The INTP: Bohemian and Mischievous

"INTPs are those most likely to suddenly become vegetarians, join a commune, or decide to live out of the back of a van. They like the idea of raw or organic lifestyle. Not only do such lifestyles appeal to NPs’ penchant for subversiveness and sustainability, but they can also be stimulating to their Ne [inferior extroverted intuitions]. INTPs types dislike sterile surroundings and tend to relish the idea of unconventional living arrangements."*

INTP: Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving. That is my Meyers-Briggs, Jungian personality score. Every time I take a personality test, I get INTP.

I am addicted to personality typing. Perhaps it is the Thinking bit coming out of me, or perhaps personality typing truly is the modern and more acceptable form of horoscoping and astrologizing. I like to think out of the box. I like to make up my own spellings for words. I like to seek answers, whether in science or abroad in various and possibly disreputable places.

The irony of the INTP typing is that I am a perfect fit. I read and nod my head as the description becomes more and more elaborate the further I scroll down the page. I have been a vegetarian, quite impulsively so, for my own rather deeply hidden reasons, and I stayed that way for a few mere weeks (I blame my carnivorous father; we eat almost nothing but meat: limited menu). I still plan on living out of the back of a van, or buying an old buccaneer's 18th century sailing vessel with my engineer friend so we can explore the deeps together, and when I can help it, I only eat organic––I have been so since my teens. Organic and all natural is much preferable to the––um . . . creative?––menu of my college cafeteria. Who knew that molecular plastic substances and weeks-old ground beef could be so well re-used? I solemnly swear I did not read the referenced article before I made my Bohemian decisions. 

My nickname at school (well, one of them) is Fred Weasley. A friend of mine is George Weasley, and we galavant around campus causing all sorts of mischief. I will assume that this is the subversive tendency at work. As to sustainability: would that be sustaining school work, or consistently being mischievous around specific teachers? The juxtaposition of "subversive" and "sustainability" makes me wonder.

My parents relocated South from Baltimore, and so I grew up in the country. While I often resented the glaring absence of a mall or most signs of civilization, it did breed in me a distinct love of nature and the rough life. I could live in the city, but I am not sure how long. I need my trees, man, and my van down by the river. Sterile environments, like hospitals (though, who likes those?) annoy me. Actually, they disturb me, but that is for various other reasons. 

Basically, I think I know what psychologists mean when they describe the INTP. I match well the requirements. There are some differences, though minor, but insofar I fit in. The irony of "fitting in" to an INTP category is that by default we are quirky. Cerebral and distantly uncommunicative, unless by writing or other aloof means, we like to categorize and make rational everything in our straight or diverging paths. Rather, we seek the divergent. We want Truth. 

Interestingly, the literary Sherlock Holmes was supposedly an INTP. I did recently acquire a violin. I think I see some similarities here . . . .

*http://personalityjunkie.com/the-intp/2/