Without any attempts to bash it, I've been trying to wrap my head around it. Why is INTJforum so boring? What MBTIological reason could there be to explain the phenomenon that occurs when you bring a bunch of Ni/Teers together?
One on one, I have found the few INTJ relationships I have had to be full of sparks (and then full of "forgetting to communicate" time, but, still, the INTJ-INTJ singular relationship is not boring).
Why is it boring when you bring a bunch of INTJs together?
Is it the moderation of the forum? The mod seems like a kind but incredibly closed-minded (and therefore forum-limiting?) person, from general observation and the few PMs I have exchanged with her. Is it a Cognitive Function reason?
Why? Why?
I can't figure it out. Someone please explain or throw out ideas.
(I found this thread interesting enough to join this forum and reply. This is my first post.)
A lot of time has passed since this first post was made, so things may have changed, but assuming not, here is my speculation.
Quite simply, you find it boring because you don't get INTJs. It's OK, we're used to it. You might know some INTJs in real life that seem more fun, but the INTJf is a place where INTJs go to think and talk like INTJs, without having to translate ourselves for others' convenience. The fascinating INTJ(s) you know personally are so happy to have someone like you even get them a little bit, they're going to a great deal of effort to connect to you, emphasizing those aspects of themselves that you have made clear that you like, and hiding those that they're all too keenly aware that just confuse (if not offend) others.
When I started seriously researching MBTI several months ago, INTJf was the only place I found with threads that thoroughly discussed the differences between INTJ and INTP: the discussions and interactions in those threads were very enlightening. I could watch the self-designated INTJs make short brief points, self-designated INTPs would respond verbosely with seemingly impeccable logic, and the INTJs would then respond to the INTPs with statements along the lines of "That's not what I'm talking about. And no, I'm not jumping to conclusions." I'd reread the INTJ posts, then see the tangent develop in the INTP posts, and eventually realized: I get the INTJs ... I sort of understand the INTPs, but the INTJ people are thinking like I think. Wow.
INTJf is perhaps one of the most social places I've encountered on the net. Without really trying, I made a lot of friends fairly quickly. Let me run that by you again:
I'm an INTJ, and, without really trying, I made a lot of friends fairly quickly. INTJs do not, as a rule, make friends quickly, and we have to really try with the ones we do make. Most other people just don't "get" us.
To get into the typology of it, I noted several remarks in the thread which suggested that Ne and Fe are what make threads/forums, that Te generally seems boring, and Ni and Fi (where all the interesting action is at) are hidden away deep inside. These observations aren't entirely off the mark, but they demonstrate that those who posted them don't get INTJs.
Really, it's just the Ni. There are two MBTI types that emphasize Ni (INTJ, INFJ), and both of them have this problem of being/feeling misunderstood by others. Characteristic of Ni is that strong Ni users can "just look" at a situation, and immediately understand it with great depth and accuracy, subject to a the remarkably rare possibility for error due to confirmation bias. It's difficult to explain this understanding - it isn't words, it's a construct, like a computer program. The construct very quickly, and very much subconsciously, processes observations we make in the real world, and hands us insights. When we state these insights, most other people (non INxJs) have a hard time understanding how we can be so certain, and most Ni users have a hard time explaining that certainty, and without a strong Te, have difficulty "reverse engineering" a logical rationale for their entirely intuitive observation. This strong Ni is why INTJs tend not to get along with many people, yet are often good at troubleshooting complex, seemingly intractable problems.
Some of the most interesting threads I see on INTJforum are started by those who are not INTJs asking about how to deal with INTJs because someone important in their life is an INTJ. "You mean he really does love me?" "Yeah, he just decided to stay in your town in spite of the fact that he doesn't have many career opportunities there. He's head over heels in love with you. We INTJs do not reorganize our lives to that degree for anyone, unless that one is extremely important to us. We just suck at emoting that love, is all." This dialog of how INTJs can communicate with non-INTJs is of utmost importance to us: we're well aware of the fact that people just don't get us ... it's perhaps the most fascinating yet intractable problems we try to solve.
.
