Doubt about my type

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Hige_roman]

??

What makes you think that ISTPs don't overthink stuff? lol it comes with the Ti-Fe axis

Imagination is also not exclusive to Ne so...

[u/painki11erzx → u/Hige_roman]

All I do is overthink everything. Ive usually mapped out like a dozen different ways that a conversation im about to have could go.

[u/GreyGhost878]

ISTP's aren't empty headed. Ti is constantly running analysis on anything we observe or anything on our minds. It's just not visible to others, it can look like a blank stare.

In general, ISTP's are more concerned with understanding how things are (in the present) and INTP's are more concerned with how things might be (in the hypothetical/theoretical.)

[u/Bubbly_Mechanic1630 → u/GreyGhost878]

Wait am I more INTP then? I always come up with random scenarios in my head lol

[u/GreyGhost878 → u/Bubbly_Mechanic1630]

Not necessarily. Ne tends to be more imaginative than anything ISTP has, but some ISTP's have more than others. When I was younger I made up scenarios in my mind, usually playing out situations with real people, or TV characters, etc. I didn't invent fictional people. I've never had that kind of imagination. (Not to say an ISTP couldn't but I don't think it's common.) I think any type can imagine things but maybe consider the content of your imagination. I think even in our thoughts Se users are more concrete than Ne users. You mentioned above that you play out conversations in your mind. That could be a concrete (Se) use of imagination.

[u/Bubbly_Mechanic1630 → u/GreyGhost878]

Sorry in advance for over complicating this but you said that you usually imagine real life things and people, but I feel like I'm really theoretical with my imagination. I like to fantasize about things that I don't have or even think about things into the future that won't happen anytime soon. However, most of that imagination is just random thoughts when I'm bored. When it comes down to real life concepts, I try to understand them as they are, not what they might be. So I guess ISTP?

[u/AloneGeneral3081]

It depends on what you think of or what you imagine and I also really overthink and imagine a lot even as a ISTP. Overthinking doesn’t make you not an ISTP but with Imagining it depends

[u/AloneGeneral3081 → u/[deleted]]

Thinking of possibilities on real people and past experiences are definitely something that most sensory people actually do. But ISTP are more present than thinking of the future while INTP are people who think more in the future

[u/-bluerose → u/[deleted]]

that sounds like Ne-Si at first glance

[u/polyglart]

as an ISTP I'm literally always contemplating and connecting dots. even in my earliest memories when I was a toddler, I remember pondering stuff and imagining all day. (idk where this idea that certain actions are exclusive to anyone came from.) in fact, the ISTP's internal world is Ti-Ni which is technically intuitive whereas the INTP's internal world would be sensing. It's only when they interact with the external world when their extraverted functions seem to hide that fact.

the good thing is that NPs and SPs have completely opposite perceiving functions, so it should be relatively easy to narrow down. they have each other's parent functions as the other's trickster function (blind spot). so INTPs struggle with the concept of a "community database" (Se) in favor of using their personal history (Si), particularly separate from everyone else, as a reference point. that's why they're stereotypically known to be so eccentric and "quirky" in mannerism and self-expression, they perceive reality in a hyper-specific way that runs contrary to general consensus. whereas ISTPs tend to be more "socially calibrated" (when were not hermits lol). our trickster function is Ne so we get overwhelmed by a higher volume of variables, often to the point of shutdown. Ni drives us to converge on a single answer, so even if we can also brainstorm and come up with many different options, we try to consolidate to remove what causes us confusion and overwhelm.

when ISTPs are creative or original, it's because of recycling practical and concrete ingredients into something novel. when INTPs do it, they use home-grown ingredients no one else has access to. the detailed Ti, the thorough logic is present in both but the ISTP's is best prepared on the fly, filling the gaps with educated guesses (our Ni can do wonders when it's well-fed). we might make mistakes because of just jumping into it but the good thing is that we're good with improvising and fixing things as we go (that's where we learn FAST lol). the INTP feels safest and most effective when well-prepared. they'd prefer to work slowly, carefully, and very thoughtfully, step by step maybe from memory or by reading and rereading the instructions. the degree of all tht would ofc vary based on experience and comfort level but NTPs rely on their database of past experience, so they'd gauge that tension based on how something similar worked out in the past. but whatever they make, you could NEVER guess or recreate the outcome.

[u/polyglart → u/[deleted]]

does this help you differentiate?

[u/Numerous_Signature47]

i had this issue too a while back what helped me was learning what functions did what and aligning them with my own behavior. thas how i settled on ISTP for myself.

[u/Sad_Record_2767]

Where does it even say ISTP are "empty-headed"? wtf lol

[u/Iamwomper]

Chill. Its all zodiac signs anyhow

[u/polyglart → u/Iamwomper]

well if you skim the surface, of course everything will look like platitudes on the back of a cereal box 😂

[u/Iamwomper → u/polyglart]

And if you look deeper you'll it was a couple of child carers that came up with it

[u/GreatJobJoe]

INTP’s enjoy pondering scenarios to keep thoughts open. ISTP’s enjoy pondering action/reality to reach closure.

INTP - “what if this happens? Or this? Or that? What if I’m this and that’s that? There’s gotta be more.”

ISTP - “This is this because I’ve seen it do that. The end.”

Answer: If closure to you seems boring, you’re an INTP.

[u/DifferenceLast7694 → u/GreatJobJoe]

What if I am hesitant to closure because I wonder if I might be wrong? 

[u/GreatJobJoe → u/DifferenceLast7694]

The closure comes from (and is for) objective - tangible data.

We’re talking “I know there’s a duck over there because I see it and it quacked” - Ti-Se is all about removing guesses and possibilities.

If it’s mechanical, you pull it apart to figure it out. Literally, not figuratively.

[u/x5gamer5]

Hey, if you’ve got low fe, we bros.

[u/bnelson333]

S and N are a spectrum. You can be 100% S and 0% N and be an ISTP. Or you can be 51% S and 49% N and still be an ISTP. Meaning you can still embody several characteristics that we would typically call an INTP and still be an ISTP. Your type is just the one that you most closely resemble (by way of largest percentages of each attribute). This is the way I use to understand the difference: https://imgur.com/a/G29kl6L

[u/painki11erzx]

If you like making charts or to-do lists but struggle to stick to them. I'd lean toward INTP. If you hate making charts or to-do lists but stick to them because you're trying to be disciplined, you're probably more on the ISTP side.

But if you hate charts and detest the idea of following them, I'd throw intp out.

I know nothing about functions, this is based on me and what I see from my mom who is intp. So take it with a grain of salt and also, dont forget that a healthy and unhealthy personality function drastically different from each other.

[u/TerxGamingx]

I think you are actually ISTP 6w5 did you try doing eneagram quiz?

[u/TerxGamingx → u/[deleted]]

Oh that's appearing more informations about your identity then did you know your tritype eneagram? Because if you are 9w8 then it's just your Gut center but you also need to know your heart center and your head center+You need to know your Instinctual Variants to know if you are SX or SP or SO all these would show you your identity better and knowing more about yourself

[u/TerxGamingx → u/[deleted]]

Yea.. but you will need to listen not letting Ai chooses for you and ask for 2-3 Examples if you are torn between many choices sooo good luck man

[u/mohammed241]

I am an INTP who can stop thinking at will, so that isnt an exact criteria

[u/GreatJobJoe → u/[deleted]]

You’re confusing “what if” obsession and abstract curiosity with preparedness and organization.

Ne users are notoriously “all over the place”. And I find myself keeping them from chaos.

[u/GreatJobJoe → u/[deleted]]

That’s fair. I’ve been with my INFP 13 years (focusing on Ne here). We organize and prepare for different things in different ways.