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INFP & Left-brained?

[INFP]
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5.2K views 19 replies 15 participants last post by  UberY0shi  
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#1 ·
Hello everyone,

There is something that has been puzzling me for a while, and I think I have finally put my finger on it.

I am definitely an INFP. I am also an empath and a HSP. This makes me certain that I am an "F". I absolutely love learning about people and what makes them tick.

However, I have a good sense of logic, I always excelled in math and science, but had difficulties in literature and history class in school. I am good at music, but I never pay attention to the lyrics. I read non-fiction and really dislike fiction.

This has made me confused. There seems to be two kinds of INFPs. The artistic type and the logical type. Many guy INFPs also seem to be the logical type like me, choosing computer programing as a profession.

So, is it possible that there are 2 types of INFPs:

Right-brain dominant INFPs - The Artistic Type

Left-brain dominant INFPs - The Scientific/Logical Type

Let me know your thoughts on this matter. I have been puzzled by this for some time now...
 
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#2 ·
Im very close in terms of being an infp, i always score that except on the cognitive tests, at the moment im literally about 51 percent right and 49 percent left, in my opinion its all subjective. It's weird how you do bad in literature and history when most INFPS I know do very well in such subjects. maybe you're just well balanced :)?
 
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#7 · (Edited)
An ESTJ came here! Get em!
*hugs/snuggles*

I am dominantly right brained, like 80-90% right dominant, and use my logic systems as little as possible.
Note: I do use logic systems, but it is in a supporting role to my feeling non-logical systems.
 
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#3 ·
This seems reasonable to me. I wonder if left-brained INFPs often mistype as INTPs?

I'm almost completely right brain dominate, I'm left handed and everything. And I have discalculia, so my math skills are...sub par.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
That makes sense to me. You can certainly be an INFP and excel in math and science.

Right-brain dominant INFPs - The Artistic Type

Left-brain dominant INFPs - The Scientific/Logical Type
Click to expand...
I'm both! But I always test as slightly "right-brained" (almost balanced) on tests because I'm really disorganized, easily distracted, and very fantasy-prone. I don't think liking math and science automatically makes you "left-brained," but I dislike the right/left brain theory anyway. It's pop psychology. Both sides of the brain work together; no one uses only one half of their brain.

For example, fiction writers like me often test as "right-brained" because writing is a creative and intuitive process. However, language is actually technically a "left-brained" function, so if you were entirely "right-brained," you wouldn't be able to write at all. Math also requires a lot of spatial intelligence, especially if it's geometry or calculus, which requires "right-brain" power. Thus, I dislike the theory, although I do think it has some value, because everyone uses both sides of their brain to a great extent.
 
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#8 ·
I should point out that as I get older, I am actually more interested in the Social Sciences than the Natural Sciences because I am an INFP and I love people so much.

And, I AM good at learning foreign languages. But, I am not good at reading literature and writing with good style in English.

Maybe it doesn't have to do with Right Brain or Left Brain, but there is some 5th element that Myers-Briggs isn't capturing...
 
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#15 ·
I agree with what @ImminentThunder says about both parts of the brain working in tandem. But for the sake of the general theory, I test as predominantly right-brained in a huge way. Consistently. And we did those tests in Psychology class so they were the standardized one. It seems to ring true for me, because although my verbal ability is high, things that the left brain handles like numbers and logical analysis seems to be just dead. :tongue: Numbers/maths scare the hell out of me, I hated anything to do with pure science and I am awful at taking/learning directions. But I'm also a great talker and a very verbal and vocal person, and like to think I have always been creative and a bit of a dreamy person.
 
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#16 ·
Lesley Drakken
It's a little more complicated than that. Being good at math is not something that is a direct consequence of being left-brain dominant. The processing of both languages and math go through both parts of the brain. I have something similar to what you have and it affects the right half of my brain and the consequences were above average linguistic skills(at least to some aspects of languages) and waaay below average mathematical skills.
 
#17 ·
Old thread, is old thread.

It looks like I call on both sides of my brain, to get through the day. Right left, right left... all day long. :tongue:

Pretty balanced, R/L, per a random test, I took. Just slightly more right-brain at 54.

Remember the lady-optical-illusion, in the 90s, that would twirl around on one foot? She twirled both ways for me. And occasionally I could control the right/left movement. And then I think she was determined to be a hoax, an internet hoax some of us fell for. ;-)

Image
 
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#18 ·
I got 63 on the above test, which means a little bit rightbrainy (now if that is really using that part of the brain more could be questioned, but the personality associated with it anyway)

I think there seem to be a relation between some NP traits and rightbrain to some extent. But many infps are pretty good at expressing themselves verbally for example, which is considered leftbrainy.
 
#19 ·
I dislike fiction too, but I think it's because I hate long descriptions of things that hold the story back and increase the length of the book to 500 pages. I just feel as if I'm wasting my time when I can just be given the bare-bones of a world or situation and fill in the blanks with my actual imagination. That's why if I'm going to read fiction, it's going to be children's fiction (don't diss it! Some of the best writers and more moral authors are children's authors) and I love "quick to the point" short stories. Just tell me the story and give me the morals and the facts and stop waffling in 200 pages.*




*goes into INTP fakery mode
 
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