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[Jungian Cognitive Functions] Ti/Te and Math

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
I've met excellent math users among all of the T types. Overall Te and Ti seem to be different ways to achieve the same result.
 

Randomnity

insert random title here
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
9,485
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
6w5
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Math was always one of my best classes, although I didn't particularly enjoy it. The only part I was bad at was brand-new approaches to questions - if I see any type of question once or twice, it's easy. When you're supposed to figure out new methods during the tests, it gets a lot harder. Thankfully that didn't happen often (and it's why I view math as a tool, not as an end in itself).
 

Nonsensical

New member
Joined
Aug 2, 2008
Messages
4,006
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
7
my best friend is a strong INTP and he can work, nearly, all of the math problems he needs figuring out, in his head..he's really brilliant..

But I find with myself, I tend to be more skilled in History, Literature, and some sciences..not so much the practical mathematics.
 

Enyo

New member
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
443
MBTI Type
xNTJ
I don't know how much function or type has to do with this. I think it has more to do with types of intelligence. For me, math has always seemed like common sense. Where other people have to study and work through examples to understand the material, I usually just 'get it'.

I'm probably a mathematician in a parallel universe.

Now, I always had a hard time with math classes, because they held no meaning to me. I just couldn't see the value of any of it.

In a real world setting, doing my projections and figures were all algebraic in nature, but were easy and made perfect sense because they had meaning to me.

I don't think it's that I'm terrible at math so much as it bores me senseless and I just can't be bothered with it. Which, I suppose, is kind of funny since I have 8 years of classical music and two years of jazz.

No thanks, give me the humanities any day.
 

Enyo

New member
Joined
Aug 9, 2008
Messages
443
MBTI Type
xNTJ
my best friend is a strong INTP and he can work, nearly, all of the math problems he needs figuring out, in his head..he's really brilliant..

But I find with myself, I tend to be more skilled in History, Literature, and some sciences..not so much the practical mathematics.

Substitute "best friend" with "husband" (INTP/ISTP) and I can relate to that entire post.

As for sciences, though, I absolutely hated chemistry. Give me any form of biological science, though, and I was all over it. Those made sense to me. Chemistry didn't really interest me unless I got to make pretty fire. :devil:
 

ygolo

My termites win
Joined
Aug 6, 2007
Messages
5,988
I like Math. Enough that I decided to get a degree in it. :nerd:

I don't like calculations, however, and often screw them up.

Still, I know that if the time came, and I was motivated, I could do a couple of weeks of preparation in this matter, and be able to calculate quickly and accurately again.

I think about math in a very conceptual way, and find I can often simply avoid the calculations many people do get answers (or good estimates). This is especially useful, on multiple choice tests. :D

As for being really quick and accurate on calculations, that's why we have computers. IMO, the abilities to estimate quantities without a lot of calculation, and perform sanity checks for more exact numbers is a lot more useful.

Everyone ought to be taught how to check if a result should be even vs. odd at least (and in general be able to do modulo arithmetic with a low modulus). Also handy is the rule about division by 9. Of course, time still has to be taken to do these types of checks :doh:
 
T

ThatGirl

Guest
Natural at calculus and trig, loved physics, failed algebra three times

go figure
 

murkrow

Branded with Satan
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
1,635
MBTI Type
INTJ
I rock at algebra and suck at everything else.

Though I don't rock that hard.
 

murkrow

Branded with Satan
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
1,635
MBTI Type
INTJ
I would but then we'd need to have sex.
 

murkrow

Branded with Satan
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
1,635
MBTI Type
INTJ
Both of us...

Aren't you paying attention?!
 

Eric B

ⒺⓉⒷ
Joined
Mar 29, 2008
Messages
3,621
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
548
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Here's a couple of examples of understanding the proerties of numbers:

Which are divisible by 3, and what is a quick way to figure it out?

336391303
255141822

Which is divisible by 11?

1111111
4841001

And which process is used in knowing the shortcuts to figure them out?
 

Uytuun

New member
Joined
Apr 19, 2008
Messages
1,633
MBTI Type
nnnn
Maths is a mystery to me. I am currently working in a hypermarket, filling the shelves and it is high school maths class all over. People give me one-action instructions, but they never explain the big picture or the general principles on which the system is built. With maths, I always felt like we were operating in a vacuum, that there was nothing to link the different types of maths together and that it was arbitrary. I couldn't find any kind of logic in maths. No doubt this simply means that I'm less gifted at figuring out the links on my own, but I do think that a different approach in teaching it might have worked better for me (e.g. explain how the symbolic language of maths works, don't just throw letters at me and make me do exercises)

I'm rather fascinated by it now and feel better equipped to tackle it, so I may try to teach it myself a little bit again. If I can do philosophy and linguistics I should be able to deal with maths.

I personally can handle mathematical logic pretty well, but I'm horrible at doing math.

I think I might be like this as well. Maybe.
 

redacted

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
4,223
i don't think you can conclude any causal relation between direction of thinking and overall math ability. it all gets so convoluted since all four functions are all interplaying at all points in time.

i, for one, scored consistently higher in math (i never got less than 95% on a math test in high school, and no one ever averaged as high in test scores as i did in any math/physics/compsci class) than any T, even those that ended up at caltech and MIT. it would seem that pure Te would be better than pure Ti; it would also seem that pure Ne would be better than pure Ni. it would also seem that NTs would be best. these assumptions are merely stereotypes. i had NTs asking me to help them cheat, etc.

yes, math ability is correlated to how well Thinking is used (and Intuition for problems that require more than pure deductive logic). but that doesn't necessarily mean Ts are better than Fs. it also doesn't mean Ns are better than Ss.

i don't like these threads.
 

The_Liquid_Laser

Glowy Goopy Goodness
Joined
Jul 11, 2007
Messages
3,376
MBTI Type
ENTP
yes, math ability is correlated to how well Thinking is used (and Intuition for problems that require more than pure deductive logic). but that doesn't necessarily mean Ts are better than Fs. it also doesn't mean Ns are better than Ss.

i don't like these threads.

MBTI is about preference rather than ability. I wouldn't say that T's are better than F's at math. However I would say that T's are more likely to choose a career that uses a lot of math (e.g. engineer) compared to F's.
 

runvardh

にゃん
Joined
Jun 23, 2007
Messages
8,541
MBTI Type
INFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Math... I tought it to myself for grade 11 and 12.
 

CzeCze

RETIRED
Joined
Sep 11, 2007
Messages
8,975
MBTI Type
GONE
I think Ns are more inclined to appreciate and be more apt at geometry than either arithmetic or algebra.

Eek, I always did poorly at Geometry and never made it through pre-Calc. I think the Ne actually hindered me because I hated having to do that 'step by step explain how A gets to B' thing. I think sometimes I would get it (and a lot of times I didn't) and it seemed unecessarily tedious. I never really got the point of parabolas. I honestly would space out for the first few months of class and then realize that I had no idea what was going on in class anymore. Didn't get it.

I'm very much a visual person in other areas, but to be visual and spatial in science and math is hard for me. I took AP Bio as a junior and got a passing score on the AP Bio exam, but so much of what I studied was completely foreign to me. Like 'showing the DNA' of plants. I'm also not that hot at drafting.

I also never realized how hands on science is. My math teacher said she wanted to be a scientist until college and they had to do so much manual stuff -- like make their own droppers and carry around a dessicator and keep the contents constantly in motion. She would get so frustrated because she couldn't make her droppers and she would end up throwing the dessicator against the wall (on 'accident' she said). She also burned herself a couple times. So she switched to math. :laugh:

I always did better in algebra. It makes more sense and I actually enjoy it. Maybe I'm just too linear when it comes to math.

My arithematic is pretty good -- at least according to the brain video games I play. :holy: Also, I was super nerdy (I keeps it realz) in highschool and would do 'Brain Bowl' and I could calculate in my head those 'sales' and 'real life' math problems much faster than anyone on my team which was comprised of classic NT math nerds taking AP Calc II.
 

redacted

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 28, 2007
Messages
4,223
Everyone's looking for these generalities, and they'll never apply on a person-to-person level.

Unless you say something like "ENPs like to make connections as new data becomes available", which is just restating the definition of Ne.
 
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