CELEBRITY MBTI: How to Spot an INTP

I. Introduction: why? 

This is the first of a series in which, using Rod Novichkov's method, I'll be typing celebrities - mainly artistic people (actors, musicians, models, writers, artists) and some politicians, journalists and intellectuals. This post shall look at celebrity INTPs.

Novichkov, in his How to Find Yourself and Your Best Match (2007), only managed to type a handful of celebrities as INTPs. These were: Prince Charles; Ralph Fiennes; Seth Green; Gary Oldman; Jude Law; Jodie Foster - not many. For whatever reason, I've done better than Novichkov and have managed to find at least a dozen.

Novichkov's method throws up some surprising results. From what we know of MBTI, and INTPs, yes, we can understand how Prince Charles could be typed as an INTP; but Jude Law? Gary Oldman? Jodie Foster? That doesn't accord with what we know of these people - of their image.

Nevertheless, Novichkov's method works in a consistent manner, and I've found, when applied in the circle of family, friends, and colleagues, it is always accurate. Type a friend or relative as an ESFJ or ISFJ or ENTP using the method and you get a perfect match: the person not only behaves as an ESFJ, according to your knowledge of ESFJs, but looks like one, according to Novichkov's visual description.

II. Visually identifying the INTP

Let's run through, briefly, how an INTP looks according to Novichkov. Remember that INTPs are Introverted Thinking-dominant (and therefore are Introverts) and Extraverted Intuitives; they are also (in Socionics) Judgers.

The INTP as Judger: because the INTP is a Judger - his dominant function, Introverted Thinking, is a Judging and not a Perceiving one - he has a judger's neck. In the below diagram, Novichkov contrasts the 'Conceiving' (Judging) and Perceiving neck and head shapes:

Here we see the side view of two Judgers, Prince Charles and Christopher Lee:

The INTP as Thinker: Novichkov lists these attributes of the Thinking, as opposed to the Feeling, type:

1. Large, flat, expressive forehead;
2. Pronounced, jutting superciliary arches (bones beneath eyebrows);
3. Angular or non-existent bridge of nose dip;
4. Deep eye sockets;
5. Hawkish nose;
6. Narrow, inexpressive lower face.

Boris Karloff, as Frankenstein's monster, gives us a highly exaggerated, caricatured example of a Thinker:

Ludwig Wittgenstein's face tallies with Novichkov's description:

The INTP as Extraverted Intuitive:  Intuitives tend to be gangly in their build, and they sit and stand in an unusual, awkward way. When sitting, they tend to flop and sprawl, and seem to lack a sense of personal space. Their fingers are long and knuckled. Jarvis Cocker gives us a good example:

The gaze of the Extraverted Intuitive pierces and unsettles. It seems restless, erratic and a little crazy:

The INTP as Introvert: a person's facial expression tells if they are an Introvert or Extravert. An Introvert appears withdrawn and somewhat melancholy. We see a remarkable lack of tension, as if the feelings and thoughts are kept locked behind a wall. When the Introvert is called upon to smile for the camera, he looks sheepish and surprised.

III. The INTP Celebrities: INTP men

Here are the famous INTP men:

Prince, musician

Robert Pattinson, actor

Mark Zuckerberg, businessman

Scott Adams, cartoonist

Christopher Lee, actor

David Byrne, musician

Ludwig Wittgenstein, philosopher

Eric Johnson, musician

T.E. Lawrence, soldier, writer

George Harrison, musician

Paul Thomas Anderson, film director

IV. The INTP celebrities: women

Rachel Maddow, journalist

V.   Update: More INTP celebrities

Bertrand Russell, philosopher, mathematician

Jordan Peterson, author, speaker

John Glover, actor, Smallville 

Tracey Thorn, singer, Everything But The Girl

Mark Hootsen, signing off.

US Presidents Celebrity MBTI: John F. Kennedy - ESTJ

On the centenary of his birth, we come to John F. Kennedy in our US Presidents series.

See here for profiles of Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower using the Novichkov method.

I. Judger or Perceiver?

A quick comparison to Novichkov's diagram shows Kennedy to be a Judger, not a Perceiver:

II. Feeler or Thinker?

Time to bring out the Bill Clinton and Jeff Sessions side-by-side photograph - Clinton is a Thinker, Sessions a Feeler. From the photograph, we can see that Kennedy (who Clinton resembles) is a Thinker.

This becomes even more apparent when we put Kennedy side by side with Khrushchev. According to Novichkov's method, Kennedy is a Thinker, Khrushchev a Feeler:

III. Sensor or Intuitive?

Intuitives have a peculiar way of sitting - or sprawling - on furniture. Take this photograph of Jarvis Cocker below:

Whereas Sensors tend to sit in a more conventional way - like these two men:

The below photographs pair Intuitives and Sensors: the stocky Mitt Romney and John McCain are Sensors, the gangly Paul Ryan and John Kerry are Intuitives:

JFK deports himself - when seated - like a Sensor. He also shows the tendency of Sensors towards stockiness and plumpness.

IV. Extravert or Introvert?

Extraverts appear to be content, happy and part of the external world; usually they display a great deal of tension and animation in their faces. Introverts, on the other hand, come across as the opposite: removed from the outer world and uninterested in it. They can seem doleful and sheepish (see Lyndon Johnson below) or vapid and expressionless (see Jackie Kennedy).

I type JFK as an Extravert.

V. JFK's type

Putting the letters we get j (Judger) + T (Thinker) + S (Sensor) + E (Extravert), or ESTj.

JFK was the second ESTj president to die in office.

A note on Introverted Sensing (Si). Introverted Sensors tend to look at you, but not really: their gaze doesn't focus on the object, they perceive things only in broad outline. According to Jung - and Novichkov - Introverted Sensing sees the world in shapes, contours, broad impressions and looks at the relations between objects and not the objects themselves. Novichkov describes the Introverted Sensor's gaze as bleary, unfocused and 'squinty'. That, I think, sums up JFK's gaze to a tee:

Mark Hootsen signing off.