• 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.

Type my dad

Eilonwy

Vulnerability
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
7,051
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
I didn't know my dad very well. He was stationed elsewhere when I was 2, and didn't come home until he retired, when I was 13. I'm hoping for a little insight into who he was by figuring out his type. I'm inclined to think IxxP, but, I'm still pretty new to all of this, so I'd like some help.

Here are some things I know about him:

He used to spend hours alone in his room, with the door closed, playing solitaire.

His nieces have told me that he was the fun uncle--always joking.

He did like to tell bad jokes and he loved puns. He had a circle of cork that had "Round Tuit" printed on it, so that he could say he would get "a round tuit".

He loved those 3D puzzle cubes and other puzzles that required good spatial skills.

He liked to read.

He did gymnastics as a young man and loved to swim.

He spoke several languages, including Russian, German, and French.

My mom used to say that he got along well with younger children, but didn't know how to relate to kids once they hit their teens. He was really good with younger kids. He had the patience to teach them to swim and read, etc. He also would play and have fun.

He headed up a Boy Scout troop for several years.

In the military, I believe he started out as a mechanic. I think he ended up in Supplies after the war.

The military was his career. 30 years in the Air Force (what started out as Army/Airforce).

He was a terrible driver. Some people were actually scared to ride in a car with him. He would miss stop signs and drive very fast. Some of that may have come from being raised in Montana in the 1920's and 30s (probably a lot of open space there then).

Although he could be scary when he yelled, I mostly perceived him as a gentle, quiet person.

He was not into material things, which was one of my mom's complaints. He was happy with the basics and didn't need fancy stuff.
 

Haight

Doesn't Read Your Posts
Joined
Apr 18, 2007
Messages
6,232
MBTI Type
INTj
Only if you're Jewish.

And I'm going ESTJ.
 

UniqueMixture

New member
Joined
Mar 5, 2012
Messages
3,004
MBTI Type
estj
Enneagram
378
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Maybe istp (going with your instints)
 

Savage Idealist

Permabanned
Joined
Aug 17, 2010
Messages
2,841
MBTI Type
ENFP
Enneagram
6w7
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Seems like an ESTP if you ask me (or possibly ISTP). Maybe enneagram 7, not sure on wing atm.
 

StephMC

Controlled Mischief
Joined
Mar 2, 2009
Messages
1,044
MBTI Type
ISTP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Yeah, sounds like a well-balanced ISTP (as far as your description goes)
 

Mal12345

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14,532
MBTI Type
IxTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
I didn't know my dad very well. He was stationed elsewhere when I was 2, and didn't come home until he retired, when I was 13. I'm hoping for a little insight into who he was by figuring out his type. I'm inclined to think IxxP, but, I'm still pretty new to all of this, so I'd like some help.

Here are some things I know about him:

He used to spend hours alone in his room, with the door closed, playing solitaire.

His nieces have told me that he was the fun uncle--always joking.

He did like to tell bad jokes and he loved puns. He had a circle of cork that had "Round Tuit" printed on it, so that he could say he would get "a round tuit".

He loved those 3D puzzle cubes and other puzzles that required good spatial skills.

He liked to read.

He did gymnastics as a young man and loved to swim.

He spoke several languages, including Russian, German, and French.

My mom used to say that he got along well with younger children, but didn't know how to relate to kids once they hit their teens. He was really good with younger kids. He had the patience to teach them to swim and read, etc. He also would play and have fun.

He headed up a Boy Scout troop for several years.

In the military, I believe he started out as a mechanic. I think he ended up in Supplies after the war.

The military was his career. 30 years in the Air Force (what started out as Army/Airforce).

He was a terrible driver. Some people were actually scared to ride in a car with him. He would miss stop signs and drive very fast. Some of that may have come from being raised in Montana in the 1920's and 30s (probably a lot of open space there then).

Although he could be scary when he yelled, I mostly perceived him as a gentle, quiet person.

He was not into material things, which was one of my mom's complaints. He was happy with the basics and didn't need fancy stuff.

All in all, I get an INTJ vibe from this description.
 

Eilonwy

Vulnerability
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
7,051
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Thanks, everyone. So far, ISTP seems to be in the lead and I can see him being that.

Seems like an ESTP if you ask me (or possibly ISTP). Maybe enneagram 7, not sure on wing atm.
I know very little about enneagram at this point. :( If my dad was an ESTP, he was a very low-key one. I'll have to do some thinking on that one.

All in all, I get an INTJ vibe from this description.
I don't know about an IxxJ combination. What gives you that vibe?
 
A

Anew Leaf

Guest
I didn't know my dad very well. He was stationed elsewhere when I was 2, and didn't come home until he retired, when I was 13. I'm hoping for a little insight into who he was by figuring out his type. I'm inclined to think IxxP, but, I'm still pretty new to all of this, so I'd like some help.

Here are some things I know about him:

He used to spend hours alone in his room, with the door closed, playing solitaire.

His nieces have told me that he was the fun uncle--always joking.

He did like to tell bad jokes and he loved puns. He had a circle of cork that had "Round Tuit" printed on it, so that he could say he would get "a round tuit".

He loved those 3D puzzle cubes and other puzzles that required good spatial skills.

He liked to read.

He did gymnastics as a young man and loved to swim.

He spoke several languages, including Russian, German, and French.

My mom used to say that he got along well with younger children, but didn't know how to relate to kids once they hit their teens. He was really good with younger kids. He had the patience to teach them to swim and read, etc. He also would play and have fun.

He headed up a Boy Scout troop for several years.

In the military, I believe he started out as a mechanic. I think he ended up in Supplies after the war.

The military was his career. 30 years in the Air Force (what started out as Army/Airforce).

He was a terrible driver. Some people were actually scared to ride in a car with him. He would miss stop signs and drive very fast. Some of that may have come from being raised in Montana in the 1920's and 30s (probably a lot of open space there then).

Although he could be scary when he yelled, I mostly perceived him as a gentle, quiet person.

He was not into material things, which was one of my mom's complaints. He was happy with the basics and didn't need fancy stuff.

:hug:

I am going with xSTP with So first and maybe enneagram 9. This reminds me of one I know :).
 

Mal12345

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14,532
MBTI Type
IxTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Thanks, everyone. So far, ISTP seems to be in the lead and I can see him being that.


I know very little about enneagram at this point. :( If my dad was an ESTP, he was a very low-key one. I'll have to do some thinking on that one.


I don't know about an IxxJ combination. What gives you that vibe?

Everything about your description is superficial so I only have my personal experience with people to go by. INTJ and ISTP have some common preferences, superficially speaking. However, ISTP is a strong possibility. He sounds like a minimalist type of guy, so he could be a 5 (not a 7). It's easy enough to look up enneagram type descriptions.
 

Eilonwy

Vulnerability
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
7,051
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
Everything about your description is superficial so I only have my personal experience with people to go by. INTJ and ISTP have some common preferences, superficially speaking. However, ISTP is a strong possibility. He sounds like a minimalist type of guy, so he could be a 5 (not a 7). It's easy enough to look up enneagram type descriptions.

Yeah, I wish I had known him better so I could give a better description, but, by the time he retired my mom had complained about him so much that I had a skewed perception of him and never got to know him for himself. Some of the stuff I remember isn't going to help type him at all--for example, he snored. Loudly. I've written and asked his sister to tell me more about him, but all she sent me back was a genealogy.

Anyway, thanks for your input. I'll look further into INTJ as well as the other suggestions given.
 

Eilonwy

Vulnerability
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
7,051
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
:hug:

I am going with xSTP with So first and maybe enneagram 9. This reminds me of one I know :).

:hug: back at ya!

Have recently started reading about functions. After I digest that, I'll get some books on enneagram and try to get a handle on that. Then I'll look into so/sp/sx, which I know less about than enneagram. I'll get there eventually!
 
A

Anew Leaf

Guest
:hug: back at ya!

Have recently started reading about functions. After I digest that, I'll get some books on enneagram and try to get a handle on that. Then I'll look into so/sp/sx, which I know less about than enneagram. I'll get there eventually!

:D :hug:

I will be curious to see what you find out! :D
 

Mal12345

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14,532
MBTI Type
IxTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Yeah, I wish I had known him better so I could give a better description, but, by the time he retired my mom had complained about him so much that I had a skewed perception of him and never got to know him for himself. Some of the stuff I remember isn't going to help type him at all--for example, he snored. Loudly. I've written and asked his sister to tell me more about him, but all she sent me back was a genealogy.

Anyway, thanks for your input. I'll look further into INTJ as well as the other suggestions given.

After thinking about this, I can see what's lacking in your description. For example, you say your dad started out as a mechanic, but nothing about how much he may have loved mechanics. Or how mechanically inclined he was. What you're describing points vaguely in that direction, but not enough to come to a firm conclusion as to type. I don't know if the ISTP is more into gymnastics than other types. Or if he had a special interest in foreign languages, or if being a terrible driver focuses on type. I have known an INTJ who was extremely competent in languages, who speeds, and is a terrible driver. He wasn't into gymnastics but he did some cross-country bicycling and extreme mountain-climbing. So you see where I get confused.
 

Eilonwy

Vulnerability
Joined
Oct 12, 2009
Messages
7,051
MBTI Type
INFJ
Enneagram
4
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
After thinking about this, I can see what's lacking in your description. For example, you say your dad started out as a mechanic, but nothing about how much he may have loved mechanics. Or how mechanically inclined he was. What you're describing points vaguely in that direction, but not enough to come to a firm conclusion as to type. I don't know if the ISTP is more into gymnastics than other types. Or if he had a special interest in foreign languages, or if being a terrible driver focuses on type. I have known an INTJ who was extremely competent in languages, who speeds, and is a terrible driver. He wasn't into gymnastics but he did some cross-country bicycling and extreme mountain-climbing. So you see where I get confused.

Like I said, I wish I had known him better, but he was stationed elsewhere when I was 2 years old and only came home for visits once or twice a year until he retired when I was 13. Not a situation conducive to getting to know a person. Plus, he was born in 1918, making him in his mid-50s when he retired and came to live with us again. In 2 years, my parents divorced and he was out of the house, so, again, I didn't see him much. About 6 years after that, he and my mom got remarried, but she had moved to AZ in the meantime. After he moved to AZ, I rarely saw him. Because of the earlier lack of relationship, I never really talked to him on the phone, either. I only started thinking of him as an individual person and not "my dad" after he died and I was in my 30s. So, sadly, I don't know if he loved mechanics or if he was mechanically inclined.

I know that the info is sparse and that it's difficult to type people you don't know in the first place. I'm looking for general impressions and then I can take those and research a bit to see if what was suggested fits the little I know. It won't be perfect.

Here are a few more things I remember:

In the early 70s, while we were driving from KS to NY for my big-sis's wedding, my dad stopped to pick up a long-haired, straggly-looking hitchhiker. My SJ mom argued against it, thinking it was too dangerous (keep in mind the times--hippies, druggies--I'm deliberately describing the guy the way an old-fashioned, establishment-type of adult would see him). The hitchhiker was put in the back seat with 10-year-old me. (FYI--looking back, the guy was probably high, but obviously he didn't kill us.)

Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, my middle sis was arrested for drugs (not sure use or possession) while attending an out-of-town college. My SJ mom wanted her to stay in jail so she would learn a lesson. My dad, however, drove down the next day and bailed her out.

In the early- to mid-70s, my older bro joined the Air Force. My dad called older bro's commanding officer and said that he wanted older bro sent to Vietnam. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, but maybe because of my dad's WWII experience, he thought fighting in a war was somehow a rite of passage? I don't know if my dad realized how different the Vietnam war was from WWII. (FYI--older bro was NOT sent to Vietnam.)
 

Mal12345

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
14,532
MBTI Type
IxTP
Enneagram
5w4
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Like I said, I wish I had known him better, but he was stationed elsewhere when I was 2 years old and only came home for visits once or twice a year until he retired when I was 13. Not a situation conducive to getting to know a person. Plus, he was born in 1918, making him in his mid-50s when he retired and came to live with us again. In 2 years, my parents divorced and he was out of the house, so, again, I didn't see him much. About 6 years after that, he and my mom got remarried, but she had moved to AZ in the meantime. After he moved to AZ, I rarely saw him. Because of the earlier lack of relationship, I never really talked to him on the phone, either. I only started thinking of him as an individual person and not "my dad" after he died and I was in my 30s. So, sadly, I don't know if he loved mechanics or if he was mechanically inclined.

I know that the info is sparse and that it's difficult to type people you don't know in the first place. I'm looking for general impressions and then I can take those and research a bit to see if what was suggested fits the little I know. It won't be perfect.

Here are a few more things I remember:

In the early 70s, while we were driving from KS to NY for my big-sis's wedding, my dad stopped to pick up a long-haired, straggly-looking hitchhiker. My SJ mom argued against it, thinking it was too dangerous (keep in mind the times--hippies, druggies--I'm deliberately describing the guy the way an old-fashioned, establishment-type of adult would see him). The hitchhiker was put in the back seat with 10-year-old me. (FYI--looking back, the guy was probably high, but obviously he didn't kill us.)

Sometime in the late 60s/early 70s, my middle sis was arrested for drugs (not sure use or possession) while attending an out-of-town college. My SJ mom wanted her to stay in jail so she would learn a lesson. My dad, however, drove down the next day and bailed her out.

In the early- to mid-70s, my older bro joined the Air Force. My dad called older bro's commanding officer and said that he wanted older bro sent to Vietnam. I'm not sure of the reasoning behind this, but maybe because of my dad's WWII experience, he thought fighting in a war was somehow a rite of passage? I don't know if my dad realized how different the Vietnam war was from WWII. (FYI--older bro was NOT sent to Vietnam.)

Ok, so I've read this, hemmed and hawed to myself, rubbed my eyes for a while, and finally decided that one option for you would be to identify with this list of dichotomies and function traits as your father would.

http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/what-s-my-type/1966-mbti-tutorial.html

(When I read the one about liking to burn oneself on a hot stove, it reminded me of a couple people I've known irl who liked to give themselves small jolts of electricity when they were children.)
 
Top