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Fullcrum · 05-10-2009, 03:17 AM

Good stuff.

Interestingly I, too, am classified as INTJ by the MBTI. I, too, have developed my extroverted tendencies through effort. I find the MBTI theories extremely useful but not an ultimate truth. It's more like a model to me.

I still think you are fundamentally an INTJ. Why?

INTJ's top two functions are:

1. Introverted Intuition - In Lenore Thomson's words: "...most cerebral of the perceiving functions...liberate our sense impressions from their larger context, thereby creating new options for perception itself [as opposed to unifying sense perceptions into a larger context]..." Instead of
2. Extroverted Thinking - "...notice sense impressions that regularly, so we can define them and focus on them as distinct objects and events...impersonal standards of [external] order...make our knowledge systematic, so we have a basis for concentrating our attention."

The issue is not as simple as how talkative you are at a party or if you'll strike up a conversation with random people in the street like a personality test would have you believe (hence I'm not a fan of them and had to read about all the types before confirming INTJ, which in itself is a very INTJ thing to do).

Your need to discern the ultimate context of personal development, your penchant for "liberating" concepts from different fields (like game development) and putting them to use in your own writing, your trust of inner perceptions as having ultimate authority over external logic, your LOVE of switching perspectives around to gain new insight (rather than worrying about ultimately correct ones): these point to an INTJ.

INTJ because your dominant function, what you live your life by, how you make sense of the world, is primarily through Introverted Intuition, and your extroverted thinking is used in service of this rather than establishing dominance.

Why not ENTJ? I'll illustrate with one example from Thomson: "ENTJs want to create a better mousetrap: they don't question whether mice should, in fact, be caught." ENTJs are like INTJs in that they always have the urge to make things better, and will sacrifice stability in order to make this so, and although ENTJs are often gifted with the use of their imagination and internal perceptions, they are more often used in service of systematizing and streamlining "systems" than in acknowledging the system's inherent arbitrary nature and coming at it from different perspectives as a means to more fully understand its inherent nature. Even your concept of Subjective Reality employs Introverted Intuition as its primary mode of operation. Everything depends on perspective.

The MBTI is a complex and well-developed system of understanding personality. It is necessarily incomplete but ultimately useful in understanding how others make sense of the world. This helps all of us do many things, including understanding other learning styles and interests.

By the way: If anyone is interested in Myers Briggs, the ULTIMATE best book I've ever read on it is Lenore Thomson's Personality Type: An Owner's Manual. It uses type not as a limiting factor in people's lives but as a means to achieve personal growth and development. It's ridiculous. Every page is super insightful. Super super super.

I can analyze this stuff for hours, probably days. It's dude-crack.

05-10-2009, 03:17 AM	#117 (permalink)
Fullcrum Family Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 1,094	Good stuff. Interestingly I, too, am classified as INTJ by the MBTI. I, too, have developed my extroverted tendencies through effort. I find the MBTI theories extremely useful but not an ultimate truth. It's more like a model to me. I still think you are fundamentally an INTJ. Why? INTJ's top two functions are: 1. Introverted Intuition - In Lenore Thomson's words: "...most cerebral of the perceiving functions...liberate our sense impressions from their larger context, thereby creating new options for perception itself [as opposed to unifying sense perceptions into a larger context]..." Instead of 2. Extroverted Thinking - "...notice sense impressions that regularly, so we can define them and focus on them as distinct objects and events...impersonal standards of [external] order...make our knowledge systematic, so we have a basis for concentrating our attention." The issue is not as simple as how talkative you are at a party or if you'll strike up a conversation with random people in the street like a personality test would have you believe (hence I'm not a fan of them and had to read about all the types before confirming INTJ, which in itself is a very INTJ thing to do). Your need to discern the ultimate context of personal development, your penchant for "liberating" concepts from different fields (like game development) and putting them to use in your own writing, your trust of inner perceptions as having ultimate authority over external logic, your LOVE of switching perspectives around to gain new insight (rather than worrying about ultimately correct ones): these point to an INTJ. INTJ because your dominant function, what you live your life by, how you make sense of the world, is primarily through Introverted Intuition, and your extroverted thinking is used in service of this rather than establishing dominance. Why not ENTJ? I'll illustrate with one example from Thomson: "ENTJs want to create a better mousetrap: they don't question whether mice should, in fact, be caught." ENTJs are like INTJs in that they always have the urge to make things better, and will sacrifice stability in order to make this so, and although ENTJs are often gifted with the use of their imagination and internal perceptions, they are more often used in service of systematizing and streamlining "systems" than in acknowledging the system's inherent arbitrary nature and coming at it from different perspectives as a means to more fully understand its inherent nature. Even your concept of Subjective Reality employs Introverted Intuition as its primary mode of operation. Everything depends on perspective. The MBTI is a complex and well-developed system of understanding personality. It is necessarily incomplete but ultimately useful in understanding how others make sense of the world. This helps all of us do many things, including understanding other learning styles and interests. By the way: If anyone is interested in Myers Briggs, the ULTIMATE best book I've ever read on it is Lenore Thomson's Personality Type: An Owner's Manual. It uses type not as a limiting factor in people's lives but as a means to achieve personal growth and development. It's ridiculous. Every page is super insightful. Super super super. I can analyze this stuff for hours, probably days. It's dude-crack. Last edited by Fullcrum; 05-10-2009 at 03:21 AM.