Superiority

[Anthile]

Do you have a sense of superiority towards your interpretation of 'normal people' since you know you are INTP?

Yadda yadda, do not vote if you are not at least very certain that you are INTP.

 

[Wish]

Superiority in what way? A better overall person that offers more to society? A smarter person?

I've thought about it and I may think abstractly more often than other 'normal' people (S's I guess) but in what way does that make me superior if my ideas never manifest themselves? Does sitting and telling myself "I could be good at this if I wanted to" allow myself to think I'm superior?

Anyway, I tend to think yes, as often as I remind myself of my shortcomings and reasons I am not 'better' than anyone..

 

[NeverAmI]

No, if I have a sense of superiority over someone else it is because I have proven that I am much more efficient in some certain area than that person, but I also recognize they have strengths that I do not.

Sometimes I get frustrated that people don't realize or comprehend things that seem obvious to me, though.

I certainly like being associated to INTP, to be able to hand someone the description of INTP and say, "here, this is me in a neutral state." But I try not to let it form any sort of bias.

 

[Vatroslav]

I get this certain sense of superiority sometimes. Of course, as someone said, superior does not mean to be better then someone...

To be able to detach from the situation, not getting emotionally evolved, the whole world is a laboratory, including myself... yes, in that sense, I think it is a kind of a superiority, though, not completely reserved to INTPs only, I'm sure it is most frequently found amongst us, then I really could be wrong... who knows...

Furthermore- the inability of others to read our feelings... yes, I would call that superior. The problem is when you can't show them even when you really want...

 

[Words]

Yadda yadda,

Definitely, but its not limited to the type itself. I feel superior because of my wealth, connections, family ties etc.

I interact only with inferior people so as to keep myself "safe". This I do, unconsciously.

My problem now is how to solve this superiority-want issue, or maybe it lies with a possible inferiority complex.

 

[shoeless]

frankly i feel inferior to "normal" people in more ways than i feel superior.

horrible work ethic, no sensory awareness, blah blah blah.

maybe if i were at a place in my life where i had the time and energy to really think and theorize and create something useful, i'd be okay. but right now i feel like a dud. and i see everyone else doing things, making something with their lives, and i'm just sorta... here.

i envy blissful ignorance. that's not to say i feel like some great learned being, because i don't -- i'm intelligent but hardly a genius -- but if we're talking about the people that many INTP's say they feel superior towards, i don't get that at all.

 

[thisisnotaname]

Everyone has different personal aspects of superiority. Also, there are different opinions of superiority. I have friends that are vastly superior in verbal communication, showing love, completing school-work, etc. These are helpful traits to have. I have certain strengths that others don't have as well. Such as, recognition of consequences, written communication, critical thinking skills. The idea of being superior boils down to ego, I don't think it has to do with personality. Hmm, I wonder if different personality types are more apt to having larger egos?

Anyway, I don't think that anyone is really "superior" in the sense that they are better than anyone else.

 

[thisisnotaname]

I understand what you are saying, I felt that way in high school, and to some extent still do. Go to college. A whole new world of thought and possibility will open to you. It's much easier to be informal with college professors, if you know who to talk to.

 

[Sugarpop]

Why isn't there a 'both'?

 

[thisisnotaname]

Exactly.

 

[Da Blob]

Hmmm, back to Socrates within the space of a few hours. In his work where he spoke of ignorance being bliss, he made the observation that individuals who were highly skilled in a specialization, had a tendency to expand their egotistical self regard for successes in that specialization, to all areas of life. There was a tendency for great artists to think that they would be great military leaders and vice versa.

As mentioned before, being highly skilled in specialization, simply means being "Superior" to others at completing that type of task and nothing more than that.

 

[NeverAmI]

frankly i feel inferior to "normal" people in more ways than i feel superior.

horrible work ethic, no sensory awareness, blah blah blah.

maybe if i were at a place in my life where i had the time and energy to really think and theorize and create something useful, i'd be okay. but right now i feel like a dud. and i see everyone else doing things, making something with their lives, and i'm just sorta... here.

i envy blissful ignorance. that's not to say i feel like some great learned being, because i don't -- i'm intelligent but hardly a genius -- but if we're talking about the people that many INTP's say they feel superior towards, i don't get that at all.

Agreed. Well said!

 

[amorfati]

I have feelings of both superiority and inferiority. It would be impossible for me to have one without the other.

I don't think I'm superior or inferior in a metaphysical sense. We're all equal (to me) in that regard, but I feel that I'm superior to most people in abstract thinking, for instance, and inferior to them in, say, memorizing facts.

 

[Words]

What if one were to feel entirely superior in all commonly referred significant subject? Is it common in population or is it rare? The resulting behavior would be....?

 

[warryer]

Shoeless said it perfectly.

 

[Midus]

I used to have a superiority complex when it came to "Normal" people, but then I began to realize that it was merely a defensive mechanism. I told myself that I was superior to them to defend my ego because I had so few friends and couldn't talk to people very well. The mouth breathers of the world were too stupid to understand me.

Now I feel inferior in a lot of ways. I try to be more social and outgoing, but always find myself having trouble where others can do it with so little effort. I used to believe that I was extremely intelligent and could get by with this alone, but college has proved otherwise. Those who work harder, attend class, and study do well. Slackers like myself fail.

 

[BigApplePi]

I am definitely superior in that I can see out from my eyes a lot better than you can, but I'm inferior to seeing out of your eyes as only on special occasions do you give me a glimpse and that's only if I'm lucky and you have good intentions.

Now my pussy cat that's a different story. When I look into her eyes I have no idea what I'm seeing nor what she's seeing. It's a mystery of life that makes us equals.

Hmmm, back to Socrates within the space of a few hours. In his work where he spoke of ignorance being bliss, he made the observation that individuals who were highly skilled in a specialization, had a tendency to expand their egotistical self regard for successes in that specialization, to all areas of life. There was a tendency for great artists to think that they would be great military leaders and vice versa.

As mentioned before, being highly skilled in specialization, simply means being "Superior" to others at completing that type of task and nothing more than that.

 

[420MuNkEy]

I tend to view myself with a sense of superiority over the majority population. This is due to the majority population being ignorant of of the things I find important. The things the majority find important are not things I strive for or would take pride in (being popular, social status, career stability, family, etc), so through my eyes, I see myself as superior, but through their eyes, I would definitely see myself as inferior.

 

[vash22]

No, if I have a sense of superiority over someone else it is because I have proven that I am much more efficient in some certain area than that person, but I also recognize they have strengths that I do not.

I agree with this, but i am going to expand upon it a bit. I realize that i am better at a lot of things than most people. Patience, understanding, dealing with complex problems & getting simple solutions out of those problems (E=mc^2 is the most beautiful simple solution for all the work that is behind it). However, i also realize that i am weak in a lot of areas. When someone else has a strength that i deem significant to life (especially one that i lack), they have my sincerest respect. What i mean by significant to life, i suppose i mean a characteristic or skill that either helps you to do better in life or stops you from failing terribly in life. Oh, and if you're undeservingly cocksure and very vocal about it, it negates all positive from your personal strength.

Also, we have some friggin weird smilies. Who chose/made this one? i like it....

 

[NeverAmI]

I used to have a superiority complex when it came to "Normal" people, but then I began to realize that it was merely a defensive mechanism. I told myself that I was superior to them to defend my ego because I had so few friends and couldn't talk to people very well. The mouth breathers of the world were too stupid to understand me.

Now I feel inferior in a lot of ways. I try to be more social and outgoing, but always find myself having trouble where others can do it with so little effort. I used to believe that I was extremely intelligent and could get by with this alone, but college has proved otherwise. Those who work harder, attend class, and study do well. Slackers like myself fail.

Good post!

 

[Ghost1986]

Do you have a sense of superiority towards your interpretation of 'normal people' since you know you are INTP?

Yadda yadda, do not vote if you are not at least very certain that you are INTP.

one of the problems with superiority is that it also tends to come with the sense of inferiority. both of which. i tend to find my ideas superior but i know my body is far inferior to what it should be.

 

[lafmeche]

I didn't vote because I think it depends quite a lot on perspective.

I used to think I was superior because most people don't care about the things I find important (and vice versa).

I used to think I was inferior because I couldn't do the social interaction stuff like everyone else.

​

As I've learned more about myself and gotten back into Myers-Briggs, I've mostly realized that I'm just different. I guess I still have a bit of a bias toward superiority because I still find many peoples' priorities completely backwards. I don't know if that will ever change.

Now, as a true contributor to society, I think I'd be far superior to many people because I'm fairly focused on humanity as a whole and on the future. I guess I'm a bit of an idealist in that way. I don't know if that has anything to do with me being an INTP, though.

When it comes to providing for my potential future family, I may be inferior, though I suspect I'll rise to the occasion. It's difficult to know until you're there.

 

[buaya]

I tend to view myself with a sense of superiority over the majority population. This is due to the majority population being ignorant of of the things I find important. The things the majority find important are not things I strive for or would take pride in (being popular, social status, career stability, family, etc), so through my eyes, I see myself as superior, but through their eyes, I would definitely see myself as inferior.

agree, actually i show superiority when i feel inferior , sumthing like a defensive mechanism @@

 

[TheHmmmm]

I used to have a superiority complex when it came to "Normal" people, but then I began to realize that it was merely a defensive mechanism. I told myself that I was superior to them to defend my ego because I had so few friends and couldn't talk to people very well. The mouth breathers of the world were too stupid to understand me.

Now I feel inferior in a lot of ways. I try to be more social and outgoing, but always find myself having trouble where others can do it with so little effort. I used to believe that I was extremely intelligent and could get by with this alone, but college has proved otherwise. Those who work harder, attend class, and study do well. Slackers like myself fail.

Are you happy about this transition? Sounds like a step backward to me, tbh. Both superiority and inferiority complexes (might as well be complexes in general) are delusional to an extent, but I would much prefer a superiority one, personally.

 

[BigApplePi]

I used to feel superior because I was from the United States. Now I realize those who live in the Arctic are superior because they are on top of the world.

 

[Anthile]

I used to feel superior because I was from the United States. Now I realize those who live in the Arctic are superior because they are on top of the world.

It's a matter of perspective. In space, every kind of top or bottom becomes meaningless.

This world map is as valid as any other world map and yet it does look quite alien, doesn't it?
It's all just a matter of perspective.

 

[why]

I used to feel superior because I was from the United States. Now I realize those who live in the Arctic are superior because they are on top of the world.

That makes me wonder, what is stopping us from drawing maps with Antarctic on top?
EDIT: Anthile was faster

Regarding superiority, I agree with Midus, except that I sometimes still tend to look down on irrational behavior and extremely loud, extroverted people.

 

[BigApplePi]

Oddly enough, hidden in the word "superiority" is a linear scale. On a sphere, there is no linear. To be superior, one has to line things up and the direction has to be in one's favor.

Two points define a straight line. Add a direction and we have a relativity. If it is self-comparison and we are growing, we can say our present self is superior relative to our past self. It's much harder to say something like that with people.

 

[Midus]

Are you happy about this transition? Sounds like a step backward to me, tbh. Both superiority and inferiority complexes (might as well be complexes in general) are delusional to an extent, but I would much prefer a superiority one, personally.

When I look back, I realize that I was a very lonely person. I rarely talked to people and had few people that I would consider friends. I spent most of my time with myself, within my own world. I often describe this 4 year period in my life where I became a recluse as being very neutral. I was content in an odd sort of way, but never really happy.

Now, I am a lot more social and have gained quite a bit of respect for the people around me. A lot of the people that I worked with and felt superior to, I've since found out are intelligent and cool people. I just never took the time to get to know anyone and made assumptions based upon very little information. I think the big change came from me becoming more interested in figuring out people and social dynamics, opposed to only worrying about technical matters(Computers, Engineering, etc...).

I do feel inferior in a lot of ways, and this causes frustration, but I also see improvements in my self over time. I'm more open and far more comfortable in social situations.

 

[intuitivet]

I feel superior to some people and inferior to others. I respect very few people (my respect is very hard to earn, only my mum, sister and one friend have ever earned it) which might have something to do with it, as well as having high expectations of people.
Midus: I'm going through that stage of feeling quite alone, but I'm trying to talk to people more. I think it's the only way to overcome it

 

[Philosophyking87]

I am an utter epitome of the superiority complex.
So much so that it's difficult for me to accept occasions in which I'm clearly an inferior.

 

[anyaa]

In some aspects I feel superior..in other aspects I feel inferior...

 

[Anling]

I don't think of myself as superior generally, just different. But then if you actually get to know almost anyone you'll find that they are also different in their own way. Like others have said in here, I am better at some things and worse at others compared to other individuals.

I still find myself being irritated by others, unfortunately.

 

[onthewindowstand]

Well physically and mentally I am superior to most people. Physically im a specimen and mentally I am at a high level. That makes me superior to the vast majority of people.

 

[Cogwulf]

I feel I have traits that are superior to the majority of people and I also have traits that are inferior to the majority, and I also have ones that fall in between.
The question as to whether I am superior as a whole is ludicrous. It is without definitions of superior, and the number of traits that make up the whole are boundless and immeasurable. I can't say whether I have a "sense" of superiority because I don't know what I am looking for.
I do know that in the course of a day I look at more people and their actions with contempt than I do with respect, but then lying in bed at night I ponder whether I sub-consciously look for inferiority in others to distract myself from considering my own faults

 

[Lobstrich]

I tend to view myself with a sense of superiority over the majority population. This is due to the majority population being ignorant of of the things I find important. The things the majority find important are not things I strive for or would take pride in (being popular, social status, career stability, family, etc), so through my eyes, I see myself as superior, but through their eyes, I would definitely see myself as inferior.

Absolutely what I was thinking!

 

[BigApplePi]

I feel I have traits that are superior to the majority people and I also have traits that are inferior to the majority, and I also have ones that fall in between.
The question as to whether I am superior as a whole is ludicrous. It is without definitions of superior, and the number of traits that make up the whole are boundless and immeasurable. I can't say whether I have a "sense" of superiority because I don't know what I am looking for.
I do know that in the course of a day I look at more people and their actions with contempt than I do with respect, but then lying in bed at night I ponder whether I sub-consciously look for inferiority in others to distract myself from considering my own faults

Abstraction:

An organism is a creature with a lot of variables. Pick one. Is that variable, linear? If so, you can match up that variable of that other organism with the same one within yourself and compare for lessor, greater or equal. Would one make the entire organism linear so that one can say one is lessor, greater or equal? I don't see how because one doesn't relate one-dimensionality to multiple dimensionality.

Ponderous things to ponder:

Is a large person superior to a small one because they can pin you to the mat or is the small person superior to the large one because they can fit in small places?

If your self-esteem is greater than my self-esteem, are you superior or does that change over time when mine goes up and yours goes down?

 

[intp a]

I'd lie if I was to deny that I feel a little superior to most of the world. It is not that I think of others as stupid, just limited in their mind. not sure if it is an INTP trait. Most INTP's I've met were very smart, probably it has to do with intelligence more than being INTP

 

[Cognisant]

I find superiority in my recognition of: how insignificant I am, how putting duty before desire (effectively others before myself) leads to a more fulfilling life, and how being polite/humble presents me admirably whilst I'm surrounded by obnoxious, bombastic egomaniacs.

Bah who am I kidding, I'm a godless-heartless-amoral-narcissistic-bastard, no better than anyone & worse than most, in fact I take pride in it.

 

[BigApplePi]

Bah who am I kidding, I'm ..... no better than anyone & [no] worse than most, in fact I take pride in it.

In typical INTP fashion I wonder this: If one looks quite average then they will look in between boy and girl; man and woman. Should they take pride in their deemed superiority?

 

[Beat Mango]

I tend to view myself with a sense of superiority over the majority population. This is due to the majority population being ignorant of of the things I find important. The things the majority find important are not things I strive for or would take pride in (being popular, social status, career stability, family, etc), so through my eyes, I see myself as superior, but through their eyes, I would definitely see myself as inferior.

Good post.

 

[CoryJames]

I have a sense of superiority based solely on the fact that I can fully detach myself from bias when looking at a situation or problem. It is this ability that none but INTPs have that allows us to make connections and solve problems much more efficiently than anyone else.

I do not believe that we are BETTER than other people, or that being an INTP makes me somehow more valuable than anyone else wholly. I just think that INTPs are very good at what we do.

 

[Adamastor]

Bah who am I kidding, I'm a godless-heartless-amoral-narcissistic-bastard, no better than anyone & worse than most, in fact I take pride in it.

I second that.

Truth be told, this whole "superiority" is something fundamental, carved deep within myself.

The thing is my perfeccionism makes me acknowledge no one (this include myself), because my standards are always changing and are always above myself and above everyone, at least these in my social environment. In other words, in the beginning all people, from my point of view, are equal (as if :P), everyone is below something.

What happens with the people in that inferiority state? Nothing much, in first place I am the one who imposed the rules, it is simply as playing a game 'alone', where the other player is not aware that he is playing it.

I think that my egocentric behavior plays an important role there: It is living in a small world, refusing to see what is actually very far from where you stand, in fact it is like a race , where you can only the people that are run by your side, you don't even bother to look behind, neither forward; The feel moments you could take pride of yourself (or not) are 2:
- When these people running on the same level as you stay behind. (+)
or
- When they run so far that you can no longer see them. (-)

Of course, how you actually interact with this (fake) world and with the real world are different matters, although I am not certain if they are always related with this "law".

Needless to say that there is always a high probably of "world conflict". Some direct consequences are

(This quite a crappy connection, not that the other were not but, making this direct assumption made me feel bad, but I am not in the mood to write more, partially because I am really bothered with my shit-english)

I am an utter epitome of the superiority complex.
So much so that it's difficult for me to accept occasions in which I'm clearly an inferior.

How is that so? Probably because I am shallow enough to take my own lies and do not, explicitally, admit it...

 

[Keary]

Truth be told, this whole "superiority" is something fundamental, carved deep within myself.

This practically sums up my feeling of superiority I have over others, though I (hopefully) don't act superior or alpha male-like around others (I can't stand alpha males). The fact that INTP's only make up around 3% of the total population along with the fact that I feel that reliance on others is weak (hence Introverted) as well as how many still today refuse to use logic in their lives.
Although what defines superiority in humans is obviously up for debate and my sense of that aspects makes one superior over others may be deeply flawed to someone else. I do admit to moments of egotistical, narcissistic and elitist thoughts over others.

 

[Cognisant]

I do admit to moments of egotistical, narcissistic and elitist thoughts over others.

Ah but you're Australian.

 

[cgoodmanparker]

frankly i feel inferior to "normal" people in more ways than i feel superior.

horrible work ethic, no sensory awareness, blah blah blah.

maybe if i were at a place in my life where i had the time and energy to really think and theorize and create something useful, i'd be okay. but right now i feel like a dud. and i see everyone else doing things, making something with their lives, and i'm just sorta... here.

i envy blissful ignorance. that's not to say i feel like some great learned being, because i don't -- i'm intelligent but hardly a genius -- but if we're talking about the people that many INTP's say they feel superior towards, i don't get that at all.

I actually agree with all of this. You described me perfectly. Nevertheless, I answered "Yes" to the poll, because in spite of all that I do have a sense of superiority. I'm smart and I know it; I can excel in a battle of wits or dazzle people with brilliant conversation (sometimes.) Problems involving formal systems, logic, numbers, letters etc. are no difficulty to me. When I cared to be, I was a great student and dominated the classroom. I have a richer intellectual life than a majority of people (other areas of my life are less rich) and I have some abilities that other people envy. Despite this, I have (typical INTP?) a remorseful and self-critical mind and I'm not proud.

 

[Starfruit M.E.]

I think that we value different things than many other people. So what we accomplish makes us feel superior because not everyone is doing those things which we consider valuable. But I think we also know that there is a place in the world for other skill sets, and that we don't have it all together. So we remain generally humble despite feeling slightly superior.

 

[purpledog]

Superiority//inferiority??? what is this?
what is the scale that you are measuring against?
you are measuring yourself against your own inner slide-rule
there is no ultimate 'superiority'

Aldus Huxley 'There is no right or wrong... only thinking makes it so'

you are giving voice to your subjugation to the self perpetuation values of the racous t'other side

some say INTP, some say Aspergers, some say obsessive-compulsive
i say theyre all jealous
i say that they have such dependency on externalities that they have taken the stage by force-main and to serve their own ends are denigrating us
we who do not really get it - do not get why people would want to coalesce
we dont defend ourselves or our enviable state of normalcy
why would we - it's not our way
they, the noisy ones, set themselves, the dependent ones, as the 'normal'
the noisy ones think that they rule while we persist


i am the 'normal' against which i measure others; yet they have a right to their 'normal', just so long as they dont try to force me to assume it

 

[Moocow]

Sometimes, but understanding the reality of my insignificance usually keeps it down.

 

[JUN]

What the... 61.17% feel superior ? What happened to all the detachedness and disassociation ? Gee... You people need to sort some things out, right now.