[INTP] Ask an INTP thread!?

[INTPness]

Question: If an INTP were to be caught "grinning" what would happen?

Eh hem. Good question. I haven't grinned since I was, say, about 2 years old. So, I wouldn't know what you're talking about.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Eh hem. Good question. I haven't grinned since I was, say, about 2 years old. So, I wouldn't know what you're talking about.

Hmm, you may have won this round with your cheeky bananallama and the fact that I can't prove anything....(yet)... However, I am far from defeeted.

I has mah eyes on ewe.

 

[Hera]

Question: If an INTP were to be caught "grinning" what would happen?

I smile a lot, but mostly to myself or for pictures. I've trained myself!

 

[INTPness]

Coming back to this:

Oh jeez I hadn't really looked at your avatar earlier, but the intp I'm on about has a picture of Chris Hansen on one of his profiles. Next question: The significance, if any? lol

No significance. Just thought it was funny. Mainly cuz he's talking to YOU, the members of TypoC. When you look at the avatar, for a moment you're the invader! You're caught and the eyes bulge out of your head. And you say, "uhhh, I was just here to meet a friend." Hahaha.

That and how to not step heavily on spots that would make an INTP recoil.

Well, hopefully I answered the first part already. He needs something of worth, something of long-term value to engage in. If all he's doing is 9-to-5 drivel or just not being productive at all (we do need our down time, that's for sure - time to noodle around with ideas and think about the meaning of life and all that other jazz), then it's easy to start thinking, "Life is meaningless." And that's not a good place to be. Once you give up in your spirit, it goes downhill real quick. But, he can get it back - that zest for life. He has to get back to doing the things he enjoys the most, the things he has natural talents for. Be him. A little social conformity is required sometimes to make things work (you gotta pay bills, you gotta hold down a job to get back on your feet before you can branch out on your own, etc.), but there is definitely a path that can be followed or taken that will get him to a good place where he's doing the things he's good at. But, it won't be handed to him on a silver platter or spoon fed to him. I think a lot of INTP's make that mistake - myself included in my early 20's. I thought just cuz I had good ideas and I could learn quickly, that I was going to be successful in the things I wanted to pursue. It takes a little more than that though. It requires you to keep walking - a consistent, day-in and day-out walk, putting one foot in front of the other. Make progress daily. Do something big each day to get closer to your dreams. Not just little, meaningless stuff like paperwork. Something big, some major step each day. Or even 1 per week. Make progress, move forward. Next thing you know, you'll be walking in it someday. Just takes a little determination and dedication.

Give him a pep talk like this. Use your Fe to encourage and show him that he's talented and it's not over. Sometimes the best place to be is at "level zero" (like he seems to be). That's actually not a bad place. Cuz now he can start rebuilding from the ground up. Building a foundation for the future, refocusing on what he wants to do and wants to become, etc. Sometimes the 2 best things I can hear are: (a) you're acting like a fool, followed by (b) but there's so many things you can do. Don't get bogged down, the world is your oyster sort of thing. Beat him up, but then build him back up with some encouragement! And INTP's are big on being "competent" - maybe point out to him all the ways that you think he is really competent. Dude, you're soooo good at x, and you're really talented at y, you just have to pursue those things and get that pep back in your step and you'll be fine. Don't let those talents go to waste. That doesn't mean you have to put pressure on yourself to be some uber-successful millionaire, but make sure you're tapping into your talents and making use of them in some way. Something to let him know that you see the capabilities he possesses.

The "acting like a fool" thing is not going to hurt his feelings. It's a rude awakening. It's like the really loud alarm clock that goes off after a long night. It wakes you up. Snaps you out of it. He'll respect you for saying it, but it usually won't hurt the INTP's feelings. He can take it and it's probably what he needs to hear. That's much, much better than "awwwww, you're just in a bad spot right now. Everything is going to be OK." <-----------although that type of "cotton candy" can get us in a playful mood too, which is also good

But, about stepping on his toes/making him recoil - as an ENFJ I would say "do not FORCE"; do not push. Just dialogue with him, interact with him, and tell him some of the things I mentioned above. Then it's up to him to move into action. But, I've had extroverts say to me, "You just have to get out and come to this party with me." "Uhhh, no I don't. I don't want to do that." "Yes, that's what you need." Don't go there. Don't force him to do stuff he doesn't want to do. Just because it would be healing to you, doesn't mean it's the answer for him.

I dunno, you kind of have to get tough with INTP's sometimes. Tell 'em what they're doing wrong - deal direct. Shoot straight from the hip. Don't sugarcoat. I'd rather hear, "Look dude, you need to get your stuff together ASAP, stop acting like a clown". You say stuff like that, and you'll have my attention. Then I'll think, "wow, I really must be acting a fool if they said it like that. Let me re-evaluate what I'm doing here."

 

[Anew Leaf]

Question #1: if an INTP laughs (alone) in their home, do they make a sound?

Question #2: if an INTP laughs, what does their facial expression look like as they laugh?"

A. I don't laugh.
B. Wait, you use can your face to laugh? Hmm, I must research this further!
C. I don't laugh.
D. I plead the 5th.*


*ok, you caught me. When I laugh I grin like an idiot.

 

[INTPness]

Question #1: if an INTP laughs (alone) in their home, do they make a sound?

Most definitely. It goes a little something like this:

Question #2: if an INTP laughs, what does their facial expression look like as they laugh?"

A. I don't laugh.
B. Wait, you use can your face to laugh? Hmm, I must research this further!
C. I don't laugh.
D. I plead the 5th.*

*ok, you caught me. When I laugh I grin like an idiot.

D. And it usually looks a little something like this:

 

[Lady_X]

Most definitely. It goes a little something like this:

D. And it usually looks a little something like this:

that is ridiculous.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Exhibit A:

Most definitely. It goes a little something like this:

D. And it usually looks a little something like this:

Exhibit B:

Eh hem. Good question. I haven't grinned since I was, say, about 2 years old. So, I wouldn't know what you're talking about.

So, is this what you looked like at the age of 2 when "last you grinned and laughed"?

 

[INTPness]

Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:

So, is this what you looked like at the age of 2 when "last you grinned and laughed"?

Sort of. My hair was really blonde when I was 2, so this picture here (above) is after I dyed my hair and grew out my bangs. And after I got my big boy teeth. I was about 5 in this picture here. In fact I think that was my first day of kindergarten - this was my reaction when I saw the jungle gym that I'd soon be playing on.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Sort of. My hair was really blonde when I was 2, so this picture here (above) is after I dyed my hair and grew out my bangs. And after I got my big boy teeth. I was about 5 in this picture here. In fact I think that was my first day of kindergarten - this was my reaction when I saw the jungle gym that I'd soon be playing on.

Question #3: Do INTPs lie:
A. At all.
B. Only to save their skins.
C. All the time.
D. We don't lie, we embellish/tweak the truth.

 

[INTPness]

Question #3: Do INTPs lie:
A. At all.
B. Only to save their skins.
C. All the time.
D. We don't lie, we embellish/tweak the truth.

Heh. *scratches forehead and ponders while feeling like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar*. We, uhh, take the truth and we shove it into whatever pigeonhole we need it to fit in for a given situation. And then we say, "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it." But, you know, it's still "the truth" and that's all that matters.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Heh. *scratches forehead and ponders while feeling like he got caught with his hand in the cookie jar*. We, uhh, take the truth and we shove it into whatever pigeonhole we need it to fit in for a given situation. And then we say, "That's my story and I'm stickin' to it." But, you know, it's still "the truth" and that's all that matters.

Question #4: What is the worst thing that can happen to an INTP:
A. Getting outwitTed by someone who's T function is in the 4th position.
B. The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
C. A = B.
D. Realizing that you aren't the guy who plays Data in Star Trek: TNG despite false evidence to the contrary.
E: Painting yourself into a corner using "Ne-ver Dry" paint.

 

[INTPness]

Question #4: What is the worst thing that can happen to an INTP:

Answer: It's that moment where the other person finally realizes that you haven't even been using your Ti yet - that up to that moment you had only been using Ne, Si, and Fe. Ti was hibernating - taking a long, winter nap. And then they challenge you enough that Ti finally wakes up and goes to work - you know, "does its thang". You start outwitTing them on a level they've never experienced before and they start to cwy. That's always a difficult moment for both parties and I avoid it whenever possible. Heartwrenching to watch it unfold.

Any other.......................questions? Anyone?

 

[Glycerine]

When do you know an INTP is poking fun vs. joking with you? It seems like a fine line.

What is up with the finickiness with semantics?

 

[INTPness]

When do you know an INTP is poking fun vs. joking with you? It seems like a fine line.

Dear Pitseleh,

It's probably more difficult to make that distinction online than it is in person. We should use more smilies to indicate when we're joking. But, in person, you will know when we are not joking. Any other time, it's safe to say that we're probably joking or at least just being lighthearted. We extrovert with Ne - and Ne is usually pretty lighthearted. We'll be serious if someone asks us a serious question - which happens all day at work for me. I get "serious questions" from all the NTJ's I work with and so I'm "pretty serious", but the whole time I'm thinking, "Does anyone wanna joke around for a bit? Have a food fight or something?" We'll also be serious if someone is like challenging us or making a firm statement "By golly, I hereby declare that every single member of Congress is a crooked bigot. Not one single one of them is doing anything good for this country." Oh really...and how did you come to that conclusion? I've got all day, I'd love to hear your reasoning. As we get older, I think we learn to let go a little bit - it's not as important to correct every wrong. It's easier to just go with the flow and let Ne be the boss sometimes.

I dunno, I tell people "you can assume I'm joking at least 50% of the time" (meaning, I'm using Ne). Ti is used when I'm alone and it also gets brought out when things get to a point of "this is no longer a joking matter."

What is up with the finickiness with semantics?

Ti in overdrive.

Overall, we're pretty freakin' harmless. We do have that Ti-ometer however, (if someone is pushing ignorance or spouting off at the mouth or mistreating someone or showing someone up or taking advantage of someone we care about), where we tend to get a lil' ugly. 0-50% on the meter: laid back, easy going, just enjoying life. 50-90%: I'm on alert. You've ticked me off enough that you're on my radar - I'm watching to see what you're going to do or say next. 90%+: you've crossed the line and you're going to hear about it.

 

[Glycerine]

Dear Pitseleh,

It's probably more difficult to make that distinction online than it is in person. We should use more smilies to indicate when we're joking. But, in person, you will know when we are not joking. Any other time, it's safe to say that we're probably joking or at least just being lighthearted. We extrovert with Ne - and Ne is usually pretty lighthearted. We'll be serious if someone asks us a serious question - which happens all day at work for me. I get "serious questions" from all the NTJ's I work with and so I'm "pretty serious", but the whole time I'm thinking, "Does anyone wanna joke around for a bit? Have a food fight or something?" We'll also be serious if someone is like challenging us or making a firm statement "By golly, I hereby declare that every single member of Congress is a crooked bigot. Not one single one of them is doing anything good for this country." Oh really...and how did you come to that conclusion? I've got all day, I'd love to hear your reasoning. As we get older, I think we learn to let go a little bit - it's not as important to correct every wrong. It's easier to just go with the flow and let Ne be the boss sometimes.

I dunno, I tell people "you can assume I'm joking at least 50% of the time" (meaning, I'm using Ne). Ti is used when I'm alone and it also gets brought out when things get to a point of "this is no longer a joking matter."



Ti in overdrive.

Overall, we're pretty freakin' harmless. We do have that Ti-ometer however, (if someone is pushing ignorance or spouting off at the mouth or mistreating someone or showing someone up or taking advantage of someone we care about), where we tend to get a lil' ugly. 0-50% on the meter: laid back, easy going, just enjoying life. 50-90%: I'm on alert. You've ticked me off enough that you're on my radar - I'm watching to see what you're going to do or say next. 90%+: you've crossed the line and you're going to hear about it.

Thank you. Good to know why not to piss off an INTP. On a different note, it's always highly entertaining to be arguing with an INTP in circles for ten minutes, only to realize that both parties were talking about the same general idea.

 

[Unkindloving]

Our minds are active, more than anything else. Always going a million miles an hour. I don't have time to give you the long answer at the moment (I have to sign off here in a moment), but it sounds to me as though he has lost his zest for life. He's giving up. I personally think it is CRUCIAL for INTP's to have something that they can really dive into and make a difference in the world, in people's lives, or in something bigger than themselves (doing cancer research, starting a business, writing a book, something along these lines). Otherwise, without something truly challenging, truly worth undertaking, it's real easy to "check out" mentally and just kind of go "Ho hum. I'm just going to sit on the sidelines for the next 60 years." That type of mentality and outlook is always dangerously close for the INTP. He's got to stay involved in a project, in something meaningful. Whatever it is that has interested him since he was young (his "first love" so to speak, whether it be books or science or writing music, whatever), he's got to return to that and just live in it. Just bathe in it. Allow himself to be that person and he'll become very good at it and he'll love what he does. It takes some work though. A little dedication.

Hm sounds right, indeed. I know he's detached from his own interests in a way. Backyard wrestling used to be a big thing for him. He still does it, but I think he's lost the fire for it. Then hearing about how many of the people he had looked up to are druggies and so on, along with the people he spends his life around. It's just the wrong atmosphere for productivity, even if they are constantly seeking thrills, opposed to lazing about. I could see it working in an oppositional way, being a sort of sensory overload without benefit, which may inadvertently make things that aren't a sensory overload seem even less beneficial.
I'm going to try to pry in over time, see what makes his soul tick, and encourage him to go for it.

No significance. Just thought it was funny. Mainly cuz he's talking to YOU, the members of TypoC. When you look at the avatar, for a moment you're the invader! You're caught and the eyes bulge out of your head. And you say, "uhhh, I was just here to meet a friend." Hahaha.

Thems tharr young boys be mighty fine .
Did they ever utilize a cougar-pedo thing? I only ever saw clips of men getting reeled into the hotseat.

Well, hopefully I answered the first part already. He needs something of worth, something of long-term value to engage in. If all he's doing is 9-to-5 drivel or just not being productive at all (we do need our down time, that's for sure - time to noodle around with ideas and think about the meaning of life and all that other jazz), then it's easy to start thinking, "Life is meaningless." And that's not a good place to be. Once you give up in your spirit, it goes downhill real quick. But, he can get it back - that zest for life. He has to get back to doing the things he enjoys the most, the things he has natural talents for. Be him. A little social conformity is required sometimes to make things work (you gotta pay bills, you gotta hold down a job to get back on your feet before you can branch out on your own, etc.), but there is definitely a path that can be followed or taken that will get him to a good place where he's doing the things he's good at. But, it won't be handed to him on a silver platter or spoon fed to him. I think a lot of INTP's make that mistake - myself included in my early 20's. I thought just cuz I had good ideas and I could learn quickly, that I was going to be successful in the things I wanted to pursue. It takes a little more than that though. It requires you to keep walking - a consistent, day-in and day-out walk, putting one foot in front of the other. Make progress daily. Do something big each day to get closer to your dreams. Not just little, meaningless stuff like paperwork. Something big, some major step each day. Or even 1 per week. Make progress, move forward. Next thing you know, you'll be walking in it someday. Just takes a little determination and dedication.

Give him a pep talk like this. Use your Fe to encourage and show him that he's talented and it's not over. Sometimes the best place to be is at "level zero" (like he seems to be). That's actually not a bad place. Cuz now he can start rebuilding from the ground up. Building a foundation for the future, refocusing on what he wants to do and wants to become, etc. Sometimes the 2 best things I can hear are: (a) you're acting like a fool, followed by (b) but there's so many things you can do. Don't get bogged down, the world is your oyster sort of thing. Beat him up, but then build him back up with some encouragement! And INTP's are big on being "competent" - maybe point out to him all the ways that you think he is really competent. Dude, you're soooo good at x, and you're really talented at y, you just have to pursue those things and get that pep back in your step and you'll be fine. Don't let those talents go to waste. That doesn't mean you have to put pressure on yourself to be some uber-successful millionaire, but make sure you're tapping into your talents and making use of them in some way. Something to let him know that you see the capabilities he possesses.

The "acting like a fool" thing is not going to hurt his feelings. It's a rude awakening. It's like the really loud alarm clock that goes off after a long night. It wakes you up. Snaps you out of it. He'll respect you for saying it, but it usually won't hurt the INTP's feelings. He can take it and it's probably what he needs to hear. That's much, much better than "awwwww, you're just in a bad spot right now. Everything is going to be OK." <-----------although that type of "cotton candy" can get us in a playful mood too, which is also good

But, about stepping on his toes/making him recoil - as an ENFJ I would say "do not FORCE"; do not push. Just dialogue with him, interact with him, and tell him some of the things I mentioned above. Then it's up to him to move into action. But, I've had extroverts say to me, "You just have to get out and come to this party with me." "Uhhh, no I don't. I don't want to do that." "Yes, that's what you need." Don't go there. Don't force him to do stuff he doesn't want to do. Just because it would be healing to you, doesn't mean it's the answer for him.

I dunno, you kind of have to get tough with INTP's sometimes. Tell 'em what they're doing wrong - deal direct. Shoot straight from the hip. Don't sugarcoat. I'd rather hear, "Look dude, you need to get your stuff together ASAP, stop acting like a clown". You say stuff like that, and you'll have my attention. Then I'll think, "wow, I really must be acting a fool if they said it like that. Let me re-evaluate what I'm doing here."

There's a strong potential for him not being clear on what he wants. The man has connections and has been involved in a number of things, but we've not had a clear talk in a few years about what drives him- what he feels a deep-rooted urge to accomplish. Definitely good to know though.
lol I do find it interesting that INTPs respond well to that blunt 'Youre being an idiot' sentiment. I just saw something similar to another INTP on the forum before you responded saying that. Through knowing him for so long, I do know I can pluck at his strings a good deal and he'll tell me when it's too much. I'm pretty honest with him, and lay my assessment on pretty heavily, but it's because he can take it and won't get it/accept it from anyone else.
Last thing he needs is to be more extraverted . There is a time and place for needing extraversion, and a time and a place for needing some good ol' fashion introspection. I do like pulling people out of their shells, especially introverts, but only when they need it. It's definitely a good point though, and a number of people will overlook what works for others vs what works for them.

If you were surrounded by people who think your version of acting like a fool is normal and okay, would if be difficult to shake you from going with the flow?

To me, it seems that his area and the people he associates with in it are one of the largest drawbacks. They aren't the brightest crayons, they aren't the deepest of thinkers, and they don't encourage him to be him- since they don't even know him. Would you say it's a good way to suffocate the INTP mind?

 

[Oeufa]

I keep hearing how INTPs are fast learners. I've had some chance to witness this first-hand. So, my question is to what things does this ability apply and to what things is it exempt? Your responses are very relevant to my interests.

Thanks in advance.

To be honest... Everything. I pick up skills or knowledge faster than most people, but I rarely build on it so it's quickly lost again. With the example of music: I can pick up most instruments and bang out a tune or two once I get the feel for it under my fingers. Most people I know would take days or weeks to do this. But since I don't continue with it, it remains just a novelty.

 

[Xyk]

If you were surrounded by people who think your version of acting like a fool is normal and okay, would if be difficult to shake you from going with the flow?

Yes. It would be difficult to shake me. In that situation, I tend to just leave. Theatre kids are like that. I do not hang out in their area. I'm gonna be honest, I didn't read your whole post, I just picked out the question at the end. In the case of a difficult to exit situation, I tend to sink into my private little hole and pretend that the others don't exist. On a long term, difficult to exit situation, I would probably get pretty depressed.

 

[Anew Leaf]

Question #5: Can an INTP make a logic pretzel SO big, that he cannot eat it?