Getting to Know Me

Recently The Girl In Black took a Star Trek quiz based on the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). It's been a few years since I've taken it, but the last time I did I scored as an INTJ, same as her, and it still rings true. So here are a selection of in-depth descriptions you can use to get to know me better (follow the links for even more; I've tried to copy less than half of each).

First, the Star Trek one:

. . . You respond best to other people's needs when they tell you about them clearly. You value honesty greatly and you're excellent at employing constructive criticism. You prize people who listen to you and respect your ideals. You are somewhat contemptuous of those who don't pay attention to what you say and extremely contemptuous of those who can't do their jobs well.

Goals
Your primary goal in life is achieving independence and being able to live according to your own standards. Your reward is continual expansion of your competence and knowledge.

Work
You are almost completely project-driven. Though you won't work against your fundamental principles, the current job before you can consume pretty much all other considerations. You will perform all-out for a superior you respect, but you have a sometimes unfortunate tendency to let bosses know when they've lost your admiration, or when you disagree with them. . . .

Relationships
Social skills may be your undoing, especially making small talk at parties or flirting with strangers. You feel everything very deeply, so you've learned to keep what you feel to yourself. This combination can alienate people instantly and even make stubborn suitors give up in frustration. . . .

This one is cool because it presents the type from a first person perspective:

. . . I am naturally organized, structured, and analytical. If a project enters my mind it immediately assumes the form of its pieces, its basic structure, and what order—first, next, last—it will take to get it done. This isn’t something I do, it happens instantaneously without effort. Issues are multifaceted and I try to think from different perspectives, not only my perspectives but others’ too. And I’ve found it’s good to gather as many facts as I can. Sometimes there is a piece that needs to be thrown out, or maybe it’s the seed of another project. . . .

I prefer trying something, then critique after the fact. I will integrate the experience and never make the same mistakes again. . . . I set very high standards for myself, and I believe it is possible to be competent at anything and everything I set my mind to.

I keep myself very private; that’s a part of who I am. I keep people at arm’s length. They have to gain my trust and interest. People are curious about me, I think, but only the brave try to figure me out. I feel very serious, but some I meet I just like a lot, and I can be spontaneously playful. I have a sensitivity to people and can feel warm with them, although many perceive me as intimidating, aloof or annoyed, or incredibly calm and competent about everything. People say I ask them good questions, not to make the decision for them, but to help them think through things. I look for systems that will make things better, and I am very much a person who seeks fairness and equality. People are very important, and I want to help them develop the skills they need to get on in life, whatever that means for each one of them.

There’s always something to occupy my mind or attention. I must be using my mind in a purposefully creative way, pushing the envelope with the most creatively challenging thing I can do, being the originator of a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist yet. It’s a complex world, and I believe we each should develop as complex an inner life as possible with the facility to react or initiate in a wide variety of ways. . . .

. . . if the emotional piece is not well managed in my life, or not compartmentalized, work is very difficult. Chitchat is tedious. I don’t know what to say, and I figure the other person isn’t actually interested in me anyway. . . .

And this one is quite thorough:

. . . To INTJs, authority based on position, rank, title, or publication has absolutely no force. This type is not likely to succumb to the magic of slogans or buzzwords. If an idea or position makes sense to an INTJ, it will be adopted; if it doesn't, it won't, regardless of who took the position or generated the idea. As with the INTP, authority per se does not impress the INTJ. . . .

INTJs do, however, tend to conform to rules, if they are useful, not because they believe in them, or because they make sense, but because of their unique view of reality. They are the supreme pragmatists, who see reality as something which is quite arbitrary and made up. Thus it can be used as a tool - or ignored. Reality is quite malleable and can be changed, conquered, or brought to heel. Reality is a crucible for the refining of ideas, and in this sense, INTJs are the most theoretical of all types. Where an ESTP seed ideas as the pawn of reality, and INTJ sees reality as the pawn of ideas: No idea is too far-fetched to be entertained. INTJs are the natural brainstormers, always open to new concepts and, in fact, aggressively seeking them. . . .

As mates, INTJs want harmony and order in the home and in relationships. They are the most independent of all types. They will trust thier intuitions about others whem making choices of friends and mates, even in the face of contradictory evidence and pressures applied by others. The emotions of an INTJ are hard to read, and neither male nor female INTJ is apt to express emotional reactions. At times, both will seem cold, reserved, and unresponsive, while in fact INTJs are almost hypersensitive to signals of rejection from those for whom they care. . . .

INTJs are idea people. Anything is possible; everything is negotiable. Whatever the outer circumstances, INTJs are ever perceiving inner pattern-forms and using real-world materials to operationalize them. Others may see what is and wonder why; INTJs see what might be and say "Why not?!" Paradoxes, antinomies, and other contradictory phenomena aptly express these intuitors' amusement at those whom they feel may be taking a particular view of reality too seriously. INTJs enjoy developing unique solutions to complex problems.