[INTP] Ask an INTP thread!?

[NPcomplete]

When in your childhood did you recognize that you were the way you are? What was the defining moment in discovering your personality(not necessarily in MBTI terms)?

There was no defining moment as such; it was more of a "work" in progress deal. I was very into designing (and still am). When I eventually got over the sibling rivalry and jealousy with my little sister, I would invent games based on the pocket games we had (playing Tetris with furniture was extremely challenging though and always got us in trouble) or design adventure parks for her in the living room. My "friends" from primary school never did that and thought I was strange from doing such things instead of playing with dolls and having imaginary tea parties (seriously..why would I do such things????). Also, I found that my interests were completely different from other kids of the same age. While the other girls would only talk about who liked whom in class (I'm not sure what the guys were doing...), I was craving to talk to people about dinosaurs and planets and why the sun was not a planet (as most people in my class believed...). At first this bothered me but I found I could have such discussions with my parents so it was fine. When I went to secondary school, I didn't meet anyone who was like me in personality. I did, however, meet people who had some interests that were similar and became friends with them. Anyway, by then being different didn't bother as much.

Hmm, interesting. Two more.

1). Do you consider yourself self-aware?

2). Why the fuck are you so good at Axis and Allies/Risk?

Yep, I sometimes feel I am too self-aware (if there can be such a thing). I wish I could be as oblivious about those things as I am about most other things.

Heh, I've never played those...but I can get pretty good at things if I put my mind to it (like the time I got deep into math because I was crushing on a guy who was excellent at math until I realised he was extremely obnoxious so the crush quickly faded into oblivion and only my love for math remained).

 

[Anew Leaf]

Question #x+1: If you could create new senses for humanity what would they be, and would you allow everyone to partake of these senses?*

(*Please no answer of "spidey sense" because spiders are gross.)

 

[Asterion]

When in your childhood did you recognize that you were the way you are? What was the defining moment in discovering your personality(not necessarily in MBTI terms)?

At the start of uni, I experimented with my personality, throw a few spanners into the works and see what fits. It took a long time for me to realize wtf was going on, and I progressively came to this rather enlightening point, where I finally have a sense of identity, it only took 20 years.

Hmm, interesting. Two more.

1). Do you consider yourself self-aware?

2). Why the fuck are you so good at Axis and Allies/Risk?

1. No, I don't think so. I'm often shocked to see how others perceive me, and it's always different to how I think I am, but that's changing.

Question #x+1: If you could create new senses for humanity what would they be, and would you allow everyone to partake of these senses?*

(*Please no answer of "spidey sense" because spiders are gross.)

A sense for potential energy. This would help society in many ways, people would be able to look at powerlines and feel the energy flowing through them. In this way, most things that could potentially explode would be easy to sense, so if someone leaves a carbomb in a bag in a supermarket, everyone would be able to sense that it's there.

 

[INTPness]

Question #x+1: If you could create new senses for humanity what would they be, and would you allow everyone to partake of these senses?*

(*Please no answer of "spidey sense" because spiders are gross.)

Question #x+1: If you could create new senses for humanity what would they be, and would you allow everyone to partake of these senses?*

(*Please no answer of "spidey sense" because spiders are gross.)

Spidey sense = Intuition. Already have it.

Since learning about MBTI, I always thought it'd be cool if I could see a little bubble above everyone's head indicating which type they are. Then I could break the ice accordingly.

To ISFP: So, like, you look like you might be an artist of some sort. Lemme guess...you paint?
To ENTJ: So, where are you working these days? You look like you might be an executive of some sort. What's your philosophy on leadership?
To ESTJ: Hey! Workin' hard or hardly workin'? Don't answer that. I already know.
To INFP: *throws a handful of glitter up in the air above them*
To INTP: Hey there! Errr, nevermind, I'm sure you're......busy. Thinking. Or something.
To ESTP/ESFP: So, what's going on tonight? Where's the place to be?
To ISTJ: I gotta question. You know when you're filing your taxes online and it asks that question about......

 

[entropie]

Dear Intps,

if you think you were right on a topic, but would look like an ass when saying what you think, but do it nevertheless and later on figure that you were wrong; could then a package of rice levitate to the ceiling by accident in China ?

 

[INTPness]

Dear Intps,

if you think you were right on a topic, but would look like an ass when saying what you think, but do it nevertheless and later on figure that you were wrong; could then a package of rice levitate to the ceiling by accident in China ?

It definitely happens sometimes! We aren't perfect. In that moment, we know that we are right, otherwise we wouldn't be defending it so firmly. But, then sometimes we re-think the issue or more information rolls in and we go, "Oops! I'm an idiot!" And I would even go a step further and say that it's probably hardest for T-doms to be willing to admit they were wrong. Think about the ENTJ's, ESTJ's, INTP's, and ISTP's that you know. Being "right" or "accurate" is something we take seriously - or, maybe it's better to say that we hate "getting things wrong" (because we like to reach a high level of competency in whatever we do?) - so when we're shown to be wrong, it's like, "How the heck did that happen? I really must not have thought it through as much as I thought I did. I must be slacking off. Must. Get. Life. Back. In. Order."

 

[INTPness]

^^^ Or, sometimes we realize that even if we are right, it's not worth it to fight to the death. Better to be wrong and get along with people, then to fight to be right and alienate people. We get that lesson from you ENTP's, I think. That's when you say to your girlfriend, "Honey, if loving you is wrong....................I don't wanna be right!"

 

[Minstrel]

Would I count as someone to answer the questions? Oh well. I might as well ask,
If a man were to kill one of your loved ones and they currently reside in a shack three miles away from your home, asleep, would you kill him or let him live? If you choose to kill, please explain how you would kill him and if you would let him live, explain why you would let him live.

 

[entropie]

It definitely happens sometimes! We aren't perfect. In that moment, we know that we are right, otherwise we wouldn't be defending it so firmly. But, then sometimes we re-think the issue or more information rolls in and we go, "Oops! I'm an idiot!" And I would even go a step further and say that it's probably hardest for T-doms to be willing to admit they were wrong. Think about the ENTJ's, ESTJ's, INTP's, and ISTP's that you know. Being "right" or "accurate" is something we take seriously - or, maybe it's better to say that we hate "getting things wrong" (because we like to reach a high level of competency in whatever we do?) - so when we're shown to be wrong, it's like, "How the heck did that happen? I really must not have thought it through as much as I thought I did. I must be slacking off. Must. Get. Life. Back. In. Order."

Thanks for the honest answer. Well truth to be told, I admire intps or dom Ts in general for that faculty. As an engineer I am on a daily basis confronted with the epitome of correctness. I am on the other hand extremly clutterminded. Its not that I do that on purpose on the contrary, I heavily try to concentrate, but still I fail. I am missing words when I explain something or I mix things up. Tho I pride myself in precision and perfection in my work, I never really get it perfectly, I always appear like an idiot, mix things up or am wrong.

Then on the other hand sometimes you are working on a project that has grade D significance. But your dom T project members are putting an effort into it that has grade A++ significance. Then you stumb on the table and say, guys: you are overdoing it. And then they hate you. An equal thing goes on with my grandpa, a great intp mind. He's a marvellous electrician and always has to be in control and tell me what to do when we work on projects. I just think that doesnt work in the long run, he has to let the youth make their own mistakes, he cant control me like everytime. What if he isnt there sometime to help me ? Then I have to be prepared to do it alone.

Well with my grandpa it often ends that we get into a heavy arguement (me faster then him) and after that this 80 year old man tells everybody it was my fault. I am not resentful so I get along quite fast again with my grandpa but other people hate him for his persitance to be correct and he has had many issues due to that in life.

I was just wondering if there isnt something like a greater good in an intps life for whichs sake they have no problems with being right but not saying it ?

 

[INTPness]

Would I count as someone to answer the questions? Oh well. I might as well ask,
If a man were to kill one of your loved ones and they currently reside in a shack three miles away from your home, asleep, would you kill him or let him live? If you choose to kill, please explain how you would kill him and if you would let him live, explain why you would let him live.

I'm going to the shack, I'm tying his hands behind his back, I'm putting him in my car, and I'm taking the long route to the downtown police station. I'm going to drop him off with the police and allow them to handle it. But, first, he and I are going for a long drive and having a chat (this probably wouldn't happen in reality).

Why? I could never take another person's life - unless it was "me or him" type of thing - like a burglar coming into my family home at night - he has a weapon pointed at me (or wife or kids) - then I'm taking him out cuz he broke into my domain and is threatening my loved ones. Other than a situation similar to that, I'm going about it the right way and I'm placing confidence in the system and in justice. Even more than that, I'm placing confidence in the man upstairs that everything will work out the way it needs to - and that may be completely different than what I had in mind. But, as outraged/devastated as I'd be, it's not up to me to start going out and taking more lives - and thereby continuing the cycle of violence. That's not my decision to make.

 

[INTPness]

Thanks for the honest answer. Well truth to be told, I admire intps or dom Ts in general for that faculty. As an engineer I am on a daily basis confronted with the epitome of correctness. I am on the other hand extremly clutterminded. Its not that I do that on purpose on the contrary, I heavily try to concentrate, but still I fail. I am missing words when I explain something or I mix things up. Tho I pride myself in precision and perfection in my work, I never really get it perfectly, I always appear like an idiot, mix things up or am wrong.

Then on the other hand sometimes you are working on a project that has grade D significance. But your dom T project members are putting an effort into it that has grade A++ significance. Then you stumb on the table and say, guys: you are overdoing it. And then they hate you. An equal thing goes on with my grandpa, a great intp mind. He's a marvellous electrician and always has to be in control and tell me what to do when we work on projects. I just think that doesnt work in the long run, he has to let the youth make their own mistakes, he cant control me like everytime. What if he isnt there sometime to help me ? Then I have to be prepared to do it alone.

Well with my grandpa it often ends that we get into a heavy arguement (me faster then him) and after that this 80 year old man tells everybody it was my fault. I am not resentful so I get along quite fast again with my grandpa but other people hate him for his persitance to be correct and he has had many issues due to that in life.

I was just wondering if there isnt something like a greater good in an intps life for whichs sake they have no problems with being right but not saying it ?

You guys (ENTP's) are definitely better at "letting things go" than we are. T-doms are very hard-headed, IMO (that's the nature of the "T" beast, but it doesn't excuse the behavior). I think on the good side of it, we are, like you say, geared toward precision. That comes in handy sometimes. There are certain things/projects where I feel that if I work diligently enough or if I concentrate/focus enough, that I can get *almost perfect* results - very, very high quality results. 99.99% out of 100. That's good sometimes - depending on what the project is. But, you're also right that sometimes it's overdone and not necessary. It's just the way we're wired, I guess - to always want to be precise.

You are very right that your grandpa (and other T-doms) need to let people fail themselves or allow them to learn on their own. I guess in our mind, we're thinking, "Surely this person wants to be A+++ in everything just like I do, so I will show them EXACTLY how to do that." We're trying to show you our process or our method for reaching precision - because we assume that you would also want to do that.

Regarding your last sentence - it wasn't until I came here to TypoC actually, that I read something that simulatedworld (an ENTP) said that really helped me. He said something like, "INTP's should recognize that it's not necessary to WIN every single social situation - to "defeat" every foe or every task or every situation with 100% accuracy." It's just not necessary all the time. That's an eye-opener for INTP's, I think. Cuz our brains are wired to want to be "correct" every single time. So, we have to conciously remind ourselves (or be nicely reminded by someone else), "Hey, this particular situation isn't that big of a deal. An argument or a debate or being accurate is not really necessary in this situation."

EDIT: Think of a basketball player. He knows (statistically) that he cannot make every shot. But, being a perfectionist, he still WANTS to make every shot. Every time he misses, he is angry with himself because he feels he could have done better. Even though he knows he will miss some shots, in the game of basketball, the point of the game is to "make shots" - so when you miss, you feel like you failed. And it doesn't matter if you *almost* made the shot. Almost only counts in horse shoes, hand granades, and slow dancing.

 

[entropie]

You guys (ENTP's) are definitely better at "letting things go" than we are. T-doms are very hard-headed, IMO (that's the nature of the "T" beast, but it doesn't excuse the behavior). I think on the good side of it, we are, like you say, geared toward precision. That comes in handy sometimes. There are certain things/projects where I feel that if I work diligently enough or if I concentrate/focus enough, that I can get *almost perfect* results - very, very high quality results. 99.99% out of 100. That's good sometimes - depending on what the project is. But, you're also right that sometimes it's overdone and not necessary. It's just the way we're wired, I guess - to always want to be precise.

You are very right that your grandpa (and other T-doms) need to let people fail themselves or allow them to learn on their own. I guess in our mind, we're thinking, "Surely this person wants to be A+++ in everything just like I do, so I will show them EXACTLY how to do that." We're trying to show you our process or our method for reaching precision - because we assume that you would also want to do that.

Regarding your last sentence - it wasn't until I came here to TypoC actually, that I read something that simulatedworld (an ENTP) said that really helped me. He said something like, "INTP's should recognize that it's not necessary to WIN every single social situation - to "defeat" every foe or every task or every situation with 100% accuracy." It's just not necessary all the time. That's an eye-opener for INTP's, I think. Cuz our brains are wired to want to be "correct" every single time. So, we have to conciously remind ourselves (or be nicely reminded by someone else), "Hey, this particular situation isn't that big of a deal. An argument or a debate or being accurate is not really necessary in this situation."

*tips hat* that made me happy, thank you .

I have a lot to learn for myself, simple thing I always think that I am doing everything right because I always balance things out. I am 50% computer nerd per day and 50% gangster rapper. Fact tho is I am false and only pretending by doing that and that what I really want to be, namely appreciated for my mathematical abilities or my intrest in physics, I'll never achieve if I dont pursuit some goals with uttmost precision.

At least I have achieved uttmost perfection in beer drinking so far, tho never say never

 

[INTPness]

*tips hat* that made me happy, thank you .

I have a lot to learn for myself, simple thing I always think that I am doing everything right because I always balance things out. I am 50% computer nerd per day and 50% gangster rapper. Fact tho is I am false and only pretending by doing that and that what I really want to be, namely appreciated for my mathematical abilities or my intrest in physics, I'll never achieve if I dont pursuit some goals with uttmost precision.

At least I have achieved uttmost perfection in beer drinking so far, tho never say never

I don't think you have much to worry about. All the ENTP's I know are very, very capable people in whatever profession they are in. I've never looked at an ENTP co-worker and thought, "They aren't as precise as me. They aren't good at their job." You guys have enough Ti that you're able to be precise, but not overly so. So, you might see INTP's that you work with being more inclined to be "exact" in their work, but the only people who would probably notice that are them and you. Others won't even know the difference. If anything, the others might think, "Why is the INTP so anal and so fixated?"

 

[funkadelik]

With all this talk of precision, what sorts of things are you "P" about?

(cause I don't think "Precision" is what Myers and Briggs meant by "P" )

 

[entropie]

Oh yeah, I want to see some intp pness as well

 

[funkadelik]

Oh yeah, I want to see some intp pness as well

Ahahaha...Pness. Is that supposed to be a play on words?

 

[entropie]

You know the german language is pretty precise that means you most often have only one or two meanings for a thing with one word. The english language tho is very metaphorical, when I sometimes search for an english word, I find that the same word would have like 10 different word meanings in german. The really awesome thing is, if you have a beautiful metaphorical language like the english one and a pervert brain like mine, the world is your oyster

 

[INTPness]

With all this talk of precision, what sorts of things are you "P" about?

(cause I don't think "Precision" is what Myers and Briggs meant by "P" )

Ha. We're probably P about all the things that you guys (ENTP's) are. At it's worst, it's something like this:

 

[INTPness]

.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Ha. We're probably P about all the things that you guys (ENTP's) are. At it's worst, it's something like this:

And now the thread has been won. The day secured. Peace for a thousand years shall reign from the distant orange mountains of fire, all the way to the depths of the jasmine tea sea.