Do you ever contradict yourself?

[soulrebel]

I'm new to the forum by the way
Lately I'm contradicting myself all the time. And it really hurts my brain
My reasoning clearly has some flaws.

For example,
I'm not sure if I'm really an INTP. I tested myself countless times but maybe this is just the type I want to be, not the type I actually am. It does fit me, but I still doubt it if I'm that intelligent. Maybe it's my age (15?) but all the other INTPs have such flawless logic and seem to have sorted all the answers out while it takes me months to come to a good conclusion.
I know my IQ, but I still can't be sure if I'm actually smart. I'm supposed to be smart but as I say this I'm thinking, "Did I say that just because I'm trying to make myself smart?" Maybe I can actually call myself smart just because of this pointless justification.
Or maybe everyone in school is plain dumb and I'm a little smart which makes me look like a genius?

Are INTPs confident in their intelligence? (Sometimes I am confident. Oh, guess I'm doing the same thing again.)


Now that I think of it, I asked the wrong question. Contradicting is not the word I was looking for but anyway you get the idea
I know you guys use the best English but I'm not a native speaker so this is the best I can do.

 

[NoMan]

Absolutely. Every last person on this planet is a hypocrite to some degree, and they'd do themselves a disservice not to admit it. The frailties of our senses, of our memories and foresights, of our emotional constitutions, of our biological situations, and the vagueness and incompleteness of our communications methods renders us mentally weak. We are prone to self destructive ideas. You can't get the cure if you don't admit you have the disease, etc.

IQ tests are very flawed analyses of human intelligence. They take some very biased factors into account when attempting to establish a person's "intelligence."

 

[Trebuchet]

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 than most other people.

2) I'm just faking being smart, and everyone around me is the real deal.

Most of us, by the time we were in our 30s, were much more confident. I think your experience is normal.

 

[IfloatTHRUlife]

Being an intp doesn't necessarily make you more intelligent than anyone, but we do have the most logical thought process of all the MBTI types. I am the first to admit i lack a solid education, but i also understand that rationality cannot be taught.

As for actually doubting my intelligence, i do it all the time, always have, probably always will. There will always be someone smarter, but if you focus on that you will lose sight of the fact that if you look around, a large percentage of the population should probably be wearing helmets and little drool cups.

 

[Gentlemen]

As people enter adolescence, the question of identity begins to be an issue of central importance to them. I bring this up because I think it's particularly relevant to your post, OP. I would venture that many of these issues you contradict yourself on are rooted in questions of identity: What kind of person am I? What distinguishes me from other people? Everyone goes through this prolonged process of understanding their own nature (I, at 21 years of age, cannot claim to totally know "who I am" either). Questions like whether or not you are smart can be heavy because they seem to define what your positive or negative traits are relative to other people. The best advice I can give is that you're not going to suddenly be able to sort all this out; that happens by learning and growing over time. I would, however, caution against being overly eager to adopt some given identity in the hopes of easily settling things, such as placing too much importance in arbitrary classifications like MBTI and IQ results. Those things are interesting (obviously, or we wouldn't be on message boards discussing them) and can help give you different ways to think about yourself, but do not reflect any sort of universal truth about you as an individual.

So basically, this idea of contradicting yourself is perfectly normal (especially for people who are prone to analyzing and second-guessing everything) and it will give you frustration and food for thought for years to come, but don't be too quick to assign yourself an externally conceived identity, you will develop some solid beliefs eventually on your own.

 

[dala]

I remember when I was a kid wondering if I was actually so stupid that I didn't realize it. Or possibly insane.

 

[Jesse]

I have never met a person that didn't instantly tell me I was smart. I still doubt it.

Intelligence is kind of a flawed concept anyway. Just because I grasp things quicker than most doesn't mean I know everything, other's might have more info, other's might have more experience than me, other's might place more importance on it, ect.

Your 15 which means you are stupid. At least in some ways.

I contradict myself all the time. Mostly because while talking I come to different conclusions and just push arguments for arguments sake.

 

[Nocturne]

I fear I am in a likely situation as SoulRebel. Yes, I have taken atleast 4 "personality" tests. Yes, it is true I am still unsure about my personality type. Yes, I am about the same age as SoulRebel. I guess I am still an adolescent.

Oh, by the way, welcome to the forum. ... ...

 

[ummidk]

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 than most other people.

2) I'm just faking being smart, and everyone around me is the real deal.

Most of us, by the time we were in our 30s, were much more confident. I think your experience is normal.

Lol is it arrogant if I say I never thought I was faking being smart, well actually I've actually never made an effort to appear smart, if anything I'd do the opposite because people are annoyed by the smart guy.

 

[Roni]

.. Maybe it's my age (15?) but all the other INTPs have such flawless logic and seem to have sorted all the answers out while it takes me months to come to a good conclusion.
I know my IQ, but I still can't be sure if I'm actually smart. I'm supposed to be smart but as I say this I'm thinking, "Did I say that just because I'm trying to make myself smart?" Maybe I can actually call myself smart just because of this pointless justification. ..

I think by 'contradict yourself' you mean you disagree with your own conclusions or challenge your own ideas, is that right?

That's fairly typical of all Thinking types. Personally, I wouldn't trust the intelligence of anyone who doesn't do that.

I can't decide if you have an advantage or not in knowing your IQ so young.
I was 38 when I got mine tested. By then I was pretty screwed up from too many years of comparing myself to the people around me and wondering why I couldn't understand their rules. I still cringe whenever I hear "it's just common sense."
I'd decided I was either insane, an alien or a genius (and to all the people who just read that and went "me too!" - Hi there!)
Turned out I was a genius. That was a relief! For me, knowing my IQ helped me forgive myself for being different and to get on with being myself.
For you though, being right at the start of adulthood, it probably just confuses things.

I think it's important for you simply to accept that you are smart and leave it at that.
It doesn't define you as a person or help you understand the things that are important to you. It doesn't even mean you'll succeed academically. It certainly doesn't give you any idea of how effective you are in society.
You have many things yet to learn about yourself without challenging the one thing you already know to be true.


and since I'm already in motherly lecture mode

... well actually I've actually never made an effort to appear smart, if anything I'd do the opposite because people are annoyed by the smart guy.

Free advice from a bitter old smart lady ... LET them be annoyed. That's their problem, not yours. Eventually all the annoyed-by-intelligence types will either learn to deal with it or walk out of your life leaving more room for people who appreciate you for who you are.

okay I'll stop with the lectures now. I already blogged this sort of lecturing years ago: Well Developed INTPs

 

[Dimensional Transition]

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 than most other people.

2) I'm just faking being smart, and everyone around me is the real deal.

Most of us, by the time we were in our 30s, were much more confident. I think your experience is normal.

Oh man I sure hope so.

I have the same problem as you, soulrebel.

 

[Trebuchet]

Free advice from a bitter old smart lady ... LET them be annoyed. That's their problem, not yours.

Hear, hear!