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[INTJ] INTJs and Tunnel Vision/Profound Focus

Ghost of the dead horse

filling some space
Joined
Sep 7, 2007
Messages
3,553
MBTI Type
ENTJ
I don't have enough tunnel vision when I try to call for it.

Then again, too much of it comes up without a warning.

Few days ago I decided to after a certain design goal for one system I'm designing. It's gonna be a presentation of skills for my education, I'm not sure if there's an english word for it. I spent 15 hours finding the perfect piece of hardware for it, even though it would have costed a maximum of 100-300$.

Idiocy sometimes hits the determined person.
 

Misty_Mountain_Rose

New member
Joined
Jul 21, 2008
Messages
1,123
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
4w5
My INTJ friend fixates on something (a book series, a TV show, a musical, whatever), follows it obsessively and learns everything there is to know about it, then is... just done. She says that when one of her obsessions has passed, she can't even stand whatever it was she was initially so fixated on.

I do the same thing to a lesser extent, and we definitely bond over that, but I don't have the intense aversion when I've moved on to the next thing. I just let it fall into the background until something recalls it later, then I remember it fondly and might even become re-interested. Is it common for INTJs to completely close the book on something, or is that just a quirk of hers?

For me, I generally bounce around from interest to interest... but once I've reached a point where I feel there isn't anything else to learn, I kind of file it away as something I once enjoyed. I don't know if I have a true aversion to revisiting those things... but once they've been filed under that 'completed' category I rarely go back.
 

saorsa

New member
Joined
Jul 20, 2009
Messages
1
MBTI Type
INTJ
But at some point, you'll need to deal with other people [share your discoveries, ask for research funding, going grocery shopping, etc], and here I would say this "profound focus" is actively hurting you.

This is often the case, but we need to be careful not to overgeneralize. Basic social functionality is important for two reasons:

1) it allows us to secure the resources we need to pursue our projects
2) it satisfies our wants and needs for the various sorts of human companionship

But note that neither of these is a logically necessary characteristic of a human being.

1) is not logically necessary because we can imagine a person being born into a situation where she does not require interaction with others in order to get the resources she needs. She has sophisticated robots who raise her crops and prepare her food, for example, or she has a magic wand that takes care of her problems, or she is born into wealth and has devoted people in her employ who handle all of these issues for her no matter how she treates them.

2) is not logically necessary because we can imagine a person having literally no psychological need or desire for human interaction. We can imagine this person as having neither a desire for interaction in itself, nor a desire for anything that requires the existence of other humans as an ingredient. This would not be normal, of course, and we would be right to be suspicous of someone who claimed to be that way. The probability is that anybody who thinks they have no need for human interaction is simply the victim of her own self deception. Yet it would be dogmatic to assume that it is impossible.

Attitudes like "The thoughts in my head are more important than listening to you" will not endear you all to others, and even if that is not what it feels like to you, it very well may feel that way to others.

For a person like the one I described above, this would not count as a criticism, at least in the normal sense of criticism (the one that involves pointing out to someone that they are undermining their own goals, or else the goals they would have if they stopped to think about it). Are you sure that the people you're talking about have the goal of being endearing? It seems entirely possible that the people you're dealing with assume that your behavior is determined entirely by the relationship of their work to certain standards of rationality and not at all by personal factors; if that's the case, there is literally no reason to assume that the less sociable among them take themselves to have any reason to be concerned with other people's personal feelings about them.

Of course, that's not to say that they shouldn't care, but what they ought to think may be quite different from what they actually do think! And if they think that they have no self-interested reason to be nice/polite/patient/whatever, then your only options are to a) live with it, b) convince them that the system (very) often allocates resources on the basis of things other than the objective merit of the project, or c) convince them that they have an ethical obligation to be more respectful

edit: I should have included a fourth option: d) convince them that they'll feel happier/more fulfilled/better about themselves, independently from their professional concerns, if they establish good relationships with their coworkers
 

FlamingMask

New member
Joined
Jul 19, 2009
Messages
78
MBTI Type
INTp
First, what is tunnel vision? Second, are INTJs psychologically predisposed to tunnel vision? Third, have you had any experience with tunnel vision (either in yourself, another, or both)? Finally, what are some of the strengths and limitations to tunnel vision?

As an INT with a slight P angle, and the brother of an INT with a slight J angle, I would say that tunnel vision is definitely a result of Ni or Ti taking over and urging someone to follow things to their completion or logical conclusion.

I would say that INTJs are definitely predisposed towards "tunnel vision." Observe:

Ni

Te

Fi

Se

As others have already pointed out, Ni serves to direct toward a broad focus, and Te will work as far as needed to bring everything together.

INTJs tendency to avoid Sensing leads to the tunnel vision because once the focus is established, they don't want to be confused with the details or facts.

I have observed this in my brother in the form of extreme stubbornness when an idea or goal is formed (a trait I share). Often once he gets started on a project he will adamantly defend its merits and when a flaw is pointed out he will brush it off or downplay its importance. I find the best way to handle it is to appeal to his Thinking (which comes naturally to me, as I have more trouble breaking out of it than getting into it) and express why the issue is worth addressing. It really helps to provide clear alternatives which are explained reasonably so that the additional effort doesn't need to be made by him to plan it all out beforehand.

I have to say I almost always see the strengths outweigh the benefits as long as some of the other functions are being used. The tendency towards this rabid pursuit of goals is incredibly useful for achievement and I personally enjoy locking in when I have a decent plan of action for a project or idea. In addition, being far-sighted during projects can help overcome stumbling blocks because you realize that with persistence you will eventually get there. Although there could be details or critical mistakes that seem like the end of the world, if possible, redirecting your vision can still yield the desired results.
 

thescientist

New member
Joined
Jul 23, 2009
Messages
254
MBTI Type
INTJ
Enneagram
5w4
My INTJ friend fixates on something (a book series, a TV show, a musical, whatever), follows it obsessively and learns everything there is to know about it, then is... just done. She says that when one of her obsessions has passed, she can't even stand whatever it was she was initially so fixated on.

I do the same thing to a lesser extent, and we definitely bond over that, but I don't have the intense aversion when I've moved on to the next thing. I just let it fall into the background until something recalls it later, then I remember it fondly and might even become re-interested. Is it common for INTJs to completely close the book on something, or is that just a quirk of hers?

Yep, I do the exact same thing, except I dont have an aversion to whatever it is I've learned in the past. But once I've learned everything there is to learn about that particular project, I move on to the next project. I just need to be in a continuous state of learning something.
 
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