Okay, I need some help here. I know *for sure* that I am Introverted and Thinking. Now, the other two, I'm not so sure.
Sensing vs Intuition:
I used to test S and lately I've been testing N, but usually it's VERY borderline. Well, I'm not a good "here-and-now" observer. I typically miss out on everything - sight and sound (and smell because I have horrible allergies) - when I have a goal I'm trying to focus on. When I'm looking for something, I always can't find it and it's always right under my nose. When someone's talking to me I almost always miss words or phrases or misunderstand what they're saying.
I get "sensory overload" also. I love automobile racing, and when I play games like Gran Turismo I can tell exactly what's going on and act perfectly. But when I go out and autocross in my Miata (time trials in a course marked by cones in an open lot) I get confused by all the G-forces and loose-tight feelings.
On the other hand I'm not so sure about N either. Mainly, I don't understand how you can get info through Intuition. I'm big on T, so in order to come up with logical conclusions, don't you need facts, not gut feelings? I don't know. In terms of patterns I have pretty good number sense (like, what comes next in a certain series of numbers), but I don't know if that's N or my experience in doing a lot of math just letting me see things quicker. Likewise, I can pick up new skills very fast, and I am a very quick learner in school (second year of college right now, btw), but is that N or just very fast T?
Now, I do default on speaking in generalities rather than specific details. On essays I always write out the general noncontradicting concepts that frame my argument rather than describe specific anecdotes and that has given me many bad grades in high school history (I was in IB, so harsh grading). I always have to know the concept when I'm learning a new topic, rather than just accepting the given equations as they are and using them when I don't understand what they're doing. I don't know if this is pro-N or anti-N because sometimes I have a hard time trying to grasp the concept (big example: electromagnetism in Physics), but it just feels wrong to work out problems when I don't understand the concept. I like learning when it's about understanding a hard concept and I hate-hate-HATE route memorization.
Judging vs Perceiving:
This is worse than S-N. I test my J-P so close that it's basically 50-50. It was 53% J and 47% P on one test.
Now, I like things orderly; they just don't turn out that way. I hate being late and it gives me horrible anxiety, but I tend to be late more often than not because I procrastinated trying to finish an interesting problem, a videogame, a TV show, etc. I hate routine but sometimes I plan things because I'm really excited about it. And then I'm stubborn as hell so that when I get attached to a plan I get very POed when the plan changes or falls through.
My room is a "clean mess." I have piles of stuff, but in a way that I (usually) know where something is. Again, I would greatly prefer that everything was clean and proper, but it just doesn't seem that important and I'm lazy, so it doesn't turn out that way. Did I mention I procrastinate? I'll spend the entire day playing videogames and then stay up the rest of the night starting and finishing my homework because the pressure finally kicked in.
I guess this all seems very P but the thing is, I really fear the unexpected. It's probably my worst fear. I'm shy when meeting new people, shy when joining new groups, when trying new things, etc., etc. So my life actually ends up rather the same, day-to-day, rather than being spontaneous and free.
I've also looked specifically at just the type descriptions. I agree with everything the INTP profiles say, but looking at the INTJ reminds me that a lot of the time I want to do more than just *think*. For example, while being a theoretical physicist or a philosopher really appeals to me, I would much rather also use my mind to solve real world problems as well. Right now my ideal career would be a race car engineer/designer, where I can come up with amazing ideas and theories and then put them to the test. Actually, what would be the best would be being a race car driver, finding the best strategies to pass all my rivals and using the knowledge of physics and automobile dynamics to perfect my driving (though... there's probably a lot less T involved and more conditioned physical instinct in racing a car, unfortunately).
I used to test ISTJ in grade school, but it doesn't really make sense. Sure, I believe in loyalty and faithfulness, but just... not that much. ISTP is probably one of those types I want to be. Adventuresome, attracted to motorcycles, airplanes, sky diving... Yes, I am definitely attracted to stuff like that (see being race car driver above) but I end up not doing so because I'm more fearful than courageous enough to do those things.
Besides type inventory, I should describe aspects of my personality in general. I think it's pretty obvious I like cars and video games the most, and I like reading fiction as well. In terms of video games I like RPGs the most, followed by FPSes. I'm not super-good in terms of twitch-based games. You may say, "But FPSes are twitch games!" Yes, but I tend to play them strategically (and also why I almost never play linear FPSes single-player). In, say, Battlefield 2142, I'm usually the sniper, finding a nice hiding & sniping spot so that I'm killing my enemies by outsmarting them. Or I play support and find a solid defensive point where I can start firing on intruders before they even see me. I am awful at run-and-gun, because I can't react fast enough to shoot someone before they kill me. It might be surprising, then, when I say I like Quake 3, but that's because with the rocket launcher it becomes more of a game of quickly predicting rocket angles and trajectories and which way the enemy is going to bounce away from the splash damage.
I like RPGs the most, though, Western cRPGs to be specific, like Fallout and Planescape Torment. The reason behind this is that they allow me to inject myself as a character into a different world, where I can do things not possible in reality. Being a master swordsman or powerful wizard are some basic examples, but there are also fantastical situations in these games which I can explore or decide the fate of. Mainly, it's escapism, being myself in another world but having skills or traits I would like to have and then interacting with a realistic world which I shape while it shapes my character.
I'm horrible with RTSes, though. Twitch-gameplay with masses of units I have to control AND micromanage =(. I'm much better with TBS like chess, where I have the time to consider everything logically, or even just with RTSes in single-player where it's pauseable.
And I said I like fictional books. I like sci-fi and fantasy, mainly. My favorite books right now are by Dan Simmons - books like Hyperion and Ilium, where there's a crazy unexplained mystery situation that demystifies into an "excellent" logical reason behind everything. I like fantasy for a similar reason, as magic is always a mystery element, but in these tales I also like the strong heroic and self-sacrifice actions that turn out to be so poignant.
So... have at it and type me!
Sensing vs Intuition:
I used to test S and lately I've been testing N, but usually it's VERY borderline. Well, I'm not a good "here-and-now" observer. I typically miss out on everything - sight and sound (and smell because I have horrible allergies) - when I have a goal I'm trying to focus on. When I'm looking for something, I always can't find it and it's always right under my nose. When someone's talking to me I almost always miss words or phrases or misunderstand what they're saying.
I get "sensory overload" also. I love automobile racing, and when I play games like Gran Turismo I can tell exactly what's going on and act perfectly. But when I go out and autocross in my Miata (time trials in a course marked by cones in an open lot) I get confused by all the G-forces and loose-tight feelings.
On the other hand I'm not so sure about N either. Mainly, I don't understand how you can get info through Intuition. I'm big on T, so in order to come up with logical conclusions, don't you need facts, not gut feelings? I don't know. In terms of patterns I have pretty good number sense (like, what comes next in a certain series of numbers), but I don't know if that's N or my experience in doing a lot of math just letting me see things quicker. Likewise, I can pick up new skills very fast, and I am a very quick learner in school (second year of college right now, btw), but is that N or just very fast T?
Now, I do default on speaking in generalities rather than specific details. On essays I always write out the general noncontradicting concepts that frame my argument rather than describe specific anecdotes and that has given me many bad grades in high school history (I was in IB, so harsh grading). I always have to know the concept when I'm learning a new topic, rather than just accepting the given equations as they are and using them when I don't understand what they're doing. I don't know if this is pro-N or anti-N because sometimes I have a hard time trying to grasp the concept (big example: electromagnetism in Physics), but it just feels wrong to work out problems when I don't understand the concept. I like learning when it's about understanding a hard concept and I hate-hate-HATE route memorization.
Judging vs Perceiving:
This is worse than S-N. I test my J-P so close that it's basically 50-50. It was 53% J and 47% P on one test.
Now, I like things orderly; they just don't turn out that way. I hate being late and it gives me horrible anxiety, but I tend to be late more often than not because I procrastinated trying to finish an interesting problem, a videogame, a TV show, etc. I hate routine but sometimes I plan things because I'm really excited about it. And then I'm stubborn as hell so that when I get attached to a plan I get very POed when the plan changes or falls through.
My room is a "clean mess." I have piles of stuff, but in a way that I (usually) know where something is. Again, I would greatly prefer that everything was clean and proper, but it just doesn't seem that important and I'm lazy, so it doesn't turn out that way. Did I mention I procrastinate? I'll spend the entire day playing videogames and then stay up the rest of the night starting and finishing my homework because the pressure finally kicked in.
I guess this all seems very P but the thing is, I really fear the unexpected. It's probably my worst fear. I'm shy when meeting new people, shy when joining new groups, when trying new things, etc., etc. So my life actually ends up rather the same, day-to-day, rather than being spontaneous and free.
I've also looked specifically at just the type descriptions. I agree with everything the INTP profiles say, but looking at the INTJ reminds me that a lot of the time I want to do more than just *think*. For example, while being a theoretical physicist or a philosopher really appeals to me, I would much rather also use my mind to solve real world problems as well. Right now my ideal career would be a race car engineer/designer, where I can come up with amazing ideas and theories and then put them to the test. Actually, what would be the best would be being a race car driver, finding the best strategies to pass all my rivals and using the knowledge of physics and automobile dynamics to perfect my driving (though... there's probably a lot less T involved and more conditioned physical instinct in racing a car, unfortunately).
I used to test ISTJ in grade school, but it doesn't really make sense. Sure, I believe in loyalty and faithfulness, but just... not that much. ISTP is probably one of those types I want to be. Adventuresome, attracted to motorcycles, airplanes, sky diving... Yes, I am definitely attracted to stuff like that (see being race car driver above) but I end up not doing so because I'm more fearful than courageous enough to do those things.
Besides type inventory, I should describe aspects of my personality in general. I think it's pretty obvious I like cars and video games the most, and I like reading fiction as well. In terms of video games I like RPGs the most, followed by FPSes. I'm not super-good in terms of twitch-based games. You may say, "But FPSes are twitch games!" Yes, but I tend to play them strategically (and also why I almost never play linear FPSes single-player). In, say, Battlefield 2142, I'm usually the sniper, finding a nice hiding & sniping spot so that I'm killing my enemies by outsmarting them. Or I play support and find a solid defensive point where I can start firing on intruders before they even see me. I am awful at run-and-gun, because I can't react fast enough to shoot someone before they kill me. It might be surprising, then, when I say I like Quake 3, but that's because with the rocket launcher it becomes more of a game of quickly predicting rocket angles and trajectories and which way the enemy is going to bounce away from the splash damage.
I like RPGs the most, though, Western cRPGs to be specific, like Fallout and Planescape Torment. The reason behind this is that they allow me to inject myself as a character into a different world, where I can do things not possible in reality. Being a master swordsman or powerful wizard are some basic examples, but there are also fantastical situations in these games which I can explore or decide the fate of. Mainly, it's escapism, being myself in another world but having skills or traits I would like to have and then interacting with a realistic world which I shape while it shapes my character.
I'm horrible with RTSes, though. Twitch-gameplay with masses of units I have to control AND micromanage =(. I'm much better with TBS like chess, where I have the time to consider everything logically, or even just with RTSes in single-player where it's pauseable.
And I said I like fictional books. I like sci-fi and fantasy, mainly. My favorite books right now are by Dan Simmons - books like Hyperion and Ilium, where there's a crazy unexplained mystery situation that demystifies into an "excellent" logical reason behind everything. I like fantasy for a similar reason, as magic is always a mystery element, but in these tales I also like the strong heroic and self-sacrifice actions that turn out to be so poignant.
So... have at it and type me!
I'm also highly strategic and tactical (respectively), and knowledge and authority -centered (respectively, again). Expertise led for leadership orientations but they were all pretty similarly rated... Not that surprising because I have little or no leadership experience.
