
Originally Posted by
schrödinger's cat
I've chickened out a few times, but here goes... Another crappy type description on the basis of insufficient data. And it's.... *drumroll*
Our silent friend, the ISTp. Also known as the Loch Ness Monster. Think about it:
- they do exist, but they're hard to find (duals are like that, they say);
- they love privacy and need lots of alone time, usually without telling anyone where they're going: one moment they're here, the next... SPLOOOOSH... "where's he gone?!"
- they're untameable;
- they're very hard to really get to know.
Or think of Bagheera from the first animated Jungle Book movie. Silent. Competent. Loyal. Responsible. Unflappable. And secretly aware of the fact that everyone except himself is behaving like a total moron. He doesn't make a huge fuss about that, of course. He'll raise an eyebrow, perhaps. He might offer some assistance to avert disaster. ("Point the gun away from yourself, buddy.") You might occasionally hear a slight sigh of total exasperation. That's usually all. But still, in his heart of hearts, the ISTp knows that he's surrounded by idiots. He's aware of this because he knows how a job should be done (or cake baked, or bassline played, or car driven, or whatever). It's not an opinion he's formed. It's something he knows. You look up: you see the sky is blue. You look at cheesecake: you see that it's not meant to contain raisins. Simple. Easy. Raisins are despicable anyway, and in a cheesecake they go soggy and squidgy, therefore: no raisins. A simple fact of life. A natural law. Tell him he's opinionated and he'll feel misunderstood. Rightfully so. It's not an opinion, it's knowledge. Being an ISTp is like driving a Mercedes, you just know you're in the right.
How can anyone be so genuinely tolerant while also having such an unshakeable belief in one's own perceptions? Luckily for us, ISTps don't want to convert anyone to their point of view. Others are welcome to commit whatever idiocies they want, as long as they don't interfere with the ISTp's business. ISTps need freedom, lots of it, and they hate it whenever anyone bosses them around or limits their options. It makes them become silent, grow fur and fangs, and vanish into the woods to howl at the moon a little.
Thou Shalt Not Interfere.
Hence, an ISTp is very capable of standing by and watching you do all the work, and when you finally ask them what the heck they're doing, they'll say: "Well, you were doing it - I didn't want to interfere." On the upside, they'll let you do a lot of stuff they heartily disagree with, provided you don't force them to do it likewise. Say you want to paint your flat yellow with bright red spots: he'll help you do it. It's your life, you've got to do what you think is best, even if it IS idiotic. Tell him to paint his flat like that: doesn't work. You can just as well try running your head through a brick wall. No chance.
Mature, happy ISTps have another reason for not interfering: their genuine politeness. The ISTps I know are courteous and gentleman-like in a quiet, unostentatious way. The sort of person who helps the weak, protects the afflicted, and quietly endures Auntie Ethel's vicious raisin-studded cheesecake and even thanks her for it and says it was good, just to avoid hurting her feelings. If you're in need, they're there. The ones I know are both in their 30s, and both have best mates that they first met in primary school. The friendships work on a tacit understanding that (a) you don't interfere in your mate's business, (b) you don't ask anything unreasonable of him, and (c) if he needs your help you're there. If the guy calls you at night: "Listen, I'm in hospital, and I'm due to move house tomorrow and no one else will do it for me, will you come?" You're there. And I don't get the impression that the ISTps do it in order to feel good about themselves. They just do it. End of story. No tit-for-tat business.
ISTps are often open-minded and well-informed. For them, realizing that something is idiotic doesn't automatically trigger a desire to do something about it, and that way they can listen to someone, giving that person the impression they agree with him, when in actual fact they've already formed a strong opinion of their own. They're just not saying it, that's all. I've found that ISTps usually look at things from various angles, so their opinions are often complex and supported with lots of facts.
ISTps seem to love
-- food. Good food. What "good" is differs from ISTp to ISTp, but they're usually willing to tell you and talk about it at great length. ISTps who like beer can develop a discernment you only find in oenologists. ("This is unfiltered, sligthly bitter, with overtones of lemon and spring water. 2005 was a very good year for Pilsner beer.")
-- sex.
-- computer games that involve reckless driving and/or killing people.
-- whackiness.
-- small children.
-- guitars.
Their idea of hell is
-- being asked what they feel. (They have two feelings they know of: "good" and "bad".)
-- marrying someone who has the right tupperware container for everything.
-- being exposed to high-faluting esoteric psychobabble or to other kinds of piffle.
-- hearing a guitar is out of tune and being unable to do something about it.
ISTps can give the most sceptical looks I have ever seen anyone give.