INTJ

That's me, according to the Myers-Briggs personality profile, based on Jungian typology. You can find a description of the INTJ type here. Here's some of what it says:

To outsiders, INTJs may appear to project an aura of "definiteness", of self-confidence. This self-confidence, sometimes mistaken for simple arrogance by the less decisive, is actually of a very specific rather than a general nature; its source lies in the specialized knowledge systems that most INTJs start building at an early age. When it comes to their own areas of expertise -- and INTJs can have several -- they will be able to tell you almost immediately whether or not they can help you, and if so, how. INTJs know what they know, and perhaps still more importantly, they know what they don't know.

INTJs are perfectionists, with a seemingly endless capacity for improving upon anything that takes their interest. What prevents them from becoming chronically bogged down in this pursuit of perfection is the pragmatism so characteristic of the type: INTJs apply (often ruthlessly) the criterion "Does it work?" to everything from their own research efforts to the prevailing social norms. This in turn produces an unusual independence of mind, freeing the INTJ from the constraints of authority, convention, or sentiment for its own sake.

Go ahead and give the test a try. It doesn't take long. There's a slightly different version you can also try. According to the Kiersey typology, I'm a Mastermind.

If you look at this page you can see that blogging is a perfect activity for an INTJ like me:

# Be willing to back up your statements with facts - or at least some pretty sound reasoning.

# Don't expect them to respect you or your viewpoints just because you say so. INTJ respect must be earned.

# Be willing to concede when you are wrong. The average INTJ respects the truth over being "right". Withdraw your erroneous comment and admit your mistake and they will see you as a very reasonable person. Stick to erroneous comments and they will think you are an irrational idiot and treat everything you say as being questionable.

# Try not to be repetitive. It annoys them.

# Do not feed them a line of bull.

# Expect debate. INTJs like to tear ideas apart and prove their worthiness. They will even argue a point they don't actually support for the sake of argument.

# Do not mistake the strength of your conviction with the strength of your argument. INTJs do not need to believe in a position to argue it or argue it well. Therefore, it will take more than fervor to sway them.

# Do not be surprised at sarcasm.

# Remember that INTJs believe in workable solutions. They are extremely open-minded to possibilities, but they will quickly discard any idea that is unfeasible. INTJ open-mindedness means that they are willing to have a go at an idea by trying to pull it apart. This horrifies people who expect oohs and ahhs and reverence. The ultimate INTJ insult to an idea is to ignore it, because that means it's not even interesting enough to deconstruct.

This also means that they will not just accept any viewpoint that is presented to them. The bottom line is "Does it work?" - end discussion.

# Do not expect INTJs to actually care about how you view them. They already know that they are arrogant bastards with a morbid sense of humor. Telling them the obvious accomplishes nothing.

Of course, other factors are at work in the individual. For example, I'm cripplingly shy in public and suffer from depression. I'm also deficient in self-discipline, as readers of this blog have learned, and ambition. So, you will not match your "type" one-on-one. There will be differences; sometimes major ones.

Still, it's nice to know that one of my idols, Thomas Jefferson, is also INTJ.