INTP or something else?

I am just recently getting into the whole personality thing. I am BORED! I have grown very cynical and negative about the world and people the last couple of years, I think because I am so bored with this seemingly pointless, redundant thing we call life. What is the point? I am married with three children and the only reason I go to work is because I have a sense of duty and I know I need to provide for my family, but there is no interest in it. I get bored at almost any job after 6 months once I feel I've gotten 90% of what I need to perform the function.

So, here is what I've come up with so far...every personality test I've taken pretty much consistently pegs me as an INTJ, though every description I've read tells me I'm an INTP except for one nagging difference. I am extremely organized. I like to know where my things are at all the time. My wife is the opposite, a total pack rat, disorganized, always late to appointments. I can't stand being late to anything. I am very absent-minded but I have taught myself to write things down so I don't forget. To-do lists are the only way I get anything done.

I do consider myself a thinker and school has always come extremely easy for me, I can put everything of until the last minute and I still graduated from my local University with 3.75 gpa. The only reason I wasn't 4.0 is because I lack follow-through.

So...after the background, here's me:

I have grown completely numb of all emotion because to me it is a sign of weakness. I don't know if this is a personality thing or upbringing, or just the way I've become because of my boredom with life.

I am only truly happy when I'm learning something new. I have taught myself several instruments, including the piano, I joined a choir for a time, I am the family IT guy, I have dabbled in gardening, automotive/motorcycle repair/upgrades, I could probably completely remodel an entire house if I put my mind to it. Basically, I love to learn something, but once I've gotten a decent understand of anything, I get bored and move on. I somethings think the only way I could be truly happy is if I simply attended school, obtaining degree after degree for the rest of my life. I LOVE SCHOOL, but I have no desire to get a PHD in anything, rather a BS in everything. I want to know everything.



My father is really the only person in my entire life I've ever been able to carry on an intelligent conversation with because we can talk and theorize about complex, abstract concepts like trying to understand eternity for hours. And when discussing these things, the world needs to go away, any distractions just piss me off to be honest when I'm thinking about something deeply. My dad is a definite INTP. The biggest difference between me and him is I can't stand clutter, being late to appointments, not having everything put away all the time, and I prefer to be clean (mostly). My wife keeps a very cluttered house and part of this I think I have learned because it makes me so angry when I trip on something walking through the house in the dark. Though I am extremely organized in day to day things, I DO NOT like schedules. A vacation that is scheduled out every hour of the day simply isn't worth taking, I am very impulsive and can up and decide at the last minute to take a road trip just for fun. Since I don't like to plan things, I tend to forget half the stuff I need, but that is part of the adventure is making it work without every possible thing I need. My wife is the opposite (another point of our frustration), when going on a trip, she needs to take 10 pairs of clothes for everyone in the family and the kitchen sink, just in case we need it...

I have been depressed the last couple of years, I think mainly from boredom. I simply can't afford to keep picking up new hobbies, though I would be entirely happy if I could. I am desperately seeking a career choice that will keep me engaged for years to come.

Regarding emotions...another big difference me and the classic INTP from what I've read is that I can hold a grudge if it is something I remember. I do get hurt, not at all easily, but people close to me can hurt me deeply and I can hold a grudge for years. 98% of these things I completely forget about and it is easy to move on, but there have been a few things that have cut me deep and I have trouble letting go of. So I am not the completely emotionless person as INTPs are often described.

The reason I posted this on here is because I read an article on the INTP at intp . org / intprofile . html
I laughed through most of it as it seemed to describe me so accurately except for the obvious differences. I enjoyed the article as it felt like someone understood me, like I'm not alone in the world. I have felt alone and different from 95% of the population for most of my life. Which is really okay because 95% of the population I don't view as intelligent, logical or reasonable enough to carry on meaningful conversations with anyway. Most of the population seems to be guided more by emotion rather than logic which makes me a bit angry because you can't debate with people like this. Every time you try to make a reasonable argument, an emotional person (most everybody) completely ignores what you're saying and says it's not right because we should all live in happy fairy land where everyone gets everything for free. I hate large crowds as I can't stand emotional people and I don't find the normal partying, getting drunk scene fun. I do like relationships, but one-on-one, meaningful, rather than abundant relationships. I don't even find women attractive that are not of above average intelligence. I find a brain much more attractive that a stupid sexy body.

I'm hoping someone on here with more experience with this can help. Are there others like me? Organized, punctual INTPs? Or am I not that at all? Am I trying to cram myself in to a box when I shouldn't? Am I testing as INTJ/INTP simply because I'm angry and cynical right now or does it have more to do with my personality?? Am I answering these personality tests by considering who I want to be or who my father is, rather than who I am? I am confused, lost and alone.

I despise redundancy, inefficiency and unintelligent, emotional people. I can handle unintelligent and I can sometimes handle emotional people, but I can't stand them together. Is this my personality or am I just bitter because life seems so meaningless? I come across as crass and unfeeling sometimes, and I really don't like hurting anyone's feelings, so I tend to just keep to myself and not say a whole lot...unless I'm with my dad and we're discussing the birth of the universe, black holes, time travel and the time-space continuum in complex theoretical detail, then you can't shut me up.

Any help would be most appreciated. Sorry if I rambled on. I tend to do this as well. I don't like going back and editing.

I am sorry that you have been diagnosed with INTP. My condolences to you and your family.

Everything you described is spot on INTP, all expect the organization part. That makes you the king of all INTPs. All hail the king. Long live the king.

I've tested INTJ myself on a few occasion, it happens sometimes. Welcome to PerC!

First of all, thank you for reading my post. I went back and read through it after you replied and realized it is unreasonably long. And thank you for the forum. I finally feel like I may have found a place of like-minded people.

Originally Posted by theorycraft

I am sorry that you have been diagnosed with INTP. My condolences to you and your family.

Everything you described is spot on INTP, all expect the organization part. That makes you the king of all INTPs. All hail the king. Long live the king.

I've tested INTJ myself on a few occasion, it happens sometimes. Welcome to PerC!

Lol! "I am sorry you have been diagnosed with INTP", LOL. +1, it is quite spot on INTP.

Originally Posted by capnbonsai

First of all, thank you for reading my post. I went back and read through it after you replied and realized it is unreasonably long. And thank you for the forum. I finally feel like I may have found a place of like-minded people.

You are a T-dom either way. I was actually much like you when I was younger, so much that I used to test INTP consistently. I can identify with the depression risen from existential crisis motif, though I think it comes from different places in you and me.

I also identify with the birth of the inner machine; emotional abyss. I can actually clearly recall the period of my life where I went through this transition, it was like swallowing a bitter pill which turned my entire existence cold. But I loved it. It's both a blessing and a curse - being a T-dom.

If you are truly an organized INTP then you shouldn't have trouble finding a career you will enjoy and thrive in. Nearly any field (though I wouldn't recommend client-centered psychology) can and has greatly benefited from the work of INTPs.

Welcome to PerC :)

Originally Posted by AbioticPrime

You are a T-dom either way.

Dude, what is a T-dom??

Originally Posted by capnbonsai

Dude, what is a T-dom??

Probably "dominant"?

yeah, thought about that after I posted. I'm a dork. Maybe one of the slower INTPs. :)

Capnbonsai, I still think you're an INTJ.

The reason I said that is because P's, like your wife, tend to get very excited with non-responsibility stuff. They will take extra steps to plan a trip. Some J's don't mind being late to events like birthday parties and whatnot. I've talked to two INTJs in my life. Although I talked to them for a short time, I can sense their expressive emotions. And the way you describe how you have emotions sounds more INTJ to me than INTP. INTPs can get excited in their tone of voice, but not as emotionally expressive whatsoever. I'm not sure if INTPs are capable of being VERY organized. I don't think grudges have anything to do with personality type. I've been holding grudges with almost anything negative that happens to me for years, starting with a kid who kicked me almost two decades ago in elementary school. Also, INTPs are known for endless information and knowledge storage into their brains. (but that can be said for anybody as well)

Check out these statistics:
Demographics from The Personality Questionnaire
The INTJ is the second type to have the highest education level.

With all these information I mentioned, my opinion might have a bias towards swaying you into thinking you're INTJ. So please decide for yourself. No one is 100% right.

Also, Welcome! I'm glad you found a "second home".

Thanks for the input. I think that might actually be part of my frustration. I still seek basic knowledge about everything, but I get frustrated because I can't store it. I had a car accident when I was 17 that pretty much wiped out all my childhood memories and to this day I can't remember much very long-term, though I have an incredible ability to store vast amounts of information but for a very short time. I think that helped me in college, I could cram for tests and easily store what I needed, but a week or two later and 50% of the info is gone. I don't remember hardly anything I learned in college except for very basic concepts, I don't remember any of the details. I think that is partly my personality as I don't care too much for the details, just broad concepts, but is also simply part of my inability to store information for long.

Let me add to this...I am fascinated by details to some degree because I enjoy understand how everything works together (how things are calculated for instance, I always did really well in math). I'm just not sure if I don't care for the details because of my personality or simply because my memory is so bad so I can't remember everything I'd like to....have to think about that one...

The information storage is actually the least important for distinguishing between J's and P's. We all store information to some extent. That's why I mentioned the stuff in the parentheses. It's more about the other stuff I talked about.