Guest Post by Jessica Prescott, INFJ

October Sky

Dominant Introverted Thinking (Ti): Quentin’s passion for science comes from his passion for analyzing and understanding the world and its systems. Whether it’s rocketry or car engines or just the internal machinations of the local science fair, Quentin knows exactly how it works and is happy to explain it, if asked. At the same time, however, Quentin’s thought process is mostly internal, and he has little need to verbalize it or share it with others. Before Homer recruited him to help with his rocketry project, Quentin was perfectly content to work out his own scientific explorations entirely on his own. As with all high Ti-users, precision in speech is important to Quentin, and he won’t hesitate to correct others—even adults—if he hears them using an inaccurate term.

Auxiliary Extroverted Intuition (Ne): Like Homer, Quentin has a strong desire to see the “outside world” and experience a broader existence beyond everyday life in Coalwood. He refuses to let his hopes and dreams for the future be limited by his difficult circumstances (coming from one of the very poorest families in an economically struggling town). Quentin also shares Homer’s appreciation for symbolism and irony; for example, he immediately grasps the joke when Homer names his new rocket “The Auk,” calling it “a stroke of genius.” Quentin has a good imagination, which can give him a tendency towards exaggeration and overstatement: “They’ll never dance with us—we’re practically escaped convicts!!”

Tertiary Introverted Sensing (Si): In general, societal norms mean little to Quentin. He doesn’t see anything wrong with correcting an adult who’s got his scientific terms mixed up, and he earns the status of “the weird kid” at Coalwood’s high school by behaving in socially unacceptable ways—spending time alone, constantly reading books, carrying out science experiments, even (gasp!) actually working hard at his studies. At the same time, though, Quentin has enough awareness of social dynamics to be concerned that his new friends—Homer, Roy Lee, and O’Dell—might reject him if they found out just how poor his family is. Quentin also has a fair capacity for attention to detail (at least in scientific matters).

Inferior Extroverted Feeling (Fe): Again, Quentin cares little about fitting in with others; his “weird kid” title appears to trouble him not at all, and he never even considers changing his behaviour in order to be more widely accepted. He doesn’t go out looking for friends; on the contrary, Homer has to actively court his cooperation and assistance with the rocketry project. Quentin generally doesn’t talk about his feelings; but at the same time, it’s fairly easy to read his emotions from his facial expressions— for example, he smiles much more readily than Homer.