Just random thoughts before I take a nap:
As I've said elsewhere, my best friend in HS was tested as an ENFP and we used to talk about this stuff a bit.
Similarities:
- Both of us were massive idea generators. For fun we used to get together and write storyboards for movies we'd never make (or sometimes we'd turn them into comic books). They were almost always very comedic/satirical. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say we'd literally keep going for 15+ hours straight at times.
- Very similar sense of humor. The sort of highly extemporaneous kind. We used to have contests to see who could make up the most outlandish story on the spot.
- Working styles were similar. We both suffered from being controlled by capricious, inspiration-driven frenzies with intermittent bouts of laziness.
- Debating. We were both naturally good at it. The debate teacher recruited us the first day of HS after overhearing us in the hallways arguing over something.
- Intellectual curiosity. We were interested in *everything*. Mathematics, poetry, literature, science, life, music, sociology, art, clouds, philosophy, bugs, skipping stones in rivers, exploring, travel, different cultures, etc.
- Related to the above point: I have lots of INTx friends now, and while I like them, many of my hobbies are sort of... "beneath" them. With my ENFP friend, he was willing to go kayaking, camping, hiking, and a lot of other exploratory, but mostly non-intellectual activities with me. I think INTx's are more the "disembodied mind" types.
Differences:
- Sense of people. He was definitely focused more on people. Especially what made them tick. He was much more of a natural psychologist than me. (He's at another school majoring in some sort of counseling now.)
- A little more confrontational when it came to dealing with jerks. I related this story in the other thread, but once we were at a party and someone there casually used the "n"-word. This upset both of us, but he *had* to say something to the guy whereas I was willing to just write him off and leave.
- However, he was a little less of an a**hole when dealing with regular people. I'm prone to doing weird social experiments, like, for instance, borrowing money from a friend over time just to see how much he'll give me (and hence how much I'm worth). I sort of have more of a tendency to objectify human dynamics that way... And what can I say, I'm a curious guy.
- He internalized logic much differently than me. To him, there was room for interpretation when dealing with some part of humanity because it "is subject to the human condition." I found logic beyond interpretation and often wouldn't, fundamentally, treat people any differently than I'd treat numbers. (Fi vs. Ti?)
- I had, and still have, a much bigger impulse to build/invent things. I'm always building a prototype for some new idea I have. He would go along with it, but since he lives 300 miles away now he's basically abandoned carrying out any of his inventions to the prototype stage.
- This is weird, but I was *much* more interested in gossip and the details of mutual friends'/acquaintances' personal lives. I think now that this may be a bit of the tertiary Fe coming through... (And just having too much curiosity.)
- Also weird: even though he was in a drama club, in some ways, I was a better "actor" than him in social situations. I could mask personalities if it suited me in different contexts better. (Again, is this Fe coming through?) To him, doing this was being "inauthentic" or something and, even though he might have been more capable of it, he wouldn't do it out of principle. And the great irony was he was the trained actor! So if he wanted to he could've way outdone me. Although it should be noted that while I may have been a bit better at this, I rarely ever bothered to do it either (but more out of a lack of care than anything).
- He would stay in or dwell over bad/dysfunctional relationships waaaay more. My interest in people can mostly be satisfied from afar, without connecting with them too much. He couldn't do this. He *had* to become personally entangled with other human beings, otherwise he didn't feel like he could understand them fully. (And, consequently, he didn't like this about himself at all; he realized he'd end up hurt most of the time.) I'm mostly just really snoopy and want lots of random information to play with or to see what others do in really odd situations I'd create and psychoanalyze over. I'll think of an example later.
Anyway, I'm going to take a nap now. I've been feeling sort of sick =/ I hope you find something out of this! I <3 ENFPs!!!!