# Benefits of thinking/analyzing??



## day_dreamer (Nov 8, 2010)

Recently I had made friends with some ENFP and ENFJ friends who find my 'zoned out' state to be pretty intriguing. Most of the time I am lost in thoughts, sometimes fruitful and sometimes random. And they will be like - what is the point of thinking so much or only acquiring knowledge when in real life results is all that matters. People much less educated or learned are more successful because they apply whatever they know compared to what most NTPs know or apply.

This had made me think, what really are the benefits of thinking in general?  And by thinking, I mean the types of thoughts that might or might not be useful in real life. For me, I just love thinking and analyzing everything around me and understand how things work at the core level as that is my default disposition but I cannot put this an an argument to let them leave me at peace. :dry:


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## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

That's a pretty big question, because it goes to the core of what you value. If you value the thinking/analysis/knowledge as an end in itself, as many NTs do, the pleasure you get from it, and the fact that your becoming more competent/knowledgeable, and improving yourself by learning and developing your analytical skills, might provide enough benefits for you. But I think what you're asking is, how can your thinking be beneficial in terms of achieving practical results? That depends on the kind of results you're talking about. There are some areas of work that are vital to the functioning of society, in which quick, instinctive action is required, and overthinking is likely to hinder rather than help. A lot of people who are successful by societal standards are not people who spend very much time pondering the mysteries of the universe. So, in that sense, they're right, but again, it depends on what you value; do you want to be "successful" in that sense? The kinds of goals NTs are likely to be interested in are things that do require a great deal of analysis. Just as one example, you can't be a scientist of any kind without that kind of analysis. Maybe what your friends mean is that, if you do have some kind of goal you're trying to work towards, you do eventually have to take action; you can't achieve anything by thinking alone. Or, perhaps they mean that it would be a waste of your intellectual abilities if you didn't use your skills to make some kind of contribution to society. Ultimately, though, it sounds like their goals/values are very different to yours, so what you consider to be beneficial probably won't be the same as what they consider to be beneficial.


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## azdahak (Mar 2, 2013)

day_dreamer said:


> Recently I had made friends with some ENFP and ENFJ friends who find my 'zoned out' state to be pretty intriguing. Most of the time I am lost in thoughts, sometimes fruitful and sometimes random. And they will be like - what is the point of thinking so much or only acquiring knowledge when in real life results is all that matters. People much less educated or learned are more successful because they apply whatever they know compared to what most NTPs know or apply.
> 
> This had made me think, what really are the benefits of thinking in general?  And by thinking, I mean the types of thoughts that might or might not be useful in real life. For me, I just love thinking and analyzing everything around me and understand how things work at the core level as that is my default disposition but I cannot put this an an argument to let them leave me at peace. :dry:



Just zone in on what they value the most as feelers.....a happy relationship, a loving family, a group of selfless friends.....then ask them if they would trade those for the practicality of financial security. 

Given the choice of being rich and stupid, or poor and smart, I'll choose the latter.

Given the choice of being rich and alone, or poor and surrounded by love, I'm sure they'll choose the latter as well.

And there's your comparison.


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## day_dreamer (Nov 8, 2010)

They would always argue saying that the people skills they have can be used in social settings can help us in real life irrespective of what I value. And what I value is not valuable in making my life better as my zoning out neither helps my work nor help maintain relationships.

Sometimes I feel thinking is a kind of addiction which is going no where and which I cannot get rid off and doing me any good.


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## I Kant (Jan 19, 2013)

day_dreamer said:


> what is the point of thinking so much or only acquiring knowledge when in real life results is all that matters. People much less educated or learned are more successful because they apply whatever they know compared to what most NTPs know or apply.


There are different sorts of success.

If money was all that mattered, become a criminal.

Not all poorly learned people get success. Many fail. You are better off with some intelligence. Blindly placing a gambit on dumb luck for being in the right time and place seems like a waste of life.


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## Scelerat (Oct 21, 2012)

Other people: [Scelerat] you think too much. 
Me: No, you people do not think enough, that's why you keep doing stupid shit.


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## L (Aug 12, 2011)

There was an argument kind of like this in my experimental psych class like a week or so ago. 

It was argued that you should follow your passion and while you may not have a point of learning/thinking/applying or whatever or may not even know how to apply it somebody else down the line may pick up some of your knowledge that you have discovered somehow and do something to redefine life itself! It's possible. Plus, if you like doing it and it isn't hurting anyone then I'd argue that it's a good thing just for that, how many people do what they hate on a daily basis?


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## Kingdom Crusader (Jan 4, 2012)

If someone were to ask me this question, I would seriously answer with all the inventions & scientific discoveries I could think of, for starters.


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## Strelok (Aug 16, 2013)

day_dreamer said:


> And they will be like - what is the point of thinking so much or only acquiring knowledge when in real life results is all that matters.


Are you really sure they're not Sensors? "What is the point of thinking so much" and "in real life, results are all that matters" *really* don't sound like xNxx opinions.


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## Scelerat (Oct 21, 2012)

Strelok said:


> Are you really sure they're not Sensors? "What is the point of thinking so much" and "in real life, results are all that matters" *really* don't sound like xNxx opinions.


Results yes, there has to be a point to something to justify the effort. Now, the point of "thinking so much" depends on in what sense. If you spend 12 hours a day thinking about "The Real Housewives of North Boise" or some shit then I get it. You're not thinking too much, you're thinking of pointless shit too much. 

Of course, I could argue that thinking about where we came from, where we go after we die and so on is pointless too, but in a sense I get thinking about it, because it's big, it's a mystery etc. It's not a mystery that "the slutty one" is going to be slutty, "the bitchy one" is going to be bitchy and that the "drunky one" is going to get drunk. 

A lot of the time when people comment "you think too much" it's usually in reference to something like: 



Scelerat said:


> When someone makes a "Size doesn't matter, it's whether you know how to use it" and you then proceed to pick it apart along these lines:
> 
> A) That assumes that size and usability are perfectly inversely correlated variables something, which cannot be assumed a priori.
> B) If it cannot be proven that size and usability are perfectly inversely correlated, that would indicate that there is an optimal spot, in which case the argument is pointless.
> ...


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## day_dreamer (Nov 8, 2010)

Asian_Chick said:


> If someone were to ask me this question, I would seriously answer with all the inventions & scientific discoveries I could think of, for starters.


Valid, but then again I am not doing any of these. 



> Are you really sure they're not Sensors? "What is the point of thinking so much" and "in real life, results are all that matters" really don't sound like xNxx opinions.


They have very highly developed sensor side to them but they are intuitive because they understand whatever abstract stuff I talk about and like listening to it. But they are very practical in their approach in real life unlike me. I am always in self doubt mode before I do something.



> You're not thinking too much, you're thinking of pointless shit too much.


Now you added to my worries further, what are the useful stuff then to think about? I do think of certain movies or TV program if it has affected me deeply. Like some idea or notion I have not thought of before or looked at from a certain perspective makes me think about it and apply my deductive logic again to understand it. Nowadays most of my thinking stuff revolves around my loved ones or people who I care about, my future plans, self improvements and my work. It's been long that I have indulged in abstract thoughts like meaning of life, etc...


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## CodeGuru (May 25, 2012)

day_dreamer said:


> Now you added to my worries further, what are the useful stuff then to think about? I do think of certain movies or TV program if it has affected me deeply. Like some idea or notion I have not thought of before or looked at from a certain perspective makes me think about it and apply my deductive logic again to understand it.


Your Ne function is jumping all over the place, so allow me to put a focus to it so we can address the issue more efficiently. Exactly what _do_ you want? It sounds to me that you want to be more practical in your thinking, is this right? If that's the case, then simply think more practically. Instead of jumping from idea to idea from any relative subject you can think of, keep your ideas organized and focus on the ones relevant at hand. Then, weigh and evaluate them against one another and use your environment as a basis to make sense of them as well as make value judgements (X idea is better than Z because it corresponds to event H). You are looking for ideas that can be tested. An idea that is good in thought but cannot be tested is less valuable because it is then impossible to realize and deduct an objective truth from that idea.


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## Dao (Sep 13, 2013)

It depends on what is meant by success. It's rather question-begging to assert that 'success' is contingent upon not engaging in analysis because there is already an implicit assumption in that argument that 'success' entails not being analytical. So you can respond by demanding some less circular reasoning.


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## FearAndTrembling (Jun 5, 2013)

Asian_Chick said:


> If someone were to ask me this question, I would seriously answer with all the inventions & scientific discoveries I could think of, for starters.


As Mark Twain said, the name of the greatest inventor is "Accident". Some of the greatest insights come when people aren't actually thinking. Though obviously thought helps refine that process, and make it useful. Actually, we should probably distinguish between different types of thinking here. I believe the OP is referring to logical, directed thinking. Daydreaming and imagining is thinking too. 

I personally never simply think or analyze. That's my problem. I overthink and overanalyze. Most people have the opposite problem. I am cautious. Thinking IS working. That internal labor saves me external labor. Then if we wanna get all Plato, we could say that thought is the only way to come to real truth. To clear up the haze of sensation. Thinkers are always working..

*“Ludovico Buonarrati, Michelangelo’s father. He was a wealthy man. He had no understanding of the divinity in his son, so he beat him. No child of his was going to use his hands for a living. So, Michelangelo learned not to use his hands. Years later a visiting prince came into Michelangelo’s studio and found the master staring at a single 18 foot block of marble. Then he knew that the rumors were true — that Michelangelo had come in everyday for the last four months, stared at the marble, and gone home for his supper. So the prince asked the obvious — what are you doing? And Michelangelo turned around and looked at him, and whispered, “sto lavorando,” (I’m working). Three years later that block of marble was the statue of David.”*


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## Scelerat (Oct 21, 2012)

day_dreamer said:


> Now you added to my worries further, what are the useful stuff then to think about? I do think of certain movies or TV program if it has affected me deeply. Like some idea or notion I have not thought of before or looked at from a certain perspective makes me think about it and apply my deductive logic again to understand it. Nowadays most of my thinking stuff revolves around my loved ones or people who I care about, my future plans, self improvements and my work. It's been long that I have indulged in abstract thoughts like meaning of life, etc...


What is "useful" is ultimately decided upon by you. However, there is a "subjective" and an "objective" mode of play here that can be defined as "What you find useful" and "What society finds useful". Now, I'm totally against basing yourself off what other people want all the time, however there is a degree to which it is required in order to make a living. Once you make what is to you an acceptable living, then you can think about whatever you like the rest of the time. 

If you think of it as a Venn diagram I'd think that the best results would be to have as high of an overlap as possible.


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## Old Intern (Nov 20, 2012)

day_dreamer said:


> Recently I had made friends with some ENFP and ENFJ friends who find my 'zoned out' state to be pretty intriguing. Most of the time I am lost in thoughts, sometimes fruitful and sometimes random. And they will be like - what is the point of thinking so much or only acquiring knowledge when in real life results is all that matters. People much less educated or learned are more successful because they apply whatever they know compared to what most NTPs know or apply.
> 
> This had made me think, what really are the benefits of thinking in general?  And by thinking, I mean the types of thoughts that might or might not be useful in real life. For me, I just love thinking and analyzing everything around me and understand how things work at the core level as that is my default disposition but I cannot put this an an argument to let them leave me at peace. :dry:


Tell them thinking is what you prefer to gossip, whining, and retelling family stories over and over. - Or shopping just to spend money emotionally, or instead of watching reality TV.


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## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

I'm a knowledge hoarder. You never know when you will need a piece of information until you do.


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## CaneParfaite (Aug 21, 2013)

MegaTuxRacer said:


> I'm a knowledge hoarder. You never know when you will need a piece of information until you do.


I guess this is why I consider myself an INTJ at times. Hoarding knowledge <3


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## MegaTuxRacer (Sep 7, 2011)

CaneParfaite said:


> I guess this is why I consider myself an INTJ at times. Hoarding knowledge <3


Oh Ni dominants are the worst at it.


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## CaneParfaite (Aug 21, 2013)

MegaTuxRacer said:


> Oh Ni dominants are the worst at it.



Worst as "can't do it" or worst as "doing it obsessively"?

Sorry, not a native speaker here ;P


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