Ask an INTJ Anything

Are xSTPs the best types?

Arvid Walton 18 Comments

Uhw asked: If you are a Intj, you should know the meaning of life, which is enjoy the life (considering that the life of a human being is 80 years and he takes nothing beyond).

So, you agree that istp and estp are the best types of the world?

You do recall that I am studying philosophy at university level, right?

Your syllogism is sound, but invalid. Let me explain by taking it apart for you.

  1. If I am an INTJ, I will know that the meaning of life is to enjoy life
  2. I am an INTJ

Therefore I can conclude that xSTPs are the best MBTI types

First of all, we have not established between us that the meaning of life is to enjoy life, so your first premise is called into question. Secondly, you have none of your premises suggest that xSTPs enjoy life more than say xSFPs, so you cannot conclude based on either premise that xSTPs are the “best” (you have also not defined “best”).

That considered, I believe the meaning of life is much more complicated than you might suggest and has more to do with morality than to do with enjoyment.

How to Keep in Touch with an INTJ

Arvid Walton

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INTJs: How to develop your Se function

Arvid Walton 24 Comments

Bryony asked: I am an INTJ with an unhealthy Se function. Out of curiosity, is it possible to change this?

Yes it is.

I had a very unhealthy Se function at one point in my life –so unhealthy in fact, that I wasn’t using it at all (I’ll let your imagination fill in the connotations of that happenstance). Here are some tips for developing an unhealthy Se function. Continue reading →

More INTP vs INTJ

Arvid Walton 3 Comments

Ameya Ravindra Nadkarni asked: How to tell apart between an INTP and INTJ?

I have always been a analytical person, who can see a particular job done in a better way . But always procrastinate it due to even a minor flaw in the plan or method. Though I learn new things to be used for practical purposes, I may never use that knowledge unless I gain complete understanding and mastery over that subject. I have been given sometimes INTP as a result  of my personality tests and been given quite times INTJ as result with a slight preference of judging over perceiving. I am confused and hoping for your advice. Sorry for violating the rule for asking a personal question and for my grammatically improper English but I really need some advice.

If you haven’t yet, review my other INTP vs INTJ post. It’s much more detailed than this one.

I think, for the most part I understand your question –if I translated wrong, don’t hesitate to correct me. Fortunately for you, this isn’t the type of personal question that’s against the rules.

There is a strong possibility that you’re prone to locking into your shadow functions. In terms of how to tell which type you are, these are the questions you need to be asking.

Am I goal-oriented? When I set out to accomplish a goal, do I plan out all the steps and pursue them intricately (NiTe)? Or do I go about it through improv and plan steps as they come (NeTi)? Do I focus on my dreams as fixed realities that I am responsible for making happen (NiTe)? Or do I look at my dreams as grand possibilities that I could, and would like to make happen (NeTi)?

Am I efficient in practice or in theory (Te vs Ti)? When I see something that could be improved, do I ask myself whether its necessary before setting out to change it (Te)? Are my improvements more innovative (NeTi), or are they more practical (NiTe)? Do I tend to theorise about improving things without ever doing anything to fulfil those visions (Ti)?

Do I procrastinate because my plan must be over-perfect before I proceed? Or because I literally don’t know where to start with carrying it out (Ti)? (Be objective when you ask yourself this).

Also, I would suggest taking a look at my INTP vs INTJ post. (The search bar is there for a reason).

xxTJ? Or when it’s Just Your OCD Talking

Arvid Walton 3 Comments

Laurie asked: I’ve always considered myself (and been described as) INTJ, but I also have OCD, and you said in a post that every person with OCD will score as a TJ. I know that you can’t just magically type me without knowing me, but I would really like to find out if I *really* am an INTJ, or it’s just my illness that makes me act in a certain way (though I always recognized my thought process as that of an INTJ, not my actions necessarily). How do you go about typing characters who have mental illness? I know you always try to “separate” the two things and recognize the real type that might be hidden by the illness – are there particular questions I might ask myself, or things I might notice in my actions/thoughts etc.?

I know I shouldn’t give to much importance to my type – I myself use it more as a very useful tool to write plausible fictional characters than anything else – but recognize who I really am might help me overcome things and thought processes that are not “mine” but come from my condition…in a way, I believe I simply don’t want to be defined by my OCD, but recognize who I truly am, in spite of everything else. Thank you!

I don’t know the exact nature of your OCD, so I’m going to do the best I can at a generic, but applicable response.

I would suggest trying to pay attention to what you’re like when you’re less affected by your OCD (if possible). The particular function that tends to be associated most heavily with OCD is the Si function, simply because it likes to pay attention to minute details that intuitive upper functions don’t. Continue reading →

More Mind Palace Tips

Arvid Walton 1 Comment

Gabrielle Massman asked: You wrote a post on memory palaces, and I have since created my own and found it very useful– to a point. One of the main reasons why I created my mind palace was to remember Biblical Hebrew vocabulary, but I found my mind palace utterly useless in remembering any types of words or mathematical equations. I tried writing them in open books on tables, on the walls, and even in one word blood on my bathroom mirror, but nothing worked. When I walked through my mind palace, I could see that something was there, and I could remember a broad meaning of the word (for instance, if the word meant “to destroy entirely,” I would remember it had something to do with death.) However, I could not remember the word or exact definition. Moreover, in a practical sense, I wondering if I could fit (and be able to locate) 1,200 vocabulary words in a single or multiple mind palaces.

Do you have a technique to putting words into your mind palace? Or is a mind palace not the best memory technique for words and equations?

It’s not going to work if you try to write them on windows and mirrors. Period.

The reason for this is that the Mind Palace is a mnemonic system of memorisation that relies on making connections and establishing a very specified visual imagery. For tips on how to make your images work better, see this post it outlines how to use your mind palace imagery properly, including how to put large quantities of vocabulary words into it.

In terms of numbers and equations, my suggestion is that you find a way to mnemonically connect the numbers to your images, rather than simply writing them on the walls. I used the system to remember centuries worth of dates, terms, authors, literary works and royal genealogy for a test that I had one day to study for last week (the dates spanned from 3000 BCE to 1500 CE) and the memory palace served me faithfully.

If you have further questions after you finish reading my other post, please feel free to ask.

MBTI Crying in Movies

Arvid Walton

stranger5 asked: “you’ve talked before about how Fe and Fi cry in movies for different reasons. Does function hierarchy also affect whether/why a person will cry in a movie. say, would T types be less likely to cry in movies than F types? Also, are F types more drawn to emotional movies than Ts?”

Or, I should say question[s]. Shall we work through them one by one?

Function Hierarchy

Function hierarchy does have a certain degree of affect on whether someone will cry in a movie, but it isn’t necessarily consistent for everyone.

Quite frequently, you’ll have two Te doms in the same movie theatre –one will remain unaffected emotionally and the other will tear up and get embarrassed about it. Likewise, there are plenty of F types that cry relatively little in response to movies. Continue reading →

xNTP Professors vs xNTJ Students

Arvid Walton 25 Comments

Gineasll asked: You once said that you hate your xNTP professors because they have all the opposite functions of an INTJ? Could you go into more detail on how that plays out? Are there any other types you hate as professors?

I love you! ….distantly, and without emotional investment…Hold on, let me revise that: I love you theoretically!

I have nothing against xNTPs as people. In fact, I love my xNTP friends, but yes, I hate them as teachers. I hate xSFJ teachers equally well (same functions as the xNTP).

Here’s why. Continue reading →

xNTP vs xNTJ Writing

Arvid Walton 6 Comments

Morally Relative Midnight asked: As someone who engages in creative writing frequently, how would you differentiate between INTJ and INTP writing styles? How would an INTJ’s tertiary Fi and an INTP’s tertiary Fe manifest themselves in a creative writing assignment or just any writing project in general?

Now that’s what I call a question.

Best examples of INTJ writing I can think of off the top of my head are Ayn Rand, Jane Austen, Flannery O’Connor and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Some good examples of INTP writing include Edgar Allan Poe, Terry Pratchett and Douglas Adams. Continue reading →

My Friend Group as an INTJ

Arvid Walton 23 Comments

Pejar asked: “As an INTJ, what is your friend group like? Are there certain types that you gravitate towards or that gravitate towards you? Like, do you have other INTJ friends? And do you make friends differently than other types?”

Which types am I most likely to be friends with?

My current room-mates, an INFJ and ISFP, were handpicked by me –and by handpicked, I mean my Te took over, organised a flat and then told them they were living with me. They were both fine with that. Generally, my friend group has one INTJ (me) and a whole bunch of INFxs and couple of ISFPs, occasionally allowing for a few tagalong xxxxs.

The most likely reasons for this are as follows: Continue reading →

How to Test Accurately

Arvid Walton 8 Comments

MMR asked: The whole Myer-Briggs Theory is interesting but how does one know if it is accurate. I have taken the test multiple times over the past year to be sure of my type. I was typed each time as an INTJ; I however am afraid I am being biased, trying to be original, or just answering the same way from memory. In reading the other types it is easy to find small traits to identify with in all INxx types. I strongly agree with most typing a for INTJ and feel, if I can say that, that it is my personality type. Wanting to be sure, my question to you is, how does one know if they are being biased when typing themselves?

That’s a good question, and one that I can’t teach you the answer to. I can however, give you a starting place to learn from.

  • Do your answers to the questions match up with your behaviour?
  • In other words, are you answering questions about who you are, rather than who you’d like to be?
  • Do you fully understand the question that is being asked?
  • Are you answering ‘yes’ on questions that only occasionally apply to you?

In general –and I have stressed this time and time again– I suggest not trusting the test as your guide to MBTI. READ. LEARN. INTROSPECT. That is the only way to know yourself.

Do I relate to INFPs?

Arvid Walton 18 Comments

Elise Ann asked: How do you relate to INFPs? you must find us exhausting

I do find you exhausting. You burst out with seemingly random topic changes while I’m still philosophically analysing something you said two hours ago. Also, your emotions…dear me, they are everywhere…

But yes, there are a few ways that I relate to INFPs (not drastic ways, just subtle ones).

The main way that I relate to INFPs in the persistent Fi desire to do the right thing. Of course, we go about it vastly differently, but the goal is the same.

Secondly, there is the often frequent drive for creativity –which, as a writer, artist and Ni user, I relate to regardless of whether the creativity stems from an Ni or Ne function. Both types of intuition can be vastly creative, just in different ways. Many make the mistake of assuming that only Ne is creative, and that Ni is merely a goal setting function –this is based on a limited understanding of MBTI.

Ni presents more of a focused and vision oriented creativity while Ne presents an unexpected and possibility based creativity.

INTJs: How to deal with Low Self-Esteem and Emotional Emptines

Arvid Walton 19 Comments

Asthma asked: As an intj how do you deal with :
– lack of confidence/ low self-esteem.
– emotional emptiness.

Low Self-Esteem

I’ve never had a problem with low self-esteem myself, but I suspect that my methods for dealing with self-criticism could apply to your question just fine.

My interior monologue often runs along these lines: Why don’t I feel anything? Why don’t I care that this person in front of me is crying? Am I a bad person? Did l have to say that? It may have been true, but it wasn’t kind. I am a terrible friend. etc.

Here’s how I deal with it. Continue reading →

How INTJs cope with Trauma

Arvid Walton 69 Comments

How INTJs cope with Trauma

There is no defined route traveled by every traumatized individual, and variations range so widely even within the INTJ realm that all we can really observe are the patterns. Continue reading →