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Type this guy?

sonata

New member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
291
MBTI Type
iNtJ
So there's this guy I used to know, and I'd like some of your opinions on his type, because I can't figure it out.

A lot of the evidence points toward unhealthy INTP. He was extremely smart and somewhat arrogant about it, but never really got anywhere with it. He had a lot of radical political/social beliefs that he never acted upon. He couldn't or didn't want to keep a job. He owned hundreds of books which covered the walls of his apartment, in which he lived alone. I think he believed that most people were fairly stupid. He had a problem with drugs and alcohol.

But then.

He was way better at reading people, understanding them, and getting the reactions he wanted than any INTx I've heard of. In addition, he was very charismatic and people were drawn to him. He had one LTR that I know of, with an INFJ. It was full of issues but he never really got over it, even after she'd long since moved on. He was a respected Sunday school teacher although he privately confided in me that he didn't actually believe in the Christian version of God. He was a troublemaker in high school, playing a lot of pranks (ex. turning the heater crank all the way up, removing the crank, and throwing it out the window into the snow, so that the building was over 100°F and school had to be canceled). He lied whenever he felt it was useful, and was skilled at emotional blackmail and guilt trips. He was good at making people laugh.

Ideas, or questions that could provide insight?
 

Jeffster

veteran attention whore
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
6,743
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx

sonata

New member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
291
MBTI Type
iNtJ

Please elaborate? I'm interested to know where you got this.

From personalitypage.com/ESTP.html:

'They are impatient with theory, and see little use for it in their quest to "get things done".'
 

Jeffster

veteran attention whore
Joined
Jun 7, 2008
Messages
6,743
MBTI Type
ESFP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx
Please elaborate? I'm interested to know where you got this.

From personalitypage.com/ESTP.html:

'They are impatient with theory, and see little use for it in their quest to "get things done".'

I got it from the information you provided. All of it sounded consistent with ESTPs I have known or known about.

From the page you just mentioned:

"The ESTP is most comfortable when they can treat life as a big game in which they must be quick to use their skills in order to win. In such a game-playing scenario, the ESTP is most likely to be the winner, as no other personality type is as quick on their feet as the ESTP."

"ESTPs have an amazingly ability to size up people in an instant and come up with an accurate ballpark understanding of where they are coming from. The ESTP cannot help using this skill, it is natural for them, but it brings them great satisfaction to be able to use this skill to enact some personal gain, or to “win the game.”

"May be manipulative, taking advantage of other people’s weaknesses for their own gain."

"Can be overconfident of their own cunning or ability, ignoring problems which eventually catch up with them on their blind side."

"May find it difficult or be actually unwilling to follow through where an ongoing commitment is expected."

"May be unable to maintain employment for any length of time, losing credibility with potential employers or clients by job hopping."

From here:

"They are lively, entertaining, and fun."

"They are likely to look for loopholes, special niches, or other unusual opportunities for finding high rewards for the investment of their time. They are willing to play by the rules but only the point of using the rules to help them be or do what they want."

"ESTPs are uncanny at observing people's motivations, somehow hypersensitive to minimal nonverbal cues which other types might miss. And they are masters at using these observations to "sell" the "client." The eye of the ESTP is ever on the eye of the beholder, and all actions are directed toward this audience. Witty, clever, and fun, ESTPs seem to possess an unusual amount of empathy, when in fact this is not the case; rather, they are so acutely aware of minimal signals from others that they are usually several jumps ahead in anticipation of another's position. And ESTPs can use information gained to the ends they have in mind-apparently with nerves of steel, engaging in what seems to others to be suicidal brinkmanship."

Just going off the information you provided, ESTP seems to fit best in my view. But I didn't spend hours analyzing the information or anything. ;)
 

sonata

New member
Joined
Dec 2, 2008
Messages
291
MBTI Type
iNtJ
Cool. Thank you for the load of evidence. ;) I didn't consider that before and now it sounds pretty good.
 

nozflubber

DoubleplusUngoodNonperson
Joined
Mar 30, 2008
Messages
2,078
MBTI Type
Hype
yeah jeff might be right - living alone with stacks of books isn't necessarily an "INTX" thing
 

Orangey

Blah
Joined
Jun 26, 2008
Messages
6,354
MBTI Type
ESTP
Enneagram
6w5
Sounds like someone I know, and I typed him as ENTP.
 

Samvega

Buddhist Misanthrope
Joined
Dec 11, 2007
Messages
1,073
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
7w8
So there's this guy I used to know, and I'd like some of your opinions on his type, because I can't figure it out.

A lot of the evidence points toward unhealthy INTP. He was extremely smart and somewhat arrogant about it, but never really got anywhere with it. He had a lot of radical political/social beliefs that he never acted upon. He couldn't or didn't want to keep a job. He owned hundreds of books which covered the walls of his apartment, in which he lived alone. I think he believed that most people were fairly stupid. He had a problem with drugs and alcohol.

But then.

He was way better at reading people, understanding them, and getting the reactions he wanted than any INTx I've heard of. In addition, he was very charismatic and people were drawn to him. He had one LTR that I know of, with an INFJ. It was full of issues but he never really got over it, even after she'd long since moved on. He was a respected Sunday school teacher although he privately confided in me that he didn't actually believe in the Christian version of God. He was a troublemaker in high school, playing a lot of pranks (ex. turning the heater crank all the way up, removing the crank, and throwing it out the window into the snow, so that the building was over 100°F and school had to be canceled). He lied whenever he felt it was useful, and was skilled at emotional blackmail and guilt trips. He was good at making people laugh.

Ideas, or questions that could provide insight?



I just wanted to comment even though it's a little late. What I put in bold seems very ENTP, what I've underlined and italicized does not. He very well may have been an unhealthy ENTP, sounds more like an ExTP in all honesty as much of what you mention seems a lot like an ESTP.

Any way you slice it you have an unhealthy unbalanced person/type.

I would type them as ExTP though...
 

Cimarron

IRL is not real
Joined
Aug 21, 2008
Messages
3,417
MBTI Type
ISTJ
Enneagram
5w6
Instinctual Variant
sp/so
He was way better at reading people, understanding them, and getting the reactions he wanted than any INTx I've heard of. In addition, he was very charismatic and people were drawn to him.
Yeah, this means he could be an extrovert who just doesn't like people, and/or rubbed people the wrong way once they got to know him (past that charismatic first impression). And if he had a haughty attitude, that would make it even more likely.
 

me_plus_one

New member
Joined
Sep 25, 2008
Messages
194
MBTI Type
ESTP
I just wanted to comment even though it's a little late. What I put in bold seems very ENTP, what I've underlined and italicized does not. He very well may have been an unhealthy ENTP, sounds more like an ExTP in all honesty as much of what you mention seems a lot like an ESTP.

Any way you slice it you have an unhealthy unbalanced person/type.

I would type them as ExTP though...

And why would smartness be an ENTP trait? That, I have read nowhere.
And ESFJ can't be smart or arrogant?


To me, he resembles an ESTP, but he might as well be an ENTP.
 

Mondo

Welcome to Sunnyside
Joined
Mar 1, 2008
Messages
1,992
MBTI Type
EsTP
Enneagram
6w7
He sounds like an INTJ who has a persistent shadow Se.
 
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