INTPs are good at math/sciences?

[Döden]

I'm pretty crap at math, in all honesty. People in my calculus class seem to be able to visualize the numbers and variables and manipulate them quite intuitively. It takes MUCH more work on my part, especially at this level where you are expected to make connections and solve the problem using previous knowledge.

I find it interesting though, and I really like it when my teacher shows us proofs and talks about mathematical principles (like the wave around the x axis that has a volume but no surface area? She didn't actually get to proving it but that turned me into a grinning fool).

I haven't had a proper science class since I entered high school, but I really like it. I'd like to go into some research field as a career. I always hated doing lab reports in middle school, but that's probably because they were so dry and working in groups definitely detracted from it. But til I go into that field I feed myself with the pop science of the Science Channel (the only worthy channel on TV, along with NatGeo and occasionally History Channel and Travel).

 

[roby]

I actually find it more interesting figuring out the mathematical philosophy or of science. Not so much the numbers, but the system of it. If that makes sense, although I could learn it if I weren't lazy as a fat devil with a long poking stick.

 

[Jesin]

Yeah, individual numbers get boring fast. Except for a few weird ones, like e and pi. Those guys keep popping up everywhere!

You know what you get if you take the factorial of -1/2? The square root of pi! You generalize the factorial function to a function that's continuous for everything greater than -1, evaluate it at -1/2, and THE ANSWER HAS PI IN IT! It's crazy!

 

[Minuend]

I'm not very knowledgeable in math and science. But I really enjoy science. I wish I knew more about math, psychics and such so that I would have a better understanding of how it all connects. So I'm trying to learn it myself, bit by bit. I don't know if I'm "good" at it. I used to be good at math in school when I was actually paying attention, but that's not really true math, is it? I liked throwing numbers around. I like exploring ideas.

 

[fullerene]

Yeah, individual numbers get boring fast. Except for a few weird ones, like e and pi. Those guys keep popping up everywhere!

You know what you get if you take the factorial of -1/2? The square root of pi! You generalize the factorial function to a function that's continuous for everything greater than -1, evaluate it at -1/2, and THE ANSWER HAS PI IN IT! It's crazy!

not to mention the fact that e^(i*pi) = -1. Yes... that's right... that "i"

 

[Latro]

Yeah, individual numbers get boring fast. Except for a few weird ones, like e and pi. Those guys keep popping up everywhere!

You know what you get if you take the factorial of -1/2? The square root of pi! You generalize the factorial function to a function that's continuous for everything greater than -1, evaluate it at -1/2, and THE ANSWER HAS PI IN IT! It's crazy!

The Gamma function actually works that way largely because it has an e in its definition. (e and pi are intertwined in more ways than just Euler's formula). And it works THAT way because it has a bunch of nice properties that way. You could just as easily define a different function, even one that is everywhere differentiable (i.e. without having to "jerk" at each integer by simply connecting a bunch of lines together) that wouldn't have pi in it at any non-trivial position.

 

[Eef]

Let's see...

Can't say that I'm a genius when it comes to Science, but it's my favorite subject.
And can never say I'm a student of math. Can't even remember the multiplication table :-P

 

[xainziha]

I love math and science, but then again I love all subjects in school. Math, gym, art, lang, foreign lang, science, history, ect. Jack of all trades you know.
That was why college was so hard for me, not because I was a bad student but because I was a good student. I didnt want to pick a category to study because I wanted to study everything. All choices had advantages and disadvantages, and I was mentally stuck. I still change my mind every second about what I want to be. I started in art but have now been working for an AS.
Math actually was a subject that I was good at but found boring. It was only this year in upper level math that I felt challenged. That moment of discovery, when you find the correct answer on your own is the best. I've taken to ignoring the step by step lessons in the book and just look at the problem given, and try and solve it myself. It is really fun.
For most of my life I have studied philosophy and religion, but now I feel I have learned all I wish to at the present moment. I am looking forward to science in my future.

 

[Infinite Regress]

The odd thing is although I am strong with maths, I completely detest sciences such as physics and chemistry.

However to this day stochastic calculus and the requirement to learn C++ to implement equations conjures up unpleasant nightmares.

 

[anyaa]

I just love maths...
And I don't think I'd ever be more comfortable with any other subject than science ...
History ,geography, were the worst subjects I think I was ever forced to learn in my school....because I think its just remembering useless crap [no more use other than hand printing on the exam paper {Like photocopy}...

 

[ladysavage]

I like math because it is, in a certain sense, simpler than other fields. There's much less brute force memorization, just pure understanding of ideas which appeals to me. It also appeals to my lazy side, because a clever solution will always go over better than a brute force approach.

Indeed; I find that I'm interested in math and programming because of the potential for elegance, whereas science tends to be less neat because of the hugeness of the field and number of factors involved. I'm interested in science but I find it less satisfying to pursue; probably because of my short attention span and dedication to writing and languages.

 

[Words]

i just hate math. ...no, i just hate school..no, i just hate work. i like to relax. more interested in philosophy...don't really believe you can translate those into simple equations such as 1 = 2.

 

[brain enclosed in flesh]

So much of the math I have encountered in life has been the extraverted thinking sort of math, which is why I would imagine I have been abysmal at it. But I love trying to figure out puzzles and I love science.

 

[ashitaria]

I use math all the time to calculate percentage and possibilities, along with solving logic problems in life. But I don't like the Math limited in the classroom, though I am good at it.

I enjoy Science, unless there are too many rules, regulations or rigidness. Currently I'm in Chemistry, and I don't like it much.

Too much to do with math and history.

 

[Nevermind]

I am good with science and terrible at math.
I really dislike cold numerical math, but theoretical math, and theoretical science..well theoretical anything for that matter, tends to fascinate me. Anything abstract and interesting.
But, the high school math, the crap dealing almost exclusively with meaningless numbers..bleh.. bores me to death, and I have a hard enough time with counting and basic multiplication

 

[chaomon]

love science, but math. forget that!

 

[Luminates]

I'm not a big fan of Math, but that doesn't mean I don't understand it when taught. Science on the other hand is my most favorable subject, and one I love to learn about in almost anything that revolves around it. Of course I'm a mix between INTP and INFP, but whatever.....

 

[Jackooboy]

I know an INTP Ph.D. ...

I am good at math, but do not prefer it.

 

[anemian]

I taught myself derivatives and anti derivatives along with the trig unit circle for the purposes of programming games. When I started learning "greater" maths I got quite a few good laughs after I realized what happened and got to get rid of a bunch of inconsistencies.

I really wish I didn't have that "English" disability, I would have been able to have been formally trained by real teachers instead of books and Internet ramblings which end up being inconsistent so often. I've come to really hate the public education system having learned it from both the main stream side and the learning disability side of it, both of them are a truly soul crushing experience that do soo much harm.

 

[Dogod]

I am great at sciences, and it's by far my favorite of all of school. Math is OK, and I'm OK at it.

 

[Hysteresis]

I am good at maths, but would be better if I actively took an interest in it. I understand what classmates would call difficult concepts without much difficulty, but I find that basic mathematics is pretty much all I need to work out interesting, if somewhat trivial things, like how much data the human brain processes in a lifetime, or how many seconds of education I have left.
I understand the importance of science, but I was never what I would call 'good' at it. Perhaps because it is not a whole, logical system as maths is. There were a few concepts I couldn't grasp in a class because they seemed illogical to me, and what interest I had in it just fell apart.

 

[Philosophyking87]

I don't understand how anybody can "enjoy" math. It just seems so dull to me. Maybe it's because I can't see how higher levels of math can really help me understand life.

The most math I ever used outside of a math class was algebra, geometry, and some calc...that's it.

Indeed. I really dislike math. It's so boring and dry and dull. Besides, I don't enjoy the rather tedious "rules" that govern everything about math. For instance, a problem has to be worked out in a particular fashion, left to right, certain operations before others. Whyyy??? No instructor ever particularly explained exactly why this has to be done as it is, they just tell you "left to right, this operation before that one." Because someone just magically knew that out of thin air? Why exactly do we perform these operation in this particular fashion? I never take anything for granted, so I usually need a lot of real depth behind why something is done a particular way to really learn it. But sadly, I was taught math in a very cut-and-dry fashion. "Here's how it's done. Learn how to do it as shown."

I'm not a robot, so I don't just mindlessly imitate the ways of others, or conventional methods. I'm so unconventional and skeptical that I didn't take the entire "God exists" idea for granted either. I question everything and I only learn what I have personally found meaningful and understood in some personal way. And mathematics just doesn't really mean anything to me. The most I've done out of class is probably basic algebra (to balance budgets and whatnot). pfftt

Have I ever understood what a quadratic equation was useful for? Nope.
My concerns are usually in the area of social sciences and the humanities—not really hard science or math. Although, I would use hard science as a stepping stone for further intellectual development. I'd find the knowledge useful, but not something which I really value and find interesting in any important way.

Thus, "enjoy" math? My mathematical skills are very average.
I could never enjoy it. It's too boring and incomprehensible.

 

[Philosophyking87]

The INTPs I've known in real life are more the "philosopher" types. And by that I mean that whatever they study -- be it literature, physics, mathematics, chemistry, art, philosophy, history, psychology, or what have you -- it seems to be more a vehicle for them to grapple with ideas that enhance their understanding of life and the universe than about making technical discoveries, having an impact on the world, etc.

Very true. I love the actual personal benefit I gain from the acquisition of any knowledge, or personal skills. Actually practically becoming "useful" in some way, according to society's current conventional understanding of what is useful, does not really appeal to me. I don't care to be useful. I don't care to make lots of money and rich or famous. I only care to develop my mind for my own personal needs and values and desires. When I learn, I'm learning because it's something I actually want, not because I need to learn for some external, greedy purpose.

Hence, I gravitate more towards social and philosophical subjects, like Nietzsche. I desire to cut out my own path in life, instead of being bogged down by the molds with which we are all seemingly forced to comply.

Some people psychologically desire fame and wealth and base their choice of career on those external needs and desires. Other people, however, receive satisfaction from internal rewards. How much did I learn? What much will that knowledge benefit ME? How much better do I feel now that I have proven to myself that I can do some particular task?

I don't care for external rewards; I am satisfied with internal rewards.
Mathematics just seems like something someone "needs," rather than something someone can actually find personally rewarding. At least I feel that way about it. It doesn't bring me personal satisfaction the way philosophy does, or the social sciences, or other humanities, like law and political science/philosophy. It has to have some purpose for me.