be any other type than INTJ. When I ask him why he is so interested in typology and how he can be certain what his type is, I usually get answers that resemble the following.

-I am very smart and all INTJs are smart, think Ayn Rand or Nietzsche.
-I am very imaginative and creative, INTJs are visionaries.
-I am very logical and organized, INTJs are organized.
-I am very good at contingency planning, all INTJs are planners.

Anyways, I think that's enough for now, can someone tell me what's wrong with this outlook?

 

Lexicon

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A few months ago, I worked with an acquaintance of mine who is a very self-centered INTJ. In my opinion, it is unclear what his type is, but he seems to be absolutely convinced that he cannot be any other type than INTJ. When I ask him why he is so interested in typology and how he can be certain what his type is, I usually get answers that resemble the following.

-I am very smart and all INTJs are smart, think Ayn Rand or Nietzsche.
-I am very imaginative and creative, INTJs are visionaries.
-I am very logical and organized, INTJs are organized.
-I am very good at contingency planning, all INTJs are planners.

Anyways, I think that's enough for now, can someone tell me what's wrong with this outlook?

@bold- his observation about all INTJs being intelligent*- citing Ayn Rand as an example of intelligence.. nullifies his initial statement regarding his own intellect..

*(stupid NTs do exist, & they're as painful a sight to behold as a callous NF or a cowardly STP)



..So, there's his first problem.
 

SolitaryWalker

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The argument that Ayn Rand was intelligent is very far from being obviously true. Besides, there is a fallacy the statement that because some intelligent person was an INTJ, all INTJs are intelligence. I believe that's called a fallacy of composition.
 

Nicodemus

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The argument that Ayn Rand was intelligent is very far from being obviously true.
Indeed, one needs to know a few things about her to find it obviously true.

Besides, there is a fallacy the statement that because some intelligent person was an INTJ, all INTJs are intelligence. I believe that's called a fallacy of composition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasty_generalization
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affirming_the_consequent
 

SolitaryWalker

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I just directed my friend to this thread and received the following response. "INTJs don't have time for these pesky little things".
 

Lark

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Anyone who I believed was a friend who I discovered was a fan of Rand I'd say was just somebody I used to know.
 

Tiltyred

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I just directed my friend to this thread and received the following response. "INTJs don't have time for these pesky little things".

I think he's jerking your chain.
 

UniqueMixture

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Tell him that the view of personality as inherent is flawed because it tends to lead to more negative outcomes when the individual confronts a challenge that they view themselves as inherently incapable of being able to meet rather than as a trait or skill that can be augmented over time through changed behavior
 

SolitaryWalker

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Well, he is obviously very smart. So, he'd say he's too smart to fall into the trap of viewing personality as a narrow repertoire of traits that lead one to overlook the significance of developing character qualities that one appears to be lacking.
 

Coriolis

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Well, he is obviously very smart. So, he'd say he's too smart to fall into the trap of viewing personality as a narrow repertoire of traits that lead one to overlook the significance of developing character qualities that one appears to be lacking.
What makes you say that? His remarks that you have related to us so far sound rather dumb. It sounds like he has little credible support for his claim to be INTJ, and even less interest in getting some.
 
W

WhoCares

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A few months ago, I worked with an acquaintance of mine who is a very self-centered INTJ. In my opinion, it is unclear what his type is, but he seems to be absolutely convinced that he cannot be any other type than INTJ. When I ask him why he is so interested in typology and how he can be certain what his type is, I usually get answers that resemble the following.

-I am very smart and all INTJs are smart, think Ayn Rand or Nietzsche.
-I am very imaginative and creative, INTJs are visionaries.
-I am very logical and organized, INTJs are organized.
-I am very good at contingency planning, all INTJs are planners.

Anyways, I think that's enough for now, can someone tell me what's wrong with this outlook?

Does anything need to be wrong with it? Naturally anyone who's a bit arrogant, introverted with delusions of grandeur is generally labelled an INTJ by the world. Hardly surprising that someone who identifies with that would label themselves as such. For myself I've got a few qualifications with those statements.

INTJs aren't inherently smart. And exactly what kind of smart are we talking about here? People who identify as super intelligent are usually banging on about how easily they can achieve a high IQ score. Yet I don't know of many INTJs who truly succeed in life by all the normal measures (wealth creation, great relationships, satisfaction with self). Hmm....we might need a few definitions of smart since I think anyone who fails in being basically happy isn't very smart.

INTJ and creative aren't too things I'd put together. Visionary and creative aren't even natural pairs. Visionaries are usually people who can see a new mechanism that works, creatives are usually interpreters of the external world and connect it to emotion. Two different, although not mutually exclusive concepts.

INTJ and logical makes me ROFL every single time. I think I am one of the least rational people I know. I certainly don't count myself as being logical at all. Yet I score INTJ off the charts on MBTI. My decision making process is often deductive but rarely logical in terms of making sense.

INTJ and planners does meld but then I think most J people plan. J is just the drive for closure, even if it's only in have a self created certainty about what's next. Contingency planning is something you'll see a lot of J people do.
 

SolitaryWalker

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What makes you say that? His remarks that you have related to us so far sound rather dumb. It sounds like he has little credible support for his claim to be INTJ, and even less interest in getting some.

That was a sardonic remark, I was mocking him.

He now says that I am a "real fucking twit" and that I should stop wasting his time.
 
W

WALMART

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Anyone who values their own intelligence will likely have a difficult time pulling away from the NT spectrograph.


His arrogance is in line with many of the INTJ's I've come across, so sure. I'd let him have it.
 

RaptorWizard

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His arrogance is in line with many of the INTJ's I've come across, so sure. I'd let him have it.

In your experience, have you found them all to be that way, or is it just the stupid ones?
 
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