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[INTP] In defense of INTPs.

braziljoe

New member
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
45
MBTI Type
infp
Enneagram
5w4
Well, this personality seems to be the quintessential stereotypical example of "the loser" and trying to change this view is almost a pure idealism, but I want to discuss:

In various posts, I've seen an association of intps with some (pathological) behaviors/personalities and the main ones were like: "most intps are in the autistic spectrum", "intps are schizoids", "intps are dorks with no sense of sociability", "no one deserves intp's voice tone", "intps consider themselves more intelligent", among others.

Autism: imagine the world without people like Albert Einsten , Isaac Newton and possibly (irony) Carl Jung. Ok, they are only suspected to be in the autistic spectrum but if they are, no one can deny the importance of these people to the advancement of the understanding of the (natural) world. Why is it so weird to like to theorize and be obsessed with academic interests with the great chance of a great discovery?

Schizoid: this personality style/disorder is being reviewed on the DSM and there's a large chance of its removal from that book in the next edition (it's so funny: one year you're sick and the other, you're not). Being alone and unflappable and liking it is so detrimental to the functioning of society? Many people don't like pasta and Italians don't hate them for it.

The covert intellectual narcissism thing: the intps I know certainly don't like to spend time with less "smart" people, but destroying some person's self-esteem isn't an intp thing (by definition). Maybe there's a huge difference between lack of interest in people who don't like deep abstract thinking and hating these people.

Discuss...
 

Fluffywolf

Nips away your dignity
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Messages
9,581
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
Where did you get the idea that INTP's are the quint-essential stereotypical losers? I mean, which posts? I've seen mostly INTP love on this forum. Rightly so too, because we rock. The few people that seem to have it out for INTP's never do so with arguements to make their case. I believe it's mostly because of some kind of inferiority complex, trying to overshout our awesomeness in order to get the attention that we get and they feel they deserve.

Next to that, we're anything but helpless, and though we can rightly be seen as lazy in certain departments where out interests do not lie. We make up for it tenfold by being this amazing.

We're so full of pure win, it oozes out of our pores. :smile:
 

groovejet02

New member
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Messages
199
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5
In all fairness, INTPs themselves are partly to blame for perpetuating damaging stereotypes against themselves.

Each time I hear INTPs knock themselves down I feel like pulling their ears.

That said, I do not know many INTPs in real life, but the ones that I know are awesome. They bring to the table a refreshing sort of intelligence, quirkiness and a new way of seeing things.

Sure they have some faults, but which type doesn't? It's just that in this world of ours, the faults of ESFJs, for example, are not admonished as much.
 

Unique

New member
Joined
Oct 14, 2008
Messages
1,702
Most people don't see me as a loser or a nerd, despite working in I.T. and playing a lot of video games

Mostly cause I actually go out and have fun too, I'm not liked by the work-a-holics but the party goers love a chilled easy going dude thats still rambling on about the meaning of life at 3am

Edit. This said, its not easy being INTP and "socialness" was a skill I learnt and doesn't come naturally, I still check out into Ti land when I'm bored by SJ chatter hehe
 

visaisahero

New member
Joined
Nov 13, 2009
Messages
557
MBTI Type
ENTP
I love INTPs, and so do most of the people on this forum. You've got the wrong audience, mate
 

INTPness

New member
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
2,157
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
Well, this personality seems to be the quintessential stereotypical example of "the loser" and trying to change this view is almost a pure idealism, but I want to discuss:

In various posts, I've seen an association of intps with some (pathological) behaviors/personalities and the main ones were like: "most intps are in the autistic spectrum", "intps are schizoids", "intps are dorks with no sense of sociability", "no one deserves intp's voice tone", "intps consider themselves more intelligent", among others.

Autism: imagine the world without people like Albert Einsten , Isaac Newton and possibly (irony) Carl Jung. Ok, they are only suspected to be in the autistic spectrum but if they are, no one can deny the importance of these people to the advancement of the understanding of the (natural) world. Why is it so weird to like to theorize and be obsessed with academic interests with the great chance of a great discovery?

Schizoid: this personality style/disorder is being reviewed on the DSM and there's a large chance of its removal from that book in the next edition (it's so funny: one year you're sick and the other, you're not). Being alone and unflappable and liking it is so detrimental to the functioning of society? Many people don't like pasta and Italians don't hate them for it.

The covert intellectual narcissism thing: the intps I know certainly don't like to spend time with less "smart" people, but destroying some person's self-esteem isn't an intp thing (by definition). Maybe there's a huge difference between lack of interest in people who don't like deep abstract thinking and hating these people.

Discuss...

I think this is a good post. We may be roughly 1% of the population (who really knows what the actual number is anyways, and who really cares), but we have our place in the world. We bring something unique to the table. We do have the possibility of making a great discovery here and there, we do think about things that many other people do not and let our minds go to places that many do not, etc.

We are seen as "wierd" because we are not like the masses. Just about everything we do, most of our natural personality traits (Ti, Ne, wanting peace and quiet so we can think deeply, pondering, etc, etc, etc.) go against the grain of what most people in this world are like.

It is what it is. We are who we are. We should always strive to be the best individuals we can and to contribute in this life. Not just think about "self". Consider others. Have an impact. Do something good. We should strive to be "whole" and as well-rounded as possible, rather than buying into the idea that "I'm an INTP, so it's OK to never go outside and it's OK to buy into the fact that I'm destined to be a schizo." I don't buy into that line of thinking one bit. We all have things we are working on and trying to improve, but we can live long, vibrant, and healthy lives with friends and community (maybe a little less community than most :cheese:).

But, yeah, if we look at ourselves through the lens of most SJ's or even SP's, I can see how we are seen as pretty strange. And we think they are strange. There just happens to be much more of them than us so, naturally, if you have 20 SJ's staring at 1 INTP and commenting on how strange he is, you're going to feel out of place.
 

INTPness

New member
Joined
Jan 22, 2009
Messages
2,157
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
5w4
I love INTPs, and so do most of the people on this forum. You've got the wrong audience, mate

I get where the OP is coming from. Yes, there is a lot of "love" for INTP's on this forum, but there are also the comments about social ineptness, over-reliance on Ti (which, according to some, in and of itself is a fairly useless trait to have), never amounting to anything in life, never showering or combing our hair - this kind of "loser" impression.
 

BlackCat

Shaman
Joined
Nov 19, 2008
Messages
7,038
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
9w8
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
INTPs are awesome. I'd love to have an INTP girlfriend! :p Also a lot of my friends growing up were INTPs.
 

Jonny

null
Joined
Sep 8, 2009
Messages
3,134
MBTI Type
FREE
INTPs are at their best when Fe well developed; it allows them to better aim the Ti function.

The thing about the term "loser" is it is associated with lack of success within a particular societal model. In the case of INTPs, there is less of a drive to achieve that kind of success. It's not as though INTPs spend their whole lives attempting to be that millionaire businessman only to fail, they just don't give a damn.
 

Katsuni

Priestess Of Syrinx
Joined
Aug 22, 2009
Messages
1,238
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
3w4?
Well they admittedly *ARE* generally nerdy to an extent.

Yeu're an NTP, whot do yeu expect? XD

ENTP's aren't any better, they just show it off in a generally more charismatic way; INTP's are 'usually' (read, usually, not always) a bit more prone to keeping their thoughts to themselves, which gives off the nerdish look more obviously.

And telling yeu to "be more outgoing!" really won't change much. That's just silly, yeu don't normally just 'change' like that, and even if yeu did, it'd be superficial and fake at best.

INTP's are great, they're just a little harder to communicate with than some other types on average is all, which alienates them and gives them a worse rep than they deserve. =3
 

braziljoe

New member
Joined
Aug 17, 2009
Messages
45
MBTI Type
infp
Enneagram
5w4
I think this is a good post. We may be roughly 1% of the population (who really knows what the actual number is anyways, and who really cares), but we have our place in the world. We bring something unique to the table. We do have the possibility of making a great discovery here and there, we do think about things that many other people do not and let our minds go to places that many do not, etc.

We are seen as "wierd" because we are not like the masses. Just about everything we do, most of our natural personality traits (Ti, Ne, wanting peace and quiet so we can think deeply, pondering, etc, etc, etc.) go against the grain of what most people in this world are like.

It is what it is. We are who we are. We should always strive to be the best individuals we can and to contribute in this life. Not just think about "self". Consider others. Have an impact. Do something good. We should strive to be "whole" and as well-rounded as possible, rather than buying into the idea that "I'm an INTP, so it's OK to never go outside and it's OK to buy into the fact that I'm destined to be a schizo." I don't buy into that line of thinking one bit. We all have things we are working on and trying to improve, but we can live long, vibrant, and healthy lives with friends and community (maybe a little less community than most :cheese:).

But, yeah, if we look at ourselves through the lens of most SJ's or even SP's, I can see how we are seen as pretty strange. And we think they are strange. There just happens to be much more of them than us so, naturally, if you have 20 SJ's staring at 1 INTP and commenting on how strange he is, you're going to feel out of place.

I couldn't agree more. I think the thread sounded a bit "out of place" and I didn't complete my arguments because I was very sleepy when I started it.
 

MacGuffin

Permabanned
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
10,710
MBTI Type
xkcd
Enneagram
9w1
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
In various posts, I've seen an association of intps with some (pathological) behaviors/personalities... "intps consider themselves more intelligent"

That's just simply true.
 

Ardent15

New member
Joined
Jun 1, 2009
Messages
17
MBTI Type
INTP
In general, people around me admire my INTP-ness rather than resent it.
 
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