SUBMITTED by guessesmachina
My thinking is extremely linear (so painfully so I can’t even imagine what other ways it must be like to think) and almost like a graph in computer science (this isn’t a legitimate definition for the term, but: a structure characterized by nodes/points/things with connections or directed connections (like arrows) to other nodes/points/things). My inner system of categorization and understanding is largely dominated by this graph and analogies; it’s built upon and functions through understanding the relationships between things. However, these analogies don’t always fit perfectly in real life, and this might be why I have such trouble describing my understanding of things to other people. If my understanding is based on an analogy where the key things match, but other details do not, I will ignore the details, almost as if my brain is saying, “A is like B in ways X, Y, and Z” — but not in words, and I can’t possibly cover all bases of where the details do not match up.
I love maps, graphs, charts, tables — anything that has information in some kind of measurable or relational format.
The more complex a story, the better. Character development must be credible. If I’m interested in a game, I play it until I understand the win conditions, and iron out the most efficient way to get there. Then I stop. I will still enjoy it (unless it’s bad), but I rarely have any inner desire to finish it myself. If I start a show, I binge watch it until I’m done for the time, and then I never pick it up again. This is also why I hardly ever make through a season 3 of anything. If I do, it’s because I’m watching it with someone, and therefore, have an obligation to finish it.
Reality isn’t boring, but it can always be more interesting. When I was in elementary school, instead of running around on the playground, I walked around by myself (I had no friends; I was quiet, weird, and could not make light conversation) and often contemplated my limited knowledge of the government or how I would go about world domination, should any number of resources be allowed to me.
I don’t notice things around me, and I have lots of trouble remembering physical details and exact quotes (even meaningful ones). I don’t notice things in my surroundings unless it’s unusual, or I consciously am trying to notice my surroundings.
When asking to recount a story, I rarely ever remember exact quotes, just the meaning of what was said (ex. Emotion conveyed, the position the speaker was coming from, the development of the conversation, etc). In my memories, I can’t remember taste, touch, or smells very well, although that might be because I don’t usually pay attention. I didn’t know what color my toothbrush was at any given moment (not until I got an electric toothbrush; you don’t throw those away). Unless deliberately remembered, I generally can’t recall what anyone is wearing, even if I saw them hours before.
I often ask those with a healthy F/T relationship if I was too blunt, too cold, unforgiving, or uncaring about something I should be caring about. If bitterly accused that I don’t care about something or someone (by them, someone that matters to them, they themselves, etc), it either hurts because I very much do care, or they’re right, and I may or may not be ashamed of it, depending on my interactions with the person of interest. I see myself as a part of something bigger—what role I play in something, my relationships to other things, and that is my indicator as to how I should behave in a social setting. I have to remind myself that my emotions are valid (even if they might be wrong or illogical) and that they are okay to have (especially negative ones).
One of my biggest stressers (aside from those caused by my crippling self doubt) is when other people are passive aggressive towards me, is upset with me and isn’t telling me why, or has large uncontrolled displays of emotion directed towards me. I get a sensory overload and stop processing what’s going on in my physical surroundings, and tunnel vision on not taking whatever they’re slinging at me too close to heart (because no matter who the person is, it still affects me; although the only people who might be that upset with me are more than acquaintances).
I love people and I love being around people, but I always filter things through my Ti first. I have experienced a Ti-Si loop and in the grip Fe during my socially awkward phases when I was obsessed with being liked. I would first act like myself/talk about things I naturally gravitated towards (e.g. dark humor, inside jokes, serious topics), but otherwise observe people and mimic what they did if it was well received. I still want to be liked, but I am by no means focused on it the way I was during that period of my life.
I don’t have much confidence in this, to be honest, because I get a wide range of these from people. Generally, some commonalities/frequent comments are that I am hyper-logical, have trouble recognizing that emotions do not follow logic. They say that I’m kind and I care about other people. More often than not, though, my appearance is more recognized than my personality. This also might be because I’m a 9w8, though (not sure about the other two in my tritype though; not 4, 7, or 8 or 1 (by elimination)). My mom says I was a go-getter baby; I would go where I wanted and do what I wanted. One of the stories I was first told was how I climbed out of my baby crib, but instead of climbing down, I just let myself fall.
Hyper-logical. Often socially awkward. Quiet people who like staying home, and like books more than people. 4 AM Wikipedia sprees. Math, science, computers, engineering, IT and tech support. Pedantic smart alecks, and on the other side of the coin, people who strive for as much accuracy as possible. Star Trek and Star Wars, Sheldon Cooper. Generally not romantic. Generally not leaders(?). (And given all of that, it feels like that describes someone who doesn’t do anything but sit in their head all day. Granted that that does happen often and for somewhat long periods of time, but for me it’s usually not more than 4 hours a day?)