INTP personality type is one of the popular classification of Myers-Briggs types. It is based on one main principle: do you prefer one trait over another?
Many great thinkers with extraordinary minds and eccentric personalities were INTPs, with Albert Einstein being the most outstanding example of this personality type in its pure form.
So what makes INTPs be the way they are? Here are 6 reasons the INTP personality type is one of the quirkiest and most misunderstood:
We INTPs are great analysts, so we are able to “see” through people. It’s not uncommon for us to give advice to our friends or predict the outcome of a relationship just by analyzing people’s personalities and behavioral patterns.
Yet, some other aspects of human relationships are simply beyond our understanding. Thus, the lovey-dovey side of a relationship is incomprehensible for us as we value things like respect, understanding, and deep communication in the first place.
So flowers, gifts, cute names, and promises of eternal love don’t really make sense to us. An INTP can completely seriously say something like:
“It’s not possible that he could fell in love with you so soon. Don’t fool yourself, love at first sight exists only in the movies!”
Similarly, we are unable to understand how social relations work. We seek a deep connection with other people and crave meaningful conversations, so we see no point in maintaining relations with someone based only on social necessity.
It just doesn’t make sense to us why we should ask a neighbor how he or she is doing and how their weekend was if we have nothing in common except for living in the same street.
Our way of thinking is simple: Why would I talk to someone if we don’t have anything interesting to discuss? It would be a waste of time.
No need to say that this kind of behavior may be mistaken for disrespect and arrogance. But the truth is that we don’t hate or disrespect other people – we just don’t like having pointless, superficial conversations.
For the reasons described above, we don’t simply hate small talk – I would say, we are physically unable to participate in it. Our brain seems to have a switch button that automatically sets our mind into ignore mode when someone talks about insignificant stuff.
So when we hear conversations about food, clothes, homemaking, etc, we just slip into our inner realm of thought, paying no attention to what is being discussed.
At the same time, when someone is trying to have small talk with us, asking something like “What did you eat for dinner?” or “How was your weekend?” we give a one- or two-word answer and change the subject. This is another reason why a person with an INTP personality type may seem weird and even rude to others.
INTP personality type has a strong inclination towards deep thought. We love to reflect on the essence of being, life after death, the nature of reality, and other thought-provoking things. That’s why we can often be found immersed in our thoughts and detached from reality.
For this reason, we tend to be scatterbrained – to those around us, it may seem that we just live inside our heads and are not conscious of what is going on in the world around us.
It’s especially evident when we are too captivated by an idea or a project. We just keep thinking it over all day long, losing the sense of time, forgetting to eat, and putting on clothes inside out.
INTPs are true masters of theoretical, abstract thought. This, in turn, results in the fact that we are ridiculously impractical. INTPs can come up with the most brilliant ideas and incredibly complex theories; yet, we are useless when it comes to facing the mundane challenges of life.
Sometimes, a simple task like going to a public office for some paperwork or buying a washing machine can make us feel completely helpless. We INTPs lack practical thinking, that’s why we rarely become good entrepreneurs.
“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?”
– Albert Einstein
While INTPs think logically and rationally in the first place, this type is also a true example of a chaotic creative mind. We are disorganized, messy, and hate the rules. We perceive them as a limitation of our creative energy and freedom of thought.
INTP personality type also tends to value independence and freedom most of all, so there is no way we can work under control and be effective members of a team.
So INTPs rarely choose public service or office jobs as a career path. For the same reason, people with the INTP personality type may have a difficult time at school even if they may be some of the most brilliant students in the class.
Are you an INTP? Do you relate to the traits described in the article? Share your opinion with us.
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I am most certainly an INTP and can relate to all the comments about INTP except that I am practical as well as able to think theoretically.
If you are both practical and capable of theoretical thought, then you must be in the middle on the Intuition/N or Sensing/S scale. For example, you could be 55% or 60% Intuitive.
I just knew someone would claim to be a godly INTP with no down-side. What's your problem then, if it's not that practical awkwardness, since nobody is pewrfect? I'd imagine if you're practical then you wouldn't have any social problems either because, as INTPs are one of five MBTI types with a much higher correlation with high IQ, you'd be able to work out the social stuff easily enough since you're not getting your head caught in the castle in the clouds.
Few more triats loyal,Honesty,speaks what's in there mind every it is harsh
I don't understand how this post justifies the author's theory that INTPs are rare or special.
The first, second and third points are shared by all NT types, the third being even more strong in INTJs.
Fourth and fifth points are shared by NxP types, and can hardly be considered quirky.
The sixth is just a flaw.
There are quite a few things that set INTPs apart from the rest, but almost all of them are subjective, and can't be generalized to all INTPs, the same as every other personality type.
You can tell that the article is written by someone who is an INTP just by reading the points.
Who put a bee in your bonnet? As far as #6 being a flaw, then I suppose we should return to pre-60s America when rules went unquestioned. Back to colored drinking fountains when a woman's rightful place was pregnant in the kitchen. If it weren't for people questioning these rules, such as INTPs do, society would have never advanced very far.
How is #6 a flaw? I question rules and obligations not for the mere fact they are rules but to question the ethics and psychology behind the rules and the people he selves who make the rules. I question rules for my personal worldview to see if they are common sense or a barrier to my life.
spoken like a true INTP ;-)
I am an introverted Artist that has all these traits. I do not fit in anywhere but that's fine. It's just nice to know there is
a name for what's going on with me. When I was young I was ridiculed for not being like everyone else, it was tough. I felt something was wrong with me. Now I feel special
INFP! XD
Looks like I'm one of its kind. I can't talk to people just for the sake of talking and working in a team is very hard for me, though I may work in a small team with fully known persons.