The stereotypical Nine has their head in the clouds, and intellectuals are known for that as well, are they not? :tongue: Plus I think a lot of Nines can research things as an escape, as getting caught up in less important things to avoid doing things that might be less pleasant (see my signature). And I frequently get lost in my head, often to the point that sometimes reality seems less real than what's going on internally. It can get pretty surreal on the rare occasion it lasts more than a day, feeling like I'm not *in* my body, or feeling like what I do outside my head will have no consequence because it just doesn't seem real.
As
@Sonny said there's also an element of humility I often see in NT Nines that I see somewhat less of in other NT types. It's not 100% consistent, of course. I would say one thing that seems to be a pattern when the intellectual superiority complex does show itself - or maybe I'm just speaking for myself here - is that the concentration is more on being annoyed by people who are not acting intelligently rather than a focus on their own intelligence - "these dumb people annoy me" as opposed to "I'm superior to these dumb people". I can think of one or two exceptions, though.
I actually went through a period for a while of doubting whether I was an INTJ because while intelligence is a big part of how I see myself, I don't wave it in people's faces either. Granted, at the time I was comparing myself to some of the typical new-to-the-INTJ section crowd who gets caught up in the intellectual superiority self-image, something I'm certainly not blameless of, but some people just take it to an extreme. (I'm still not 100% certain what my type is, but it's almost always what I end up with when I review cognitive functions, so... *shrugs*)
Oops, tangent check.
I think Quin Sabe actually said it much more concisely:
I don't believe it's a contradictory statement, just that we don't become as rigidly defined in our intellectual image.
I did type myself as a Five for a while. Even though it's not even in my tri-type, the withdrawn tendencies still resonate very strongly with me. I relate to pretty much all of this (not-that-great) description of Fives:
"I don't like invasive or overly emotional people, especially those who are angry or aggressive. I tend to be self-reliant and keep my problems to myself. Routines such as eating, sleeping, or changing my clothes become relatively unimportant when I'm reading or concentrating on one of my projects. I often feel shy and uncomfortable around people. I feel more at ease expressing my thoughts than my feelings. I enjoy spending a lot of my time alone. I generally wait for people to approach me instead of approaching them. Occasionally I feel righteous enough to become angry. I am better able to experience how I feel about something afterward, when I am alone. I don't like social functions: parties and small talk don't appeal to me except with people I know well. I don't like to be asked broad, general questions about myself. I like being appreciated for my knowledge. I try not to be involved with confrontations. I don't usually want people to know how I feel or what I'm thinking unless I tell them. When others try to regulate my life, I feel frantic and angry. I can be cynical and argumentative. I usually work things out in my mind before I talk about them; I often hesitate while I try to order my thoughts and may not speak at all if I can't perfect what I want to say. At times, I wish I had better social skills. People sometimes find it difficult to follow my train of thought. I have little interest in most social conventions."
I think perhaps it was because
@antiant (sure wish she'd come back), who is a Five, was always talking about autonomy that that part of it also stood out to me. I absolutely cannot stand when people volunteer me for things (something they have no place or right to do, as much as I hate using the term "right" in that manner), or expect me to do things, or just order me around, without doing me the courtesy of
asking. That's probably the quickest way to enrage me, short of getting me riled up on the topic of bullying.
One other thing I will mention is that I think part of when I do emphasize my intelligence, which I will admit to doing often, it's not usually in a superior sort of way, more just in a
I want to be recognized as standing out for something, and this is the one way in which I've always been told I stand out kind of manner, if that makes sense. And I once heard someone say that there are two main types of social currency - the first is attractiveness, the second intelligence. I've stated before I consider myself unconventionally attractive, but I'm certainly not a knock-out by standard societal measure (random side note: I've always had the tendency to find something attractive about almost anyone when other people fail to see it, which seems Nine-ish).
As for Nines not being intellectuals,
@Svidrigailov once said:
If anyone ever throws out the stereotype about Nines being lazy, out-of-it, and unproductive, hit them with the Lagrange card:
Joseph Louis Lagrange - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stranger uses "Stereotype."
Stereotype poisons minds!
Napoleptic uses "Lagrange."
It's super-effective!
Stranger has fainted!
The Poison was removed by "Lagrange!"
(Yes!!! Finally had an excuse to post that. I've wanted to for ages - makes me chuckle to myself every time I think about it. :tongue
/extremely rambly post