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Hear, hear!

What your parents believe and do will certainly affect you. I grew up with INTP and INFP parents who believed I was good with tools and let me get involved with home and car repairs. So I think of myself as handy even if there are a lot of things I don't know how to do. I am convinced I can...

I never contradict myself, or rather, I do that quite often. :) Back in college, I was around a lot of INTPs, which was a wonderful experience. We used to laugh about the worries you have. Every one of us, it seemed, held these two contradictory beliefs, simultaneously: 1) I am smarter...

I've never really developed an interest in chess, and checkers is kind of boring. My favorite board games are backgammon and gomoku. I have tried Go, and I like it, but I don't have anyone to play it with so I'm not very good.

Home roasted. I order green coffee (my favorites come from Huehuetenango in Guatemala) and do a medium roast (Full City or FC+), then grind and brew it as espresso. It is surprisingly easy to do - I have a little roaster that makes 2-3 days worth of roasted coffee. It is like using a popcorn...

Uh uh. It sounded exactly like things people who live near me say in earnest all the time. My mom's boss wasn't being sarcastic about firing someone. Next time use massive sarcasm quotes.

I guess you've never met someone whose gender isn't as clear-cut as yours. It turns out they are humans. Sometimes badly treated humans. My mom had a subordinate at work who was totally competent and nice, but transgendered. My mom was ordered to tell her she was fired for some fictional...

My INTJ husband and I had a lot of early conversations about conversations. We discussed what we like and don't like, how communication works, how much personal stuff to reveal, and so on. Meta-conversations are fun for both types, and might give both of you a clearer idea of how the other...

I don't know why the animals would be interpreted in that way. Why wouldn't the animals represent your true self, your public-facing persona, and the kind of person you want to be? Or your physical, emotional, and interpersonal well-being? Or your father, your mother, and your self...

I have no idea what that means, but it sounds fascinating.

Oh, yes! I developed the most convincing junior high school girl giggle. I practiced it in the mirror until it was perfect, and then I would just do it by reflex whenever the other girls started in. (I can still do it, too.) I also pretended to be less intelligent, knowledgable, and...

Not really. Discussing what the stereotypes are is the point of this thread. Buying into them isn't.

You REALLY don't like INTJs, do you? Are you sure the INTJs you were unfortunate enough to meet really were INTJ? And wherever did you meet such awful people?

Okay, maybe so. I don't know that N represents creativity or artistic talent, though. I'm not ready to argue the point, though; you may be right. I had always taken "women's intuition" as a bit condescending. I read it as implying that women can't approach things logically and have to...

Shudder. Yes, I do send those, usually to women, entirely because it is the social norm and I don't have a good reason to break the social norm. But I always feel very false because the words imply they did something so amazing you can never pay it back, when probably they just did five...

I could agree with ISTP for men. Men are supposed to be good at fixing things, and sports, and so on. If you are in the US, just look at what is for sale for Father's Day. ISTP things. As for women, I don't think anyone is stereotyped as iNtuitive, except scientists and psychics, so I would...

Precisely. I worked in IT for 7 years (congratulations on getting a new job, by the way) and some of the women found me weird. On the other hand, I was much, much more emotionally reassuring than my coworkers, who were INTP and INTJ but both really condescending. If you saw the "Your...

1) You are correct that a correlation is not a causation. However, the study I read controlled for sociodemographic and social-behavioral factors, plus a huge list of other things, like former drinking problems, life stress, support network, health problems, and so on. The light to moderate...

No kidding. Some of those people with supposedly high "emotional intelligence" are completely unable to handle social stress or think about it in a constructive way. To be sure, communication is not exactly what being social is all about. It's more about getting along. I agree that...

Systemizing: 58 very high (it says almost no women score in this range) Empathy: 43 average Autism: 28 above average Eyes: 31 very accurate I wonder how it varies with age. I am certain my scores would have been much different when I was younger. But they didn't ask that.

The anti-smoking program has been pretty effective. But rather than calling it manipulation of individuals, say rather that it is manipulation of cultural norms. In general, more people will be anti-smoking because of it. The numbers back that up. To say that this was the cause of any...

That's true. Perhaps I am wrong and the person I met wasn't a psychopath. He has a degree in psychology, so no doubt he would know better than I. I do think I'm qualified to say he was destructive and evil and showed no signs of compassion or remorse, yet was able to act like your best...

Well, I can't do that, that I know of, but it sounds like a very cool trick.

Hey, what's with the INTJ abuse? They can be incredibly empathetic. My INTJ husband just this afternoon picked up on someone's pain that she was trying hard to hide. He asked me to call her (I know her better) because she was in desperate need of someone to listen. He was completely right...

Yes, this is exactly where psychopaths excel. That is why so many of them are CEOs and other high-power people. It is scary how good they are at this. I was actually warned about the psychopath I met (my dad saw his handwriting and said I should stay far away from him), but he was so good at...

I met one once. He destroyed people's lives like they were used toilet paper, including mine, all the while acting like the most caring person in the world. He was smart, and charming, and good-looking, and absolutely, coldly ruthless, smiling all the while. I was years getting over what...

I reread it and you are right. He did say at the grocery store. I don't know how deliberate I am about avoiding such situations. I mean, I go to the grocery store (though, to be sure, not bars). Back in college, I met a player like this guy, and he did get a pretty good kiss out of it...

I read both of the articles posted so far. The first one isn't that old. Five years isn't enough time for things to have changed much, so probably most of it still holds true. Regarding the false paternity article in the original post, I think there are several things going on here. 1...

Committees and businesses make them up. Committees aren't necessarily selected for being experts in making tests, and businesses make tests that will pass committees. As for the questions, people test things that are easy to test, of course. It isn't the standardization that is the...

That's a little judgmental. Don't you have any emotional or psychological reactions that aren't under your control, or that you struggle with? The OP did ask for advice, which is a positive step. Besides, it is impossible to optimize for everything. The OP has clearly put some effort into...

The problem with standardized tests is that some are good and some are bad, and they are not often evaluated well so we know which is which. Here's a good one. The Federal Aviation Administration has a huge number of questions they want people to be able to answer. Thousands of them. The...

That's a nasty trap. I have been there. It sounds like you enjoy being a generous, kind person. You also sound vulnerable to guilt trips and don't think highly of yourself, which implies you turn your anger inward. Yet, you have recognized that people are manipulating you and taking...

Yeah, pretty much. To be sure, I do seek more equality of opportunity. Not perfect equality, but a better distribution than we have now. If someone is brilliant and hardworking but poor, in a just world they should have a chance to shine. Mostly, they don't have that chance with the...

Okay, I'm a leftist here. I'm really very left, progressive and liberal, but don't fall in line in every way. I have no problem with vouchers. In fact, I favor them. It isn't a free market thing for me - I don't support a truly unregulated market - but I do think competition is good for...

Yes, this is a good description of me, too. Thanks.

I'm certainly not an anarchist, but I am intrigued by your philosophical approach. It sounds like you've given some serious thought to the purpose and justification (or lack thereof) for the existence of government. I want to hear more of your thoughts, so here are some questions that I think...

I'm a progressive liberal. But I know there are some conservatives here as well. Actually, I'm very political and can get all us vs. them about it, but I also consider that to be unworthy behavior. It has me very conflicted, because while disagreement is not a problem, I don't enjoy feeling...

^ Definitely not alone. The house looks good right now, but it won't last. I actually bought a book on the subject to see if I could improve (so far not too bad).

Hi, nice to meet you! Maybe we are more successful at hiding anxiety than I thought.

Ah! I understand. To avoid sounding like you are talking down to people, you must find genuine respect for them inside yourself. They will sense it and respond. I used to be in IT and I also taught the employees computer skills. I was frequently told that the reason people liked my...

Everyone is misunderstood by a large part of the population. Some people notice it more, though. I think INTPs notice it a lot. Not all of us let it bother us, though. Everyone struggles to find meaningful friendships and relationships, too. Meaningful relationships are precious, rare...

Yeah, I used to be like that. I suppose it is Fe, but mostly I think it was loneliness and low self esteem. I didn't have many friends growing up, and my usual strategy (which didn't work) was to try to please people, in hopes that they would like me. I thought that because I didn't fit in...

Yes. Thinking of everyone as a buttery, cooked root vegetable is highly inaccurate. Not everyone contains chives, you know. I don't try to type people because I'm pretty bad at it, but a rough estimate can work very well. I can make a guess, and try a few things until one works. If I...

Not devil's advocate, but simple truth. I love the smell of star jasmine, the taste of Spanish olives, and the feel of roller coasters. All of these are chemical reactions in my brain. Pleasure comes from internally-made chemicals like oxytocin, dopamine, and endorphins. Chemical pleasure is...

Okay, let me clarify something. I have not made any effort to obtain cannabis. While I believe it should be legal, it isn't something I am interested in for myself. There might be a marijuana dispensary right next to the pizza place two blocks from where I live, and I just haven't seen it. I...

Even if the poll isn't perfect, it is obvious you were trying hard to be inclusive and inoffensive. People are already posting clarifications, questions, articles, and experiences, which seems like a good thing. Besides, it is impossible to do this without offending someone. Did you see...

Congratulations. I've heard the motorcycle tests are much harder than automobile tests. Definitely, post a picture!

That is NOT a good situation. One of my college roommates threatened suicide a lot. I was young, she was younger, and it was so awful that I took years getting over it. Most important: You are not responsible for your roommate's safety. You don't have to be more emotionally responsive to her...

I think it took me 3 tries. Just keep trying; you'll get it. Driving is hard, so give yourself time. Part of the skill of driving is filtering out information. When you are new to it, it seems like everything has equal importance, so it is hard to function. Every time you drive, you get...

Yes, I think it is popular here, but it is certainly not so popular that you find it everywhere. I wouldn't know where to get it, and I expect tobacco still wins here. Really popular things in California include sitting in freeway traffic and cutting the school budget. Cannabis would be better.