So I had to find five words that describe myself for the application procedures for a little event I am going to be taking part in soon.
The first things that came to mind were "un-focused", "willpower-less", "inability-to-complete-ish", "lazy", and I never made it to the fifth word before I decided to go for a long run which eventually turned into a short run when I was distracted by the used-camera shop along the way.
I did go to the gym though, and hope to be in at least a little hurt tomorrow.
Actually, to find a more positive way to express all these negative sounding traits I looked up my personality type (INTP). It fits me almost exactly, and I actually sound pretty good. (any other INTPs out there, please contact me if you would like to join the INTP Club, which has had, for the past year now, only two members, including myself and Ms. Propelling. We are planning an annual event in which we will protest extroverts and their evil ways)
As an INTP, your primary mode of living is focused internally, where you deal with things rationally and logically.
Yep. Very internal. In fact, everything I do is mostly for internal, personal reasons, such as my year in Sweden was not to learn about Sustainable Development for work, but rather to find out what it meant for myself. I am finding now that just working for "the good of mankind" without any personal joy is not my cup of tea. (yeah, I know it is obvious, but I had to try it out to be sure)
Your secondary mode is external, where you take things in primarily via your intuition.
Right again. And here I thought it was just because I was too lazy to do research before making a decision.
INTPs live in the world of theoretical possibilities. They see everything in terms of how it could be improved, or what it could be turned into. They live primarily inside their own minds, having the ability to analyze difficult problems, identify patterns, and come up with logical explanations.
Yep, yep, yep.
And here I was always beating myself up over having lots of ideas about how things could be better, but little follow-through to actually implement it.
They seek clarity in everything, and are therefore driven to build knowledge.
I did just pull out that Biology textbook I started reading almost a year ago. Last night I read two pages of chapter 5.
They are the "absent-minded professors"
This is the most "suggested" profession people I know have for me. The only problem is that becoming a professor (even an absent-minded one) requires some stick-with-it-ness to complete a doctorate degree.
Their natural drive to turn theories into concrete understanding may turn into a feeling of personal responsibility to solve theoretical problems, and help society move towards a higher understanding.
This is obviously the motivation behind this blog - helping society move towards a higher understanding of cockatiel poop and photos of Tomoe.
They seek patterns and logical explanations for anything that interests them.
OK, this one is true, much to Tomoe's disappointment. I mean, love is just a chemical reaction to a situation right? Physiologically very difficult to distinguish between other emotions, which is why taking your date to an amusement park or scary movie is a good idea. The date may confuse the fear or excitement from the movie or roller-coaster with feelings of "love".
Not that love interests me - but I do seek out the logical explanation.
They're usually extremely bright,
Finally a word I can use on my application form - "usually-extremely-bright".
They love new ideas, and become very excited over abstractions and theories. They love to discuss these concepts with others.
The only problem is that I can rarely get past the boring "nice weather isn't it?" stage, so I never get the chance to really discuss the interesting things.
They may seem "dreamy" and distant to others, because they spend a lot of time inside their minds musing over theories.
The number one adjective used by others to describe me (when they first meet me) is "cold". Sometimes it is "very cold", "extremely cold", "mechyakucha tsumetai", or some derivative.
They hate to work on routine things - they would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others.
Mmm. Mmmm. Mmmm.
INTPs do not like to lead or control people.
Well, I don't like to control people, but the word "lead" can be taken several ways. To me, the best leader is someone who sits on the sideline simply offering to help people do what they are passionate about, giving them hints, but not controlling.
They're very tolerant and flexible in most situations,
Tomoe really likes this aspect about me...
unless one of their firmly held beliefs has been violated or challenged, in which case they may take a very rigid stance.
But she really hates this one.
Although, I am always looking to try on a new belief, so it depends on if the "firmly held belief" is being challenged by something that I have already tried and judged to be inferior to my current belief, or if it is an intreaging new belief that might be interesting to test.
The INTP is likely to be very shy when it comes to meeting new people. On the other hand, the INTP is very self-confident and gregarious around people they know well, or when discussing theories which they fully understand.
Probably the statement that fits me most from this whole INTP description.
Especially the part about "around people they know well". I met the folks at my current client's office six months ago. I still don't really "understand" them or feel close to them, and it really effects the way I am able to interact with them. I loooooongg for the days working on the thesis with partners Amity and Roya. Even though my first impression of Roya was that her personality is way to different from mine that I can't work well with her, as I gradually got to understand her more, the differences were actually positive (plus, I "would much prefer to build complex theoretical solutions, and leave the implementation of the system to others.", and her personality type is gracious enough to do all the hard work of editing and formatting the final paper).
The INTP has no understanding or value for decisions made on the basis of personal subjectivity or feelings. They strive constantly to achieve logical conclusions to problems, and don't understand the importance or relevance of applying subjective emotional considerations to decisions.
Well, I wouldn't say *no* understanding. I do understand that humans have this flaw. Ideally, decisions should also also be able to be rationalized.
For this reason, INTPs are usually not in-tune with how people are feeling, and are not naturally well-equipped to meet the emotional needs of others. The INTP may have difficulty giving the warmth and support that is sometimes necessary in intimate relationships.
This is the one thing that I have been trying to work the hardest at over the past year or two. Trying to figure out this whole "empathy" thing, and then how to react accordingly even though it makes no logical, rational sense. It is further complicated by the fact that I am totally uncomfortable on the receiving end of irrational "warmth and support".
If the INTP doesn't realize the value of attending to other people's feelings, he or she may become overly critical and sarcastic with others. If the INTP is not able to find a place for themselves which supports the use of their strongest abilities, they may become generally negative and cynical.
Yes! More words I can add to my application form... "s-a-r-c-a-s-t-i-c", "c-y-n-i-c-a-l".
they may become unaware of their environment, and exhibit weakness in performing maintenance-type tasks, such as bill-paying and dressing appropriately.
Uh... did I mention that I will be leaving Japan for two months in July / August. And in that time my visa expires. I guess I should have looked into that a little sooner.
And there was that one time I forgot to wear pants to the video-store.
For the INTP, it is extremely important that ideas and facts are expressed correctly and succinctly. They are likely to express themselves in what they believe to be absolute truths.
Uh-oh. Maybe I'm not INTP. My big problem is that I can NOT talk in absolute truths, because I don't believe there are any absolute truths. When I am asked something by the client, I would be much better off saying, with an authoritative tone "Yes, you should do X, Y, Z". Instead, I often find myself saying "Well, it depends on the situation and what you are trying to get out of it, there is no definitive answer. If you want .... " In the end it always just means more work for me.
The INTP is usually very independent, unconventional, and original.
Hmmmm.... I am totally dependent on Tomoe to help me pay my bills and take care of those minor details.
I guess I may be a bit unconventional, but I can't think of anything I do that is really new or unheard-of. I guess it is a matter of defining the term unconventional. I tend to have a very low threshold of how many people can be doing it before it is no longer considered "unconventional" or "original". Unfortunately, I have only done one thing in my life that was really a "first" so far as I can tell, but it was very quickly followed with other people doing the same thing independent of the fact that I did it a few days earlier - so is it really original?
The INTP is at his best when he can work on his theories independently. When given an environment which supports his creative genius and possible eccentricity, the INTP can accomplish truly remarkable things. These are the pioneers of new thoughts in our society.
I'm gonna put that on my resume:
I am at my best when I can work on my theories independently. When given an environment which supports my creative genius and possible eccentricity, I can accomplish truly remarkable things. I am a pioneer of new thoughts in our society.