Lengthy posts? Intp/Entp

[Tolleck]

I have to say that some Intps on this forum blow me away with the complexity and length in which they answer a thread. I'm about 50/50 intp/entp and feel that much of the answers could be condensed into two sentences. I thought we were the ones who see the big picture.

Some Intps present very large complex answers with paragraphs of information filled with analytic detail. Then there are people who keep it extremely condensed and to the point yet still presenting the answer logically.

Can anyone relate to this? Could this be a difference between Intp/Entp or based on some other factor?

Note: I believe I am an extroverted Intp and follow the latter..

 

[crippli]

I suspect I'm also in the reading/writing compression category. And if it's something interesting I enjoy reading the long posts. Then I'm thinking. Oh man, these people have motivation. I wonder what I could have accomplished with stamina like this. To me it's an effort even to get my thoughts to my fingers.

 

[Dapper Dan]

I've never liked the "big picture" line. It sounds too management-y.

In reality, we INTPs strive for understanding and truth. When we explain something to someone else, we want to make sure we're understood. This often results in wall-o-text posts that systematically explain the poster's logic.

We are also crazy about revision for the same reasons. At least, I know I am. I constantly look back at what I write to make sure it flows/makes sense/sounds good. This leads to a large amount of pruning, which in turn can result in a perfectly concise post. But don't be fooled; that post may have taken 30+ minutes to write. (This one took about 25.)

Really, it depends on how detailed you need to be. You'll notice that long threads tend to have long posts, since those conversations have gotten to the point where extensive detail is required.

 

[ilike2poison]

yup. Even at times times the English vocabulary doesn't seem quite capable of allowing full articulation of some thoughts. Every read someone speaking about the origins of existence? Not easy to sift through my friend.

 

[Minuend]

Ah, I remember when I first arrived here, I wrote lengthy posts as well. In fact, some might have suspected me to be an intellectual!

But as I grow older I seem to become a bit more impatient with the same old silliries. I've kinda regretted that, I think I will jump back to my old self.

This topic has been discussed before, someone said something about a need to be very concise and clear, which requires quite the lot of explanation as opinions can be confusing at times.

 

[pjoa09]

Just depends whether you are free or not. This one took me about a minute.

edit:shit i meant 30 seconds aw fuck now its 3 minutes

 

[naama]

Sometimes explaining the big picture requires quite alot of explanation, especially if the other person doesent know the basics

 

[Melllvar]

I'm definitely in the lengthy post category, I think. Although some are very short, it's just a matter of having stuff in my head that needs to be said. I don't want to leave part of an issue unexplored, if I feel it needs it. Hence it's easy to end up typing two pages for something that *could* have been done in a few short sentence fragments. It *could* have been done that way, but I would have been leaving a lot out, especially when there are many sides and angles to things to explore, or necessary qualifications and clarifications for a statement or idea.

I really don't see how some people manage to always make such short posts. I feel they must be leaving out a lot of information, or things that they are thinking about, or otherwise simply do not have much to say. Perhaps they feel these things are implied and others will pick them up anyways. I prefer to be explicit in what I'm saying and what my thoughts are.

This post has pretty much conveyed what I was thinking about it all. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

[Tolleck]

Dapper is right about the revision part. I usually spend way too much time revising..

Hmm I guess I figure that if the information is concise enough then others will arrive at the same conclusion. If it has too many details though, then I assume that they might miss the main points and focus on the minor parts. This is where I think my Entp side might contribute because when I debate verbally I often end up dropping "one liners" which make a large impact on others' opinions. (I'm part of a college group that debates once a week)

I can also see where its necessary at times although I'd rather only explain in detail when someone asks.

 

[A22]

I could summarize your post into a few sentences but that isn't necessary to show my point.

 

[SpaceYeti]

"Be concise". Nobody wants to read a wall of text, so write as little as possible while still providing a clear picture of your idea.

 

[Minuend]

The problem is just that people will start misinterpreting you and then continue to nag 4- 5 posts about something you never said in the first place.

 

[See_Air_Ah]

I could post really long convoluted things, that express almost every train of thought that goes through my mind...I realized that I didn't even want to proof read my posts when they get lenghty, so who would want to read it?

I exert quite a bit of effort to condense what I say, to pick what is important and what is not, so as to not contradict myself, or come off like a babbling madwoman.

I consider it an art form really...

 

[Dr. Freeman]

I tend to write a smaller amount of very compressed information. I find that (for me) it takes longer to write all of the uncompressed information than to think it out and condense it.

 

[lukecash12]

The length and tangential content of my posts, is contingent upon the literary setting and my goals in that setting. I have no preferences, other than the goals and the means that I know, when it comes to communication.

 

[EditorOne]

Sometimes you need a lot of words. Other times, not.

Some people have never grasped the concept of editing as a process that improves writing by more carefully focusing it.

I get wordy if I think I'm referencing a topic unfamiliar to most in the forum, trying to set up a context or something.

And we all, I think, can easily overreact to the criticism we've all heard that a particular utterance on our part "comes out of nowhere." No, it didn't, I just didn't spell out the six steps between your comment and my conclusion. In the real world of muggles one has to articulate the reasoning. Kind of like the teacher saying 'show the work' on an algebra problem. There tends to be a whole lot less of that in here.

 

[Moocow]

Just think of it this way: more people will read your post the shorter it is. Why waste all the effort?

 

[amthcaictm]

i wonder too if there is also a j / p spectrum influence? do people with stronger j tendencies need to make their arguments more elaborate and foolproof and are those more p just too distracted to plot out all the steps? (i'm all kinds o crazy p and not very bright so doubly unable to do the intricate analysis)

also as intps don't we all pendulum swing back and forth between omitting the obvious ( expecting that everyone else is also inside our head) and sharing every plodding detail because someone else just yelled at us (again) for being abstruse...

but really, your Eness also impacts the depths you're willing to plumb on a particular issue. i have an entp friend that like me likes to skate on the surface of many topics. however because he is much closer to the J border he will really sink his teeth into a problem should honor demand it....as an intp i realize that it probably doesn't really matter as one shifts one perspective through the endless kaleidocope of P perspective...

(sleepy drivel face emoticon)

 

[scorpiomover]

I write pages on a single post.

It all goes back to my childhood. When I was in school, my best subject was maths. My maths teacher told my mum, that I got all the right answers. But I wouldn't write my working out. If I didn't show my working, they'd accuse me of cheating, and I might fail all my exams as a result. So for the next year, I had a maths tutor, to get me to write out HOW I got to the right answer.

Then when I was in college, I had the same problem. I'd make excellent points in class. But only my teachers understood them, and the other kids didn't have any clue of what I was saying. It used to really p*ss my classmates off, because my teachers would say that I'd made a really good point, and they felt that I was being selfish for denying them my insights. So whenever I gave a short answer, one of my teachers would tell me that when everyone else said 2 words, I would have to say 20, for the very same reason, and demand that I gave a more lengthy explanation.

I had the same problem in work as well. If I didn't make people listen, and give them a very, very, very slow, and laborious explanation, they just wouldn't have a clue what I was talking about, do exactly what I was telling them not to, and then the project would go really wrong.

It p*sses off a lot of people, though. I'd really love to be able to say everything I want to say, in only 3 lines.