4 ms·

An ex-boss of mine was like this. He would pause before answering anything. I, being an impatient idiot, would fill in the awkward pause and carry on talking. T

An ex-boss of mine was like this. He would pause before answering anything. I, being an impatient idiot, would fill in the awkward pause and carry on talking. Then he would answer the original question and interrupt me, and I'd have to scramble back to the original context and continue from there. I did slowly learn to give him time to think and not fill in the awkward silence, but it was hard. One of the smartest guys I've worked with, and an excellent boss. I tried emulating his ability to think hard before replying, but my brain doesn't work like that. I make intuitive leaps to an answer that I have very little rational path to and then find it incredibly hard to shift from that answer (or expand on it). I can think hard on things, but I need peace, quiet, and preferably to be walking near trees, to do it. And my thinking process is about making lots of intuitive leaps and then filtering them, rather than rationally deducting a train of thought. Brains are fascinating. edit: also an INTP, verging on ENTP as I get older

lampshades 4y ago
I’m the same way as you. Very intuitive and talk too much. Tested as INTP when I was younger and have been ENTP for the last good while.
- marcus_holmes 4y ago
  Weird how it changes over time. I still get very introvert periods where I can't stand being around other people, but now also a longing for company sometimes. I think part of it is that I'm better at being around people now - I've learned how to avoid being socially inept (well, mostly), and I'm less anxious around people.
xen2xen1 4y ago
I'm also INTP, and I've learned to wait a day on any important decision or problem as my subconscious percolates out better ideas as the day goes on. If I'm stumped on something, I move to a different problem, go to the bathroom, answer email. Whatever. I find that the answer comes to me, and it's often that I need to stop banging away on the same problem the same way and try a different tack, and if I don't break away from what I'm doing I keep trying the same thing the same way.
- marcus_holmes 4y ago
  I used to smoke a lot, and needed a break every hour to go outside and smoke for 10 minutes. At least twice a day, I'd come back in from a smoke break to find that I'd been going about the current code problem all wrong and now knew how to do it properly. Now I don't smoke any more I find it very hard to take these breaks, as I get caught up in what I'm doing. My code has definitely suffered from giving up the smoking.
ngvrnd 4y ago
extremely relatable.
boringg 4y ago
I'm curious if you think your boss was one of the smartest as a function of his brain working in a completely different way. In that it sounds like he had a long focus on each problem as they come in deductively reasoning through it. INTP also has a strong ability to solve very complex problems though its through rapid fire iteration (hence the intuitive leaps). I bet the two of your brains in combination had a good cadence for problem solving once the dynamic was figured out. Agree - brains are super fascinating.
- marcus_holmes 4y ago
  Yeah, we worked well together once we got used to each other. I think the pausing to think actually conveys an impression of greater intelligence. And yes, this is counter-intuitive ;)
fatnoah 4y ago
When I worked at a startup and we were on the verge of being acquired by a very large company, I remember meeting one of the reports-to-C-level executives overseeing the whole thing. He had no problem pausing for 15-30+ seconds to digest what was just told to him and would respond when he understood it and/or needed clarification. It built a huge amount of respect vs. just nodding and agreeing, even when he didn't get it, but also not asking the first question to pop into his head when a moment's thought would provide the answer.
roarcher 4y ago
I had a boss that would often take multiple minutes to answer a question. Everyone knew to say nothing and let him think. He usually gave good answers, but I was most impressed with his ability to think clearly with several people awkwardly staring at him from across his desk.
- marcus_holmes 4y ago
  Yes! that too. I would be mentally panicking about what they thought because I wasn't saying anything and the pause was getting more and more awkward, but he didn't seem bother by it at all.
mihaaly 4y ago
A joke comes to mind. Two peasants reaping crops and to pass time they play a guessing game. - I thought of something - says the first. A week passes by - Is it deoxyribonucleic acid? - Yes. But how did you know? - I had time to think.
- shepherdjerred 4y ago
  Can you explain the joke for me?

lampshades 4y ago

I’m the same way as you. Very intuitive and talk too much. Tested as INTP when I was younger and have been ENTP for the last good while.

marcus_holmes 4y ago
Weird how it changes over time. I still get very introvert periods where I can't stand being around other people, but now also a longing for company sometimes. I think part of it is that I'm better at being around people now - I've learned how to avoid being socially inept (well, mostly), and I'm less anxious around people.

xen2xen1 4y ago

I'm also INTP, and I've learned to wait a day on any important decision or problem as my subconscious percolates out better ideas as the day goes on. If I'm stumped on something, I move to a different problem, go to the bathroom, answer email. Whatever. I find that the answer comes to me, and it's often that I need to stop banging away on the same problem the same way and try a different tack, and if I don't break away from what I'm doing I keep trying the same thing the same way.

marcus_holmes 4y ago
I used to smoke a lot, and needed a break every hour to go outside and smoke for 10 minutes. At least twice a day, I'd come back in from a smoke break to find that I'd been going about the current code problem all wrong and now knew how to do it properly. Now I don't smoke any more I find it very hard to take these breaks, as I get caught up in what I'm doing. My code has definitely suffered from giving up the smoking.

ngvrnd 4y ago

extremely relatable.

boringg 4y ago

I'm curious if you think your boss was one of the smartest as a function of his brain working in a completely different way. In that it sounds like he had a long focus on each problem as they come in deductively reasoning through it. INTP also has a strong ability to solve very complex problems though its through rapid fire iteration (hence the intuitive leaps). I bet the two of your brains in combination had a good cadence for problem solving once the dynamic was figured out. Agree - brains are super fascinating.

marcus_holmes 4y ago
Yeah, we worked well together once we got used to each other. I think the pausing to think actually conveys an impression of greater intelligence. And yes, this is counter-intuitive ;)

fatnoah 4y ago

When I worked at a startup and we were on the verge of being acquired by a very large company, I remember meeting one of the reports-to-C-level executives overseeing the whole thing. He had no problem pausing for 15-30+ seconds to digest what was just told to him and would respond when he understood it and/or needed clarification. It built a huge amount of respect vs. just nodding and agreeing, even when he didn't get it, but also not asking the first question to pop into his head when a moment's thought would provide the answer.

roarcher 4y ago

I had a boss that would often take multiple minutes to answer a question. Everyone knew to say nothing and let him think. He usually gave good answers, but I was most impressed with his ability to think clearly with several people awkwardly staring at him from across his desk.

marcus_holmes 4y ago
Yes! that too. I would be mentally panicking about what they thought because I wasn't saying anything and the pause was getting more and more awkward, but he didn't seem bother by it at all.

mihaaly 4y ago

A joke comes to mind. Two peasants reaping crops and to pass time they play a guessing game. - I thought of something - says the first. A week passes by - Is it deoxyribonucleic acid? - Yes. But how did you know? - I had time to think.

shepherdjerred 4y ago
Can you explain the joke for me?