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The Myers-Briggs personality type INTP has a few nicknames, perhaps the most common being the Architect. Others include the Thinker and the Theorist.
Imagine that a personality is built like a structure. Here is how you would build an INTP:
Learning: At the base of everything is thought. Everything must be thought through and understood before concrete action or beliefs should be taken or formed. Concepts are much more interesting than experiences in and of themselves. In fact, this often means that once something has been thoroughly analyzed and understood, it will be completely abandoned because it is no longer interesting. For this reason, overly complex and undefinable topics hold the most value because they hold interest for longer. Dabbling in various fields of interest is not uncommon: soaking up information from one knowledge pool to the next to satisfy the craving to understand everything.
Detachment: Inevitably, this approach of learning and understanding everything leads to a sort of detachment. This detachment is the next building block of the INTP. In order to best learn, it is best not to interrupt the natural flow of events. By remaining aloof, it is possible to not allow others behaviors or beliefs to influence the analysis. To become a completely neutral, third-party observer is the ultimate goal. The INTP might even observe himself as if he were a different person, analyzing thoughts and behaviors, perhaps even behaving out of character to discover the outcome of different situations.
Clarity: After detachment comes the need for clarity. When the INTP is in his observing state (detachment), he is extremely adaptable and easy going. However, if one of his principles is violated, or an absurdly irrational statement has been made, the INTP feels a burning need to set the situation straight. Sadly, many people interpret this as arrogance (on intellectual topics) or hypersensitivity (on personal beliefs). The truth is that by sharing his own thoughts on any matter, the INTP wishes to shed light on the matter and is often content to remain uncredited as being the source of that light.
Competency: Competency is a key driving factor in the INTP. When studying something, his goal is to learn enough to basic errors and perform well enough to not be embarrassed by it. Refining skill beyond that would require too much practice, something that is not attractive to the INTP. Once one has been learned, he moves on to the next skill. Over time, the INTP collects a number of various talents and are often known to their friends as a Jack of All Trades.