Atypical INTP-descriptions

[Shimpei]

Wonder what traits did you find atypical of you or strange or unfamiliar when you read descriptions of INTP personality?

[bergenski]

That's easy...the inclination towards science and computers. I am totally not technologically oriented. And I have mulled ad nauseum what type I am most inclined towards and I definitely feel I most exhibit overall characteristics of INTP's...but I definitely have much more F and artistic/creative inclinations than a lot of INTP's it seems...

[Ponderous]

I like to dance. And, I don't care who is watching.

== Edit ==

That's one I have that doesn't fit the INTP. However, from the INTP description: I never really hit it off with Math, which is likely due to moving around a lot during elementary school. I'm told that without a solid foundation the "fun" math stuff never really seems that enjoyable. That's the state I find myself in.

[Shimpei]

That's easy...the inclination towards science and computers. I am totally not technologically oriented. And I have mulled ad nauseum what type I am most inclined towards and I definitely feel I most exhibit overall characteristics of INTP's...but I definitely have much more F and artistic/creative inclinations than a lot of INTP's it seems...

Have you written any fic or poem or anything?
Arts/crafts?

[Pooja]

1. I like to talk to strangers
2. I'm not good with things that are mechanical, electrical, computer-related, and having to do with cars.
3. I like clothes & fashion (but am not a slave to them), and
4. I do procrastinate, but I also study really hard, and do well in school, amd
5. I'm pretty ambitious...I'm working towards getting into med. school.

(but I'm still an INTP...I have always tested + for it).

[bergenski]

Have you written any fic or poem or anything?
Arts/crafts?

Well, I have the inclinations toward writing but I have never committed to them...I would send home essays about my travels when I was abroad...I used to be a broadcast journalist and I greatly enjoyed the storytelling process...loved sitting down and synthesizing the stories into a creative presentation...

[PiccoloNamek]

I am a very clean and organized person. A place for everything and everything in its place.

[bergenski]

I am a very clean and organized person. A place for everything and everything in its place.

That does NOT sounds like an INTP...

[Shimpei]

That does NOT sounds like an INTP...

Maybe he was just socialized to be so.

[bergenski]

Maybe he was just socialized to be so.

I wouldn't mind it if someone socialized me...

[PiccoloNamek]

No, I just enjoy cleanliness. It helps to clear my mind and give me inner peace. Messy environments promote mental and spiritual clutter.

[bergenski]

No, I just enjoy cleanliness. It helps to clear my mind and give me inner peace. Messy environments promote mental and spiritual clutter.

I totally agree with you...I do enjoy organization, I am just not naturally inclined to it. But my mom is a scattered mess and it is highly negative. Piles everywhere...it is horribly detrimental to one's environment...

[Vagabond]

The fact that I am supposed to enjoy gardening. I think that even watering the flowers is a lousy, boring task that I will avoid whenever I can get away with it.

[AllThingsConsidered]

I am a very clean and organized person. A place for everything and everything in its place.

I would like to be this, I try to be this, I have spurts of attempting this...alas I get overwhelmed and cannot get further than absolute clean spots with corners of cluttered disorganization.

The only thing that didn't fit me was the inclination toward math on only some descriptions. You know the boring, concrete, absolute parts. Analyzing, interest in systems...etc. was on the mark.

Like Ponderous I moved quite a bit, missed basics etc. It was also taught in repetitive fashion, in sessions with my ISTJ father calling me an idiot. I'm thinking that I was robbed of what interest there might have been.
My opinion now is that it is an error in how some would describe type, because systems are commonly found in the math/science world....sort of just a stereotypical conclusion and not an accurate depiction of the basis of why that is common.

[shaytana]

But my mom is a scattered mess and it is highly negative. Piles everywhere...it is horribly detrimental to one's environment...

That's not a very nice thing to say about your mom :shock:

[Ella]

A major concern for INTPs is the haunting sense of impending failure.

That's from Joe Butt's description, and I've never felt that.

[KuJo]

I would like to be this, I try to be this, I have spurts of attempting this...alas I get overwhelmed and cannot get further than absolute clean spots with corners of cluttered disorganization.

for some reason i also do this, but my room gets cluttered quickly thereafter.

[th!nkstyle]

I dont think that creativity is a function of F.

Atypical?

I snowboard (still havnt found any intp on this board who does)
I love teaching
I have bouts of extreme socialness
I am not a 4w5 or 4w5

I could go on, but I think it basically comes down to if you are not an INTP 4w5 or 5w4, you could be concidered "atypical". Statisically speaking there is the most of them, and they are the "computer geek" types. Straight up facts

[Ponderous]

I dont think that creativity is a function of F.



Isn't it a function of N?

[bergenski]

That's not a very nice thing to say about your mom :shock:

Why do you say so? It's a fact...

[Conan]

Photography.

[ObtainGnosis]

I enjoy most parties. I like socializing. I have difficulty with it in many cases. It's not my natural inclination and takes a good deal of effort and many times I present myself badly, but I still enjoy it. I also hate math and science (actually I like biology, anatomy, and botany-but nothing else), but I could be good at it if I wanted to be. I'm more geared toward philosophy, psychology, and writing/literature. Otherwise I'm a pretty typical INTP.

[Sackanaka]

http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?t=7516

Everyone's atypical. /oxymoron

[bergenski]

That's from Joe Butt's description, and I've never felt that.

So you had no sense of your eventual firings?

[Shimpei]

I dont think that creativity is a function of F.

Atypical?

I snowboard (still havnt found any intp on this board who does)
I love teaching
I have bouts of extreme socialness
I am not a 4w5 or 4w5

I could go on, but I think it basically comes down to if you are not an INTP 4w5 or 5w4, you could be concidered "atypical". Statisically speaking there is the most of them, and they are the "computer geek" types. Straight up facts

What is your Enneagram type?
BTW: who else here isn't 4w5 or 5w4?
(I'm 9)

[Pooja]

I'm not...I'm a cross between a solid 5, and a 9....

[Sight-Ascended]

im a 5 and 9, very solid on each and only a point difference between them. I hate math because i suck at it, missed on the basics too, but then again, im not interested in it anyway. im artist, doing photography, photomanipulation, drawing with pen, and painting with ink. I love pretty much any science, most humanities, and art. Im more compationate than id think a T would be.

other than that, im definitly INTP

[avalanche]

I don't like math; I do like writing. I'm not a geek. I'm not a fan of jazz music [I think that was in one of the descriptions]. I'm not riddled with self-doubt [I'm closer to a narcissist than I am to that].

Otherwise, the descriptions are very accurate.

[Birdsnest]

I like and enjoy food, nurturing to a point and tolerate cooking and housecleaning, but I also tolerate the more male roles like mechanics, tools, architecture, math, accounting, business, etc. So I think I have developed a lot of S skills, including some organizing skills.

I definitely have more N, and am naturally pretty messy, but actually do like a clear space better. Theres always a battle going on between N and S functions. I'm sure I needed S to learn Accounting skills, and I like details. Even so, my N intuition is stronger than S, so I think I've developed a lot of both of these.

I like traveling a few times a year. I am almost always introverted except once in a great while. Travel to other places turns me into an extrovert, I love traveling, a lot of inhibitions melt off while traveling.

I like computers, but didn't have the patience to really pursue a language past Cobol I and II. Went into Accounting instead, and it fits me better. I do not love startrek movies or characters, but I will watch them, I am not an extreme fan though. I am more responsible than many intp only because I am older, and it seems like a lot of older INTP's have finally found their niches, it takes a lot of hard work to find what works best for INTP's I guess.

Otherwise, the intp decription is very fitting.

[FuelShopTech]

What doesn't fit?

1. I'm not a genius.

2. I enjoy helping people (to a point)

3. I stink at math.

4. I occasionally come to a level where I can't stand procrastination, disorganization, or a lack of punctuality.

[th!nkstyle]

What is your Enneagram type?
BTW: who else here isn't 4w5 or 5w4?
(I'm 9)
9 also

[dziner]

1. I hate math (Hey, now I have seen this so many times on the forum that I think it needs to be removed from the typical INTP profile :)).
2. I am usually punctual and organized.
3. I can live without music although sometimes music has deep impact on me.

[Ella]

So you had no sense of your eventual firings?

No, but I think Butt was referring to an "impending sense of failure" in the internal world, not the external one. He goes on to say, "They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves. The open-endedness (from Perceiving) conjoined with the need for competence (NT) is expressed in a sense that one's conclusion may well be met by an equally plausible alternative solution, and that, after all, one may very well have overlooked some critical bit of data." That's not me.

[bergenski]

No, but I think Butt was referring to an "impending sense of failure" in the internal world, not the external one. He goes on to say, "They spend considerable time second-guessing themselves. The open-endedness (from Perceiving) conjoined with the need for competence (NT) is expressed in a sense that one's conclusion may well be met by an equally plausible alternative solution, and that, after all, one may very well have overlooked some critical bit of data." That's not me.

So are you asserting that you do not have NTP or are you asserting that his function of NTP is wrong? Also I believe internal failure manifests itself in external failure...

[Shimpei]

So are you asserting that you do not have NTP or are you asserting that his function of NTP is wrong? Also I believe internal failure manifests itself in external failure...

What Enneagram type are you?

[bergenski]

What Enneagram type are you?

*looks suspiciously*

Who are you....:)

[Shimpei]

*looks suspiciously*

Who are you....:)

Hey, I've already heard this question. I'm gonna bite your head off!

[bergenski]

Hey, I've already heard this question. I'm gonna bite your head off!

Or at least my little smiley face...

[Shimpei]

Or at least my little smiley face...

Definitely.
So? The answer, please.

[bergenski]

Definitely.
So? The answer, please.

Well I still don't feel comfortable revealing unless I knew the impetus, out of my own curiosity and need not to be pigeonholed, but...type 5, probably with a four wing, I guess...though I don't wholly put faith in it...

[Ella]

So are you asserting that you do not have NTP or are you asserting that his function of NTP is wrong? Also I believe internal failure manifests itself in external failure...

I'm an INTP (heavy on the N and the P). I don't have the internal failure thing. I doubt one description of any of the types applies to everyone in that type.

I don't know which enneagram type I am, if whoever asked meant me. I think I took it ages ago and didn't find it accurate or something.

[Magajy]

With close friends, as in room mates in University, I dominate the discussions. And then yet again my 'I' score is low, though everyone agrees I am definately an 'I'.

[Pooja]

With close friends, as in room mates in University, I dominate the discussions. And then yet again my 'I' score is low, though everyone agrees I am definately an 'I'.

I'm exactly the same way...

[shaytana]

In team settings at work I usually end up being the leader.
I'm good at math but I hate it. :zzz:
I have no interest in photography.

[timathonia]

The one that's bugged me the most since I began to study this addicting theory: "tend not to be writers..." The sales part is very accurate - worst salesman ever... but writing has always come quite natural and easy - except for the typing and writing...
Also, my performance in school with math and the sciences was terrible, but, I do think that I could find interest at hand if I were to study these subjects on my own.

I'm not really into computers for their own sake but I see them as tools, little more (is that more ISTP?).
I'm currently working with a digital 8 track studio which is really sort of a computer, but it's still primarily a tool.

Much of the psychological descriptions (what goes on in the head, decision-making processes, etc), I find mostly - and almost unnervingly accurate. Where a lot of the fucking up comes is when various 'experts' declare from their standpoint that 'this type can do this but not that'... but a lot of it is not wrong... and this is enough typing, at least for now.
Thanks.

[timathonia]

I just remembered that there are some who see no distinction between art and science - at least the approach or the drive. So when we see that this type is more into the sciences and mathematics and this type is more artsy, those writers should be challenged as to whether they are those who make such distinction.
I saw one definition of science where they said the antonym of science is art. More people should examine the information being put out as fact rather than opinion based on careful examination, because many well-meaning people can easily find themselves blindly walking down a path that will lead them into... someplace less suited... something like that.

[Jasz]

What is your Enneagram type?
BTW: who else here isn't 4w5 or 5w4?
(I'm 9)

i'm a 7. the wings don't make sense for me. i have very strong sx tendencies.

as to atypical INTP traits:

1. can't stand scifi
2. only OK with computers
3. fairly neat
4. much more intuitive than logical
5. much more romantic in love affairs

[RottenApple]

INTP's have a lot going for them but they screw it all up because they procrastinate and don't get anything done.

I've tackled the 'P' in me all my life ...and I think I've conquered it. People describe me as organised, productive and efficient. I'm happy that I've done this because it has brought me success which the old 'me' would never have seen.

[Jasz]

INTP's have a lot going for them but they screw it all up because they procrastinate and don't get anything done.

I've tackled the 'P' in me all my life ...and I think I've conquered it. People describe me as organised, productive and efficient. I'm happy that I've done this because it has brought me success which the old 'me' would never have seen.

where did you conquer it first? at work? in relationships? with your family? by yourself?

[Kristiana]

1. I'm very into aesthetics and fashion... hair, makeup, clothes, and artsy things
2. I'm into gymnastics and used to compete
3. I initiate conversations quite often
4. I wanted to get married (did at 21) more than I wanted a career

[stevaldo]

1 - im only a little into science & technology, i find some things quite facsinating (space, animals with weird characteristics etc) but i dont go out of my way to read up on anything. also when i was eight i got a set of mechano (GREAT, intp's love mechano!!) from santa instead of an r/c car and i was not happy at all.

2 - i wouldnt say im emotionally cold

3 - i yearn for romance every hour of every day maybe like an NF, prob have a strong F or whatever

4 - i can respect tradition and see that not everything has to have a proper logical reason

5 - i dont pick on unimportant mistakes in people's grammer, never will everyone in the world have perfect grammer and if i get what they're trying to say i shouldnt need to stall the conversation with that kind of unnecessary interuption. i dont let those stupid little things affect my happiness. it doesnt bother me, i'm not that precise fusspot.
people on yahoo chat complaining because i dont punctuate or use capitol letters :rant:

6 - damnit, i'm not into science!!!!

[Rice-Tactics]

I hate math... physics, science, all the stuff with nitty gritty details.. I cant stand it.. I like to move.. always be doing something... but... I'm very quiet & shy which is strange... its like a mute football player... I do photography as a hobby/passion... I love it because the creativity is limited only by yourself.... you have to see differently which is a greater challenge than I thought when I started... I like to travel see things... I dont mind meeting people but I take a while to become relaxed and comfortable with them and feel like I can discuss anything freely... that goes for anyone... that is because of various events in squence that happened in my pre/teens where my trust for people in general fell greatly...

I enjoy listening to people especially strange and rather mysterious things like the interview on this website under (about)http://www.elliotterwitt.com/entry.html...
I find it rather confusing and I would be much more intrested in understanding the concepts and emotions behind their words and tone of voice than learn about engineering or math...

I am not a strong debator.. I hate to take sides unless I truly believe in what I stand for which is very rare....

I dont remember much else about INTP's from the general discription but I think I covered most of what I disagree with personally..

[Zephyrus055]

Coupled with my P, I am pretty sure I have ADHD. A child psychologist in elementary school said I did, and now a campus special needs assistant thinks that I have it too.

But otherwise, my behavior is totally INTP. I hate math though, because I simply can not do my homework on a consistent basis. It has caused me a loss of points a number of times. Trying to do homework or organize myself causes me to squirm. Worse of all, I can not even organize my own thoughts on an essay without squirming! In fact, I have tried writing philosophical essays and couldn't do it because it caused me to squirm.

[puzzled-observer]

i suppose i'm a typical intp i don't correct peoples grammar, except in the cases when it's those people who are always correcting grammar, as they deserve it. i havn't found anything that i have a really strong affinity towards, i like photography, music,philosophy, physics(not really the math though) it's the theory that's the interesting part, i have an interest in everything but have nothing on which to focus. so i end up doing none of these things, usually. but i'm currently trying to put an end to that.

[CEOofRawness]

I have a lot of INTP habits such as:
- starting a project but not finishing it
- love complex issues
- try to solve unsolvable mysteries
- messy as hell, but still know where everything is (most of the time)
- correct people when they make a mistake
- strong in sciences, especially chemistry and physics
- I understand concepts a lot faster than details
- hate detailed oriented classes like history
- I have a private own world in my mind
- my head is always in the clouds
- I plan a lot of things but rarely go through with them entirely
- I think too goddamn much

Thing is I have a really developed F, and although they come out even on the test, I feel that the T is more dominant. I do have INFP qualities, though. Some are atypical of INTPs like say, emotions. j/k. I do have a lot of compassion though, and feel an impelling need to help others sometimes. Other times I'm just cynical as hell (usually in my "fuck the world" moments").

[AllThingsConsidered]

Wonder what traits did you find atypical of you or strange or unfamiliar when you read descriptions of INTP personality?

The descriptions that generalize math as an absolute interest, rather than the much more specific understanding of the need to toy with systems. That's really the only part that annoys me.


Also: That part I often hear about "avid nose picking and flicking".
I completely resent that because I would never flick.

[hot tub]

I fuckin' hate math and have a burning hatred for it.

[SolitaryWalker]

Well I seem to hold in affinity with most INTP descriptions with only a few minor deviations.

-I have a revulsion for orthodoxy,try to live a bohemian lifestyle independent of traditions, conventions and dogmas.
-Believe that reason is infallible, and the only way it can lead you astray is if you implement it out of its range(like Descartes said that our reason is infinite and the reason why we have false beliefs is because we over-apply it, or abuse our thinking faculties).

-Solitary by nature and have litte motivation to become more sociable
-Lack tact and frequently come off as insensitive
-Worn out quickly by social interaction and socially awkward, thus frequently misunderstood.
-Lack organizational skills and do not appreciate the merits of structured ways of doing things, and only willing to become more organized if I see intrinsic gratifications in doing so (for example me making an effort to communicate my ideas as clearly as possible though it feels much more natural to write in allegories, metaphors and verbose megaparagraphs, and trying to conquer my inefficiency as means for making it easier for myself to get a teaching post as professor of Philosophy.)
-Appreciation for science and reason as opposed to intuition and faith
-Lack of financial skills and inattention to details.


The only major aberration that I see is idealistic tendencies and more or less an inability to discern between a practical problem and a theoretical, one could say that I don't even know a difference and have do not understand what you can and what you can't get people to do, (this trait is much more common among INFPs). Such an intellectual malady could lead one to do and say idiotic things and inspire people to build more towers of Babel (take on a project that demands huge amounts of time and effort when devoting this much resources would be too difficult and the goal as a thing in itself is nearly impossible to achieve). I would guess that this has manifested in my endeavor to revive the idea Kierkegaard's church reform movement with the proposition of "As far as becoming a little Christ, you must first and foremost try to emulate about him, not just be a hypocrite and go on bragging about how pious and devout you are when in reality your lifestyle has nothing in common with Jesus's or for that matter anything that he preached. Bottom line is ; first act on what you believe, than maybe if the non-believers are curious about what motivates you to live the way you do, you explain with no ulterior motives and certainly with no attempt to scare them into submission to religion." Clearly this is too much to expect from the common man, though I still maintain that some of us, certain dedicated Christians could sincerely undertake to carry a cross this onerous.

[wildcat]

Wonder what traits did you find atypical of you or strange or unfamiliar when you read descriptions of INTP personality?
I just read the Feynman book WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. The title tells everything. If there ever was an INTP, he was. I am sure he was Enneagram 5w4. I am extremely like him, except that I lack his extraordinary talent.
The Enneagram 9s are different because they have an obsession to get along with everybody in their peer group.
The difference between the 9 and the 5w4 is that the 9s are Fe>Fi ?

Edit: Feynman rejected the math teaching at school. An example of the idiotic stuff: the teachers said there is the algebra way and the arithmetics way to solve a problem. Also my teachers at math were very keen that you solve the problem according to the rules.
They were not interested if you solved the problem.

[Shimpei]

I just read the Feynman book WHAT DO YOU CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. The title tells everything. If there ever was an INTP, he was. I am sure he was Enneagram 5w4. I am extremely like him, except that I lack his extraordinary talent.
The Enneagram 9s are different because they have an obsession to get along with everybody in their peer group.
The difference between the 9 and the 5w4 is that the 9s are Fe>Fi ?

There are some other differences between 5w4s and 9s as well. I think 9s are more extroverted than 5w4s, for one.

[Jasz]

Www.personalitypage.com suggests that INTP's "Tend to be suspicious and distrusting of others." If anything I tend to be too trusting. I grew up in an all F family, maybe my F is better developed that usually. I am also a huge optimist.

[AllThingsConsidered]

Www.personalitypage.com suggests that INTP's "Tend to be suspicious and distrusting of others." If anything I tend to be too trusting. I grew up in an all F family, maybe my F is better developed that usually. I am also a huge optimist.

Enneagram 7, trusting, optimist? ENFP?