Information junkie

[Architect]

My name is Architect, and I'm an information junkie ... there I said it. Like the 12 step program the first step is to admit you have a problem.

Anyhow, I'm constantly scanning for information. I'll pick up hobbies just to learn about them, only to drop them once I've sufficiently learned enough. The worst is I spend too much time on the internet just drinking from the hose, looking for some new thing to learn about. Today for example I read up on 35 mm movie projectors (the kind in movie theaters before the digital age). Even the old carbon arc projectors. Then watched endless hours of YouTube videos of people showing theater projection rooms and how they worked. I learned enough today such that I could now probably run a projection room for a technology that isn't used anymore.

Why? It gives me a hit.

INTP's do you have this trait? Do you think it's in control, or not?

 

[Teffnology]

I kind of wish I could get the procedure from Eternal Sunshine for some of the pointless crap that my INTPness lodged into my brain.

I could tell you where 55% of the NFL went to high school and what their parents names and professions are.
I know the intricate history of the evolution of plastic technology in the production of disc golf discs.
I know the range of closing prices for various items on eBay that I ultimately have no intention of buying but if I did Ill know if Im getting a good deal.
I can rattle off a modern version of 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon in my head with contemporary writers, directors, actors for hours on end.
I have listened to hundreds of hours of interviews of stand up comedians on how they got their foot in the door just in case I decide to actually perform the jokes I have written.

So ya I'm an INTP and I am an information addict. We need some recovered addicts to be our sponsors.

 

[Ex-User (11125)]

yeah ive spent hours before learning about things like agriculture in iceland, japanese tea ceremony, what kind of ear picks the vikings used to clean their ears etc even though i dont need to know that stuff...usually i do this right before deadlines when im trying to waste time in any way possible

 

[Direwolf]

Ive been taught that knowledge is power hence i hoard every bit i can find even if its utter shit

 

[Lazy Vulpes]

I'm very selective about my information gathering, and once I got it processed, I'm unable to convey it, due to poor linguistics. I'm always looking for useful information though.

 

[redbaron]

Anyhow, I'm constantly scanning for information. I'll pick up hobbies just to learn about them, only to drop them once I've sufficiently learned enough. The worst is I spend too much time on the internet just drinking from the hose, looking for some new thing to learn about. Today for example I read up on 35 mm movie projectors (the kind in movie theaters before the digital age). Even the old carbon arc projectors. Then watched endless hours of YouTube videos of people showing theater projection rooms and how they worked. I learned enough today such that I could now probably run a projection room for a technology that isn't used anymore.

Why? It gives me a hit.

Story of my life.

Worst part is that the more obscure or pointless it is, the more absorbed I seem to become in the whole thing. I've always thought it's less to do with being an information junkie than it is just trying to avoid committing to engaging what other people consider 'real' responsibilities.

Why can't I sit here all day and learn about paintbrushes and painting techniques for scale modelling that I'll probably never buy or use? Like you said, I could probably now tell any amateur modelling enthusiast exactly what they should be spending their money on, what techniques to use and products to get the best results for their projects - but is it likely I'll ever apply any of this? Nope.

 

[Polaris]

Uhm....yeah.

Usually what happens is that I'll be having a conversation with someone (often my INTP partner, funny that) and we'll be debating something which makes us both rush off to the pc or other source of information to find more information. In the process, I'll get distracted by other interesting stuff related to the topic and suddenly we find we've both been sitting there for a couple of hours when we initially were just going to check something quickly. Often the intense searching somehow mysteriously culminates in us sending each other cat videos instead of that interesting pdf we somehow managed to forget among umpteen tabs....

The kind of information I end up researching is never that predictable. I have specific fields of interest that have been dominant in my life, but somehow I end up researching seemingly banal little things that catches my momentary interest. For example, I had spent a few days obsessively puzzling over some little bits of plastic I kept finding on our trips to the beach. The initial fascination over the various colours and the very specific shape of them was soon obscured by the fact that there seemed to be an alarming density of them.....everywhere. I spent a few days driving my partner insane over it until I came across a website that featured exactly those plastic things. They turned out to be industrial plastic pellets, or Nurdles as they are called, which have become a world wide marine pollution problem. They are quite tiny, so most people seem to miss them.

I found hundreds of them in just a few hours within a couple of square metres, so judging by that density there would be many millions of them around the beaches here. There is even a Japanese lab which specialises in the chemical analysis of these Nurdles, and there are instructions for how to collect them for density analysis. Turns out they are carriers of various toxins as they absorb hydrophobic chemicals; they float around the oceans for a few years until ingested by fish or birds, or washed up on beaches around the world.

 

[Architect]

yeah ive spent hours before learning about things like agriculture in iceland

I was just learning about iceland the other day but didn't make it to agriculture, will check that out.

japanese tea ceremony

Yes know that one and even have all the accouterments

what kind of ear picks the vikings used to clean their ears

Darn something new to learn

Ive been taught that knowledge is power hence i hoard every bit i can find even if its utter shit

That used to be true. When I started working you were valuable because of what you knew. I was a UNIX/programming expert and enjoyed the benefits of that being recognized. The reason was people could ask me a question and I could find the answer very quick. Now StackOverflow is smarter than any programmer.

Worst part is that the more obscure or pointless it is, the more absorbed I seem to become in the whole thing. I've always thought it's less to do with being an information junkie than it is just trying to avoid committing to engaging what other people consider 'real' responsibilities.

Why can't I sit here all day and learn about paintbrushes and painting techniques for scale modelling that I'll probably never buy or use?

I tried art once, but eventually dropped it and told my wife that it was dangerous. I'd get more into the technique and materials than doing art.

Usually what happens is that I'll be having a conversation with someone (often my INTP partner, funny that) and we'll be debating something which makes us both rush off to the pc or other source of information to find more information. In the process, I'll get distracted by other interesting stuff related to the topic and suddenly we find we've both been sitting there for a couple of hours when we initially were just going to check something quickly. Often the intense searching somehow mysteriously culminates in us sending each other cat videos instead of that interesting pdf we somehow managed to forget among umpteen tabs....

lol .. btw I know about nurdles too, studied the ocean plastic problem years ago.

 

[Brontosaurie]

i used to be an extreme information junkie, starting with memorizing and recognizing all renowned car brands at about age 1-2, then i spent a few years learning everything i could find about dinosaurs, which was mostly names and anatomic characteristics of hundreds of different genera or species. my ESTJ friend was with me on this. then later music became my information mine as i would memorize track sequences, track lengths, important events at specific points in songs, different sounds and their perceived meaning and relationships, time signatures, modes, people, countries of origin, years of release, likely arcs of influence etc. i don't do much of that anymore; at some point it just got too big and it dissolved into my worldview. but i still read shampoo bottles.

maybe in my case "data" suits better than "information".

 

[Pyropyro]

Why? It gives me a hit.

It's basically mind porn.

INTP's do you have this trait? Do you think it's in control, or not?

Yes. Only partially controlled. I do have good info stored in my brain but most are clutter with subjects like "what's the best X class build for Diablo II". My mind is a huge wikia but with an "i'm feeling lucky" button rather than an actual decent search feature.

 

[Absurdity]

I have a reputation in my office for "knowing things" and not having to look them up.

 

[Architect]

I could tell you where 55% of the NFL went to high school and what their parents names and professions are ... I can rattle off a modern version of 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon in my head with contemporary writers, directors, actors for hours on end.

memorizing and recognizing all renowned car brands at about age 1-2 ... music became my information mine as i would memorize track sequences, track lengths, important events at specific points in songs, different sounds and their perceived meaning and relationships, time signatures, modes, people, countries of origin, years of release, likely arcs of influence etc.

maybe in my case "data" suits better than "information".

These are interesting points. Another angle on this is the S version. ISTP's and ISTJ's tend toward this. These are the Trekkies, film and video game nerd types. A variation is a sports nerd who memorizes baseball statistics and such.

Not saying you guys are not INTP's - I don't know - but these are examples of heavy Si, whereas I believe the canonical INTP approach is Ti-Ne-Si.

Ti, technically interested in some topic
Ne, interested in gathering wide ranging data about it
Si, collecting specific bits of data along the way

In this sense it's more information than data which as I say is heavy Si.

 

[Teffnology]

The Si tertiary is where I more associate with INTP than ISTP. ISTP has Se in the functional stack as opposed to Si. In my understanding of the cognitive functions I use Si way more than Se. Also the Ti-Fe dynamic is the same in the two types and can cause some type overlap and inferior grip experiences can look the same.

What I have seen is that it is not behaviors or interests that determine type but rather how those behaviors or interests are approached.

I am the biggest sports nerd I know and ideally I would be an ISTP. I honestly wish I was but I have ZERO mechanical inclination, am poorly coordinated (aka injury/accident prone) and don't do things with my hands. I live in abstractions in my brain, memorizing facts and details, thinking about how to perform more efficiently rather than going by trial and error, and how best to analyze a system.

When describing the cognitive functions Ti, Te, Fi, Fe are usually able to be determined when compared to each other in a dichotomy. The Ni, Ne, Si, Se dichotomies or dyads I have seen them called are much more slippery and hard to pin down.

 

[Lot]

The more useless the better. The more the information is something other people don't care about, and has potential to alienate me, the better.

I have a problem

At most my random facts are entertaining to other people. Sometimes impressive. At worst it makes me obsessed about things no ones finds interesting and leaves me with the inability to talk about anything else. I'm slowly getting better at this. For some reason I was more well rounded with this when I was younger. Probably forced learning from school. More things to talk about.

It fills the void of knowledge in my heart. The internet is makes this much easier. I would have to go to a university to get this kind of info 100 years ago.

 

[Analyzer]

Yeah or in more academic terms - intellectual hedonist.

 

[Architect]

The Si tertiary is where I more associate with INTP than ISTP. ISTP has Se in the functional stack as opposed to Si. In my understanding of the cognitive functions I use Si way more than Se. Also the Ti-Fe dynamic is the same in the two types and can cause some type overlap and inferior grip experiences can look the same.

OK

What I have seen is that it is not behaviors or interests that determine type but rather how those behaviors or interests are approached.

Hmm, agree - somewhat, but see below

I am the biggest sports nerd I know and ideally I would be an ISTP. I honestly wish I was but I have ZERO mechanical inclination, am poorly coordinated (aka injury/accident prone) and don't do things with my hands. I live in abstractions in my brain, memorizing facts and details, thinking about how to perform more efficiently rather than going by trial and error, and how best to analyze a system.

Just to argue the point, the biggest Se user I personally know - my ESFP nephew, isn't good at sports either. Doesn't stop him, he's on several teams, but just can't do it well, and he obsesses about players and teams. Likewise my ISTP brother has zero mechanical inclination, the wheels almost fell off his car once because he didn't service them. On the other hand my INTP friend is very good at understanding, fixing and building electrical and mechanical systems. He grew up taking radios apart, then was mentored by the local TV repair guy on fixing them, and so grew up to be an electrical engineer.

I think the best indication of type is motivation and interest, irregardless of ability. Though obviously motivation generally leads to greater ability in an area. This is why I believe the functions play the role of information stream filters in the brain, which is how they manifest as motivations. On this topic, I have yet to meet an INTP who was really interested in team sports, but its certainly possible I suppose.

 

[Teffnology]

I would not mind being an ISTP or an ISTJ for that matter, being an ESFP would have made my marriage a whole lot easier but at the end of the day every test i have taken over the past 5 years has resulted in a strong IP preference with a 60-40 split on NT preference. And all of the descriptions I have read since then, including Drenth's INTP book, I identify with INTP the most. Certain aspects of ISTJ, ISTP, ENTP, and INTJ apply but as a whole INTP fits the bill.

I would love if someone had a more clear way of testing for the cognitive functions but all of the current tests have various issues and more or less muddle the difference in primary functions and shadow functions. Until then I am an INTP but can't stop others from offering their opinions (rather welcome it actually as it makes me question/reaffirm what I believe about myself) just as you deal with people calling you an INTJ often.

 

[Cherry Cola]

Ya definitely information junkie. I think I'm on par with most INTPs. I'm awful at remembering facts however.

Favourite information junkie activity is browsing wikipedia articles on animals for a while (usually more than an hour) whereafter I enter phase 2 which is to look at youtube videos of said animals for a similar period of time. Animals are great, but I tell myself that the overarching purpose of this endeavor is to grasp the nature of consciousness by studying its many manifestations.

I should start reading less about specific animals and more about taxonomy and stuff like that though. The best thing about animals is you never run out of stuff to read.

 

[Architect]

I would love if someone had a more clear way of testing for the cognitive functions but all of the current tests have various issues and more or less muddle the difference in primary functions and shadow functions.

Yeah that's the rub. Drenth has one I like, I'd be curious for some more opinions on it

Function clarifier test

Warning, don't read the scoring section until you go through the entire test.

 

[Sockrates]

I love information, all of it, no matter what it's for. It allows me to think more broadly and have more diverse conversations when necessary. From information, one can come to understandings of why things are the way they are. A lot of data is fluff but depicting what isn't is key and is what I aim to do.

 

[Teffnology]

]

Yeah that's the rub. Drenth has one I like, I'd be curious for some more opinions on it

Function clarifier test

Warning, don't read the scoring section until you go through the entire test.

I just took it (blind without knowledge of the scoring rubric) and it did as Drenth said, it solidified the dominant and auxiliary functions but left the rest a jumbled mess that could be left to interpretation.

Spoiler

I had no doubts that G was my number 1 ranking and H my number 2. The rest could have been a toss up between where I ranked them but I had E ahead of F with A (mostly my persona when at work) in between those two. Then B, D, C.

I found it helpful in identifying my auxiliary function and confirming my dominant function but beyond that didn't find it useful.

 

[Anktark]

If only I could learn to wield this curse and align it with my targets... In five to ten years I could see myself become an overlord with disheveled hair and a shit eating grin, having set my sights on controlling the nearest star systems, first steps on my way to becoming a... Whoops, I got a little sidetracked there... Do I.. do I get the job?

 

[Kuu]

Information gathering is not by itself a negative thing, but rather to put that information to good use. Information is useless without action; this is perhaps our greatest weakness.

I need (and crave) some time away from information sources, so I can synthesise what has been learned, and give myself time to put some in action. Alas, modern society demands too much time devoted to production rather than reflection. This makes it hard for information synthesis. Time is money, and its hard to convince people to pay you to invest time reflecting and synthesising.

The overproduction of information also saturates and paralyses the earnest information gatherer... too much noise, too much distraction...

To answer the question, I do think it is out of control, largely because there is no overarching social structure that allows or nurtures a healthy development of this tendency.

 

[r4ch3l]

Yeah. It can be a legitimate problem. Just before I joined INTPf I was in a dark place. Had saved up a bunch of money and didn't need to work for a few months while I finished the last three courses required to graduate. Got so into my research that I stopped leaving the house and read around the clock. Highlighted journal PDFs stacked in the corner of the room. Quotes and diagrams pinned to the walls. Some A Beautiful Mind shit, basically. By the end of it I was in a constant state of anxiety about what Life Beyond School would be like. My little isolated research box was super dysfunctional/not sustainable (and I knew that) but I was sooooo happy and excited to wake up every day to continue working where I left off. I don't think I'd ever experienced that before.

It took awhile to begin to function normally again and accept that -- for the time being -- my turn to be a full-time information hound was over. I've got a lot more balance now and wouldn't want to put myself in that position again but goddamn was it fun.

I'm very selective about my information gathering, and once I got it processed, I'm unable to convey it, due to poor linguistics.

I am this way about the information that is related to my ongoing obsessions. I was quite disturbed at dinner last night when a new acquaintance asked me which philosophical themes I research and enjoy. My attempt to succinctly convey some ideas from two of my favorite books related to ongoing projects (G. Spencer Brown's Laws of Form and Ignacio Matte Blanco's The Unconscious as Infinite Sets) sounded something like this:

http://youtu.be/lj3iNxZ8Dww?t=7s

Except there was definitely way more arm flailing and eyeballs rolling around in my skull. It is easy for me to write about these topics but nearly impossible to speak about them in real time unless the person I am speaking with is already familiar with some of the key concepts. And even then...

Uhm....yeah.

Usually what happens is that I'll be having a conversation with someone (often my INTP partner, funny that) and we'll be debating something which makes us both rush off to the pc or other source of information to find more information. In the process, I'll get distracted by other interesting stuff related to the topic and suddenly we find we've both been sitting there for a couple of hours when we initially were just going to check something quickly.

Do this all the time, solo and with former INTx partners. I know I should get a grip on it if I ever want to accomplish some goals that I claim are important to me but the truth is that it's just too enjoyable and rewarding. A good spontaneous Google slide is probably, honestly, my favorite way to relax. My best ideas/mental connections have come from just letting my brain run completely wild on the internets with an interesting start point. I know this sounds pathetic to most people but it's true.

I have a reputation in my office for "knowing things" and not having to look them up.

Same.

 

[Hadoblado]

I wish I had the energy to be more curious. Within certain domains I am ravenous for any and all information, but on average I'm less curious than most.

 

[Jennywocky]

Uhm....yeah.

Usually what happens is that I'll be having a conversation with someone (often my INTP partner, funny that) and we'll be debating something which makes us both rush off to the pc or other source of information to find more information. In the process, I'll get distracted by other interesting stuff related to the topic and suddenly we find we've both been sitting there for a couple of hours when we initially were just going to check something quickly. Often the intense searching somehow mysteriously culminates in us sending each other cat videos instead of that interesting pdf we somehow managed to forget among umpteen tabs....

The kind of information I end up researching is never that predictable. I have specific fields of interest that have been dominant in my life, but somehow I end up researching seemingly banal little things that catches my momentary interest. For example, I had spent a few days obsessively puzzling over some little bits of plastic I kept finding on our trips to the beach. The initial fascination over the various colours and the very specific shape of them was soon obscured by the fact that there seemed to be an alarming density of them.....everywhere. I spent a few days driving my partner insane over it until I came across a website that featured exactly those plastic things. They turned out to be industrial plastic pellets, or Nurdles as they are called, which have become a world wide marine pollution problem. They are quite tiny, so most people seem to miss them.

I found hundreds of them in just a few hours within a couple of square metres, so judging by that density there would be many millions of them around the beaches here. There is even a Japanese lab which specialises in the chemical analysis of these Nurdles, and there are instructions for how to collect them for density analysis. Turns out they are carriers of various toxins as they absorb hydrophobic chemicals; they float around the oceans for a few years until ingested by fish or birds, or washed up on beaches around the world.

I was considering posting, but you have already more than adequately described my life enough that I need not explain further...

 

[Yellow]

I love information and I have certainly spent endless hours consuming random information, but I don't think it counts as "out of control" until it becomes somehow unpleasant.

I have, however drawn a few lines. I don't want to allow the convenient, ready access to information to impede good conversation, critical thinking, or creativity. We (my INTJ and I) even have a rule that we will wait at least 5 minutes before whipping out Google when we have conflicting ideas or when we are missing some fact. Most of the time, we've moved on or resolved the confusion before the time is up.

I think it's healthy stop and think about something before running to the nearest reference source.

Other than that, I love sites like Wikipedia. My most recent rabbit hole started with the size of the current wild cheetah population and ended with Rokurokubi.