u/ChronosTerminus

Hey INTJs,

My girlfriend gave me a personality test 6 months ago. I took it expecting nonsense, got INTJ, and laughed at how accurate it seemed.

Out of curiosity I started reading about the functions, stress-testing my type, trying to see if something else fit, but if INTJ is a box, I fall right in the middle of it.

I don’t fully believe in it. Some of it is hard to dismiss the constant future fixation, suddenly “knowing” something without knowing how, the Se grip(don't ask me), the planning, the obsessions, even the death stare.

At the same time, I can’t shake the skeptic in me. Am I actually recognizing myself in this, or just seeing the patterns I want to see? Hard to tell.

So I’m stuck between “this is weirdly accurate” and “this is kind of pseudoscience.”

So my question is do you guys actually believe in MBTI? As a real framework, a useful shortcut, or something in between?

I see a lot of people calling themselves polymaths, both on the web and in places like my local Mensa.

Most of the time it seems to come from having many interests or being curious about multiple fields which is great, nothing wrong with that.

But the real question is what is your actual output?

What have you made by connecting knowledge across different fields, or even producing things in different fields that are subjectively useful?

Because, polymathy tt’s taking ideas from different domains and producing something new, useful, or meaningful because of that combination.

And if you really are doing that, people will notice from the work itself.

So that’s my simple question:

What have you created or achieved by combining different fields of knowledge?

Drop your top book(s) recommendations ideally the ones that had the biggest impact on how you think, work, or see the world.

When you're honest with yourself, late at night or whatever, does it feel like things went the way you wanted? Or not really? Did life match what you had in your head, or did it turn out differently for better or worse?

Drop your age too if you're comfortable.

Do you consider yourselves highly organised, and have you planned “everything” in your life?

I’ve built a fairly complex personal system that I use over the last 5 years that I know like the back of my hand. It covers everything from the most trivial daily tasks to long-term goals (even 10-year plans). At this point, I trust it completely.

One of the main benefits, aside from being in control, is that when I’m in my free time, my mind is completely at peace. I’m not mentally juggling reminders or thinking about what I’ve forgotten. Everything is already captured and structured.

Because of that, my whole day and free time is are more enjoyable as there’s no background noise in my head pulling me back to unfinished tasks or loose ends.

INTJs are often described as planners and system-builders, so do you do something similar, or do you find that level of structure unnecessary or even restrictive?

Dark humor is easily the funniest type of humor to me. Do you guys also enjoy black humor?

I also tend to stay calm in situations where other people get tense, which makes those moments feel like good opportunities for deadpan dark jokes.

A light example was the other day during a traffic stop, everyone was a bit tense and I made a joke about bribing the cop. The girls freaked out for a second, which I found very amusing.

So do you also have that kind of deadpan dark humor? I would appreciate examples

I’ve noticed a clear pattern in how I solve problems.

When I’m working on something, there’s usually a point where I have to make a big decision or solve a problem, so I do what most people do and map it out visually in my notes app, trying to figure out the best solution.

But very often, just sitting there and thinking doesn’t work when the issue at hand is complex. I can structure the problem clearly, but actually solving it is difficult.

Then a day or two later, while I’m walking through the crowded city for work, the solution just comes to me. I get an aha! moment.

At this point it happens too often to ignore.

It mostly happens while walking, not in the gym, and never at my office.

I’ve read this kind of delayed insight is common for INTJs.
Do you experience this too? If yes, when does it usually happen for you?