INTP Fields of Interest

[Sinny91]

I was just wondering what fields of interest were held by INTP's, and if there are any common theme's, or will I be surprised? According to our analysis, we pick our rather esoteric fields and excel in them.

I feel slightly failed in the sense I don't really think there's any field I particularily excel in, not to the extent of bragging rights anyway.

In typical INTP fasion, I'm perceived as a knowledgeable 'jack of all trades' by those who know me.

I suppose if there were any fields I believe I'm starting to know inside out they would be Para-Politics and Para-Psychology... Fascinating, but rather impractical.

Yours?

 

[YOLOisonlyprinciple]

Fields in order of preference (not necessarily in order of actual skill)
1. Existential philosophy
2. Pure Mathematics
3. Computer Science
4. Economics espl Game theory
5. Statistics/Actuarial science
6. Physics
7. Tax and Corporate Laws + Financial Reporting

I didnt become a jack of all trades because i wanted to study different stuff, it was just happenstance partly due to my wavering mindset/seeking what is my purpose.

--I did 7. Tax, because my dad wanted me to become a partner in his firm later on
I regret doing that instead of majoring in 6. Physics
i was pretty naive then; i thought the world was all about earning money
--Then halfway thru, i started 5. Actuarial science, because it was way cooler than 7. Also, it pays more than 7., So again i just wanted money (btw will the pound fall any time soon?, i have to pay a lot of my fees in british pound)
--Then after working on my first internship; i was like OH GAWD WAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY LIFEEEEEEEEEEE
--So after 3 years of internship, i realized i would be just a "no one", a loser if i just went along the same path; realised that actuarial science is just so boring because literally no innovation happens in companies. I mean year after year you just do things which are 90% the same

>So i realised i need to get into computer science, gona learn c++ and java now, and if all goes well then about 10 yrs down the line, i might be able to begin my own startup company providing ERP solutions, i just love solving micro business problems

So basically i was interested in tax law and actuarial science because i wanted money.
Now i am interested in computer science mostly for money but also because i have a passion for problem solving.
And pure math is the language of reason; there is no way i could leave that out
And physics cos, you know BLACK HOLES... whooo....
And existential philosophy, so i can gain some purpose in life

>>And for the record i didnt excel in anything, the last time i remember excelling in something was when i was 9yrs old and i was playin chess competitively. All i do nowadays is keep failin exams because my mind is just all over the place

 

[redbaron]

Not really sure how relevant it is, but I identify as an INTP 8w7 as well and I pretty much fall into the same boat. I'm good at everything but don't really excel at anything.

Or perhaps more accurately, I excel at problem-solving in any area but haven't taken the time to specialize in anything. So far the fields I've dabbled in or given thought to are:

Programming
Engineering
Science
Psychology
Analytics

Ultimately I think my real strength lies in a consultant type role. I've done business consulting and was exceptional at it, but business specifically isn't quite my thing. Ultimately I'll probably look at staying in a consultancy role but in a role more suited to my interests.

 

[dark+matters]

I test as a lot of different types but mainly veer into the INTP/INFP range. (Do I have to sew a gold star onto all my clothing?) I'm an enneagram 5w6. I'm definitely not good at all this stuff, but it's safe to say that these are or have been interests or aspirations.

When I was a little kid, I was into marine biology, herpetology, dinosaurs, all other animals and every day I read, drew, and forced all my friends to be the characters in stories with me. I was obsessed with video games and chess otherwise.

When I was a teenager, I again, drew every day (comic books especially), I wrote a lot, listened to and played/Fruitylooped music/sung a lot and was really into martial arts, dream interpretation, break dancing, biology and physics. I wanted to be a filmmaker.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I was really scared about life and felt aimless and stuck. I went to a counseling trade school (I was interested in family dynamics, personality and troubled youth). I wanted to be a screenwriter so I didn't have to keep forcing my friends to be the characters in the stories I wrote. I sold a lot of my art and other handmade crafts and wanted to own my own business breeding some of my pets, but I lost money on both ventures. I went through an extreme acting phase.

Now that I'm in my late twenties, I still enjoy reading about or watching documentaries about biology. I enjoy looking up laws and seeing how to create those. I like metaknowledge. I like working on my grammar and vocabulary along with writing screenplays, plays, and novels. I took a logic class which changed my life forever, and found that I unexpectedly really enjoy philosophy and trying to build on my critical thinking skills. I'm interested in looking at the forces acting on people (justice, sociology, etc.). I like reading about economics and stock trading. I still like to make weird things with my hands. I like to dance. I switched my major again and I'm having a 1/3 life crisis, so I'm currently focused on looking at different areas of physics, biophysics, or computer science that I would be interested in doing when I'm middle aged (and beyond). Right now, I'm most interested in digging further into artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and theoretical physics (and investment banking since a lot of theoretical physicists seem to jump into that and I've always been very interested in business strategy).

Yup! I wish I weren't interested in everything. I don't think there's anything at all that I wouldn't want to learn, but time is such a huge problem. I'm also curious to see how much intersection of interests there is here.

 

[onesteptwostep]

Not really in any order but:

'Northern hemisphere' politics (europe/middle east/east asia/southeast asia/us)
History (religious and political, esp. european and east asian)
Western philosophy
Abnormal psychology
Sociology, cross-cultural studies (on race and disapora, globalization, postmodernism or whatever zeitgeist we're in right now etc)
Architecture/Urban planning (religious and contemporary)
and lastly theology, spirituality, and religion in general; though with emphasis on Christianity

I don't have depth in most of these as much as I would like to, but these generally are the topics of interest.

I sort of wish I could get into economics to understand international trade and the financial world better.
And because of my humanities bent, my interest music and art in general are a given.

On what INTPs seem to normally do or suggest: I remember doing some really stupid elementary programming in high school but that's it. I couldn't really get into those CS books. Or maybe the teachers were just bad? I dunno. I tried making RPG games but I learned it obviously is going to take more than one person to finish one in one trimester.

 

[YOLOisonlyprinciple]

is why others are interested in their thing if they are consciously in anything. case studyish;

a: I prompt factoids from a. a provides factoids, with eager. a asks me factoids too unprompted, likes dynamic. positive mutual factoid feedback loop. no stakes attached to info we exchange, pretty inconsequential, we get egocharacterboost, i know it maybe a doesnt.

b: enthusiasm and anti-anxiety permeates all of b's utterances. seems to belie unenthusiasm. info-wise it's actually standard media stuff, but b has good attitude. b's eager interest thus undetermined.

d: talks the most, smiles shift from fake to actual smiles/laughs. once whatever initial point of conversation passes d will immediately spew hypotheticals of objects around the room, "would you eat this _inanimate object_" "lets play baseball with this ___" "push me around in this chair" Mostly seems bored. Possible eager interest of d is particular person d is nervous around and some stakes (emotional, always, of course, the stakes) at play.

Im not exactly sure what your post was about;
as far as i gathered you were trying to guess the nature of the people who posted above you.
If that is the case do you consider a. as starting from the OP Sinny, or afterwards; cos there are 5 posts above you and you have numbered from a. to d.

Just curious

 

[Sinny91]

When I was a little kid, I was into marine biology, herpetology, dinosaurs, all other animals and every day I read, drew.

Same as, I knew the name's most dinosaurs by the time I was 8 and was convinced I wanted to be an archaeologist, then I had a fascination with the Safari and Savannah animals, I knew I wanted to be a zoologist. If I weren't delving into those, I was reading or drawing.

When I was a teenager, I again, drew every day (comic books especially), I wrote a lot, listened to and played/Fruitylooped music/sung a lot and was really into martial arts, dream interpretation, break dancing, biology and physics. I wanted to be a filmmaker.

By my early teenage years I had taken up kick-boxing, and reverted to being an angsty book worm.

When I was in my late teens/early twenties, I was really scared about life and felt aimless and stuck. I went to a counseling trade school (I was interested in family dynamics, personality and troubled youth). I wanted to be a screenwriter so I didn't have to keep forcing my friends to be the characters in the stories I wrote

Ditto, my home life was a bit broken, I had been top of the class throughout school then went off to college; I was doing a veterinary course at college, but I realised after a year in, that was my childhood dream, not my current one. By the time I left college (early), I didn't know what on earth I was supposed to be doing with my life.

Now that I'm in my late twenties, I still enjoy reading about or watching documentaries about biology. I enjoy looking up laws and seeing how to create those. I like metaknowledge. I like working on my grammar and vocabulary along with writing screenplays, plays, and novels. I took a logic class which changed my life forever, and found that I unexpectedly really enjoy philosophy and trying to build on my critical thinking skills. I'm interested in looking at the forces acting on people (justice, sociology, etc.). I like reading about economics and stock trading. I still like to make weird things with my hands. I like to dance. I switched my major again and I'm having a 1/3 life crisis, so I'm currently focused on looking at different areas of physics, biophysics, or computer science that I would be interested in doing when I'm middle aged (and beyond). Right now, I'm most interested in digging further into artificial intelligence, computer graphics, and theoretical physics (and investment banking since a lot of theoretical physicists seem to jump into that and I've always been very interested in business strategy).

Now I'm in my early twenties, I'm still as lost as ever lol.
I'm in my second year of Uni for International Studies, unfortunately last month I woke up and realised I couldn't arsed with Politics any more. I impulsively put the course on hold, I don't know how detrimental that will be in future. I also quit my job. I didn't really think that through either. But I was becoming increasingly depressed, weighed down by all the responsibilities I gave myself to juggle. I live alone, study alone, and try to hold down a 9-5 where I was the bloody knowledge bank apparently. With limited mental energy and resources. I decided something had to give. I dropped all the baggage, and now I'm in the after glow.
I'm in a bit of financial trouble now, but the break has worked wonders for me internally.

Yup! I wish I weren't interested in everything. I don't think there's anything at all that I wouldn't want to learn, but time is such a huge problem. I'm also curious to see how much intersection of interests there is here

Tell me about, there's so much I want to know, but with a limited life span, I don't know which direction to head, like a deer in the headlights.

I'm glad you have some idea of where your going

 

[Sinny91]

Not really in any order but:

'Northern hemisphere' politics (europe/middle east/east asia/southeast asia/us)
History (religious and political, esp. european and east asian)
Western philosophy
Abnormal psychology
Sociology, cross-cultural studies (on race and disapora, globalization, postmodernism or whatever zeitgeist we're in right now etc)
Architecture/Urban planning (religious and contemporary)
and lastly theology, spirituality, and religion in general; though with emphasis on Christianity

On what INTPs seem to normally do or suggest: I remember doing some really stupid elementary programming in high school but that's it. I couldn't really get into those CS books. Or maybe the teachers were just bad? I dunno. I tried making RPG games but I learned it obviously is going to take more than one person to finish one in one trimester.

What is 'abnormal psychology'?

Computer programming seems to be a biggy for INTP's then. I'm really annoyed at myself because I believe it's a field I'd love to explore as well, but I'm a few years to late to do anything about it right now. I had to much going on in life to pay attention to what I really enjoyed growing up, and our state education has a left a lot to be desired over here.

​

 

[del]

It doesn't get any better, even in your late 20's, lol.

In college, I was deep into pure mathematics. Formal logic, abstract algebra, number theory. I was really interested in the intersection of probability theory and number theory, and I did my senior thesis on the Erdos-Kac theorem.

I took a year off to teach overseas and I really struggled with what I wanted to do after school when I came back. It gave me a definite humanitarian bent. I switched to an anthropology and statistics curriculum, thinking I wanted to work in epidemiology -- but ultimately, that did not work out. I was interested in medicine and thought I might want to go to medical school, so I became an EMT -- and that REALLY didn't work out. My brain was just too interested and molded to think in terms of proofs and theorems.

I really loved physics and philosophy as well. Math, physics, philosophy are my bread and butter. If I could do it over again, I may have stuck with physics; in some ways it is less rigorous than mathematics, but that allows your imagination more power to solve problems, which I enjoy. However, I hated the labs. HATED them.

Unlike others here, I was never too interested in CS. I love the theory, but the act of programming itself isn't hugely enticing to me. I enjoy it, don't get me wrong, but it is not a passion. That said, I've never really done proper software engineering either, although I do write some C and occasionally Python for my job. INTPs are a rare mix of logic + creativity so I can see it as a good field.

I love art, history, literature, etc. too but these none of these are things I really ever considered studying formally at a university.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

I type myself as mbti INTP, enneagram 5w6, socionics INTJ?
I'm generally interested in:
Artificial intelligence, expert systems, information theory, computer science.

Virtual reality, perfect immersion; programming, constructing and designing of those, controlling human senses, cognitive experiences and generating a never ending consistent narrative.

Foreign languages, acquisition, linguistics and cultures.

Formal logic, especially many-valued and fuzzy logic and applications of those.

Probability theory, statistics, topology, thermodynamics, number theory, etc.

With a lot of other things omitted, some mentions :arts, literature (hard sci-fi), music (piano) and basically anything that links or helps me understand my main interests.

As for what I'm naturally good at, it's languages, analysis, problem solving and optimising.

I started seriously programming at my first job because I realised it would be a much better use of my time to prepare tools that would help me in the routine data entry and information gathering that I was tasked with. So I wrote a few scripts and I hear people that I left behind still use them (at least those patient enough to listen to my explanation of how it works). But I don't enjoy programming in itself only if it helps me with other problems.

I have used foreign languages to negotiate at my current job and act as a translator on some trade trips for my shop. I'm also translating documents from time to time. I will try to do some independent programming to see how it looks once I feel confident.

That said my dream aspiration would be to become a fully fledged freelancer, continue learning and doing independent projects for the rest of my life.

 

[Architect]

You have to disambiguate between what you love to do versus what you should be doing and are good at. What you're truly passionate about often times is tied in with your inferior. What you should be doing and are best at is tied in with your dominant. For example, I get more joy from music that I do from programming, but I get more satisfaction from programming.

 

[Doktorin Zylinder]

Pick something at random and I'm probably interested to a greater or lesser extent.

 

[Brontosaurie]

i don't have enough patience for stuff. i'm into myself, mainly. myself and the way the world happens to me and the way i know.

which, in effect, becomes an exaggerated generalism. i'm always rooting for the underdog so i have no trouble getting enthused about weird things. but i have trouble maintaining interest and focus to the point of mastery in any area, because i cannot will myself to believe it is that particularly important. the task of piecing it all together is where i feel i have the upper hand to most people. holistic knowledge, and personhood.

 

[Inquisitor]

You have to disambiguate between what you love to do versus what you should be doing and are good at. What you're truly passionate about often times is tied in with your inferior. What you should be doing and are best at is tied in with your dominant. For example, I get more joy from music that I do from programming, but I get more satisfaction from programming.

I'm going through a lot of questioning right now. But what you mentioned is exactly what I've been thinking about recently. The hypothesis is:

There exists a split between fields that "feel" right but are mediocre career-wise and fields that don't really evoke any warm/fuzzy feelings but that may be better career-wise.

Unfortunately for me at this point, this is still only a hypothesis, hence the trepidation and questioning. Obviously, the above could apply to any of the types, but for INTPs, the manifestation seems rather specific.

I'm in my 30s, and have repeatedly typed as INTP on all tests since I was in college. I took the official MBTI administered by a certified examiner and INTP just seems like it describes me very accurately.

Objectively speaking, I experience the greatest amount of joy when I'm learning about new things or making new connections that are somehow directly related to human concerns. At the risk of being laughed at, the best way to describe this "high" is this warm, fuzzy feeling that occurs in the chest region. It just "feels" right. No other way to describe it.

For example, currently I naturally find myself pondering:

-Jungian psychology
-Traditional systems of medicine (Ayurveda)
-Buddhism
-ESL teaching methodology
-Ancient religions (Hinduism + concept of Karma/reincarnation)
-Large-scale social problems (education reform movement)
-Robotization of society/AI/possibility of a singularity (I find it frightening)

Basically anything that's directly related to humanity and its problems, I'll probably be interested in it. In the past, I have been interested in:

-Libertarianism
-Anarchism
-Economics (Ron Paul, Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, Walter Block, several others...)
-Conspiracy theories regarding NWO
-Geopolitics
-Chinese medicine
-US and Chinese healthcare systems/insurance/perceived inefficiencies and flaws
-Chinese language (love the culture, hate the rote memorization aspect)
-How technology works in the aggregate, but not the nitty gritty details (watching How It's Made, reading articles online, learning about space travel)

Icarus Interstellar

As an ESL teacher who is in the role of a counselor/coach, I believe I have something to add. Here's my experience: while I am in the classroom teaching, I generally feel highly energized and also, unfortunately, highly stressed. I feel like I am under a great deal of pressure. I am easily irritable and impatient when students don't understand something, and unless I spend most of my time sitting down behind my desk and not directly engaging with students and walking around, I feel fairly washed out at the end of every class. This is not to say the class doesn't have it's enjoyable moments. It is satisfying to have "helped" people at the end of the day. But there's no way I could do this job for 8 hours straight. I've tried. I end up collapsing on the couch in the evening. Totally brain-dead/zonked-out.

So...the plan at the moment is to take Calculus and intro CS classes for credit this summer and fall. The instructors are good. The universities they are attached to are some of the best in the world. The courses are intensive and rigorous, requiring at least 40 hours a week total. I can afford to take a couple months off from teaching to really immerse myself. I figure that if I don't enjoy doing the problem sets, it's a good bet CS is not for me. I'm hoping my hunch is correct though.

 

[rainman312]

My current interest (obsession) is lucid dreaming. It's actually why I haven't been very active on the forum recently. I've been pretty caught up in researching it. My interests vary wildly however. I'd say my major interest changes about every 2 months, though some are persistent (such as lucid dreaming, as well as mathematics and organic chemistry).

 

[Inquisitor]

What I will also mention is that neither CS nor Calculus evoke warm, fuzzy feelings for me. In fact, it's kind of the opposite. I worry that there may be too much technology already, and that we are somehow slowly losing touch with our humanity. I also worry that it's becoming more difficult to live a full and fulfilling life. In the past, people died younger, suffered more from disease, extreme weather, wild animals, war, filth, bad food etc. but they also had tight-knit community bonds. In other words, they had each other. They were not as disconnected/isolated from one another as we are today. They lived in nature, not separate from it. They were forced to stay in the real world. There was no virtual escape from it using the Internet, books, movies, videogames, iPhones, etc. They didn't devastate the environment. In other words, they experienced life, with all its miseries and joys to the fullest extent possible. I wonder if all this technology we have makes for a comfortable but ultimately unfulfilling life? Call it the Luddite streak in me, but it's definitely a part of me that's been there since living in a backwater city in China where people until recently had a more traditional way of life.

 

[Architect]

There exists a split between fields that "feel" right but are mediocre career-wise and fields that don't really evoke any warm/fuzzy feelings but that may be better career-wise.

I think it's a little more subtle than that. Fundamentally the inferior is there to mess with us. It gets us to pick the wrong mates and the wrong careers, among other things. So when there's something that appeals to the inferior, it can fool us into thinking "ah! this is it, this is what I want to do the rest of my life!" It's like the bad boy/girl friend that we think we want. Incredibly sexy, they pull us in, but in large doses ruin our lives.

The dominant is different. Things that appeal to the dominant just appeal to us. They interest us so much that they're not that noticeable. Our brains like what's new, what's different, not the familiar. So in a way we're more attracted to our inferior than the things that interest our dominant, because we're so used to the dominant interests. So, we go down the wrong path following our "muse", or our "passion". Careful with those concepts, are they coming from the dominant, or inferior?

Anyhow, I'd disagree that Dominant interests don't evoke warm/fuzzy or whatever. It's just that they don't glitter and attract our attention the way the inferior interests do. Taking my example above, today was a great one to illustrate the point. I usually listen to music while I program, with these insanely expensive and crazy headphone setups (you don't want to know). It gives me great joy, I'm re-listening to the complete Bach Cantatas as the moment. Music goes to my heart in a way like nothing else. So much that I became a musician when I was younger, got really good, and flamed out at the peak of my career. It took too much psychic energy to sustain on a daily basis.

So I'm programming. The highs, and the lows from it are not as pronounced as with music, but I can do it. Like all day, seven days a week every day of the year for 25 years now. And I'm good, and I enjoy it. Mostly it's pedestrian, with some little highs and lows, but the past four weeks I've been working on mastering a new subfield. It's been beginning to stress me out, as I'm due for a demo to the brass in a few weeks, right before I take a month off. With two weeks to go I've got nothing to show, but today ... it all came together. My brain clicked, I got it, the architecture fell into place and the pieces. I was like "Yeah!", pumping my fists all day as I got success after success. Felt great ... after so many weeks of slowly feeling worse.

High's and lows ... but not as high, nor as low as I'd get with music. I hope however that it illustrates the point. Music is a temptress with a low cut bodice, while programming is a weird guy on the street corner with a boot on his head. But I must go with the interesting crazy guy, as much as the temptress attracts she would just ruin me (but is OK to visit )

 

[del]

You have to disambiguate between what you love to do versus what you should be doing and are good at. What you're truly passionate about often times is tied in with your inferior. What you should be doing and are best at is tied in with your dominant. For example, I get more joy from music that I do from programming, but I get more satisfaction from programming.

This would absolutely explain why I was led astray into humanitarian style careers, like medicine, public health, etc. It didn't work, there's no way I could fit into that every day.

 

[Inquisitor]

Spoiler

I think it's a little more subtle than that. Fundamentally the inferior is there to mess with us. It gets us to pick the wrong mates and the wrong careers, among other things. So when there's something that appeals to the inferior, it can fool us into thinking "ah! this is it, this is what I want to do the rest of my life!" It's like the bad boy/girl friend that we think we want. Incredibly sexy, they pull us in, but in large doses ruin our lives.

The dominant is different. Things that appeal to the dominant just appeal to us. They interest us so much that they're not that noticeable. Our brains like what's new, what's different, not the familiar. So in a way we're more attracted to our inferior than the things that interest our dominant, because we're so used to the dominant interests. So, we go down the wrong path following our "muse", or our "passion". Careful with those concepts, are they coming from the dominant, or inferior?

Anyhow, I'd disagree that Dominant interests don't evoke warm/fuzzy or whatever. It's just that they don't glitter and attract our attention the way the inferior interests do. Taking my example above, today was a great one to illustrate the point. I usually listen to music while I program, with these insanely expensive and crazy headphone setups (you don't want to know). It gives me great joy, I'm re-listening to the complete Bach Cantatas as the moment. Music goes to my heart in a way like nothing else. So much that I became a musician when I was younger, got really good, and flamed out at the peak of my career. It took too much psychic energy to sustain on a daily basis.

So I'm programming. The highs, and the lows from it are not as pronounced as with music, but I can do it. Like all day, seven days a week every day of the year for 25 years now. And I'm good, and I enjoy it. Mostly it's pedestrian, with some little highs and lows, but the past four weeks I've been working on mastering a new subfield. It's been beginning to stress me out, as I'm due for a demo to the brass in a few weeks, right before I take a month off. With two weeks to go I've got nothing to show, but today ... it all came together. My brain clicked, I got it, the architecture fell into place and the pieces. I was like "Yeah!", pumping my fists all day as I got success after success. Felt great ... after so many weeks of slowly feeling worse.

High's and lows ... but not as high, nor as low as I'd get with music. I hope however that it illustrates the point. Music is a temptress with a low cut bodice, while programming is a weird guy on the street corner with a boot on his head. But I must go with the interesting crazy guy, as much as the temptress attracts she would just ruin me (but is OK to visit )

Very interesting. Thanks for this. When I made that statement, I was referring to how I think and feel when approaching how to choose a career. I think I agree with you that once you are in a field that makes heavy use of your dominant function, you can have emotional highs as well. (There better be!)

I did some coding with C in CS50, Harvard's intro to CS class on edx. I remember there was a really hard (for me) problem in the beginning which asked you to create a program that would check whether or not a credit card number was valid and what type of card it was (Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc.). I must have puzzled over this problem for a few days. I slept on it. And then one day, I just got the answer all at once and wrote out a nearly bug-free solution in an hour. The high I got from solving that was awesome! Really exhilarating. I get a very similar feeling when 1) I'm able to understand the best way of doing things in society or 2) when I understand an issue that has remained dark and mysterious for a long time.

An example of 1): the education reform movement in this country is advocating for more testing, merit pay for teachers, computerized classrooms, busting up unions, etc. After having reviewed their claims and the data, I got a sort of high when I understood how to keep America's education system great. (It's not what the reformers are advocating.)

An example of 2): After watching a documentary about North Korea and reading the opinions of many experts, I could say that I finally had a general idea of what was going on over there.

It would seem that in all these cases, I used my dominant/auxiliary functions.

However, for whatever reason (maybe it's the inferior like you said), I feel "called" by the humanities.

This would absolutely explain why I was led astray into humanitarian style careers, like medicine, public health, etc. It didn't work, there's no way I could fit into that every day.

At one point I was even all set to go to medical school, but for whatever reason did not follow through. For years after that I bounced between intense regret/questioning my decision of not becoming a doctor (both my parents are physicians) and not really caring (mostly over it now, but sometimes I have a momentary doubt). Something held me back. Maybe it was a subconscious recognition that I was being led astray. Or maybe I just didn't feel ready to make any big decisions. In any case, I don't feel called by CS, so that's why there's a part of me that's worried right now, because going against that "calling" seems like going against my nature in a way.

 

[dark+matters]

I remember the most distinctly INTP person I'd ever met. He had an extreme resistance to doing IT certification, despite how he was obviously awesome at troubleshooting technical problems. I always wondered why he didn't go for it since it would be such a big pay and opportunity boost for him with only minimal effort. Instead, he was doing theater-related stuff like me that clearly wasn't going to lead him anywhere productive in the future. I understood the feelers' doing it since they could make contacts for their projects, but him? ...mmmm, I didn't see it. That said, I also believe that people of any type can potentially do well in any field of their choosing. Meryl Streep or Dustin Hoffman are good examples of successful INTP theater people.

I think del's comment was pretty accurate about career decisions not necessarily getting any easier in your late 20's. My dad, an NT, was still taking college classes in his 70's, still happily exploring his interests. I accept that this will likely be my fate as well. LOL! I don't understand how so many people find something that works for them for decades on end (although he did). I am accustomed to work being a nice diversion from what I actually find interesting.

P.S. Didn't someone say del's advice was useless because he was an ESFJ or something recently?

*warms up the 'ESFJ' branding iron in the fire. A slave to my left stokes the coals with a pump.*

I turn to the brawny slave to my right. Based on his blank, forward-facing stare, I can tell the slave doesn't mind his lowly position or his gruesome task.

"Hold it down, Brutus," I say, gesturing at the ESFJ.

I can hear the feeble struggle going on beside me, but I no longer need to watch it. I rotate the branding iron in the fires until the red-orange heat spreads evenly throughout the metal. I hold out the branding iron to let it cool for a couple seconds. I look at the slave, who has immobilized the ESFJ. I haven't worked with this slave before today, so I tell him, "Is it secure? The last one moved around so much it created a scar all up and down its forehead, hardly making any of the four letters legible."

The ESFJ's eyes fill with contempt, defiance, and a measure of fear that cannot be hidden by any such posturing.

"This is for the good of the community," I say. "That they may be warned ahead of time."

 

[onesteptwostep]

What is 'abnormal psychology'?

Depression, mania, hypomaina, sleep disorders, personality disorders, scizophrenia, bipolar disorder and so on. Basically all the range of different cognitive-mental disorders.

Basically, the weird stuff that goes in your head that messes up your normal perception of things.

 

[ActiveMind]

What do you guys think about video game development as a career option?

 

[Inquisitor]

Basically, this nails it for me:

Benziger Falsification of Type

As a teacher, it certainly feels like my brain is consuming massive amounts of energy when I am in the classroom in front of the students. Give me a problem to solve that requires sitting in front of a computer, and it's fairly easy, even refreshing. I recently bought a grain mill for example. The process of shopping and comparing various models online to find the best one was fun and interesting. In case any of you are interested, I settled on this one btw:

Komo Fidibus 21

 

[J-man]

Music/art
Myself
Psychology
MBTI
Religion
Drugs
History of wars/battles
Nazi Germany
Bushido
Health/diet

 

[Analyzer]

Anything which I can use to further my understanding of truth and my place in nature/society or whatever you want to call it. Geography was my first interest that I can remember.

 

[Haim]

Anime.
Currently MTBI(mostly the people)
Programing,more focused on game programming.
Games.
Tech and game "news"/info.
Argument is allmost a hobby.

about cs, there is huge difference between cs I was taught in high school
and the programing I done myself.
Because in high school they need/want to test you(and other reasons)
there is much much less thinking involved,the problems tend to leave you
with few solutions.
I will now describe you the difference.
In the third and last year I have done what I wanted to do there was this
new program to you need to make a mobile game(In old phones).
Only I and one other from me class chose to do it,so I learned it be myself
from a site with my usual way of learning programing which is learn something
then make something using it,so much more fun way to learn to set yourself
problems.
Then came the time to actually make the game,a lot of thinking and creativity
over a long period of time and researching.
With making a game I can really think as there isn't obvious one path to make it.

what I am saying is learn a programing language then set yourself a small project.
Do not think cs is as real programming i.e actually making something.
To find questions and problems then "answering" them is a lot of fun
and that's what programming is for me.

 

[Sinny91]

I see nobody here mentioned the word 'gym', as is so popular amongst our counter-parts, haha.
Fascinating, there is a clear corolation, thanks for the input eveyone.

Lolol, btw Dark Matters.

 

[Sinny91]

Music/art
Myself
Drugs
History of wars/battles
Nazi Germany

Ah yes, 'myself', a glaring omission from my OP.
Life's like a 1st person shoot 'em up game, I'd be lying if I said the 'first person' wasn't my main interest.

What do you find fascinating about Nazi Germany in particular?

 

[Architect]

As a teacher, it certainly feels like my brain is consuming massive amounts of energy when I am in the classroom in front of the students. Give me a problem to solve that requires sitting in front of a computer, and it's fairly easy, even refreshing.

Yes, that's what it's like acting outside of your type for extended periods. I've described it as 'taking too much psychic energy'. This leads me to think of the Type=motivation theory in the brain. Being in front of the class uses information channels (taking in lots of Fe data) that you don't have the facilities for.

I recently bought a grain mill for example. The process of shopping and comparing various models online to find the best one was fun and interesting.

Yes I'm fantastically good at picking products and technologies using the internet. I have a Diamant by the way.

 

[Inquisitor]

Yes I'm fantastically good at picking products and technologies using the internet. I have a Diamant by the way.

That's the best hand-powered one! Too expensive for me though, and I don't have room for it. You really do need a dedicated space. At 58 lbs, it's not something I would feel like moving around everytime I needed to do some grinding. Plus I don't need to grind that often, don't have a family to feed. I would definitely get that if I had a house. I thought about hand-powered vs. automated. Initially I thought hand-powered was more elegant, environmentally friendly, plus if there's a power outage, it's still possible to get flour. I realized later that power outages almost never happen, and unless you get a very large hand-powered mill, it takes forever to finely grind grains, and so strenuous too...How long does it take to grind 2 cups of whole wheat flour?

 

[Architect]

That's the best hand-powered one! Too expensive for me though

I got it for something like $300 10 years ago. The price has gone crazy for some dumb reason or another. I have it in my garage run by a nice small industrial I got off eBay. Haven't timed 2 cups, maybe 15 minutes. It's not terrifically fast but you can throw anything at it (grain, corn-barley mix, etc) and it doesn't even notice.

 

[Ex-User (11125)]

I'm probably the only alien on this forum who is not interested in programming
...
I am insanely culturally curious and this has been...umm...the key motivation for me behind most of my interests eg. Archeology, history, politics, traditional medicine & healing methods and arts(arts includes exploration of music and films from a variety of cultural identities)


Geometry, botany, meditation, animals, dinosaurs, anarchism, ancient warfare, colors, landscaping, origins of mathematics, geopolitics etc

Fields im interested in but a slow learner at:
Physics and economy

I think del's comment was pretty accurate about career decisions not necessarily getting any easier in your late 20's. My dad, an NT, was still taking college classes in his 70's, still happily exploring his interests. I accept that this will likely be my fate as well

The most fulfilling lifestyle I can think of is one where I keep taking classes in different fields of study forever

P.S. I'm 5w4

 

[Haim]

I see nobody here mentioned the word 'gym', as is so popular amongst our counter-parts, haha.
Fascinating, there is a clear correlation, thanks for the input everyone.

Lolol, btw Dark Matters.

Conclusion from statistical based data is unreliable(especially low amount as in this thread)
Who posted in this thread?
People that are interested in knowing themselves and took MTBI
>>reach the consolation they are INTP
>>have interest in this forum\mtbi(already knowledge seeking people)
>>saw this thread
>>made the decision it's worthwhile to post,some might have thought:
my hobbies are embracing\not impressive enough\everyone have so much more\don't have interesting thing to write\what are my interest?\other
and didn't post because of it.

The third step make this data worthless for any conclusion for all intp.
MTBI describe way of thinking not interests.

 

[Inquisitor]

Conclusion from statistical based data is unreliable(especially low amount as in this thread)
Who posted in this thread?
People that are interested in knowing themselves and took MTBI
>>reach the consolation they are INTP
>>have interest in this forum\mtbi(already knowledge seeking people)
>>saw this thread
>>made the decision it's worthwhile to post,some might have thought:
my hobbies are embracing\not impressive enough\everyone have so much more\don't have interesting thing to write\what are my interest?\other
and didn't post because of it.

The third step make this data worthless for any conclusion for all intp.
MTBI describe way of thinking not interests.

Hmmm...I find reading about other people's interests very useful. If they find it interesting, it's very likely I would find it to be at least somewhat interesting as well, even if I haven't actively investigated it yet. Male/Female interests in the same type might be more divergent though. Hormones play a big influence in shaping one's interests.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Conclusion from statistical based data is unreliable(especially low amount as in this thread)
Who posted in this thread?
People that are interested in knowing themselves and took MTBI
>>reach the consolation they are INTP
>>have interest in this forum\mtbi(already knowledge seeking people)
>>saw this thread
>>made the decision it's worthwhile to post,some might have thought:
my hobbies are embracing\not impressive enough\everyone have so much more\don't have interesting thing to write\what are my interest?\other
and didn't post because of it.

The third step make this data worthless for any conclusion for all intp.
MTBI describe way of thinking not interests.

Well said, one can't draw serious correlations from things that weren't mentioned (even less so in open textual data) and when both the purpose of this thread and the general guidelines stack in favour of listing cerebral activities of ones liking.

Such correlations can still be made but questionably useful outside of pretty narrow applications or relying on expert knowledge.

That would be a strong case against conformism and not falling under the suggestion of the word "field" or "interest" that aren't exactly conducive to describing ones "physical fields" or "basketball and soccer fields of interest".

 

[Sinny91]

Well, my thread more of a pretext to interact with the forum as a new member, I'm not collecting stats for the ONS.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

Well, my thread more of a pretext to interact with the forum as a new member, I'm not collecting stats for the ONS.

And we are just discussing statistics in your fields of interest thread . I say, relax and enjoy the ensuing intp'ness.

~Tis called meta discussion. Meta is synonymous for god, superior, transcendent, fun and intp.

 

[Alias]

I'm probably the only alien on this forum who is not interested in programming
...

You're not the only one, don't worry. I'm also not interested in MMOs, anime, and things like that that other INTPs are usually heavily into. I have very very very slight interest in programming, as it is technology and systems, and robots can be cool if used correctly, but I somehow suck at it, and I really don't want to pursue it, no matter how much everyone thinks I'm into it.

 

[Sinny91]

Well, I did notice the thread about 'differences between people of the same type' thread sorta fell on deaf ears earlier..

I suppose that speaks volumes lol.

 

[Haim]

Let's see this thread have currently 740 views,most likely
around 300 that did post or not intp.
So 440 intps hobby is just to starr.

 

[StevenM]

Millwright mechanic.
Visual Art.
Music.
Electrical Engineer.
Architect.
Carpenter.
Magician/Entertainer.
Software Developer.
Poetry.
Landscaper.
Psychology.
Math.
System/Network Administrator.
Game Developer.
Asset Designer.

Ironic, because all my actual jobs I've had required skills much different than those fields of interest.

 

[ParanoidAndroid]

I'm probably the only alien on this forum who is not interested in programming

I know many programmers and some of my best friends from high school took that path. I was never interested in programming and not too interested in computers generally... But as an INTP I have a broad field of interests:

History
Hiking/bushcarft
Literature
Cinema (world cinema, classics, art house etc.)
Photography, old cameras
Philately
Political history
Art
Languages
Cultural history
Architecture
Urbex
Old photos, collecting those
Politics, political ideologies
Sociology, social history, social anthropology
Geneology, family history
Flea markets
Subcultures
Clothes, especially vintage

 

[Sinny91]

Let's see this thread have currently 740 views,most likely
around 300 that did post or not intp.
So 440 intps hobby is just to starr.

Lol, actually that seems to be common going by views, log ons and post.

Dunno about you lot, but when I see a thread I would post to, I find that another iNTP has already said what I would have.

 

[Architect]

I'm probably the only alien on this forum who is not interested in programming ... I am insanely culturally curious and this has been...umm...the key motivation for me behind most of my interests eg. Archeology, history, politics, traditional medicine & healing methods and arts(arts includes exploration of music and films from a variety of cultural identities)

It's not unusual for an INTP to turn to the humanities when young, rather than science. Indeed I think it's common as we're too young for the kind of STEM that we like (higher math, programming and the like). Unlike the INTJ true scientists, we sit more between STEM and the Humanities. I think unless introduced to STEM at a young age we generally stay a humanities geek.

The most fulfilling lifestyle I can think of is one where I keep taking classes in different fields of study forever

Including programming?

 

[onesteptwostep]

I think unless introduced to STEM at a young age we generally stay a humanities geek.

*raises hand*

 

[Polaris]

It's not unusual for an INTP to turn to the humanities when young, rather than science. Indeed I think it's common as we're too young for the kind of STEM that we like (higher math, programming and the like). Unlike the INTJ true scientists, we sit more between STEM and the Humanities. I think unless introduced to STEM at a young age we generally stay a humanities geek.

My interests have always been difficult to pinpoint as I have such a wide field of focus. I never really felt absolutely passionate about one or two things in particular. I sometimes dreamed about becoming a musician because I spent a lot of time obsessing over learning to play the piano or violin. I though about becoming a jeweller. I also did a fair amount of painting and drawing - but again never really felt like I had the commitment or passion. I also realised I have very poor imagination and emotional expression, although my technical skills were good. I am creative though, but only within a certain defined framework. I can't just pull stuff out of nowhere, it is very difficult for me to write fiction, for example - or come up with an idea for a painting.

The other field in which I seemed to have a natural aptitude were in the sciences - for example, I had an interest in genetics at a very young age. However, I did not feel ready to step into the sciences at 18-19 because I was petrified at the thought of the maths I would encounter - I didn't think I would be good enough at maths to keep up the pace with subjects like chemistry and physics.

Architecture was another idea that I gave up because my average marks were not good enough to get in to the highly prestigious academy, even though I had top marks for the extra curricular architecture subjects I had chosen to do at high school, and mostly top marks in all other subjects apart from physical education, which dragged down my average score....

The result was that I contemplated humanities subjects (anthropology and archaeology specifically) - ended up doing English language and literature and was so bored I lost all motivation in my 20s.

I bummed around doing different jobs and dabbled in philosophy - and then randomly decided to do an associate degree in dental hygiene - probably the worst choice for an XNTX (still confused about my type), ever. But I had to find a way to support my future, and this degree would guarantee me work anywhere. I absolutely hated it, but persevered stubbornly for a number years until I mustered up the courage to apply for a science bachelor, which I have now completed.

As a result an opportunity has opened up in the academic/museums network, so I will be working on a research project that incorporates all the interests/knowledge I have acquired over the years; ecology, geology/sedimentology, chemistry, biology, pathophysiology, palaentology, taphonomy, climate science and modelling, and population dynamics - I've gone from micro to macro which is incredibly exciting.

My aim is to build my own specialised research niche and eventually/hopefully write ecology educational books. So in a way, I've gone full circle - using my creativity in ways that can be applied to the field of science, and avoiding falling for the pull of the inferior and pursuing the arts.

 

[Belgaer]

I am creative though, but only within a certain defined framework. I can't just pull stuff out of nowhere, it is very difficult for me to write fiction, for example - or come up with an idea for a painting.

woahh I feel this so hard. (Glad you found your niche, btw!)
I was into sciences AND art as a kid, but gave up the science in college because I had low math scores all along and authority issues, and Humanities was more quickly accessible. Ended up with a degree in studio Art and Art History. Woke up at 4 am this morning, wondering why I ever gave up science!

I love the Humanities, but part of me feels unfulfilled without the thrill of problem solving, research, etc.
Art CAN be vast and interesting, but somehow its not enough.

Anyway, interests:

Political theory/politics
Art
Crafts/Sewing/Design
History
^specifically colonial history
Cultural studies
Philosophy
Food
Literature and Film
Music
Sustainable agriculture/Environmental issues (I grow my own veggies)
Nature/Earth itself
^I like to know everything I can about the geology and biology of places I visit


Like some of the others, I've never done any programming or similar things. maybe I would like it. Closest I've done was web design, which I found fun.

I think the biggest tension in my life so far has been between my brain function and my heart for humanity. I turned away from technology and science even though I liked it, because they are so often either indifferent to human issues, or exploited to destroy the earth and/or people, whereas political theory offers solutions to human suffering. (I know, it's hilarious that a social inept like myself would care so much) So social work and political activism haven't worked out for me, because I'm not socially capable. Then I fixed on art because it has the power to change humanity, but then again I'm lacking the intellectual challenge.
It's hard being all over the place, but at least I'm in good company.

 

[Architect]

My interests have always been difficult to pinpoint as I have such a wide field of focus ... The other field in which I seemed to have a natural aptitude were in the sciences - for example, I had an interest in genetics at a very young age.

Interesting, similiar to me. I became nuts over Paleontology as a kid. Not dinosaurs - invertebrate. Trilobites were a favorite of course, and all the shells and myriad forms, I got a reference book on Foraminifera. I thought dinosaurs were too one dimensional. Then I got into music, then physics, then programming. I consider myself half humanities geek and half a STEM geek.

 

[ENTP lurker]

I' m interested in linkability of everything. I do it all the time. It is not very specialist way of approaching anything but someday I might be an originator of something new and never seen. Well, I do it constantly and people point that to me. I'm just blind at myself. I need to get in more systematic depth in my ideas to make it something usable.

Just like ISFJs I'm also a big hedonist but my skills in that area are very limited and badly regulated to point of Si perversion.

 

[roguedoll]

Let's see...

MBTI
Psychology
Austrian Economics
History (especially ancient world/medieval world/US founding/Confederate)
Music listening
Culture, customs, language, etc (especially Asian)
Religion, especially Christianity
English language (the history thereof, dialects, etc.)
Astronomy (although I'm really rusty)
Nature/plants/animals.
Amateur photography (especially of nature/plants)
Linux (More of a novelty. I get frustrated by all the work it takes to get things to actually....work.)
Jewelry making
Crochet (I find handicrafts can help thinking along, something about keeping hands busy and all.)
Cooking. (I waffle between living off of frozen dinners and cooking my way through various types of cuisines.)