Leo's Blog Discussion Mega-Thread

[Leo Gura]

22 minutes ago, Joshe said:

This is actually a common misconception about INTJs.

Misconception? It's how official test questions are designed.

Edited Sunday at 07:42 PM by Leo Gura

[Miguel1]

As a J, I absolutely need structure and organization to my day-to-day and schedule. I cannot live with pure spontaneity.

But I definitely need room for spontaneity too. Perhaps mostly to be able to emotionally replenish. Highly empathetic / emotional sponge people problems.

ENFJs are probably the most complex type. We are everything.

On first look, we look like the most surface-level happy yay-yay charismatic social people, whom everyone loves. But we have a very deep side to us, that often gets neglected due to the surface level charm. Harmony between people drives us, and we are extremely people people, but reality is not so generous.

We look like we are all emotions and intuitions - but we definitely have a very deep logical, philosophical, intellectual & spiritual side to us as well.

We are generally very warm people but we can be cold as hell as well.

Add to all that the work we do here at Actualized.org? Now you enter the definition of Existential Crisis.

Edited Sunday at 07:48 PM by Miguel1

[Leo Gura]

I am like 60% INTP, 40% INTJ. My P and J are not far apart.

[Joshe]

16 minutes ago, aurum said:

I dislike that there is no vertical component and consideration of cognitive development in Myers-Briggs. It's too essentialist. 

My results have fluctuated overtime as I've changed. 

The online tests are often flawed, so I wouldn't rely on those. You have to learn about the functions themselves. 

The actual cognitive functions behind the types describe how someone prefers to process information and make decisions, which can definitely evolve, but, as far as I can tell, only long the lines they started from. 

The underlying predispositions don't just up and change. My cognition is wired to seek underlying structure, long-range patterns, and decisive action. I can't turn that off and I most certainly can't start enjoying open-ended brainstorming or jumping between possibilities for the sake of exploration. There's no way I'm going to start enjoying bouncing between disconnected ideas or improvising in the moment just because I’ve “grown.” Development can sharpen what I already have, but I can't really change my cognition. 

Also, MBTI does acknowledge development, just not comprehensively. Like, you can have a healthy or unhealthy INTP. Two people with the same type can look very different depending on how developed their functions are, how much self-awareness they have, and how balanced their stack is. The model doesn’t ignore growth, but it doesn't map it in a linear way like SD. 

[Joshe]

15 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

Misconception? It's how official test questions are designed.

Look it up man. It's a common misconception. You have to dive a little deeper into the MBTI world. It's a well-known misconception several experts discuss. Forget about the J. You can't isolate the functions. INTJ AND INTP are one letter off but worlds apart in terms of their cognition. One thing they share in common is being intellectually inclined and often socially awkward. lol, but that's about it. 

Edited Sunday at 07:53 PM by Joshe

[Leo Gura]

10 minutes ago, Joshe said:

INTJ AND INTP are one letter off but worlds apart in terms of their cognition.

My cognition is similar to both of them.

[Joshe]

If you try to understand MBTI by the 4 letters, you're missing the entire point and I can see why it appears like a shit model.

The whole point is the 8 functions and what they manifest when combined. You could easily spend a month exploring your dominant function and still not fully grasp it. 

[Joshe]

14 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

My cognition is similar to both of them.

Doesn't work like that. The mind has limited bandwidth. It's impossible to embody all the functions (modes of cognition), which is precisely why different personalities exist. And if you decide you'd like to embody functions not natural to you, you'll experience pain and will be completely incompetent in that domain.

My 4th function is Se (Extraverted Sensing), which relates to engaging directly with the physical world, the here and now,sensory details. Since this function is so far down in my stack, I suck at this. Absolutely suck but an ESTP who has Se as a dominant function, shines. I will never be able to gain the competence of Se the way it comes natural to the ESTP, and the ESTP would never be able to operate introverted intuition the way I can. 

If we suck at our 4th function, there are 4 others that are even worse! So, you can't just plug into whatever function you want.

Edited Sunday at 08:13 PM by Joshe

[Daniel Balan]

20 minutes ago, Leo Gura said:

I am like 60% INTP, 40% INTJ. My P and J are not far apart.

I am an INFJ 🥹 Thats why I was so eager to explore your content, in a way, watching and hearing you talk in your videos, was like talking to myself, the way you talk to the camera is the same how I talk to myself! The most fascinating conversations I ever had was with myself after listening to one of your videos!

[Joshe]

@Leo Gura here's your full stack. We typically only use the first 4. The others are so far removed from us, although not completely inaccessible, that the model doesn't even count them. 

And INTJ: 

Edited Sunday at 08:20 PM by Joshe

[Nemra]

I was an INFP the last time I did the test.

However, I think I didn't answer some of the questions truthfully enough, or some things have changed that I think I would get a different result.

[aurum]

9 minutes ago, Joshe said:

The underlying predispositions don't just up and change. My cognition is wired to seek underlying structure, long-range patterns, and decisive action. I can't turn that off and I most certainly can't start enjoying open-ended brainstorming or jumping between possibilities for the sake of exploration. There's no way I'm going to start enjoying bouncing between disconnected ideas or improvising in the moment just because I’ve “grown.” Development can sharpen what I already have, but I can't really change my cognition. 

I don't buy that.

Cognition preferences must be able to change, because some cognition preferences are higher than others. Seeking more perspectives is higher than seeking less perspectives. Improvisation is higher than strict rule-based cognition. Seeing structure is higher than just seeing content. Holding paradox is higher than not being able to hold paradox. Construct-awareness is higher than lack of construct-awareness. 

I'm not an expert in Myers-Briggs, so maybe I'm wrong. But from what I can tell, it doesn't seriously account for that. Which means you will get stuck in a sense-making paradigm that flattens vertical development.

My latest results, for what it's worth:

 

[Joshe]

3 minutes ago, Nemra said:

I was an INFP the last time I did the test.

However, I think I didn't answer some of the questions truthfully enough, or some things have changed that I think I would get a different result.

TBH, I wouldn't rely on the online tests. Some are accurate but it's hard for most people to answer objectively and to see themselves cleary. People often answer based on what they value or what they want to be like instead of how they actually are in reality. 

That said, you strike me somewhat as an INFP. 

[Nemra]

6 minutes ago, Joshe said:

That said, you strike me somewhat as an INFP. 

If you don't mind, may I ask you why? 🙂

[Joshe]

48 minutes ago, aurum said:

Cognition preferences must be able to change, because some cognition preferences are higher than others. Seeking more perspectives is higher than seeking less perspectives. Improvisation is higher than strict rule-based cognition. Seeing structure is higher than just seeing content. Holding paradox is higher than not being able to hold paradox. Construct-awareness is higher than lack of construct-awareness. 

The preferences do change. The model says we have 4 main preferences that we bounce from. The first preference is our core competency, the second our second, and so on. 

MBTI isn't a model of development. It's just explaining modes of cognition and how they operate and manifest alongside other modes. 

I'll try to explain. Look at your 7th function, the trickster:

"For an INTP, Extraverted Sensing (Se) is the Trickster function — a chaotic, unreliable part of the stack that deals with real-time sensory data and immediate action. INTPs typically live in their heads, abstracting, analyzing, and projecting ideas. Se, on the other hand, demands presence in the physical world — awareness of the here and now, of concrete reality. When Se is triggered, it often shows up as clumsiness, overstimulation, or risky behavior — like suddenly making a reckless purchase, getting lost in sensory distractions, or reacting impulsively to external pressure. Se isn’t trusted or well-developed, so it tends to misfire when the INTP tries to rely on it. Instead of grounding them, it throws them off balance."

 

And what about your Demon function? "For an INTP, Introverted Feeling (Fi) is the Demon function — the furthest from their conscious psyche. It asks them to make decisions based on deeply personal values rather than internal logic, which feels unnatural and destabilizing. When Fi shows up, it often leads to impulsive, emotionally charged decisions that clash with the INTP’s usual Ti-driven clarity — like quitting a job on a moral whim or cutting someone off without explanation. It doesn’t guide — it disrupts. Fi isn’t just underdeveloped; it’s a cognitive blind spot that, when triggered, can derail the INTP’s sense of internal coherence entirely."

No matter what you do, these cognitive domains will never feel like home to you. You will never be as competent in them as someone who has these high in their stack. It's impossible because you'd have to leave your already existing cognitive domain, which you've been working on mastering for decades, to practice developing in domains you're not even interested in. 

Not the best articulation but hope that makes sense. 

Here's a more thorough explanation:: 

The TiNe’s functions are as follows:
1. Ti - internal Thinking
TiNe's use Ti to make decisions based on logical analysis done over time in their heads. Ti is the reason they prize rationality and objectivity. It also drives their insatiable thirst for knowledge and learning. Because it is their strongest preference, the functions below are said to "serve" the Ti. This just means that the Ti way of doing things gets priority most of the time. 

2. Ne - external iNtuition
Ne is the main way TiNe’s take in information. It means they use their intuition to find patterns, underlying principles, and ideas, to construct theories and frameworks, and to form connections as they talk, write, or create. It can make them seem quite "rambley" at times as they can jump from topic to topic based on the connections they're making in the moment rather than following a more linear path of conversation.

3. Si - internal Sensing
Si is the TiNe’s third function, and it allows them to store all the interesting facts and knowledge they gather in their brain in an organized way for future reference. Si also makes the Ti-led internal world fairly structured and detailed in its analysis, and can often lead to a very strong sense of internal stability which can come across as arrogance to others. While they can jump from topic to topic in conversation, internally their thought patterns are more linear. For TiNe's in particular, their Si drives them to have a high need for precise language, and they can often articulate themselves very well when they want to. As they get older, their thought processes get faster. After some time they will likely not need to consciously think through every step in a thought process unless they're taking on a very novel problem or task.

4. Fe - external Feeling
Fe is the TiNe’s last function. As a last function, it is inherently not as strong as the other functions and the TiNe generally prefers to only use it where necessary, rather than using to make all their decisions. Fe is the TiNe’s humanitarian side. It causes them to want to use their intelligence and creative problem-solving to help others and fix the world in some way. Having Fe last means that TiNe’s often start out life being less aware of and equipped to deal with feelings than other types. Even though it's last, a healthy TiNe will learn to develop all of their functions over time so they can use them as needed.

More here: https://www.typeinmind.com/tine
--- 

You have Si, which allows you to store all the things you find in your head. I don't have that. I have to ping my intuition to bring those things back to the surface. If I tried to develop Si, it would be very difficult for me, but for others, it's only natural. 

Edited Sunday at 09:09 PM by Joshe

[Joshe]

21 minutes ago, Nemra said:

If you don't mind, may I ask you why? 🙂

Your manner. Somewhat Interested in the intellectual domain but not overly attached to any idea and rarely push your views forcefully. Calm, easy-going. I once had a good INFP friend who fit this bill. I'm no MBTI expert though!

Edited Sunday at 08:54 PM by Joshe

[Nilsi]

I want to recommend La Bête (The Beast), a haunting psychoanalytic melodrama starring Léa Seydoux and directed by Bertrand Bonello. It’s not just emotionally intense - it’s visually and sensorially fractured: a surreal, glitchy, techno-psychedelic descent into the unconscious. You could say it’s a film about the impossibility of love, structured around the Lacanian axiom: there is no sexual relationship.

The premise is simple but unsettling. In a future where AI can cleanse your psyche of emotional disturbances, a woman volunteers to relive her past lives to reach inner peace. But instead of resolution, she finds repetition. A man - her lover, her threat, her symptom - keeps returning in different forms across centuries. He is the beast - the incarnation of trauma and desire, always present, never fully graspable.

This isn’t just a film about past lives; it’s about the layered architecture of the psyche. Bonello renders memory and affect not as stable narratives but as flickering, unstable zones - blurring eras, identities, and desires. It’s psychedelic not in the cliché sense of colors and hallucinations, but in the deeper sense: reality dissolves at the edges, time warps, and the symbolic breaks down.

Love, in La Bête, is inseparable from fear, from death, from the unknowable. There’s no romantic closure here - only recurrence, displacement, and an erotic charge that never lands where it’s supposed to. What begins as a quest for self-healing becomes a confrontation with the Real: with the unbearable density of the other, and the impossibility of merging.

It’s beautiful, disorienting, and unforgettable. A film about desire, memory, and the violence of intimacy - in which even love is a glitch in the system.

Edited Sunday at 09:12 PM by Nilsi

[Joshe]

@Nemra

“Somewhat interested in the intellectual domain” → INFPs often enjoy abstract thinking and big ideas (especially philosophical, ethical, or human-centered topics), but their primary driver is Fi (Introverted Feeling), not logic or intellectual dominance.

“Not overly attached to any idea” → INFPs are generally open-minded and non-dogmatic. They have strong internal values but don’t feel the need to impose those on others unless it's a deeply moral issue.

“Rarely push your views forcefully” → Classic INFP. They often prefer to lead by quiet example or through meaningful one-on-one conversations rather than assertive or confrontational debate.

Sound like you? I think that last part really sounds like you, unless I've read wrong.

[aurum]

15 minutes ago, Joshe said:

The preferences do change. The model says we have 4 main preferences that we bounce from. The first preference is our core competency, the second our second, and so on. 

MBTI isn't a model of development. It's just explaining modes of cognition and how they operate and manifest alongside other modes. 

I'll try to explain. Look at your 7th function, the trickster:

"For an INTP, Extraverted Sensing (Se) is the Trickster function — a chaotic, unreliable part of the stack that deals with real-time sensory data and immediate action. INTPs typically live in their heads, abstracting, analyzing, and projecting ideas. Se, on the other hand, demands presence in the physical world — awareness of the here and now, of concrete reality. When Se is triggered, it often shows up as clumsiness, overstimulation, or risky behavior — like suddenly making a reckless purchase, getting lost in sensory distractions, or reacting impulsively to external pressure. Se isn’t trusted or well-developed, so it tends to misfire when the INTP tries to rely on it. Instead of grounding them, it throws them off balance."

 

And what about your Demon function? "For an INTP, Introverted Feeling (Fi) is the Demon function — the furthest from their conscious psyche. It asks them to make decisions based on deeply personal values rather than internal logic, which feels unnatural and destabilizing. When Fi shows up, it often leads to impulsive, emotionally charged decisions that clash with the INTP’s usual Ti-driven clarity — like quitting a job on a moral whim or cutting someone off without explanation. It doesn’t guide — it disrupts. Fi isn’t just underdeveloped; it’s a cognitive blind spot that, when triggered, can derail the INTP’s sense of internal coherence entirely."

No matter what you do, these cognitive domains will never feel like home to you. You will never be as competent in them as someone who has these high in their stack. It's impossible because you'd have to leave your already existing cognitive domain, which you've been working on mastering for decades, to practice developing in domains you're not even interested in. 

Not the best articulation but hope that makes sense. 

I don't know, it still doesn't seem to match my experience.

MBTI is weak. It's not built on a serious understanding of consciousness or God, so its explanations are going to be limiting.

[Joshe]

@aurum - I added to it. See what you think about the addition.