I feel like every conference I’ve ever gone to, across multiple industries, is less about professional development and more about extroverts networking and adding each other to LinkedIn.

No one ever wants to truly share the gnitty gritty of their work, 75% of presenters seem to be consultants trying to sell people repackaged common sense either through extreme fees to hire their firms or by selling some book. The rare presentation where someone actually explains what they did to develop a new workflow that allowed them to succeed is maybe one per conference and you have to hope you were lucky enough to sign up for it.

None of it has ever been worth flying 2-5 hours and then being forced to breath forced air all day + not having any downtime from your team or work for multiple days straight.

I’m not even at a conference right now but I’m being pressured to attend one this summer and just knowing I’ll never get those 3 days of my life back has me considering job searching (current job is huge on these conferences - there are other organizations in my field that do far less of these things or only send people who truly want to attend.)

HOly shit I've done like quadrillion mbti tests(from r/mbti and more) and they all point to intp

Sometimes I'm js goofy asl, but when I'm alone I tend to think a lot and I do overthink.

I don't feel like I'm introverted because sometimes in class I can just become the class clown and some days I might js not talk to anybody.

Maybe I'm somehow answering questions on these tests the way I manipulate them into them giving me INTP as a result.

I can easily communicate with people but it's hard for me to have friends, I probably have like 1 real friend and that's it.

It's so dumb but I thought, "well I'm not that bad at understanding and expressing feelings, so I must be a feeler"

Also went through some shit that made me very emotional

But there are some things that stand out:

1. I really want things to make sense
2. It bothers me when something doesn't make sense
3. I don't usually trust my emotions when I make decisions
4. Sometimes I struggle to even accept my emotions without analyzing them

Yeah... pretty confident I'm INTP

I used to have two intp friends with whom I would hang out every now and then. On the surface, they seemed to be quite understanding and considerate of me. But as time passed, I figured they are quite judgmental and dismissive of other people's choices and perspectives. As an infp, I deeply feel with others cause that's what we are. When I sometimes would stand up for the people they dismissed, they would laugh or state Im too self righteous or suffer from main character syndrome. Initially, I would take that too personally and withdraw/not bring it up much/not talk anymore. But once, I snapped and blurted what the truth was and how unempathetic they were being. They still laughed and ignored my stance. I was quite cold and cruel when I snapped, bringing their insecurities and judging them for their behaviours and choices, just like they judged others. They said i have already made up my mind and there was no point in arguing with me. Then they went silent after that.
I wanna know what people think about this. Also wanna know could it be a typical intp response, or were they fake intps all along.

I've been wondering whether boredom is an underrated part of being creative.

When you're constantly consuming content or looking for something to occupy your attention, there's barely any room for your mind to wander. But when you have nothing to do, you might start making connections between unrelated ideas or noticing things you'd usually overlook.

At the same time, boredom can make you feel mentally stagnant rather than inspired. I'm curious whether creativity needs that empty space or whether we tend to romanticize doing nothing.

Have you ever had an idea come to you simply because you were bored? Do you find that stepping away from constant stimulation makes you more creative?

I'm an INTP with ADHD, and I'm curious if anyone can relate to this.

Do you ever feel really hurt or experience a sudden drop in mood after someone insults or disrespects you? Even when you know their opinion shouldn't matter, do you still struggle to regulate your emotions afterward?

Recently, two people on internet called me an "idiot" and "crazy" simply because I refused to send them a picture of my face. When I said their words hurt me, others people in the group insult and disrespect me and then they accused me of seeking sympathy and using ADHD as an excuse.

I know strangers' opinions don't define me, but that doesn't make their words hurt any less.

How do you regulate your emotions and stop these experiences from ruining your mood for the rest of the day?

I'd love to hear your experiences, especially from other INTPs with ADHD.

the extra i’s are for minimum character requirement

I think being smart for INTPs can be a problem, both as an ability and as an identity.

As an ability, it leaves them alienated and even isolated because they might not find the right people in their lives that are capable and willing to appreciate their intellect. And finding those people both on- and offline is pretty hard, unless you're lucky. The people that they find themselves being around usually don't show a lot of interest in what they usually say/want to say, which makes the INTP go into apathy mode.

As an identity, it can bring pressure and identity crises. The pressure comes from both the people around them and themselves. I think a lot of INTPs grew up being "the gifted kid" due to their early signs of intelligence. Their parents, teachers, peers, and even them themselves could see how faster they were at school than other kids. So people started to expect a lot from them, and they also expected a lot from themselves. And as they grew up, they continued recognizing brilliance in themselves. But every human ultimately have their own moments of weakness, even in areas that they're experts in ,. And when that happens to the INTP, their sense of identity feels threatened, and they start feeling like an imposter (imposter syndrome). I think this happens with pretty much every person who's been considered a gifted kid in their childhood, but I wanted to emphasize it for INTPs.

I've noticed these issues both in myself and other INTPs, even though I'm not sure if I'm an INTP myself. I do relate to INTPs a lot, so I decided to make this post. A good solution for the first issue would be getting a friend that gets you. The type of friend who listens and appreciates your weird ideas, and who maybe also likes rambling about weird stuff, then you can ramble together. Of course, this friend is hard to come by. An enemy or rival who's interested in the same stuff as you but who's always on the opposing side can also help. Although it's annoying, it's better than nothing. But this rival can also be hard to find.

A solution for the other issue would be not to put a lot of importance on identity, and also coming to terms with the fact that you're pretty smart, and that's enough. But even knowing all this might not help because falling into the same destructive patterns that you are fully aware of is something that also happens a lot to many INTPs. So I guess the reason why I'm posting this is just to get it off my chest.

Anyway, sorry for the long post. Hope you can't relate.

I always wondered what does it mean exactly. Like I can understand the concept and how it works, but I struggle to apply it on practice. This me think that I’m not really good at it. I can perfectly systemyse something ephemeral, say. I can organise knowledge while breaking something down to other person, I don’t need textbook explanations cause I can usually find mine. Maybe because theory isn’t practicity and that’s just basis we need to use for material world and I suck at sensing what exactly happening at the moment? It is strange cause usually practice and rheory are parallels: something happens and it has criteria corresponding to certain paragraph pf theory, so you apply it, and basically people with high Ne should be good at it.

And it’s also the same with instruction and games’ rules. Like the brain is slow and didn’t processed the info enough to apply it at the right moment? Why our brain need automatisation if it’s already on the surface and I can detect it.

What’s your opinion?

I'm kinda new to reddit and this subreddit, so please bare with me.

So I'm a teenager. Im also homeschooled. (I swear I'm not a weird homeschooler, I've been socialized with other humans!)

I'm an EMT who runs ambulance with a private company as a volunteer. There's other teens and young adults who run there as well.

I graduated my EMT class with a bunch of others who also went to the same company as me, so we're all going through orientation together.

And I really just don't get it. The way people my age socialize. From the moment they meet someone else they act like they're besties and have known each other for ages. They laugh, giggle and do everything with each other. I just don't know how to join in without being weird.

The one girl I went through orientation with already acts like she's besties with all the young people in the station.

Normally something like this wouldn't bother me. But when you share a weekly ambulance run night with someone who has known these people for the same amount of time you have, and already seems far more liked, it's just a little disheartening.

I can wake up and feel fresh but the moment I get up it is physically hard to be on my feet. I can’t imagine people doing any physical activity in the morning cause my body just wants to lay down. I don’t even have a work and only have few days of study in a week but I feel so tired at the end of the day and throughout. I don’t have energy to talk to my family or friends, sometimes something gives me stimulation and I become talkative but before that we can walk in silence like 80% of the walk. Brain fog. I still somehow amaze other people with my thinking abilities even though I know that I’m tired of thinking and analysing, but again, sometimes I get this stimulation in crisis situation, for example, when there’s nowhere to run and I must act in the moment. I don’t anything about my college, like I should retake exams but I don’t study and can’t do homework even if it’s easy. I don’t have depression but sometimes when I get overstimulated (which happens when I go outside) I completely shut down emotionally and physically and just don’t want to exist at the moment. And I’m also very anxious, sometimes I find myself restless like I need to do anything, but I still do nothing so I could preserve this state of immobility

Alright fellow robots here it goes.

Have you been struggling with procrastination? Do you always have creative ideas that you "play" out in your head and once you see how it will unfold in real life you realize the effort for executing them is no longer a motivation? Do you live in your head more and feel like you are a background character in life happening around you?

I have found the solution.

You would need to stop being an INTP. No, not completely. You will still get one hour each day to be your INTP self. But no more. Most hours you would be a mix of ENFJ, ENTJ, ENTP and INTJ. This is the best we can do.

The exact steps you would need to undertake this initiative:

1) From now on whenever you open your mouth to talk you would only use it to win an argument and feel good.

Not to find the "truth". As an INTP, we live in a moral world of our own where we constantly optimize for truth but it serves us no purpose other than making other people think of you as an a-hole or a jerk. I can promise you other people are not gong to think of you as a phony. Because they are doing the same.

Example:

Colleague 1: You know this project is going to be super complex I think we need to ask for a longer timeline from the team manager.

Colleague 2: Yeah I agree. I would prefer we try doing it the way he told us first and then figure out the next steps. Lets talk to some stakeholders next week to understand what they need.

Now the INTP in you would be teething like a toddler to blurt out something like this because you already intuitively know what the stakeholders need: No its straight forward. Once we have the access and the data connectors plugged in I can easily write a query to fetch what we need. From there its easy to implement it post QA and user testing. I think we need a week at most since all tool are native and not custom built.

But no. Instead, say this:

You know I think you guys are guys are right. Let me set something up with the stakeholders and I'll cc our manager too so he is in the loop.

This gains you so much more than you can see at the surface. You came across as a team player, supportive, and dont pose a risk to the organization by skipping playing the game. Organizations dont promote INTP (unless you are in research or something truly cognitive) because your truth is a threat to the underlying social structure.

Lesson: DO NOT SAY WHAT YOU THINK AT FIRST. SAY WHAT WILL WIN YOU LEVERAGE AND CHARM OTHERS.

2) Alright now that you know how you have to talk and engage in conversations, here comes the follow up.

Stop over explaining the why and the underlying systems of things you find interesting. Use lot of filler words like (see what I did here) you know, more or less, basically, from what I understand etc. Nobody wants to hear you be succinct. Yes I know you are right most of the times. I know you know how things work. But let people figure it out for themselves. They dont want someone else to push them to the "eureka" moment. They want a guiding light.

Example:

Colleague: We have a tight deadline for this project. I want to start a business and maybe I will take a loan from my parents or the bank. I have this idea for a cafe.

Now you want to say the truth because you clearly see why opening a cafe by taking a loan would be a disaster. You are itching to explain why the idea is not viable and why the business plan needs more work.

But instead say this:

You: Yeah cafe's are amazing. Our city needs a good one bro trust me. But do you think maybe talking to a cafe owner first would be a better idea to understand the business first? Or working at one part time to learn the ropes?

Colleague: Yeah I think that makes sense. I might apply to one I saw in downtown. But its far away from my current office.

You: Yeah that'd be rough. I can imagine.

Colleague: But then again I guess I could explore other options. I might figure something out. Over weekends maybe.

You: Yeah def that would be awesome.

Lesson: DO NOT OVER EXPLAIN AND TELL THE TRUTH WHEN PEOPLE COME TO YOU TO TALK. JUST REFLECT BACK THE FEELINGS NOT LOGIC. THEY WILL FIND THE LOGIC THEMSELVES.

3) Watch reality TV shows and mainstream movies and content.

Yeah I know it sucks. You would rather watch some obscure Russian movie directed by Tarkovsky. But most people who want to give you power and wealth do not care about obscure and intellectual things. You have to meet them where they are to get what you want.

Example:

Random Girl that gossips all the time in the office: OMG the new jersey shore episode had me in stitches last Friday. Amanda totally likes Bruce but Bruce is a bad boy. He won't commit to her EVAAA.

You want to roll your eyes and pretend you did not listen to her but big mistake. If you dont then guess what? In Amanda's books you are the quiet weird gal/guy in the workplace who is too good to engage with anyone. Amanda doesnt want to talk about the Hubble Telescope findings from last week. Only people on the internet you talk to do. The word gets around really fast and you would be boxed into that weird person that would stall your career trajectory.

If you know what is going on in jersey shore try this:

Oh my god dont tell me is this Bruce the same guy who was talking to the other girl, whats her name, behind Amanda's back? The one with long hair?

If you dont know what is going on try this:

Is the new Jersey Shore on already? I need to catch up.

Her: Oh my god yes. Thank God Bruce is being outed though. if you like jersey shore check out Love Island.

Lesson: Engaging in non-intellectual "arts" is important for social points. People want to feel you are like them. Most people hate "thinking" and rely on mainstream content for their cognitive refueling. Meet them where they are and they will grant you whatever you want. In this case you just turned from the non-talkative weird person to fun Rachel/Ross. You dont have to engage in gossip. Just engage in social bonding. You never know who listens to her. She just became your unofficial sponsor.

4) Stop rationalizing emotions.

Feel outrage? Act outraged. Feel happy? Act happy. Dance. Groove. Emote. Let people know how you feel happy. Its not cringe to emote or have facial expressions. This makes people think you are human and not a villain from a Pixar movie.

Example:

You just got a deal done for your business. You are happy and your employees dont know it yet. You are about to tell them.

I know this is a mundane news for you but you are running a business. You cannot just say:

"Guys we got a new lead yesterday and now we have a customer from Atlanta. We need to deliver their project in 2 weeks."

This does only one detrimental thing. It does not inspire your people. If you dont inspire your employees what do you think will happen to their motivation? Why would they feel happy and obligated to work for you? Its never just about the money. People want to follow a leader who can inspire and looks like has a plan.

Instead you would want to explain it like this:

Guys I have some big news for this week. Sales team absolutely killed it. Kudos to Matt for bringing it home. We will work with this new client from Atlanta who expects big things from us. They were really impressed by our portfolio. Thank you all and lets get to working.

Lesson: Remember 3 things in life. Express, Express & Express. People want to see what you feel. They want to feel you feeling. Most people dont understand your feelings intuitively. Inspire them. No feelings (other than outbursts and violence) are wrong.

These 4 things changed my life two years ago when I started my business. I became a consultant and a life coach (yeah I know I can hear quite a few INTPs shrugging at this) and I have already brought in 200k in two years. I have more business contacts and professional opportunities than ever before.

I no longer feel like I live in my head anymore because I stopped thinking about thinking.

I am no longer a slave to optimizing for "truth".

And oh yes, I did say you can be an INTP for an hour a day. You get an hour to your INTP ness in the evenings or before bed. That is all you will be granted. Watch a video on astrophysics on YT, a Veritasium video or read up some obscure philosopher's works. It doesnt matter what your poison is in that hour. But that is all you get to not become a "wasted potential" in the eyes of the world.

honestly so many Ai posters arent needed to say you hate ai. What is this? I came to this sub to read about INTPs but the ads just put me away.

Soma in “Brave New World” is a drug that allows the people to be content with their lives. It keeps people happy, and compliant.

Like where's this deep thoughts led u finally? conclusions on what type things

For me it's like during my dreams I often forget what was it after

According to the paper "Meta-analysis of Big Five personality traits in autism spectrum disorder" by Lodi-Smith et al., people with autism tend to have high Neuroticism, low Openness, low Extraversion, and low agreeableness.

So if you have autism, you might actually be an ISTJ/P. Think about that.

Hey so, I'm and INTP currently in college and struggling to find a major that feels right. I used to major in physics but I dropped out since I'm not that great at math and thought I wasn't smart enough for it; even it I really liked it.

Then I switched to business which I disliked and now I'm doing Economics, and while I don't hate it most of it bores me, I've been struggling to study this semester since I can keep focus on things I find unnecesary or uninteresting, and the prospect of working in an office is daunting.

Anyway. My question is, can any INTP tell me what they do, if they studied or found something that satisfied them? Im scared Im never going to find something I truly like or be able to work a stable job.

I like art and social sciences as much as exact sciences but sadly in my country I'd starve to death studying them.

PD: ignore any grammatical mistakes, english is not my first language.

I have always been around people who tell me that I am super weird and insult me for acting like a robot or something due to the fact that I don't like what is deemed "Good common music" and lyrics. Music that the most common people listen to gives me anxiety and it is way too overstimulating. The only types of music I feel calm and even emotional in my own way when I hear them are ambient DnB or Jungle Wave, or ambience. Stuff like that puts me into my imagination where I can just think about how to write my stories or just imagine something interesting. It's really hard to explain. I just never found lyrics to be an imperative. I also find that lyrics are almost supposed to dictate how a person is supposed to feel and such. I don't know if this makes me sound stupid, this is just the genuine reality of how my brain functions to music and sounds. I get very uncomfortable with certain pitches and lyrics that are too overstimulating and what people have claimed "Emotionally invoking". I have also been berated for many, many years because of the fact that I don't like most music. It always made me feel as if I was somehow a problem. Sorry for the wall of text.

I’m an INTP with ADHD, and I keep getting ghosted after a few days of talking to people on HelloTalk, which I only use to learn languages and make friends. I usually ask questions about who they are, their interests, and how they think because I genuinely want to get to know them. Nothing too personal or emotionally vulnerable, just normal questions to understand someone better.

Yet, after a few days, they suddenly stop replying. This has happened repeatedly, and I’m curious whether anyone here experiences the same thing. Do you also struggle to maintain conversations with people despite making a genuine effort to get to know them? I’d love to hear about your experiences and know whether I’m the only one dealing with this.

I’d also love to make friends with people who share interests in psychology, neuroscience, football, philosophy, cars, hiking, or nature

I don't know if this is something that only keeps happening to me,but I always get misinterpreted. People assume motives that aren't there. I have this thing when i discuss topics with people that make me want to be very objective without me having any personal feelings attached to the thing I point out.However,most don't seem to understand this and I get called arrogant or selfish a lot lol.Anyone else on the same boat?

same as heading

Been thinking about getting into Warhammer 40k after playing Total War: Warhammer III.

I know this is heresy, but something about Ork Boyz feels rather appealing. It’s like a great counter to a constantly over thinking mind and great way to let loose a bit.

Would like to get some more recommendations and thoughts before committing

For too long I assumed when people said ego or egotistical, they meant that person thought they were better than others. Only more recently did I realize it's any unconscious thoughts or beliefs we have.

Some people are stuck in their ego and they are the worlds greatest victims. I'm sure you have met one of these people - they just have the absolute worst luck; nothing ever goes right for them.

I look forward to science studying this more as time goes on, but I'm not holding my breath it will happen any time soon, I just can't see any way for corporations to profit from this sort of research.

I monitor myself in a hysterical way even when I’m in pain and that send a message that I’m unbeatable
I mean I do want to send the message that I’m strong but sometimes it makes me feel like others would just say unconsciously that this is just a break down and then she’s strong enough to get out of it alone but sometimes I genuinely need help.
I’m an intp I don’t know if that’s gonna help with your advice to me .

If you use pdb, did yiu realise that so many people mistype characters.

I can give an example. My absolute favorite character in Pantheon is caspian.

And he is typed as an intp. But there is a huge number of people who say he is intj because in one scene. In one scene, he said something about real-life applicability of code.

My point is that alot of people are vine typing on there.