somehow I stumbled upon one of those Myers-Briggs personality test things. I am without a doubt INTP.
Needless to say I was stunned by the incredibly accurate descriptions of many of the personality traits that I’ve always assumed were just weird quirks unique to me.
I’ve always had a strong desire for people to understand what makes me tick, which is probably why I write about my thoughts and observations on this here weblog, but I’ve never understood myself as much as I did after reading this profile, so I imagine it should do a bang-up job of filling you folks in. Or it could be a complete waste of your time. Either way, it makes me feel less guilty about not posting anything substantial in a while.
First and foremost, INTPs are logical thinkers and detached observers. They yearn to understand concepts, and once understanding is achieved, they lose interest and move on to something else. As a result, they tend to be competent in many different areas, but proficient in few, because proficiency requires not just comprehension but practice, which is routine and uninteresting.
While most of my dabbling occurs in the realm of computers (so you might say I’ve become proficient at computers in at least a general sense), the individual skills in which I dabble vary widely. While I understand a staggering number of concepts and technologies, I wouldn’t call myself an expert at any of them.
“Lazy” and “aloof” are probably among the first words that come to mind when I think about how I might describe myself to someone. In fact, one of my favorite phrases (usually said with a thoughtful look and a slight smile) is, “Well, I could do x, or I could just sit here…”
I can’t stand appointments of any kind. I’m exactly as the profile describes. I overload with increasing anxiety as the appointment nears, not because I fear or dislike what will happen, but just because. The mere knowledge that there is something I must do at a specific time on a specific date fills me with dread. I hate it.
Scheduling social events is somewhat easier, but is still accompanied by a similar feeling of uneasiness. This is why I’m always reluctant to schedule weekend activities of any kind, since that makes me feel as if my weekend isn’t mine. I’m willing to give up my weekdays and even, with some coaxing, my weeknights, but in order to remain sane, I have to have unscheduled weekends at the very least. It’s an absolute necessity. If I have something scheduled on more than one weekend in a row, I go completely nuts.
I don’t want to live by myself. I don’t mind the loneliness so much, but after living by myself for over a year, I felt like a complete and utter slob.
I never vacuumed. Not even once. I used disposable dishes and silverware whenever possible, to avoid having to do dishes, yet when the dishes inevitably did pile up, they tended to sit for weeks or even months. Indeed, dirty dishes and trash accumulated in piles around the couch and on my desk, which was where I ate my meals. My meals usually consisted of a canned item eaten cold from the can (again, an attempt to avoid unnecessary dishes). Occasionally I’d treat myself to macaroni & cheese or ramen. Once I went for a week eating nothing but canned green beans and ramen because I am such a big spender.
My rare attempts at cleaning usually involved spraying hot water at the dishlike things and adjusting the locations of various piles of stuff so that they made new and interesting patterns which I would be completely incapable of seeing after about five minutes.
In short, it's sad/miserable/depressing.
"Since the INTP normally wishes to hide his emotions; when they do come out, they do so in outbursts with an almost childlike innocence."
Anyone who’s seen the pie dance knows this to be true.
well, enough procrastinating for me, I have finals starting on tuesday and my sleep schedule is fucked. I think I have pretty much straight A's going in (except possibly accounting, which is sad). fucking deadlines...
