INTJ or INTP?

[Vorthos]

I'm one of them (I think), but alas, I have no idea which. Anybody else know? Or is there some other option that's even more likely than those two?

Debate/Argument

In debates, I am quick to notice and point out logical fallacies. I often find myself saying "that's irrelevant", but that could just be a result of arguing with certain people. I tend to play devil's advocate a lot, and often argue points that I may or may not believe. I usually debate to determine who's viewpoint is right, though I quite enjoy it and consider myself quite good at it. That said, I'm more likely than others to acknowledge good points.


Analysis

Whenever I do or experience something noteworthy, I tend to spend a long time afterwards analyzing the event to learn about myself and practically anything else involved. I think about things all the time. I don't know why I analyze things, but I enjoy it.


Opinions of Others

I don't care about social convention or anything like that; the only reason I play along is to avoid burning bridges or offending people. While I don't care what people think of me, I don't want to offend or otherwise hurt people. I often consider the opinions of others terrible, and I often analyze others' opinions or actions to find their motive. What I conclude seems to depend on what kind of mood I'm in, but if I'm not feeling particularly cynical, I often come to relatively positive conclusions.



Other

In order to not be wrong when giving information, I have a tendency to add technically-correct disclaimers: when the information is second-hand, I'll say "Apparently, ..." and when myself or one of my obsevations are the source, I'll say "I think..." or "It looks like...". I suspect that this is because of my dislike of people presenting opinion or incorrect information as fact.

I start projects, but once I've finished the hard part or it becomes obvious that I can succeed with the project, I typically get bored and abandon it, but keep the info should I ever return to it. I don't care about actually making any of my designs, I just want to know if I could design one. If I ever did build a design, it would either be to test some theory that I came up with myself but haven't proven (the empirical evidence that it works confirming my theory would be more valuable than the fact that the design can do what it was meant to) or because I actually have a need for what I am designing.

Thinking outside the box is my default mode of thinking. One of my professors told me that my downfall is that I make things more complicated than I need to. I agree with his assessment. I'm also told that I often overthink things, and while I agree, there are some matters that I let be: sometimes a situation is exactly as it seems, and over-thinking is stupid, especially if there is a lack of evidence to back up such speculation.

I tend to project my point of view onto others to guess what they are thinking. For example, I suspect that some people reading this find me arrogant for listing a lot of (probably over emphasised) positive attributes and no negative ones. They probably think I'm slightly delusional. I also think that some readers are annoyed with the fact that some of my "evidence" or "explanations" are based on speculation. Even now, I suspect that some of you are reading this and thinking that I must be paranoid, but I am quite confidant that I'm not: I just can't turn my analysis off. You might accuse me of making wild guesses, and to some extent, you'd be correct, given that I'm essentially reading what I've just written, imagining other points of view, and assuming that somebody reading this shares those viewpoints. Explanations aside, this trait also makes me somewhat self-critical, although I have moments where I feel like I am amazing.

I like plans, but I also want freedom to improvise. After all, a plan can't cover *all* options, but to not have a basic plan of attack is simply inefficient. Sometimes, a more effective option will arise, and to stick to a premade plan seems silly in that situation.

My imagination is awesome.

I don't like to force my opinion on other people, but I do want other people to refrain from forcing their opinion on me. If our opinions are mutually exclusive, I may ask questions about thier viewpoint, and then decide myself if it's good or bad.


Well, I probably just made myself sound like an arrogant tool, but I use the fact that it's late and that I'm tired as my excuse . Anyway, hopefully you guys can help me clear this up; I've been quite confused about my type for some time now.

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

Oh, you are such a cute little INTP. I hope that helps.

 

[Yama]

My vote is also on INTP.

 

[Luke O]

You are so more INTP than INTJ, embrace it!

 

[Pionart]

I thought it was clearly INTJ essentially: you sound quite similar to me in certain ways like with how you debate (I am ISTJ -at least I think so-) and the way you explain your mode of analysis strikes me as Ni, e.g. projecting your mode of thinking onto others to guess what they are thinking strikes me as INTJ, not INTP.

I'm so confused as to why people are saying INTP haha

 

[RandomINTP]

I think very similar to you. (only I'm more extroverted than you)
You are very analytical, intelligent, argumentative, and underestimated by society.
You are definitely an INTP.

And I think your enneagram might be 5w6.

 

[chubber]

INTJ

 

[Luke O]

I've picked out some things which I think are evidence of INTP rather than INTJ. The other things can be either type.

I start projects, but once I've finished the hard part or it becomes obvious that I can succeed with the project, I typically get bored and abandon it, but keep the info should I ever return to it. I don't care about actually making any of my designs, I just want to know if I could design one. If I ever did build a design, it would either be to test some theory that I came up with myself but haven't proven (the empirical evidence that it works confirming my theory would be more valuable than the fact that the design can do what it was meant to) or because I actually have a need for what I am designing.

I like plans, but I also want freedom to improvise. After all, a plan can't cover *all* options, but to not have a basic plan of attack is simply inefficient. Sometimes, a more effective option will arise, and to stick to a premade plan seems silly in that situation.

I don't like to force my opinion on other people, but I do want other people to refrain from forcing their opinion on me. If our opinions are mutually exclusive, I may ask questions about thier viewpoint, and then decide myself if it's good or bad.

What do you guys think?

 

[Nicodemus]

One of my professors told me that my downfall is that I make things more complicated than I need to.

INTJs prefer to make complicated matters simple, while INTPs, in my experience, inevitably engage in the opposite.

I agree with the rest: INTP suits you.

 

[Entropic]

I thought it was clearly INTJ essentially: you sound quite similar to me in certain ways like with how you debate (I am ISTJ -at least I think so-) and the way you explain your mode of analysis strikes me as Ni, e.g. projecting your mode of thinking onto others to guess what they are thinking strikes me as INTJ, not INTP.

I'm so confused as to why people are saying INTP haha

Ni has nothing to do with projecting your thinking on others. Ni is more about metaphors and imagery, subjective and unique to the speaker.

 

[fetus]

Yes, yet another vote for INTP.

 

[Iván Elías]

I would consider, in order to tiebreak the doubts, your philosophical attitude. Explain how do you react to philosophical structures, and where are your emotions when you are desperate to understand something. Give some dichotomical examples, and we will see. I.e. do you tend more to create or destroy?

 

[Vorthos]

Thanks everyone for your feedback! At this point, I'm starting to think that INTP is more likely, but I think it's still worth considering the arguments for INTJ, just to be sure.

I would consider, in order to tiebreak the doubts, your philosophical attitude. Explain how do you react to philosophical structures, and where are your emotions when you are desperate to understand something. Give some dichotomical examples, and we will see. I.e. do you tend more to create or destroy?

I typically regard discussion of philosophy as a bit useless since there is generally no way to empirically prove that a given philosophy is "correct". For example, if we assume that solipsism is actually true, since it is impossible to prove, I have no reason to believe that it is true. Even if I was somehow convinced that I am the only person that exists, nothing has actually changed by me thinking this (except for how I think) so there's no point in changing how I act or regard others. That being said, I just roll with the assumption that reality is as I experience it, even though I know it's entirely possible that it isn't.

When I'm desperate to understand something, I become very driven (which is a change since I'm normally not that motivated). I usually focus on that one thing, to the detriment of all others. If I've spent a few days trying to understand something, I might get irritated, but until that point, there isn't really any change in my emotions.

I don't actually know what I think about certain philosophical structures, but that could be because I'm not quite sure what you mean by that.

 

[yasin]

i can guarantee you are between intp and intj. but i can also guarantee that intp is more dominant in you. and for this reason that you are between intp and intj, your type seems confusing.
you keep lost in thought, which is one of the greatest qualities of an intp. and again, you plan about things, and this is the chief difference that intjs have with intps, as far as i have seen.
hope this will remove your confusion