# Can you relate to this way of thinking?



## Mr. Magenta (Nov 27, 2014)

I'm pretty new to personality typing. I've been studying several areas of it for about a year now. I only recently discovered this website which is amazing. I'm still trying to correctly identify my own type, but i'm fairly confident i've done so correctly, as it seems to be the type i'm most congruent with.
I had a conversation with my dad and brother the other day. We were about to go yabbying, and my brother and i had to walk a short distance to a dam to see if it was worth going to or not. On walking back, my dad asked the following.
Dad: "How much water's in it?"
I was in loss for words. I couldn't understand how to answer it, did he expect that we'd measured how many liters were in it or something? I was still trying to work out how to answer him when my brother interjected:
Brother, "About half full."
I was baffled at how simply he answered the question.


----------



## JKRfan (Apr 20, 2014)

To clarify, was your dad asking about how much water was in the dam?

If so, then yes, there are circumstances in which I might be able to relate to that. Sometimes when someone asks me a question I tend to over-complicate what I think the answer should be, and then get frustrated with my self for not being able to answer the question. It also confuses others if the answer to the question was seemingly simple to them.


----------



## Clyme (Jul 17, 2014)

Mr. Magenta said:


> I'm pretty new to personality typing. I've been studying several areas of it for about a year now. I only recently discovered this website which is amazing. I'm still trying to correctly identify my own type, but i'm fairly confident i've done so correctly, as it seems to be the type i'm most congruent with.
> I had a conversation with my dad and brother the other day. We were about to go yabbying, and my brother and i had to walk a short distance to a dam to see if it was worth going to or not. On walking back, my dad asked the following.
> Dad: "How much water's in it?"
> I was in loss for words. I couldn't understand how to answer it, did he expect that we'd measured how many liters were in it or something? I was still trying to work out how to answer him when my brother interjected:
> ...


Like @JKRfan, I also have a problem with over-complicating things. This can rise in informal conversation or even in professional or school settings. I can often over-think things and upon being asked a question or setting out to do a certain task, I can become preoccupied with details and miss the bigger picture. Although I'm usually quite good at keeping the bigger picture in mind, finding myself in the situation you described is not at all uncommon.


----------



## K3xP (Oct 29, 2014)

Yeah sounds like over complicating the hidden meanings of a question.

Which is followed by another with an oversimplified answer.

And your left wondering how the fcuk did they get that?
And how the fcuk can you accept that as an valid answer? 


Not sure if this is relevant but i also find myself in situations where I think I'm explaining things clearly to another person but they're left confused like how the fcuk did you come up with that or they just don't follow my train of thought


----------



## Floating (Aug 11, 2011)

Yeah I can understand what your saying - I had the same problem when I was one of those "children" things we've all seen running around on weekends. I used to ask questions and get an unsatisfactory answer. I even get it nowadays when my supervisor asks me questions relating to my field of research - I often say I don't know the answer, and then after ten minutes of interrogation I realise he just wanted me to say something really simple which I didn't actually regard as an answer to his question due to its (the answer's) simplicity.


----------



## Helweh18 (Jul 30, 2013)

I definitely do not get caught up in minor details, in the case of the dam for instance, I would probably take a look at it, when someone asked I would estimate the depth and then give an approximate answer; I definitely would NOT try and figure out how many liters were in the dam. That would drive me dam crazy lol.


----------



## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

Mr. Magenta said:


> I'm pretty new to personality typing. I've been studying several areas of it for about a year now. I only recently discovered this website which is amazing. I'm still trying to correctly identify my own type, but i'm fairly confident i've done so correctly, as it seems to be the type i'm most congruent with.
> I had a conversation with my dad and brother the other day. We were about to go yabbying, and my brother and i had to walk a short distance to a dam to see if it was worth going to or not. On walking back, my dad asked the following.
> Dad: "How much water's in it?"
> I was in loss for words. I couldn't understand how to answer it, did he expect that we'd measured how many liters were in it or something? I was still trying to work out how to answer him when my brother interjected:
> ...


Have you ever been diagnosed with Aspergers?


----------



## nO_d3N1AL (Apr 25, 2014)

I often have trouble answering simple questions - especially those which require some sensory awareness. Things have to be well-defined for me. If someone asks a broad question which has multiple interpretations I try to narrow it down. I'm the kind of person that responds to what I would class as a "bad question" with more questions until it's specific enough for me to give a direct answer


----------



## ScarlettHayden (Jun 8, 2012)

I would just respond with something like "who knows, why don't you go and ask them", lol.




Helweh18 said:


> I definitely do not get caught up in minor details, in the case of the dam for instance, I would probably take a look at it, when someone asked I would estimate the depth and then give an approximate answer; I definitely would NOT try and figure out how many liters were in the dam. That would drive me dam crazy lol.


With you there. It's not worth thinking about tbh.


----------



## K3xP (Oct 29, 2014)

ScarlettHayden said:


> I would just respond with something like "who knows, why don't you go and ask them", lol.
> 
> 
> 
> With you there. It's not worth thinking about tbh.


The major difference between INTP and ENTJ. lol


----------



## Mr. Magenta (Nov 27, 2014)

emberfly said:


> Have you ever been diagnosed with Aspergers?


No, why?


----------



## Mr. Magenta (Nov 27, 2014)

Double post.


----------



## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

Mr. Magenta said:


> No, why?


Obvious reasons.

Your question refers to a situation in which you struggle to understand basic communication. You take what is spoken literally, and thus misinterpret the meaning being portrayed. This is something that Aspies struggle with.

When your father asks, "How much water's in it?" a neurotypical hears: "How full does it look?"

But an Aspie hears: "How much water's in it?"

And thus confusion ensues.


Your confusion shows a lack of empathy. A neurotypical puts himself in the shoes of the question asker and says to himself, "what is this person trying to ask me? What do they want as an answer?" This happens subconsciously and in a fraction of a second.

Aspies do not do this naturally, and instead take the language at face value.


----------



## Neuromancer (Jul 27, 2014)

No, while I can't entirely relate to this way of thinking I can picture it happening on certain days in which I am spacing out considerably more than usual or extremely tired. 
I don't know the ideal water depth for yabbing (or anything about yabbying) but I think this is a matter of keeping the purpose of the entire dam-scouting expedition in mind as you are doing the task, which is to approximate the water level. Even if you had the exact and correct volume in liters, I'm not sure your your dad is going to know what do with that number besides converting it back into an approximation. So no, I cannot really relate to this but I don't doubt that I've been in a similar situation. 
Also, unless you've been baffled at the simplicity of others' answers on many many numerous occasions in your lifetime and just didn't notice that these types of situations appeared to reoccur, I'm going to propose the idea that maybe this is not your preferred way of thinking that you've always had and perhaps it was just that day.


----------



## 1yesman9 (Jul 10, 2014)

Not quite the same, but I do find it hard to answer "simple" things simply, as like most INTPs, I want to answer it as closely to the truth as possible. Consequently, when I was quite young, I'd always respond to questions with "i guess", so I didn't imply that my answer wasn't subjective to the specific conditions and circumstances. "i guess", meant like 99.9999% yes, so it substituted for the imperfect "yes".


----------



## Petyr Baelish (Aug 13, 2014)

Mr. Magenta said:


> I was still trying to work out how to answer him when my brother interjected:
> Brother, "About half full."
> I was baffled at how simply he answered the question.


It's an awkward question. I would've been clueless too and probably would've responded with "A lot?".

If you're an INTJ, chances are you have Ni as your dominant function (spending majority of your time in your head) and Se as your inferior function (oblivious to details, sensory input, surroundings). 

So really, it's not your fault buddy, lol.



emberfly said:


> Obvious reasons.
> 
> Your question refers to a situation in which you struggle to understand basic communication. You take what is spoken literally, and thus misinterpret the meaning being portrayed. This is something that Aspies struggle with.


I'm sure every INTJ out there falls victim to this kinda stuff, every once in a while. I doubt that we all have Asperger's. Or maybe we do.


----------



## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

Petyr Baelish said:


> I'm sure every INTJ out there falls victim to this kinda stuff, every once in a while. I doubt that we all have Asperger's. Or maybe we do.


_Well_, as Asperger's is a syndrome (a collection of symptoms), anyone could really "have it" if they possessed the symptoms. The symptoms



WebMD said:


> -Not pick up on social cues and may lack inborn social skills, such as being able to read others' body language, start or maintain a conversation, and take turns talking.
> 
> -Dislike any changes in routines.
> 
> ...


I mean, who _doesn't _relate to at least one of these things?

I'm personally of the opinion that things like Asperger's and AD(H)D are just made-up diagnoses to better segregate and label our population and to better market pharmaceuticals, of course!


----------



## K3xP (Oct 29, 2014)

emberfly said:


> _Well_, as Asperger's is a syndrome (a collection of symptoms), anyone could really "have it" if they possessed the symptoms. The symptoms
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well what do you think aspergers is then? Do you think its some made up thing? simply nothing? A weird combination of cognitive impairment?


----------



## Vayne (Nov 6, 2014)

Yes. I can relate. I over-complicate every question i take. I just feel the need to know the exact meaning of the question. We all know that question are quite biased and there could be thousands of meaning there. I won't right away answer question, i'll question back first. :laughing:


----------



## Mr. Magenta (Nov 27, 2014)

I'm becoming concerned over this Aspergus thing. I've read up a lot on the syndrome since Emberfly mentioned it. As a child i always like drawing, but i only drew the same thing, monsters. When my teacher asked me to draw something different, i drew an alien...
I liked dinosaurs, monsters and robots. When Pokemon was released on tv, i became obsessed, it was basically monsters under human control. Of the symptoms presented, I do tend to lack empathy often (but not all the time). I can have one-sided conversations, and i do become preoccupied with favorite subjects.
I have no trouble with eye contact, facial expressions or voice tone. Routine change is something that can piss me off, but it's dependent on the circumstances.



In reference to the original question, sometimes i miss the meaning behind questions, other times i pick up on the meaning but deliberately give a literal answer just to be a smart arse. for example, i work in a liquor store, and a customer asked me, "what can you tell me about this bottle?" holding up a bottle of Moscato Rosa. I responded by describing the glass bottle's physical characteristics. It was my way of joking, and the customer understood and laughed with me, and then i told them the information they really desired.
Sometimes i don't grasp the actual question though. This has been a good thread. It's reassuring to know others also think like this.


----------



## Tezcatlipoca (Jun 6, 2014)

Analysis paralysis - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

nO_d3N1AL said:


> I'm the kind of person that responds to what I would class as a "bad question" with more questions until it's specific enough for me to give a direct answer


Yeah, I either do that or respond to bad questions with bad answers :dry:


----------



## Modal Soul (Jun 16, 2013)

emberfly said:


> Have you ever been diagnosed with Aspergers?


i know @emberfly here was being serious and sincere with this reply but i cannot stop laughing


----------



## Mr. Magenta (Nov 27, 2014)

You're going to kill someone with your internet bullying one day.


----------



## Lestany (Sep 2, 2014)

emberfly said:


> Obvious reasons.
> 
> Your confusion shows a lack of empathy. A neurotypical puts himself in the shoes of the question asker and says to himself, "what is this person trying to ask me? What do they want as an answer?" This happens subconsciously and in a fraction of a second.
> 
> Aspies do not do this naturally, and instead take the language at face value.


You're not taking function dynamics into account.

If the neurotypical response is to instantly empathize, then all of us Fe/Fi inferiors would be on the spectrum. And honestly, it's easy for us to convince ourselves we are there's all these notions floating around that restrict the meaning of neurotypical to such limited parameters.

Personally I think the OPs confusion was intuition based, Ni took a wrong turn, or something.


----------

