POST FROM THE DEVIL ORDERS TAKEOUT

A Letter from INTJs (We Don't Conquer the World)

Possibly you've read Opal’s letter to extroverts, Aimee’s response letter, and Heather's response response letter. I couldn't help but jump in on the train; but instead of introducing letter-Inception, I decided to add in a flair of world domination.

(Confused about this whole MBTI thing? Check out my analysis of INTJs in literature and pop culture.)
A letter from INTJs
Dear world,

You should be glad, really, that we're one of the rarer MBTI personalities. The only reason we haven't taken over the world is that we're too busy snarking at each other and countering each other's evil plots. That's what you think, isn't it?

Here's the truth: you're wrong.

We may be Masterminds, but we don't all want to take over the world. Promise; we apparently prefer to stay in the background until everyone else has proved their stupidity. We're not all Loki; some of us are Spocks, or Princess Tianas, or Tyrions. Personally, I can't come up with a chess plan to save my life, but I'm pretty killer with designing lab manuals. Not everyone is clever in the world-domination way.

And yeah, we won't hesitate to snark the hell out of you. But that doesn't mean we're complete loners, either. For one, you need minions to take over the world.
Just because we don't like to sugarcoat doesn't mean we can't. We're just disinclined to acquiesce to your request to do so, but fifteen or so years in real life have taught us some basic social no-nos, just as artistic types learned to do algebra or geometry. And at least you lot get to give up the test tubes and the triangles after graduation; social skills are necessary.

When we do outright call you out on your apparent idiocy? There's an upside to it (beyond curing you of your idiocy, I mean.) Because of our efficiency-oriented mind, we're equally okay with other people making valid points about our own weaknesses. Once that happens, our pragmatism allows us to step back and re-evaluate.

Besides, where would the world be without snark?
Why this gif? Why not?
Speaking of the good Captain, we're as dedicated to our ambitions as he is to his title. Even if we're all would-be world conquistadors, we have to work at it for a while. Rome was not built in a day, Caesar didn't veni vidi vici in a week. Call us ruthless, call us ambitious, but once we set our sights on a goal, we don't give up easily. We just aim to finish it with the best speed and quality.

And you know, we don't always plan out the entire world, plus three hundred back-up gambits. The "n" for intuition is there for a reason; even INTJs go with their gut feeling sometimes. I play BS (the card game) a lot, and in the absence of actual-formed plans, I just grin at random times.

We're not all evil. It's time to see INTJs in a different light: dedicated, intelligent human people. (tweet this)

Or at least that's what I aim for. In the meantime, I'll continue to snark.

Yours,
Non-world dominating INTJ

What MBTI personality are you? Also: write a response for your own MBTI, whether on your blog or in the comments, and I'll visit + link to you here!


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 (I recognise MBTIs of many popular figures are hotly debated; feel free to start a discussion in the comments if you disagree with my interpretation. Please also note that I don't really speak for all INTJs, but am merely expressing my opinion as one.)
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18 comments:

  1. jodie5 April 2015 at 13:18

    I read all 4 posts :') also, you're an intj? So am I?!? High-five for being the rarest personality type in the world (esp in women, apparently)!

    Anyway, well done, it was a very insightful post.

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    1. Alyssa Carlier5 April 2015 at 13:34

      Haha, yes, they're all awesome posts. *high-fives back* It feels like there's a disproportionate number of lady INTJs in the book/writing blogosphere, though XD Obviously we spend too much time thinking up plots for our characters.

      Thank you, Jo, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!

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  2. Heather5 April 2015 at 15:38

    XD This is awesome. As the daughter and big sister to two INTJs I have to say that I love this type, because they're great, and not to be mean but of all the INTJs I've ever met (I'm thinking somewhere in the range of 10) none of them would be my top choice for world ruling. (No offense, of course. Just a matter of good leadership skills, vision, and probability of success.) Anyway, I know that you guys are very deeply seated in your own ways, and you're very, very good at them, and that's what makes you awesome. :)

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    1. Alyssa Carlier6 April 2015 at 11:31

      Thank you, Heather! Well, I haven't actually met many other real-life INTJs, but not all of us really want world domination. And yeah, I think we'd get murdered by political enemies pretty quickly. However, we're pretty awesome in other ways, that I definitely agree :D :D

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  3. Anonymous6 April 2015 at 05:28

    I love this different sort of response! It's awesome :)) YES this post. I wish people would realise that sometimes INTJs are just like them, and in some ways feel huge pressure compared to other types, especially socially.
    But:
    I am an INTJ, and defiantly human. However, I would also quite like to run the world. But if it never happens, I'm sure I can just have New Zealand or something instead ;)

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    1. Alyssa Carlier6 April 2015 at 11:32

      Thank you, Opal! We're not that evil after all -- or at least we've been pressured into pretending so. :P But really, all I ever do is threaten to do evil things and make evil plots. I never actually do anything.

      New Zealand is quite nice. New Zealand has hobbits. Myself, I'm considering ISS.

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  4. TheScribblingSprite6 April 2015 at 10:46

    Now, you could take over the world. But as a goodie two shoes INFP, I'd feel obligated to talk you out of it.

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    1. Alyssa Carlier6 April 2015 at 11:33

      Ha! I'd need more minions for that. And rum. And trust me, your placation is no match for my snark XD

      Thanks for reading!

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  5. Precious @ Clockwork Desires6 April 2015 at 13:16

    Oh, this was an interesting twist to it! As a borderline between an INFJ and an INFP, I'm not entirely sure what to say about my type(s), but this was really insightful. :)

    P.S. Snark is awesome.

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    1. Alyssa Carlier7 April 2015 at 18:32

      Ooh, I haven't met many borderline cases before. I think it would be interesting to hear about how you reconcile the J and P aspects.

      P.S.: Snark is nearly as awesome as takeout.

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  6. CG @ Paper Fury6 April 2015 at 13:31

    I am...um, *coughs awkwardly* an INTJ. The, um, world-domineering kind. WHAT?! I CAN'T HELP IT. THE WORLD WANTS TO BE RULED BY ME. I often accidentally tell everyone what I'm thinking a lot too and my family have gotten to the point where they'll say "does this dress look okay? what does everyone EXCEPT CAIT think". Which is totally mean.
    XD
    My bad. XD

    But it is true...INTJ's aren't the only villainous kinds of people.

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    1. Alyssa Carlier7 April 2015 at 18:35

      Well, I suppose the stereotype HAS to come from somewhere. XD I say I want to conquer the world, but I don't really. I just say so.

      Ahahaha, yes, that happens to me too. Funnily enough, it becomes a positive thing when writing, so I suppose a little bluntness isn't always wrong. Or villainous, for that matter.

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  7. Unknown6 April 2015 at 21:54

    I'm an ENFP, which apparently means I have the same personality type as Pippin Took from LOTR and Princess Isabella from Braveheart. The Myers-Briggs test is a lot of fun, but I'm not sure how much stock I actually put in it. Still, fun post!

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    1. Alyssa Carlier7 April 2015 at 18:35

      I'm one of those people who really enjoy the MBTI personality types, but I suppose it differs from person to person. Never watched Braveheart before, but Pippin is definitely very awesome :D :D

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  8. Vlora11 April 2015 at 20:35

    I didn't read the other posts, but this one was very entertaining! To be honest, I enjoy taking personality tests immensely, but I never put too much stock in them. I feel like I'll always find myself in one description or another, so (with a few exceptions) I could interpret most results to fit me. I just took the MBTI test on HumanMetrics and I got ISTP. I AM a moderate introvert, so they got that right, and I AM very project focused, but other than that it doesn't actually fit me that well. They say ISTPs prefer mechanical to artistic stuff, which is not me at all. The racing, skydiving, motorcycling person they describe sounds pretty badass though, so it's not like I'm ANGRY with the result.

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    1. Alyssa Carlier11 April 2015 at 22:40

      I'm glad you enjoyed my little contribution to this thread :) Hmm, I've identified really intensely as an INTJ, so that could be why I put so much stock by the MBTI definitions. Once you get to fictional characters, though, the debate is so intense!

      But there's no reason to believe that just because you belong to a particular personality type, you must follow all the rules of that type! Imagine if there were only 16 types of people in this world -- sounds like the plot of Divergent XD True! World dominating isn't that bad, and I'm proud to be an INTJ! :D :D

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  9. Liza Barrett13 April 2015 at 07:22

    This was GREAT! I'm an INTJ also, though at the time I was so borderline INTP that I may have switched over (but, you know, don't "judge"). My fiance is also in that vein, though I'm not sure exactly which letters he'd get. We snark about people CONSTANTLY. It makes life interesting :)

    (PS - He IS the take-over-the-world type. I try to reign him in, but if you ever catch wind of a plot to destroy most of the human race, it's probably him >.<)

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    1. Alyssa Carlier13 April 2015 at 18:19

      Thanks, Liza! One of my closest friends is an INTP, and she's the one trying to rein me in when I go on my fake take-over-the-world spirals. But we snark at the world together a lot.

      I will note that and track him down at a necessary stage. :P

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