intp nr i don't think i've ever met a female one. it also seems like a rare type. he is one. but maybe not too typical of one. and these things need to be taken with many grains of salt (maybe even the whole shaker). i do find the T and P mix interesting; i wouldn't picture them quite going together. 200130 ... epitome of incomprehensibility I didn't see this before. INTP, inattentive type! (ADHD joke.) Honestly, I don't know much about Myers-Briggs types or the theory behind it. My friendly neighbourhood INFJ says it has Jungian roots. I wrote INTP into Google and "INTP careers" came up. Google thinks (okay, Google brings up results that say) INTPs should be computer programmers. Music composer was in that list, oddly enough. Writer in another list further down. Teacher I don't remember seeing, though I did see "professor." But I suppose I'm just looking for what i'm interested in. (Composing isn't the main thing I do by a long shot, but I'm researching composers and composing for my novel.) ... Anyway, now I'm curious - have you looked into this yourself? I mean the Myers-Briggs thing in general. What type(s) did you get? What is the person you know with INTP like? I'd be interested to hear about this, if it's something you'd like to share. 200304 ... nr i think it's fun to think about but otherwise don't put much stock into it. i'm usually an INFP, sometimes INFJ 200306 ... nr as for the INTP person i know... well, their behaviour lately is similar to the way my brain feels right now, and i just smoked a bunch of weed. i don't mind sharing. but more on this later. 200306 ... e_o_i Ah no, that's fine. I actually think this way of organizing personality types seems interesting - keeping in mind it's a tool, not a set of absolutes - but yeah, applying it to "what job you'll be good at" seems silly. There are too many other variables for that. 200307 ... nr i looked at the INTP characteristics and just kept these ones i think apply to the INTP i know (full disclosure, it was my most recent serious partner) and put the ones i think really apply in all caps. this kinda thing can be helpful to me, even though i never wrote about this person or our relationship much. Logical Intellectual Easygoing Individualistic Theoretical Flexible Curious Objective ANALYTICAL COMPLEX Spontaneous Private Creative Abstract Laid back and easygoing Handles criticism well Not demanding Autonomous Does not like feeling controlled RESPECTS PEOPLE WHO ARE GENUINE Willing to sacrifice and are supportive in relationships they care about as long as their independence is respected Relationships are on their radar but are not always of first importance adding in my own: -great active listener -can be warm and caring but also overwhelmed or vulnerable when expressing some of these emotions -not quick to open up -honest -kinda does a dr. jekyll/mr. hyde thing where he'll be super supportive and caring right before becoming indifferent or just disappearing (confused/confusing/not emotionally stable or available) 200309 ... nr oh, also: -playful and great sense of humour -dry/wry 200309 ... nr it's interesting because the person i was with after this person tested as an INFP, but i'd see them as more of a "thinker" than the INTP. the INTP definitely felt emotion but couldn't handle it all, while the INFP felt it but balanced it with thinking in a more stable way. in conclusion: people are forever hard to figure out and can't be sorted into specific types, but it's still fun to think about. 200309 ... e_o_i True. And a list of abstract nouns, or adjectives, aren't going to apply to everybody all the time. Like, to use an example from the list above, sometimes I can take criticism well and sometimes I very much can't. I'm okay when it's with writing; I ask people, "Tell me if anything is confusing," and I didn't mind when my teacher laughed and said "never write 'smiling contentedly'!!!" as if I'd just said the earth were flat. Buuuut I remember when I took piano lessons. And when my teacher told me how to write the cursive "Z" I flat out refused (it was too loopy, I thought, to be a Z). Eh, I'm remembering things from when I was 10. So maybe it's more of a maturity thing, then. I'd LIKE to think I'm better at taking criticism now. ...Anyway, the flip-flopping thing would be really frustrating in a relationship. I'm not the most emotionally stable myself, but the caring/indifferent zigzag would be something I'd try not to do to a person. For their sake and mine. It just seems exhausting. 200309 ... nr i read this thing on a blog about introversion that INTPs like it in relationships when their partner treats it as a friendship (well, friendship-plus). pretty sure he has said he misses me more as friends than he did when we were together. 200618 ... nr also, i just read the above again and i don’t see anything wrong with “smiled contentedly.” you can smile without being content, or be content without smiling, so it’s not redundant. and it’s descriptive to the reader. and i’m a copy editor, so take that, e_o_i’s teacher! 200620 ... nr or even “smiling contentedly.” 200620 ... e_o_i I agreed with her in that instance. But those things depend on context. There it didn't fit with the character's voice either. It's nice having someone you can have common ground with even when there's an element of disagreement, like when she implied that dialogue shouldn't give too much narrative since it's more for building character. I mean, the key is "too much." Let's say Scientist A explains to Scientist B how their machine works, and it's clearly for the readers' benefit because Scientist B would already know this stuff, THAT's a little silly. But dialogue can definitely move a plot forward and reveal information that just narrative can't. This is totally on topic for the title. :) 200620 ... e_o_i But tying this to the current theme of relationships: right now, I think it's more important for people to understand each other than to agree on things. Yes? No? Maybe? 200621 ... nr interesting question. the aforementioned INTP is more sensitive lately, making him interpret joking comments differently (which is interesting because his humour is even drier than mine and he's the one who more often playfully gives me shit), while i'm perhaps more self-protective and cautious, perhaps making my jokey comments a bit snarkier than usual. but knowing that about each other helps us to adjust to the times. i guess that's not so much about agreement vs. understanding, but rather understanding based on changes in people due to the times or for whatever reason. understanding and accepting differences in relationships is important, as long as the values line up. in terms of what's going on in the world... some things i will just never understand. 200621 ... nr in terms of editorial content: i love those discussions and welcome different viewpoints, and will likely argue mine until it's at least understood ;) 200621 what's it to you? who go blather from