Monday, March 15, 2010

I'm an INTP

Just took the Myers-Briggs personality test, and was impressed with how well the results fit me. I came up as an INTP: Introverted Intuitive Thinking Perceiving. (I came up as INTP in a Typealyzer analysis of my blog, as well.) According to Joe Butt (ha, how's that for a last name?),
INTPs are pensive, analytical folks. They may venture so deeply into thought as to seem detached, and often actually are oblivious to the world around them. ... INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to almost anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves.

A major concern for INTPs is the haunting sense of impending failure. They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves... An INTP arguing a point may very well be trying to convince himself as much as his opposition.
...
Mathematics is a system where many INTPs love to play, similarly languages, computer systems--potentially any complex system. INTPs thrive on systems. Understanding, exploring, mastering, and manipulating systems can overtake the INTP's conscious thought.
...
When present, the INTP's concern for others is intense, albeit naive. In a crisis, this feeling judgement is often silenced by the emergence of Thinking, who rushes in to avert chaos and destruction. In the absence of a clear principle, however, INTPs have been known to defer judgement and to allow decisions about interpersonal matters to be left hanging lest someone be offended or somehow injured.
David Keirsey calls INTPs "architects", and adds the following:
Architects are rare - maybe one percent of the population - and show the greatest precision in thought and speech of all the types. They tend to see distinctions and inconsistencies instantaneously, and can detect contradictions no matter when or where they were made. It is difficult for an Architect to listen to nonsense, even in a casual conversation, without pointing out the speaker's error. And in any serious discussion or debate Architects are devastating, their skill in framing arguments giving them an enormous advantage. Architects regard all discussions as a search for understanding, and believe their function is to eliminate inconsistencies, which can make communication with them an uncomfortable experience for many.
...
Architects often seem difficult to know...Once caught up in a thought process, Architects close off and persevere until they comprehend the issue in all its complexity. Architects prize intelligence, and with their grand desire to grasp the structure of the universe, they can seem arrogant and may show impatience with others who have less ability, or who are less driven.
An arrogant, oblivious, intuitive analyzer who loves debate but hates interpersonal conflict. That's pretty much me to a "T". :)

2 comments:

Andrew S said...

Whenever I take these, I usually am pretty solidly into the INT section, but then whether I'm a P or J changes frequently because I'm on the border.

And don't you know these types (INTP or INTJ, or maybe both) are some of the rarest. Ahh, we few are so gifted and unique!

Chris said...

And humble!