Photo by Matthew Filipowicz

You drop a line that you thought was funny, only to have the INTP staring back at you with a sordid expression. They counter with a defense to your joke, as if you had been serious.

“Geez, what did I say?” you think to yourself. “They are seriously overreacting!”

Unfortunately for you, the INTP probably got your humor. There’s a good chance that your INTP friend is messing with your head. What you’re seeing as a serious reaction is actually their way of playing into your original joke.

A great example: You say something outrageously funny. The INTP asks you “What?” as if you had just spoken a foreign language.

While you may think they didn’t hear you (which, in a few rare cases could be true), they probably feel that their deadpan disbelief is appropriate as a humorous comeback.

And when you’re listening to an INTP try to tell a pre-planned joke… well, you’re out of luck.

The INTP fails at most joke telling.

Due to the fact that an INTP has already thought through the entire joke a few hundred times to think of the funniest aspects, they’re probably going to still be reviewing it in their head while they’re telling you.

That means a lot of double guessing, losing their place in the joke, and generally fudging the presentation.

…but the INTP is great at off-hand humor!

The INTP’s best humor tends to come out in their off-hand, observational humor. It allows them to play on their strengths: dry subtlety and playfulness.

What do you notice is a part of INTP humor?

Are you an INTP? Share your thoughts on your own sense of humor…

…and if you’re not an INTP, but you happen to know one, share what you think about how their sense of humor works in the real world.

The INTP is a passive aggressive competitor. Because the INTP doesn’t like the limelight, they avoid jumping into it to prove to the world that they are the best – however, the INTP is constantly holding private contests with others to prove to themselves that they can win. The INTP might share these conquests after-the-fact with close friends, but often they are content just to know that they won.

These contests can go on for any length of time – from seeing if they can beat someone in another checkout line at the grocery store, to spending years developing a particular skill set. Time also has no boundaries between the offending act (which triggers the contest) and when the contest may take place in the future.

Usually the competitors of the INTP are not even aware that they are being competed against! It could be as simple as noticing that the person next to them started a form at the same time and they try to finish theirs first. These small victories can make the INTP’s day.

As far as real competition goes (ones that get recognized by the public), the INTP will not care unless they have made it a personal decision to win. When this happens, the INTP can be ruthless and will do almost anything in the immediate future to accomplish this goal – because long-term goals do not normally appeal to the INTP. If winning cannot be accomplished in a short period of time, the INTP will probably lose interest altogether.

According to Eric Raymond, the following 5 points sum up the attitude of a hacker:

1. The world is full of fascinating problems waiting to be solved.
2. No problem should ever have to be solved twice.
3. Boredom and drudgery are evil.
4. Freedom is good.
5. Attitude is no substitute for competence.

Now, take a few notable traits of an INTP:

1. An insatiable desire to understand everything of interest.
2. High respect for logic (and those who use it).
3. Generally impatient with incompetence.

Notice some overlap? These attitudes plus the introverted and puzzle-solving nature of the INTP seem to add up for a natural fit. Even according to statistics the INTP is a natural hacker; for anyone else it is like a “short person trying to play basketball“.

“Hackers are more motivated by challenge and excitement and not as motivated by conventional means such as power, money or personal recognition.” – Dawn Sanks
“Also, most hackers are ‘neophiles’, stimulated by and appreciative of novelty (especially intellectual novelty). Most are also relatively individualistic and anti-conformist.” – Eric Raymond

Note now that not all INTPs will be hackers. However, almost any INTP could become one if they decided to put their mind to it. All they require is general computer knowledge and a specific interest in computer programming. Often it is just a matter of being introduced to the topic – their love of understanding complex systems will likely do the rest.

The INTP loves starting new projects, and often pursue knew subjects for the thrill of it, not for monetary gain. This also syncs up with the hacker attitude:

As you can see, the pursuit of new knowledge and wanting to forge a new path is the same goal of both the INTP and the hacker.

Essential Profiles

1. Portrait of an INTP by PersonalityPage.com

This has been the first result when you Google “INTP” for a long time, and there is good reason for it. The profile is simple, easy to read, a good length, and covers the basics pretty thoroughly.

2. An INTP Profile by INTP.org

While somewhat lengthy and hard to read, this profile is very detailed and specific – great if you’re really trying to delve into the technical side of the INTP profile. Most of the descriptions use the Myers-Briggs lingo, if you’re not familiar with it you might find yourself quitting before you’re halfway through. If you do know it, however, it’s a fantastic article!

3. INTP: The Architect by Personality Desk

This personality profile is like the Cliff Notes overview: touching briefly on most areas in a clear concise manner and letting you know the very basics of what you want to know.

4. INTP Profile by Joe Butt

The TypeLogic profile is reminiscent of the INTP.org listing, but shorter and easier to read. If you’re looking to just dip your toes into the technical side and start getting used to the MBTI lingo, this is a great start.

5. INTP – Wikipedia

The Wikipedia has a nice little “Characteristics” section, and otherwise goes over the skeleton of what being an INTP is, focusing mostly on explaining the Myers-Briggs typing structure. In fact, our first post was about the Wikipedia entry for INTPs.

Specialized Profiles

6. Costrin’s Omni-Ultimate INTP Profile

This is from a thread on Typology Central by the user Costrin, who wrote a fairly accurate humorous profile of the INTP. It is my personal favorite and a must read!

7. INTP Profile – Team Technology

Great for understanding and working with an INTP, and if you are the INTP perhaps you can get an insight to the weak areas you can focus on strengthening. It even has specific lists on those things!

Forums and Communities

8. INTP Central

I’ve never gotten the hang of this site, however, for those of you more forum savvy you may feel right at home. I’ve noticed there is plenty of activity, lots of new posts are always going up. They have a chat room as well! There are nearly 5,000 active members on the forums.

9. INTP Forum.com

As you might expect from the name, this is a forum for INTPs. They have about 425 active members, and their boards seem pretty active! If you’re more into the smaller online communities you may feel more at home here than at INTP Central.

10. INTP Forum at Personality Cafe

This is actually a sub-forum on Personality Cafe’s large forum boards. The INTP section doesn’t appear to be completely dead, however at first glance it doesn’t appear to be as lively as the threads at the other 2 forums mentioned here. The exact number of active users are unknown, but there have 5,000 registered members (note: registered, not necessarily active) for the entire Personality Cafe forum.

Due to their nature, the INTP is not great at getting in touch with their emotions (and often when they do they have no idea what to make of them). So, what to do?

Be safe and consistent

INTPs are naturally cynical due to their tendency to analyze everything, and therefore can develop serious trust issues (especially if they have had a bad experience). If you want to be helpful to the INTP and allow them to open up, you need to show yourself to be safe and consistent. If you think you may not follow through on something, don’t say you will. By being honest with yourself and with the INTP, you are less likely to hurt them (even by accident) in the process.

Be available, but do not smother

Once an INTP has developed an emotional attachment to you, this may or may not apply so much. However, especially before that bond has been developed, you need to allow the INTP plenty of space and allow them to come to you. Make sure they know you are available for them to open up to, but beyond that the INTP must feel it was their idea to come to you.

Success! They are talking to me, now what?

The INTP can be difficult to understand. In conversation, it is important to not interrupt their train of thought. Generally, the INTP will connect emotions to certain events and individuals who have effected them. These memories follow a train of thought that you may or may not be able to relate to and it is often easiest to just let the INTP get it all out their own way of telling it.

I liked the way Bo Ahlberg put it in his blog:

Who an INTP is on the outside can be as much about what scars they wear from dealing with people as it does who they really are… its not easy getting past the wounds because they are there to protect the INTP from further emotional attack like a set of armor.

In other words, the INTP doesn’t easily let go of events that made them feel a certain way (often negative), because it allows them to avoid situations that may hurt them again.

Being sensitive to that fact is very important.

Feedback

• Are you an INTP? Do these things hold true for you?
• Do you have an INTP friend? Are you dating one? How did you break through the walls?

Leave your thoughts in the comments!

1. You wake up in the middle of the night with a brilliant idea that is completely impractical and can’t get back to sleep until you’ve worked out every little detail.
2. You indulge in (and are quite renowned among friends for) making completely random, yet very accurate observations.
3. You have a million good ideas and a thousand unfinished projects.
4. You say more in the 2 sentences that you do say than most people do in the their 7,596 sentences.
5. Once you obsess over something and later master it, it gets boring and you move on.
6. You ignore things that most people laugh at because they are obvious and stupid, and you are the only one laughing at something subtle and clever.
7. You debate with yourself about the meaning of every word.
8. Social relationships are a paradox to you, but you can blend in rather well. “Chameleon” is a word you can relate to.
9. People think you are unobservant when, really, you simply notice different things than most.
10. You’re often told that you think too much.
11. You can get a lot done – as long as it’s the stuff you’re not meant to be doing.
12. You confuse everyone around you with words far too long for casual conversation.
13. You’re not paranoid, it’s all perfectly logical.
14. Sometimes you come up with something that you think is exactly how you wanted to put it, but people just get more confused, despite how simple it seems to you.
15. You have spent a whole night of not sleeping, pondering something, and then after asking someone about it the next day, realize that you’re the only one who seems to care.
16. You have intentions to do anything and everything… eventually.
17. You refuse to do some things in the name of “intellectual principles”.
18. You can give logical justification for every action you’ve ever taken.
19. When you tell your parents/employer your room/office is “not trashed! It’s got complex order!”
20. When you obsessively use parenthesis or slashes in your sentences (well not necessarily in your sentences; just running off on tangents when speaking/writing, and being in the necessity to find a means of keeping it all clear).

What makes you an INTP? Leave your examples in the comments!
Credit to the INTP group on Facebook and the INTP Forum.

As you may be aware, the INTP is prone to keen curiosity. When an INTP becomes interested in a topic, they will pursue it till they understand it and are relatively competent at it.

This can be a good thing and a bad thing. While it is always great to learn new things, insatiable curiosity rarely stops at one subject. Think of it like interest-ADD. One minute you are fascinated with this particular thing, but eventually some shiny object comes along and becomes the new romance of thought.

The problem lies when the old interest was something important, or had snowballed into a project that effected others. Suddenly the driving force is gone! The INTP has left for another project.

Sometimes this can stir up resentment against the INTP. What is important to realize is that the INTP is innocently pursuing their passions, not maliciously abandoning their peers. Often, they don’t even realize that leaving the project would be considered an offense.

If you know you are getting involved with an INTP who is starting a project, realize in advance that it would be abnormal for them to willingly stay around for the completion of the task. INTPs are inventors, thinkers, and need new fuel to keep them going. Plan ahead for this! Allow the creative side of the INTP to flourish (as they will probably come up with great ideas) but think of yourself as the net to catch these things and the tool to make it actually happen.

It is important to realize that the INTP loves to use the art of debate as a way to explore thoughts and ideas.

If you are having a debate or argument with an INTP, and you think they are becoming contradictory or have ceased to be using rational logic, consider that they may in fact just be playing devil’s advocate. They are approaching the topic from an almost pure 3rd party approach, considering as many sides as possible.

While you may have thought you were both arguing for separate causes, realize for a moment that the INTP may be trying to convince themselves of the very thing which they are arguing for while arguing for it!

So, join the game! Think in broad terms, approach the topic from a new angle: mentally sparring is (as we INTPs know) one of the best ways to learn.

Remember:

• To the INTP, everything is relevant (regardless of time and space)
• The INTP wants to consider every detail
• Nuances and subtle meanings are a world of difference to the INTP

Something to know about us INTP personality types: when we decide it’s worth explaining something, we want to make sure that you understand the concept completely.

Sometimes, we do an excellent job of presenting the information in a concise manner that does not bore you. Other times, you might find yourself getting lost or thinking “Wow, this simple idea has become so complicated”, or completely losing interest altogether.

Here are some things to do to help your INTP communicate with you better:

• Most importantly, be patient. If we’re explaining something, we feel that it’s important that you understand it; ignoring or rushing us runs the risk of making us feel slighted.
• Realize that INTPs often string concepts together, regardless of time and space. Don’t be surprised when something that you mentioned a few days ago suddenly has relevance in this new conversation. To an INTP, everything is relevant.
• If your goal is to get out of the conversation ASAP, gently and politely ask your INTP to explain only the very basics. This may help them realize they have gotten carried away.

Being the INTP personalities that we are, we get extremely excited about new projects and concepts. Unfortunately, we often lose steam as soon as we’ve fully comprehended the subject and are apt to abandon any half finished plans.

The problem with this is that we’re not allowing our creativity to be productive.

So, what to do? Well, what I’ve been attempting is to layout a long term plan at the beginning (while I’m still interested in the topic) that allows me room to abandon ship yet lets the project live on. Sometimes this means getting others involved, or at least letting them know we have a torch we’re going to pass on.

Other personalities like to continue projects like the ones we start, they just don’t like coming up with them. By joining forces, we can help make the world a better place.

The trick here is to come up with the long term plan at the beginning! If you don’t, you won’t care enough to find an answer when you’ve found something new.