The INTP poster child, Albert Einstein, famously disavowed any interest in what he called “the merely personal.” In other words, he was indifferent toward the particulars of everyday life, including the personal lives of individuals. Instead, he preferred to focus on the universal and theoretical, on plumbing “the mind of God” through his work in physics.
As an INTP myself, I can relate to Einstein’s attestation, quickly losing interest when people wax eloquent about the details of their daily lives. Moreover, with certain exceptions, I rarely read fiction and usually bypass lengthy personal anecdotes when reading non-fiction. I also seem to pay little attention to the content of song lyrics, even after hearing them numerous times. These and other observations have led me to suspect that INTPs may be less enamored with stories, fiction, and personal anecdotes than other personality types.
As discussed in my book, The INTP: Personality, Careers, Relationships & the Quest for Truth and Meaning, INTPs are well described as philosophers. As such, their primary interest is to understand the deepest essence of things by way of concepts. In their view, this requires seeing past or stripping away details that strike them as arbitrary, superfluous, or purely stylistic.
I remember a phase in high school when I decided to study the Bible. I determined that my method would involve crossing out all the sections that seemed unimportant or irrelevant to its essential message. I later learned that another INTP, Thomas Jefferson, had done something eerily similar, deleting everything from the New Testament he disagreed with and producing what came to be known as the “Jefferson Bible.”
The problem with stories for INTPs is their most important content—the fundamental truths or ideas they contain—is buried in a sandbox of sensory details. Hence, extracting a story’s primary theme or message, especially through reading, can feel like more work than it’s worth. Hence, INTPs attraction to non-fiction.
Einstein’s indifference toward the “the merely personal” might be seen as pointing to his lack of Introverted Feeling (Fi). After all, Fi types (e.g., INFPs) are known to cherish and champion the unique stories, values, and interests of particular individuals and cultures. If I am correct about INTPs being largely disinterested in personal stories and anecdotes, then it’s likely no coincidence that Fi is their most unconscious (i.e., 8th) function.
One story INTPs may find endlessly fascinating is that of their own life. Their dominant function, Introverted Thinking (Ti), relishes self-analysis, which can also serve as a sort of gateway to understanding the human condition. In this sense, Ti combined with INTPs’ inferior function, Extraverted Feeling (Fe), may sometimes resemble Fi, which is why INTPs and INFPs may share interests in existential philosophy. Both types may also explore existential issues through the lens of psychology, as well as through biographies or memoirs of like-minded thinkers, artists, or innovators.
If you want to learn more about INTPs—their personality, careers, relationships, life struggles, etc.—you’ve come to the right place. We’ve written extensively about this personality type, including authoring the two best-selling INTP books worldwide:
The INTP: Personality, Careers, Relationships… (#1 INTP book on Amazon)
The INTP Quest: INTPs’ Search for their Core Self, Purpose, & Philosophy
More INTP Posts:
INTP Relationships & Compatibility
Notes
1. It is difficult to generalize whether stories are more attractive to S versus N types. While stories are typically loaded with details and particulars (S), they also contain patterns or themes (N). Regardless, INTPs will typically see non-fiction as a more efficient and effective route to finding what they are seeking.
2. It’s possible that gender may also play a role, with males being generally less story-oriented than females.
Neil says
While I agree that the “merely personal” is not likely to be interesting to an INTP, I would not rule out the entire genre of fiction. While fiction that emphasizes personal emotional values, may not be so engaging, stories may also communicate complex and nuanced systems, no matter the medium. Additionally, even if a subjectively valid truth cannot be derived, it may still be viewed as an analysis exercise.
Free2BMe says
I’ve noticed that with the INTP’s I’ve dated. Since I have a strong rational side myself, I find myself also wanting to skip to the meat of the story, I too don’t care at all for fiction, unless it has things I can dissect and find informative. However, the INTP’s I’ve been involved with don’t mind at all sharing their own stories, and sometimes multiple times.. That could be the tendency to have Narcissistic traits, in my view of it. IQ could play a part also. INTP’s also have their “thing” if their “thing” is fiction or writing it, I suspect, that would not be the case.
David says
Note that the author wrote that ENTPs *are* likely to read fiction but INTPs are not.
INTPGuy says
I don’t think it’s correct to say INTP’s don’t like fiction, even as a generalized assumption, because Ne, Si, and Fe are all functions that have the potential to adore science fiction. Unless they have highly developed Ti while their other functions lack, they will probably be able to see that fiction, especially Science fiction, actually engages their thought processes and can help them to figure out the “truth” they are trying to find (This is how Ti representp itself in me). Ne is inherently open to others ideas, and even though many INTP’s may seem (and probably are) closed minded, they still love ideas and connections of all varieties.
Although, I do usually find myself in the Science, Philosophy or Psychology sections in bookstores, I never stray away from a good fiction book, sometimes they display ideas even better than non-fiction.
Michael Y says
I totally relate to this post. I have very little interest in fiction, and like a classic INTP, I soon got bored with reading about everyone’s personal stories on what the post meant to them and went straight to analysing what it all meant to me ha ha.
Js says
Same here. I thought I was alone until I read it in an INTP profile. I have a TV but I don’t watch it. Last time I was in a movie theater was for Life of Pi..
Js says
I am an INTP and I approve this message.
Fiction sucks. Can’t stand that foolish drivel. It’s for average minds.
Nicole says
This post is mostly accurate for me. Anyone who has posted a reply above that is longer than a paragraph or two I’ve skipped reading. I’m not saying replies are fiction, but, some contain a fair amount of detail.
I think any INTP with an interest in psychology or sociology may be interested in life stories. I know when others share personal information, I’m interested in making connections, spotting trends and confirming typology theories. I sometimes share my findings and wish to further dissect and analyze during these exchanges, however, eyes tend to glaze over at this point. :( A colleague at work is an INTP and appreciates these types of discussions.
Js says
So true! I skipped all the long ones and those that weren’t written by INTPs.
Ralph M. Rickenbach says
I agree. Totally. Yet there is one kind of story I love: the big story. An example: the story of money. How people got themselves to believe that a piece of paper backed by some government has intrinsic value. Or the story of mankind and creation. Other stories I like: the ones I tell. I learned that people get me when I tell stories instead of broadcasted facts. It helps my Fe. That is why I love the Bible. It is God telling stories to reach the types that don’t get the principles that he hid in them.
N. W. Flitcraft says
I find it hard to believe that an article was actually written on this topic, which issue I have struggled with myself for a long time. While I am picky about ALL books, I am MOST picky about fiction. The only author whose fiction I can read in toto is Dashiell Hammett, and he is sparse, hardboiled—a writing style with an edge. I love J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion (which is more a Legendarium than “fiction”) but not the LOTR [everyone in the rooms gasps]; I do, however, love the Appendices to the book. Also, I only like Tolkien in certain seasons (like when the weather is cold). I love J. D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey, but care nothing for any of his other works. A lot of people love C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia; but I (who am one of Lewis’s most devoted readers and students) am not crazy about his fiction, especially Narnia; though I have come to appreciate some of his adult science fiction and fantasy.
One of the things that bothers me most, now that you mention it, is in fact points of “sensory detail”; at least in a contemporary setting. I am a nostalgic (Si?), so I like absolutely *loathe* books that are written *now*-ish; e.g., I’ve always wanted to like Stephen King, but I Just. Can’t. Do It. One of the reasons I like Hammett so much is that any details one encounters there are in a period when “contemporary” was something I’m comfortable with (in this case, ca. 1925-30). Another great thing about Hammett is that when he writes in the third person he rarely assumes the role of “omniscient narrator”; he doesn’t tell you what his characters are thinking—he rather shows you by describing their mannerisms and actions. And I really do hate that, which most authors do, of presuming to know everything their characters are thinking and feeling, what might be called “emotional detail”; that drives me absolutely insane; e.g., I’ll take a book off the shelf at a bookstore and read something like “Jack felt so guilty about what he’d done, etc. etc.” and I’m like, “NO! YOU don’t KNOW that!!”
For me the best medium for stories is cinema rather than reading; it is by necessity in the objective third person. I keep track of 4-5 t.v. series each fall, spring, and summer, and watch new movies (new to me anyway) all the time. And, for instance, I mentioned above how I do not care for The Lord of the Rings: the film trilogy, however, I do care for a great deal. In the cinematic medium there is no peeking in to characters’ secret thoughts and emotions; such things must be conveyed by the actor non-verbally.
Incidentally, I’m also very picky about poetry. So far the only poet that I like almost without reservation is T. S. Eliot.
Teresa says
Lol – wasn’t T S Eliot an INTP? :)
N. W. Flitcraft says
I think Eliot may have been ENTP
N. W. Flitcraft says
p.s. Incidentally… where in hell are you INTP’s meeting all these “other INTP’s you know”?? I don’t know that I’ve ever met another INTP my whole life (i.e., not in “real”-life).
Chet says
Agree!
A.J. says
Thank you all for your great comments.
I received an email from a reader that nicely summarizes some types of stories INTPs might enjoy:
-The personal narrative / biography
-Stories as they relate larger philosophical themes, such as epic stories (LOTR, Greek myths, etc.), epic Sci Fi, Space Opera, etc.
-Familiar stories, perhaps evoking Si, allowing them the chance to reconnect with the past
-Story as a means of distraction / relaxation; a vacation from a hard day of being ourselves. Einstein’s version of this was the little sail boat, he said it was the only way he could do nothing after a long day of thinking. Sitting in front of a film is the same for us.
Anne-Maree says
I corroborate, AJ.
I suspect the key distinction being made here is not about a true/false judgement of nonfiction/fiction, but the INTP’s strong efficiency imperative, applied to one of the most important elements the INTP universe – information.
Personal anecdotes, movies and fictional literature become interesting to me only at the moment that I digest the information in terms of the mythic (i.e. story scaled out into the universal), which is is my natural response to story.
Incidently, just for the hell of it, I want to state here that I find the genre of the ‘bio-pic’ to be most disturbing. Constructed nostalgia for a fictionalised biography of a real person. e.g., I never did stand in Johnny Cash’s bathroom, and I don’t want to be emotionally hijacked into feeling like I did. Imitation Game, Walk the Line, A Beautiful Mind… cringe. Delete! Delete!
Anna says
I’m only partway into this post, and I have to say that I totally relate RIGHT AWAY. And I am married to my opposite in this regard. He even moralizes the value of the personal particular and seems to resist generalized theory with the same amount push as it has pull to me. I try to see this as an interesting balance we have. I HOPE that it will yield something dynamic and not just be stressful. Thankfully his stories seem to be attached as they go to general principles which one can easily abstract from the stories, as he is also a thinking type (INTJ). His introverted feeling and intuition, especially the former, really are at odds with my extroverted intuition in particular, and also my extroverted feeling. The introverted feeling aspect really is an opposite pull to the extroverted intuition, in my experience. My extroverted feeling is also a pull against his introverted feeling combined with extroverted thinking, I’ve observed. It makes for a challenging combination that ultimately will hopefully result in a stabilizing effect on me and a creative influence on him. I say creative because his extroverted thinking tends to want to appeal to standardizations, where as my introverted thinking is idiosyncratic. That said, with his introverted intuition and (making him very reserved and having a lot of depth), he is a very original person in what he produces, even as he is also measured in his relationship to the outside world via extroverted thinking and sensing (the latter of which he can tend to completely cut off, though it comes through in his innate talent and insight for physical, medical situations).
This was a mouthful and a jumble. Now back to read the post (or at least when I have more time.)
Thank you! Looking forward to reading the rest.
Anna says
I just caught a glimpse of the INTJ note that they are more open to stories. When I had written that I was partway into the post, it was only a few sentences. The note about INTJ’s confirms my hunches and observations. I still haven’t even read the post yet! Sometimes things provide relief to what have been some challenges…
Dan Burns says
With the addition of his Oct 3 post, I would generally confirm A.J.’s theory with my own experience as an INTP.
Narratives and fiction can be attractive forms to cover the skeleton of compelling ideas and personality traits and to explore the consequences of life choices. I much prefer metaphor and complex description to blunt literalism in fiction as it more readily conveys deep and seemingly conflicting thoughts and emotions and possibilities. A character’s existencial and moral crisis during a chance encounter with a former flame could convey philsophy and human nature as much as a philosopher’s essay. Different packaging for the same kind of substance.
The older I get, the more nonfiction I read in as I seek to efficiently take in as much information as I can with the time I have, my Ne constantly showing me how much more there is out there to learn. As I use my Si to keep track of the past, I notice how I haven’t gained enough with certain books, movies, etc. to justify the time spent on them. If I watch yet another TV show with similar tropes and stereotypes and plot, what have I really walked away with?
I end up attracted most to authors like Dostoyevsky, Kafka, Melville, Jonathan Franzen, Tolstoy. Authors who make larger cultural and philosophical/spiritual observations through their fiction. I savor each page and read it again, enjoying unlocking the puzzle of what they’re saying. When done well, the novelist conveys something different than they possibly could in nonfiction. The same with songwriters who convey complex emotions and poets who play with words and imagery to hint at more.
What bores is meaningless sensory detail without purpose. Although these descriptions can enhance great fiction, they do not find equal place within simple and uninspired stories. Speeches beginning with personal anecdotes are largely ignored unless they contain deep personal truths and revelations. I want to know how the seemingly small details of one’s life piece together into the complexity of their distinct personhood, not the listing of endless repetition and complacency of a life devoid of instrospection and grander purpose.
Daniel says
Like many, I think I understand the arguments, but I can’t recognize completly myself.
Since the INTP goal is to “understand everything”, by listening and speculating on other people life story I can placate my Fe and also fuel my Ne. And by learning anecdotes, I can use the Si to converge the Ne processes.
However, I agree about fiction. I was a big fan of sci-fi and horror books, but I’m gradually loosing interest. Maybe I have read/seen too many stories.. Finding something original is difficult.
Rick says
The wealth of comments, both in agreement and otherwise, shows that making generalizations like “INTPs don’t like fiction” is problematic.
I devour fiction (Science Fiction some Fantasy).
Zach says
At the risk of being dull, I will share my story.
This comment amuses me, because if I (an INTP) were asked to pick an example of excellent fiction, I would point to Dostoevsky. He engages my truth-seeking (I’m fascinated by the Christian existentialists), but also I think touches the Fe inferior function. Exploring and understanding that function may be safer in a book. I also used to love Ayn Rand, but have grown out of her =).
I also love hard, smart SF/F, like Gene Wolfe or Vernor Vinge, or even Neal Stephenson.
I read a lot. I read a lot of non-fiction, but I like fiction as well. I like fiction that has a wrenching emotional cost to it, but it must be TRUE. You can’t fake the cost. Robert Penn Warren, John LeCarre, Dostoevsky; these are good examples. I suppose these are books that help define my own story, which might explain how I’m an exception to Dr. Drenth’s observation. Looking back through the books I love, there’s an existential bent to them.
Zach says
I was very amused by this, because I consider Brave New World one of the great books, and I couldn’t recall any names. (I can remember Winston Smith from 1984, but it’s a memorable name for some reason). Soma, betas, gammas; the concepts are all clear. But the people? Who knows? The best books have hard ideas in them, or a price to pay.
I also like an emotional pay-off in my fiction, but I do not like them to be cheap. There must be truth in it. Cormac McCarthy is good at this; his climaxes are never cheap.
I differ from you in that I do like poetry, but selectively. I like Dickinson and Tennyson and Keats, but don’t enjoy Whitman or Angelou. I generally dislike music if the lyrics are too stupid (some exceptions – Daft Punk, for example, is so expressive otherwise, and dance music doesn’t need to say anything, really), but enjoy clever lyrics, like Paul Simon or Belle & Sebastian.
Regarding children and pets; well, I have 5 children, which means I’m crazy or a bad INTP. But it is MUCH easier to be affectionate to my cats than to my kids. Don’t get me wrong; I love my children beyond comprehension. But it’s hard to show that. I think it’s the risk of Fe breaking loose; that love is of such strength that I keep it leashed, or it goes nuts.
Dan says
I’m an INT J/P (yeah I know that isn’t a genuine category but I consistently score right in the middle between J and P on these tests, including Dr. Drenth’s), but after a lot of study I have concluded that I identify somewhat better with INTJ than INTP.
That said, I am a 45 year old male who is a voracious reader. I read non-fiction books and articles over fiction by a ratio of probably around 20:1. I too dislike sappy, detailed personal stories like some of the above commenters, and never cared about song lyrics in the slightest until I was older and began to appreciate their craftsmanship. But it’s not that I don’t like or appreciate quality fiction; it’s that there is too much that I feel I need to learn about and too many topics that I’m interested in to spend my precious time here on earth reading fiction all the time. So I approach fiction kind of like I approach sweets: something enjoyable to be consumed only once in a while when I feel like something different. And it seems my favorite genres of fiction are similar to the list in Dr. AJ’s Oct. 3rd comment.
I found this post and its comments to be quite interesting as I had never thought about this aspect of MB types before.
Frances says
I’m completely with Einstein in that the ‘merely personal’ leaves me cold, and I struggle to feign interest with acquaintances that converse on this level.
But, I’m fascinated by people – how they tick- and when the personal can be used as a key to unlocking the general, then I’m hooked.
I don’t read as much fiction as I once did, but I do still enjoy immersing myself in a thumping good sci-fi/post-apocalyptic/fantasy/horror/mystery tale, as long as the characters are engaging and believable, the story cracks along at a good pace, and extraneous detail is omitted.
Actually, Jane Austen (purportedly INTJ) is my favourite author because she’s a witty and intelligent observer of human nature, and doesn’t bore her reader with irrelevant detail – there’s just enough to give an overall impression that the imagination can build on – but keeps the story moving forward.
Conversely, you couldn’t pay me enough to ever again open The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit – so much tedious description, and innumerable pages can go by before anything actually happens.
So, I love a good story, but it has to be on my terms.
Del says
Nice article. This sheds some light on some of the issues I’m having with school right now.
I have a lot of trouble absorbing information from textbooks if they contain too much information that is beside the point. For a while I thought I had issues with reading comprehension, but that is most definitely not the case. I kept a journal of terms throughout last semester and practiced their usage. Nothing changed. I still felt like I couldn’t get the details I needed from the text.
My life is always so much easier when someone a prof teaches a concept in a very direct way, relating it back to something I might already have a concept of.
Another problem, I’ve found that I’d much rather teach myself, than to sit through my classes. Most of my teachers spend half of the class time expressing their quirks and personalities, or telling stories, which is enjoyable for the first class period. After that I kind of just want to get the information and leave because I have so much work to do.
Hopefully that doesn’t sound too rude.
Ray says
I’m an INTJ. I read around 4 – 6 hours a day (nonfiction – books, articles, websites). I avoid reading fiction/stories UNLESS it is about how someone overcame a challenge or the struggles they faced in life. I believe that this is due to Fi – I am greatly touched and inspired by stories of people overcoming great adversity in order succeed. I also greatly enjoy stories that shift my perspective of things I hardly ever think about (a recent example of this was when I heard the story about Pop Warner and his role in creating modern day football on the podcast Radiolab. I never cared about football but now can see the beauty in the game). Often these kinds of stories draw on of Ni and Se for me.
Joshua T. says
I do think that personal stories can grate on me if others put too much stock in it. I live with two NFs and they absolutely love sharing stories, fiction, and culture. Disagreements about the place of culture is often revealed when I argue with the ENFP, though.
One example, is a minor disagreement I had with her about the place of culture. She would constantly express how we shouldn’t judge another culture based on their differences, and this perspective swallowed up all other thoughts. Personally, I do enjoy learning about the various cultures that exist, however the theme that comes to mind when I really think about it is how the differences impact the quality of life for those living there. I always find it amusing to think about which MBTI types are completely screwed over by their culture.
On the topic of fiction, my very recent (like 5 hours ago) reading of Dune, is a decent example of the point at which fiction starts to slightly annoy me. My final thoughts on Dune and Starwars would be, “Christ… space shaman, and space wizards”. I’ve always thought of Science Fiction as being the extrapolation of current events into a plausible future, but these big epics all have magic in them or some kind of power. On the other end I loved anime with it’s insane world building and I loved reading Harry Potter as a kid, though. I don’t know where the line is in my brain.