3 ms·

I just tried one of those tests. It said I was an INTJ. Are the letters in order of significance? I.e. is INTJ the next door neighbor of INTP?

by pg 18y ago

Xichekolas 18y ago
http://www.typelogic.com/intj.html http://www.typelogic.com/intj.html As far as I know the letters are always in the same order. To put it in regex form: (E|I)(S|N)(F|T)(J|P)
Alex3917 18y ago
INTJ is the next closest to (E/I)NTP. The reason there are less INTJs on the site is probably because they are more rare, rather than because the temperament is different.
pg 18y ago
Jessica just tried the same test and was classified as an ISTJ, which judging from the description is hilariously accurate. "Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom." (Within YC Jessica's nickname is Panic.)
DaniFong 18y ago
It's a weird theory, but it is somewhat coherent. INTJ is very close to INTP, just not really for that reason. ENTP is the classic entrepreneur. INTP/INTJ is the classic hacker; there was a poll on here and nearly 60% of the people 662 people who voted were INTP/INTJ, whereas they're each around 2-3% in the ordinary population. 10% of the rest were ENTP. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=204240 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=204240) Basically, the Myers-Briggs type determines your preferences for particular cognitive functions. The four letter indicator is like an extreme Huffman coding of those preferences: Your information-gathering, perceiving function (that is, input.) This can be either i(N)tuitive or (S)ensing. Roughly, a sensing person trusts their senses, directly what they see and hear from the world. And an intuitive person trusts, or looks for knowledge, in their subconscious and conscious cognitive models. Your decision-making, judging function (that is, output.) This can be either (T)hinking or (F)eeling. Roughly, the thinking person is at ease when they can make a decision supported by a logical process, and the feeling person prefers to make the decision according to their gut. (E)xtroverted and (I)ntroverted describes the social attitudes of each of the 'functions,' in other words, whether you, when information-gathering, or decision making, prefer to focus on behavior, action, people and things or the internal world of ideas and reflection. There is only one letter for this, even though each function is supposed to have its own attitude. This is because Isabel Myers believed that there was always a balance; if you are introverted in information-gathering, you're extroverted in decision making. Finally, the last letter, (P)erciving or (J)udging, specifies which side of yourself; perception (information-gathering) or judgment (decision-making), you tend to show to the world. Perceiving types prefer to "keep decisions open." Judging types prefer to "have matters settled." The YCombinator practice of deciding quickly, while it may be a definite plus for both sides, is a judging characteristic, for example.
- gambling8nt 18y ago
  "Basically, the Myers-Briggs type determines your preferences for particular cognitive functions." This is backwards; your Myers-Briggs type is determined by your preferences, and is ultimately little more than a form of horoscope targeted at those who realize that birth month has no significant correlation with personality.
  - DaniFong 18y ago
    I meant determine as in "to find out or come to a decision about by investigation, reasoning, or calculation." I didn't say that it was necessarily 100% accurate. But the MBTI is not a horoscope. The INTP/INTJ slant here is way statistically significant. Obviously there's something there.
    - gambling8nt 18y ago
      The same thing that is there if you ask a bunch of computer science students whether or not they like computers. Sure, the result is statistically significant; it just doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know. The categories of the MBTI are sufficiently broad and vague that having an atypical distribution of results on HN doesn't actually tell us anything about ourselves that wasn't inherently obvious.
      - DaniFong 18y ago
        It's not as if we're just asking people if they like computers, and parroting it back. The MBTI was published in 1962. Barely anyone had access to computers then. I don't know how you'd measure this, but the profiles, to me, certainly aren't broad and vague. They make very specific and very falsifiable claims about personality, and all out of a mere 4 bits of information. The first time I read my profile (ENFP) it was like a bolt of lightning shot through me. It had me to a 'T.' My parents couldn't describe me so well. And my experience is far from atypical. There are a bunch of other major statistical discoveries about the different groups. For example, INTP's have the lowest level of emotional coping resources, while their cousins, the ENTP's, have the highest! INTJ's have the highest college GPA's, while the adjacent INTP's have much lower, scoring far below what their aptitude tests would indicate. There is a lot of real information in those few bits! Sources: J. Shelton, in MBTI Applications by A.L. Hammer, 1996. More at: http://www.ransdellassociates.com/INTJ.htm http://www.ransdellassociates.com/INTJ.htm

I just tried one of those tests. It said I was an INTJ. Are the letters in order of significance? I.e. is INTJ the next door neighbor of INTP?

by pg 18y ago

I just tried one of those tests. It said I was an INTJ. Are the letters in order of significance? I.e. is INTJ the next door neighbor of INTP?

Xichekolas 18y ago

http://www.typelogic.com/intj.html http://www.typelogic.com/intj.html As far as I know the letters are always in the same order. To put it in regex form: (E|I)(S|N)(F|T)(J|P)

Alex3917 18y ago

INTJ is the next closest to (E/I)NTP. The reason there are less INTJs on the site is probably because they are more rare, rather than because the temperament is different.

pg 18y ago

Jessica just tried the same test and was classified as an ISTJ, which judging from the description is hilariously accurate. "Under stress, ISTJs may fall into "catastrophe mode", where they see nothing but all of the possibilities of what could go wrong. They will berate themselves for things which they should have done differently, or duties which they failed to perform. They will lose their ability to see things calmly and reasonably, and will depress themselves with their visions of doom." (Within YC Jessica's nickname is Panic.)

DaniFong 18y ago

It's a weird theory, but it is somewhat coherent. INTJ is very close to INTP, just not really for that reason. ENTP is the classic entrepreneur. INTP/INTJ is the classic hacker; there was a poll on here and nearly 60% of the people 662 people who voted were INTP/INTJ, whereas they're each around 2-3% in the ordinary population. 10% of the rest were ENTP. (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=204240 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=204240) Basically, the Myers-Briggs type determines your preferences for particular cognitive functions. The four letter indicator is like an extreme Huffman coding of those preferences: Your information-gathering, perceiving function (that is, input.) This can be either i(N)tuitive or (S)ensing. Roughly, a sensing person trusts their senses, directly what they see and hear from the world. And an intuitive person trusts, or looks for knowledge, in their subconscious and conscious cognitive models. Your decision-making, judging function (that is, output.) This can be either (T)hinking or (F)eeling. Roughly, the thinking person is at ease when they can make a decision supported by a logical process, and the feeling person prefers to make the decision according to their gut. (E)xtroverted and (I)ntroverted describes the social attitudes of each of the 'functions,' in other words, whether you, when information-gathering, or decision making, prefer to focus on behavior, action, people and things or the internal world of ideas and reflection. There is only one letter for this, even though each function is supposed to have its own attitude. This is because Isabel Myers believed that there was always a balance; if you are introverted in information-gathering, you're extroverted in decision making. Finally, the last letter, (P)erciving or (J)udging, specifies which side of yourself; perception (information-gathering) or judgment (decision-making), you tend to show to the world. Perceiving types prefer to "keep decisions open." Judging types prefer to "have matters settled." The YCombinator practice of deciding quickly, while it may be a definite plus for both sides, is a judging characteristic, for example.

gambling8nt 18y ago
"Basically, the Myers-Briggs type determines your preferences for particular cognitive functions." This is backwards; your Myers-Briggs type is determined by your preferences, and is ultimately little more than a form of horoscope targeted at those who realize that birth month has no significant correlation with personality.
- DaniFong 18y ago
  I meant determine as in "to find out or come to a decision about by investigation, reasoning, or calculation." I didn't say that it was necessarily 100% accurate. But the MBTI is not a horoscope. The INTP/INTJ slant here is way statistically significant. Obviously there's something there.
  - gambling8nt 18y ago
    The same thing that is there if you ask a bunch of computer science students whether or not they like computers. Sure, the result is statistically significant; it just doesn't tell you anything you didn't already know. The categories of the MBTI are sufficiently broad and vague that having an atypical distribution of results on HN doesn't actually tell us anything about ourselves that wasn't inherently obvious.
    - DaniFong 18y ago
      It's not as if we're just asking people if they like computers, and parroting it back. The MBTI was published in 1962. Barely anyone had access to computers then. I don't know how you'd measure this, but the profiles, to me, certainly aren't broad and vague. They make very specific and very falsifiable claims about personality, and all out of a mere 4 bits of information. The first time I read my profile (ENFP) it was like a bolt of lightning shot through me. It had me to a 'T.' My parents couldn't describe me so well. And my experience is far from atypical. There are a bunch of other major statistical discoveries about the different groups. For example, INTP's have the lowest level of emotional coping resources, while their cousins, the ENTP's, have the highest! INTJ's have the highest college GPA's, while the adjacent INTP's have much lower, scoring far below what their aptitude tests would indicate. There is a lot of real information in those few bits! Sources: J. Shelton, in MBTI Applications by A.L. Hammer, 1996. More at: http://www.ransdellassociates.com/INTJ.htm http://www.ransdellassociates.com/INTJ.htm