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does this character sound INTP?

bluestripes

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i was unsure about this character for a very long time because he could have gone several distinct ways - i had a clear picture of what he became in the end, but not so certain what he could be like at first (i could imagine him differently depending on the situation). by now, i think he has crystallized into a clear INxP, but i cannot decide between INFP and INTP; a sensitive INTP would seem more likely, but i wonder whether you would agree.

name: N., male

* his family's opinion of him: caring, diligent when it comes to performing what he sees as his duty toward his relatives, but also somewhat too detached and with quirks of his own - not of the most pleasant sort.
* is exceptionally caring and devoted to his mate, who has a severe mental illness and requires 24/7 care. does not like to advertise his attachments or to discuss his feelings with anyone; believes that actions speak much louder than words.
* is very sensitive to an extent that makes social adjustment difficult (overreacts to anything - as a teenager, could perceive the most innocuous phrases as an insult, had trouble understanding humor, cried easily). however, tends to refrain from expressing his emotions openly when he feels they might hurt other people, and particularly when they may interfere with finding the most reasonable solution for a problem.
* his mother was an immature person who went into histrionics with or without reason and washed all of the family's dirty linen in public (e.g. could drag him out into the yard and start a scene there for all the neighbors to hear). N. would be hurt and embarrassed for her, because he found her public conduct as improper as it could be, and because the onslaught of negative emotions was very stressful and difficult to cope with. moved out at 16 to be away from this and to spare his own nerves; was unable to tell his mother about his decision face to face, knowing that he would break down, so he left in secret and wrote a long, exceedingly candid letter instead. started to support his mother financially as soon as he was able to, but maintained a formal, distant relationship and never told her about anything that was happening to him.
* values honesty over harmony - or, rather, believes that true harmony in a relationship is impossible without being frank (as both trust and respect can depend on that). this caused friction and conflicts between him and his family, but it works perfectly for him and his wife.
* wants everything to be logical and to make sense. can become irritable when someone is being illogical. (e.g., during an argument between him and I., with whom he has had a long-standing and ambivalent relationship, I. - an unhealthy ISTP - will shout simply because he needs someone to yell at, while N. will try to prove his point and become more and more frustrated and incensed in the process. typical argument pattern - N.: you don't see the big picture, hell, you don't see anything further than your own nose. i have known you for years and all you ever care for is self, self, self. I.: i've tried long and hard to drag you out of your whacked out theory land but it looks like this isn't going to happen. i wish you just poked your head out the window and noticed for once what is going on right in front of you.)
* highly abstract thinking, good with theories and concepts, holds a doctoral in theoretical physics. slightly "out there", seen by others as strange.
* speaks in a precise and succinct manner, can say exactly what he wants in few words. however, can unexpectedly find himself unable to explain the simplest things, such as which bus one should take to get somewhere, starts wandering around in circles and becomes near-incoherent. can go on long, odd tangents about mundane issues.
* used to be very formal and bookish in his speech/writing, later taught himself colloquial language and uses it better and more efficiently than others. his speech is vocabulary-rich, regular and grammatically correct even when he talks in slang.
* reserved and difficult to get to know at first, but once the ice is broken (especially once he has had a drink or two) can become very frank and volunteer much more about himself than one would expect. has been known to completely spill his guts to near-strangers during late-night conversations at the pub. his letters have the same candid, confessional, but somewhat aloof tone; used to write lengthy walls of text describing each detail of his thoughts, feelings and daily whereabouts.
* tends to be serious and not too talkative. after having been through a difficult ordeal, adopted a dry, ironic attitude as a psychological defense mechanism. uses sarcastic remarks as a way of relieving inner tension.
* hyperanalytical, tends to (over)explain and (over)describe everything he encounters to himself. was slightly out of touch with his emotions - experienced them as vague, elusive, evading definition - but, due to his penchant for obsessive self-analysis, gradually developed a far better understanding of them.
* wouldn't say he has no sense of style whatsoever, but he does come close to that. looks as if he were always floating somewhat outside his body and not quite aware of what it wants or needs or what it appears like to others; his clothes are inadvertently mismatched even when he takes care to keep them orderly and clean, some detail will usually be missing or will not sit right. forgets to comb his hair so it is usually dischevellled.
* paradoxical mixture of extreme self-consciousness when it comes to his internal life (can literally feel as if others have emotional x-ray vision and know his innermost feelings, desires and weaknesses) and lack of self-consciousness when it comes to his appearance, which borders on being oblivious.
* physically disorganized, is aware of this and tries to overcome it, but not always successfully. during a particularly hard period in his and his mate's life, their apartment was complete chaos (clothes, towels and other random objects all over the floor, dust everywhere, candles stuck onto various surfaces for lighting) and was described as a "lair" by another character.
* conscientious about what he believes to be his duty toward others, or that which he is passionate about (like his physics research), but is absent-minded and fluctuates between hyperfocus and utter distractibility.
* can be blunt (often unwillingly, but sometimes deliberately), tells various disturbing truths to others' faces if he feels it is necessary to be honest.
 

Mal12345

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"can be blunt (often unwillingly, but sometimes deliberately), tells various disturbing truths to others' faces if he feels it is necessary to be honest."

After reading the entire post, I decided on INTP. Schizotypal. And type 5 if that matters. ANSIR would probably say "Evokateur-Diligent," if anybody cares.
 

bluestripes

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Sounds more like SiTe to me.

Could you tell please, who is this?

he is mine, the rest is pretty much irrelevant. ;)

thanks for the input - though, to be honest, judging from the descriptions of the functions i have read so far, i don't see any Te whatsoever in him. he is all Ti, abstract, theoretical, nothing to do with structuring or ordering the external world. Si, well, yes, there is some, but not nearly enough for it to be dominant. all the more so that he is not tradition-focused at all, quite the contrary, he is unconventional, does everything in his own unique manner, constantly experiments with new ideas in his mind. and it does not seem that a well-developed sense of duty is exclusive to SiTe types either.

"can be blunt (often unwillingly, but sometimes deliberately), tells various disturbing truths to others' faces if he feels it is necessary to be honest."

After reading the entire post, I decided on INTP. Schizotypal. And type 5 if that matters. ANSIR would probably say "Evokateur-Diligent," if anybody cares.

this is more or less what i thought. personality-wise, he is fairly autobiographical too - not fully, but i suppose some 85 percent or so. the rest could be that which makes the difference between a (schizotypal) INTP and a (likely schizotypal) INFP.
 

Mal12345

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he is mine, the rest is pretty much irrelevant. ;)

thanks for the input - though, to be honest, judging from the descriptions of the functions i have read so far, i don't see any Te whatsoever in him. he is all Ti, abstract, theoretical, nothing to do with structuring or ordering the external world. Si, well, yes, there is some, but not nearly enough for it to be dominant. all the more so that he is not tradition-focused at all, quite the contrary, he is unconventional, does everything in his own unique manner, constantly experiments with new ideas in his mind. and it does not seem that a well-developed sense of duty is exclusive to SiTe types either.



this is more or less what i thought. personality-wise, he is fairly autobiographical too - not fully, but i suppose some 85 percent or so. the rest could be that which makes the difference between a (schizotypal) INTP and a (likely schizotypal) INFP.

I'm not saying he's a pure type. You've really tossed out a mixed bag of traits. But between T and F I have to go with T.

Here is the Thinking type according to LifeTypes:

Prefers brief and concise communication.
Notes the pros and cons of each alternative.
Shows objectivity and readily critiques ideas and people.
Convinces others by cool, impersonal, logical reasoning.
Presents goals and objectives first.
Recognizes people's feelings and emotions as data to consider, but without undue emphasis on them.
Focuses communication on tasks and impersonal occurrences.
Sees others' flaws.
 

bluestripes

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I'm not saying he's a pure type. You've really tossed out a mixed bag of traits. But between T and F I have to go with T.

true. when it comes to this, i think we all are such mixed bags, or most of us are - if pure types do exist, they must be very rare.

(but it is still interesting to find out how much a specific individual fits into the framework of a specific type. i guess it satisfies some inner need for categorizing and slapping verbal labels onto everything, despite being aware that they are often limited and inaccurate; at least, it is so for me)

and yes, i agree, most of these traits are the reason why i also thought it should be T rather than F.
 

Mal12345

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I've been going back over the OP and find I like this description especially: "speaks in a precise and succinct manner, can say exactly what he wants in few words. however, can unexpectedly find himself unable to explain the simplest things, such as which bus one should take to get somewhere, starts wandering around in circles and becomes near-incoherent. can go on long, odd tangents about mundane issues."

There you have both Thinking and Intuition.

I've read a few of these long descriptive posts on this forum but this may have been the best I've seen so far. Bravo!
 

bluestripes

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There you have both Thinking and Intuition.

I've read a few of these long descriptive posts on this forum but this may have been the best I've seen so far. Bravo!

i'm glad you liked it.

writing this profile seems to have been useful for me, too, as it helped me articulate some qualities this character has which i had sensed and described unconsciously, but never quite thought about.
 
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