INTP or ENTP? This is a loooong A$$ post

[heysharon]

Hi Everybody. This is my first post. I like to write and my posts can be really long. You've been warned!

I keep testing borderline on INTP or ENTP. Which am I?

I had the word GROK tattooed on the back of my neck when I turned 40. Science fiction is my favorite fiction genre. I am most grateful in life for the internet. I loose myself for hours nearly every day Googling whatever latest topic has captured my interest. It’s never random surfing. It usually takes me several weeks to exhaust my interest in a particularly absorbing topic, though I may return to it later. (I’ve been obsessed with MBTI for over a week now—everyone I know is sick to death of me talking about it. I have over 20 pages open right now, each one organized by tabs with a different individual’s type descriptions on numerous websites.) Until kids came along when I was 37 (infertility forced the wait), I was a legal secretary. I hated most of my clerical jobs, hated being considered inferior and having to follow orders. Hated following a schedule. When a boss allowed me to operate like a paralegal, drafting contracts and correspondence and doing legal research, then I was happier. At one point, I followed a lawyer from one firm to create a new firm and designed all the new systems for organization in the new office. I loved that. Efficiency is extremely important. It is also extremely important to me to be concise in my speech and especially in my writing. If I read this later and find a typo, I will be unable to leave it and will absolutely edit to correct. After being raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, I became agnostic as a young adult, and finally became atheist. I don’t believe in a supreme being, or consciousness after death. I am often abrupt. My ENFJ husband thinks I am frequently cold and insensitive. When he is overly emotional, I feel contempt. I don’t read or listen or watch the news because I hate the sensationalism. I am contemptuous of any overt attempts to manipulate my emotions. I joke with my husband, who’s always been the one to decorate and design our home, that I’d be sleeping on a mattress with my stuff on board and cinderblock shelves, if left to my own devices. I am a firm and consistent disciplinarian with my children. I am frustrated when one of my kids becomes emotionally explosive or too hyperactively silly, or when I feel a concept is obvious and they don’t get it. I want things CALM in the house, and it’s always chaotic and too noisy. I don’t like it when my husband gets the kids rowdy. I don’t like to plan play dates for the kids in advance or commit to any future plan—I want to play it by ear. When my husband demands that we decide what we are going to do or where we are going to go for Thanksgiving, I get really agitated.

I sound INTP, right?

Here’s the E side: My house is a wreck because I’m too absorbed in thoroughly researching whatever has most recently piqued my interest. I like to shop for clothes and accessories, and I dress to look attractive. I am confident in my intelligence and in my looks, but I’m annoyed when someone is more attracted to my boobs than my mind. I easily converse with strangers. I like to think the best of people and give them the benefit of the doubt. I am suspicious if someone I don’t know compliments me. I can be very charming and gregarious when I’m in familiar surroundings. I have 4 close female friends (and 1 very introverted male friend who lives with my family and never goes anywhere) with whom I socialize regularly, and a wider circle of some of their friends. We go out to a neighborhood pub once a week to play pool and if I have enough to drink, I lose my inhibition, sing karaoke and flirt outrageously with male opponents in the pool game (I WANT to win and frequently do). Though I never come remotely close to marital betrayal, there is frequently a twinge of embarrassment the next day.

Does that sound INTP? Or ENTP? I come out borderline on the tests. My husband, who is very extroverted, thinks I’m INTP. My more introverted friends think I’m ENTP.

How do I get my badge to show?

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[LPolaright]

I see you more of an INTJ rather than INTP or ENTP.

Not all J's are following a schedule, or find them comfortable.
If they did, you could also say that introverts are not socializing more than E's.
Or that N's are not connected to the reality.

You talked about the fact that you don't like seeing mistakes, you like things as "not imperfect". Efficiency is important to you. You don't like people changing your mind - would probably mean that you prefer to change your environment rather than change yourself and adapt. You have strong ideals. That leads me to think that you are actually a J.

We can agree on NT.

I think you're introverted because Ni traits would make you messy which will explain other traits. It would make you interested in fiction, science fiction because you invested in science. You are probably too focused on things at times. This is why it's hard to exhaust your interest. Do you hold great sentimental value to things in your life?

You need to separate knowledge, culture and education when you type - because they are unrelated. The things you do with your knowledge/culture or education are an indication. You don't watch the television because you have the sensationalism - that means you hold a solid opinion on it.

But this is just me, others might not agree.
You could not agree because you might be subjective.
And if you would, you'd probably argue that you're xNTP,
which will only prove you are an xNTJ.

I/E is the hardest for me to type.
So you could be ENTJ as well.
I hold the opinion that you can type this dichotomy only by asking direct questions - like, for example:
Where do you get your energy from?
When you talk to a person for a long time, do you get worn off or more energized?
When you are in a group of people do you get a "push" or feeling your energies dwindle down?
These questions should direct you towards the answers.

A week is not enough for mbti,
neither are two weeks.
You've got to let the knowledge sink in,
and devise your own theories.

 

[heysharon]

Thanks LP. Hmm. You may be right about the J. I can be bossy. If my group of friends can't decide on a plan of action and dither about, I am probably the one to say, "Okay, let's do this." Regarding the energy level with socializing, I am definitely depleted and need my alone time afterward. My dear ESFP friend was just over (all about fun), and I was totally wanting her to leave so I could get back to my computer.

I am also certain about the NT, but I may have talked myself into the other classifications.

 

[heysharon]

Oh, and I'm not sentimental with stuff. I do consider knowledge important for it's own sake, even if it's never applied.

 

[scorpiomover]

Look at the thread called You know you're an Intp when.... It's written by INTPs, about their own experiences and personal quirks. They are incredibly similar. If you're an INTP, you'll feel like you are meeting your own clones.

Then look at the thread called [url="http://www.entp.org/discuss2/index.php?/topic/4733-am-i-an-entp-or-intp/]Am I an ENTP or INTP?[/url]. It's written by ENTPs. They write about their own experiences, which are incredibly similar, very differently to the INTPs, and seem to see themselves as nothing like INTPs. If you're an ENTP, you'll feel like the ENTPs are your brothers and sisters.

Make your own mind up.

 

[Dapper Dan]

It's a little silly to type someone based on a single forum post, but I'll do it anyway. IMO, you seem to have a lot more Ne than Ti. Even in your "INTP" section, almost all the traits you list can be attributed to Ne. INTPs do have these traits, but they are secondary to our Ti. Based on this, my quick guess is that you're an ENTP.

 

[yerffej112]

IMO, on the topic of I or E, I would say you are I. Even the characteristics you felt were E, I still saw them as I. We can learn to adjust, and INTP personality types are known for their ability to adapt in situations.

At the end of the day, where do you get your energy? From being out with the group? Or at some point, do you feel like you've had enough and it is time to leave to recharge? Are you into long goodbyes, or would you almost prefer to slip out the door knowing you'll just see everyone again soon. (I've been known to slip out the door after being incredibly social all night. I had pushed my battery too much and it's blinking red - I can't run out of the door fast enough! And people think it is so odd. I did too until I understood why I do it. Now I know myself better, and I know when the battery is getting low, so I start saying goodbyes. Once I've decided it is time to go, there is no convincing my otherwise)

You also mentioned you are outgoing and gregarious with friends in a familiar surrounding. But if all of a sudden a new person was introduced, would you still feel just as comfortable. (Overcompensating your personality is a no, by the way) And how about if the group decided to try somewhere new, would you feel comfortable with that?

And don't forget - alcohol skews results.

 

[knight in battle]

Efficiency is extremely important. It is also extremely important to me to be concise in my speech and especially in my writing. If I read this later and find a typo, I will be unable to leave it and will absolutely edit to correct.

I am contemptuous of any overt attempts to manipulate my emotions. I joke with my husband, who’s always been the one to decorate and design our home, that I’d be sleeping on a mattress with my stuff on board and cinderblock shelves, if left to my own devices. I am a firm and consistent disciplinarian with my children. I am frustrated when one of my kids becomes emotionally explosive or too hyperactively silly, or when I feel a concept is obvious and they don’t get it. I want things CALM in the house, and it’s always chaotic and too noisy.

I am suspicious if someone I don’t know compliments me. I can be very charming and gregarious when I’m in familiar surroundings.

You sound amazingly INTP. Your spending hours on the internet is neither INTP or ENTP, but your suspiciousness toward compliments is uncharacteristic of ENTPs. I have a friend who is ENTP's but he enjoys compliments and finds it delightful when people are amazed at what he can do, or he'll react enthusiastically when I point out positive/interesting things about him.

My INTP friend doesn't know how to decorate. He'll run a bland home if he could. Everything is orderly but plain. My ENTP friend doesn't have any qualms about decorating his environment. He loves quaint items and artifacts that he can place around his room. Also he doesn't mind when people manipulate his emotions.

 

[Amy Winehouse]

Can you freestyle really well or rap? ENTPs always can. Im INTP I cant rap at all I can write, we still have retarded amounts of creative expression it just doesnt come out verbally.

Realizing this is a poor canonicity for typing but there it is.

 

[blarg]

Then look at the thread called Am I an ENTP or INTP?. It's written by ENTPs. They write about their own experiences, which are incredibly similar, very differently to the INTPs, and seem to see themselves as nothing like INTPs. If you're an ENTP, you'll feel like the ENTPs are your brothers and sisters.

Make your own mind up.

This

The length of the original post in this thread far exceeds the maximum for that of an ENTP.