INTJs And INTPs are known as the most intelligent personality types. In the personality community, there is often a debate on which one is more intelligent. Since they are both brilliant but entirely different in intelligence, let us find out who is more intelligent between INTJs and INTPs.
INTPs are thinkers and book smart. They can achieve success with little effort and are more knowledgeable about practical matters. They are more logical and can apply their intelligence to daily life matters. INTP intelligence is more beneficial for kids, whereas INTJ intelligence benefits adulthood.
INTJs and INTPs are both genuinely intelligent personality types. Their foundations of brilliance are, however, significantly different. How they function and how people in each type use their intelligence are miles apart. You can find out more throughout the article.
Are INTPs Smarter Than INTJs?
It would be unfair to conclude that an INTP is more competent than an INTJ or vice versa. The INTP and INTJ personalities are similar in many ways, one being their high levels of intelligence. On that level of smartness, they are vastly different. INTPs and those who favor the Ps think that they are more intelligent. INTJs and those in favor of the Js think they are smarter.
Here is why INTPs seem smarter than INTJs:
INTPs Are Book Smart
INTPs are incredibly book smart. They have a thirst for knowledge. They prefer to acknowledge, absorb, and understand information that they can gain from learning through higher education, studying theories and facts, reading books, listening to podcasts, watching videos, etc. INTPs generally do not go by feeling or intuition. They live their life based on informed choices.
INTJs are highly in tune with their intuition. Their dominant cognitive function is Introverted Intuition. They think more extroverted and can base their decisions on emotions. They make informed decisions based on the knowledge or experience gained using their intuitive forces. INTJs are often labeled as being street smart.
Most people perceive being book smart as more intelligent than being street smart. The theory that studying and knowing facts make one more intelligent than experience, introspection, and intuition drives that perception in society.
INTPs Are Thinkers
INTPs’ dominant function is introverted thinking. They are deep thinkers. INTPs consider, reconsider, analyze and study thoughts, information, concepts, situations, opinions, etc., before taking action. They always seem highly intelligent because people see them as individuals who use their minds excessively to take the information they have learned and put it into context.
INTJs have extraverted thinking. They don’t dwell internally and are confident, so they don’t continue to jump between ideas or information. That means they use their emotions and intuition in the present moment and apply it to life. People tend to find that impulsive and think that INTJs are not thinking things through or considering all sources.
INTPs Are Curious
INTPs love to learn, gain information, and understand facts because they are inherently curious. They want to know everything about everything. Once they are interested in something, they will go as deep as possible to learn every angle of that topic. INTPs won’t stop until they feel that they know it all. It is an incredibly attractive quality to those who see intelligence as something to be learned.
INTJs are not focused on curiosity and ensuring they learn a situation from every angle. They can make judgments based on what is happening in real-time. They assess what’s happening, use their intuitive thinking and notice their feelings. INTJs decisions are often more accurate in their choices because of those qualities.
INTPs Are Researchers
When you view someone with intelligence, you often see someone who knows what they are talking about because they have all the information about it. INTPs are researchers. They will look up every piece of information. Before they make decisions, they have to get all the facts. INTPs make judgments and act once they have analyzed and thought things over several times.
INTJs are quite the opposite. They will not make uninformed judgments, but they don’t need to research every angle before taking action or voicing their opinion. INTJs use their intuition and experience to predict outcomes, express their thoughts and ideas, and do what is required at that moment. Again, this is viewed as impulsive to society because they cannot see where the INTJs knowledge comes from.
INTPs Are Flexible
INTPs are voted as being smarter because they are open to ideas. They are flexible and allow others to add input to all situations. They are always willing to learn from others, even if they are confident. Their need to overthink and overanalyze makes them open to accepting other viewpoints. People love this quality because they feel individual who can do that is more humble and not self-absorbed.
INTJs are not self-centered but, unfortunately, come off that way sometimes because they are generally super confident in themselves and their decisions. Their intuition is compelling. They are brilliant at using experience, knowledge, and current information to draw conclusions and predict outcomes. They don’t need external validation – often considered ignorant to others.
INTPs Are Rational And Logical
INTPs are rational and use logical reasoning to go through life, make choices and decisions, and take action. Their thinking is based on logical options and facts instead of following their intuition. INTPs don’t use emotion and prefer to leave feelings out of decision-making scenarios. INFJs analyze things rationally and go with what makes more sense in the book.
Conversely, INTJs are completely fine with using emotions to go through life. Most people don’t feel that emotional decisions are a wise way to go through life. People don’t realize that INTJs intuitive thinking is based on logic, and they use that along with their real-time feelings to make choices and take action.
INTJs Vs. INTPs: Which Is The Most Intelligent Personality?
A direct and basic answer to that is neither. Both INTJs and INTPs are intelligent. To explain further, both the MBTIs are smart in their own way. Considering the intelligence level, they are equally smart, just in contradictory manners. Your personality type is a baseline for how your core functions work, and intelligence comes from how you manage those traits.
INTPs are thinkers, analyzers, and logical individuals. They gain all their knowledge from learning, reading, and researching fact-based information. INTJs use emotion and intuition to be present and take action. They are street smart and apply common sense instead of concerning themselves with every piece of fact written in a book.
It is essential to acknowledge that just because someone might not excel at sciences doesn’t mean they lack intelligence. Alternatively, someone who cannot think on the spot is no less smart than someone who needs to analyze possibilities. Intelligence is not a straight road. People can be smart in unique ways and use their potential differently.
You can sometimes find an INTP with some INTJ qualities or vice versa. That is because a specific personality type does not determine the level of someone’s competence. How people use their cognitive functions and apply their knowledge to the world will show their brilliance. You can adapt traits from different MBTIs and use them accordingly.
How Do INTPs Use Their Intelligence?
INTPs are undoubtedly gifted with intelligence, and it is especially considered and prevalent during their adolescent years. You can quickly identify an INTP child when they are a student. Whether elementary or university, INTPs use active thinking and problem-solving. They excel at mind-stimulating paths like subjects others might find challenging, e.g., calculus, literature, etc.
INTP students will often partake in extracurricular activities where they can stretch their mental power and learn more such as debates, student government, language programs, etc. INTPs manage to get good grades without trying too hard. They can barely put effort into studying and will get an A+ on a test. They have an excellent memory and understand intense concepts, which benefits them without trying.
INTPs, whether children or adults, are not impressed by authoritative figures and hierarchical structures. Their rational mental power allows them to understand that titles are pointless if people don’t pull their weight. INTPs respect and accept other people’s opinions by first evaluating their insights and contributions. They are not fooled into taking advice from someone who doesn’t match levels.
The INTPs’ brilliance is also shown in their ability to be open-minded. They seem mediocre but do not prove to be rigid. INTPs allow possibilities from all angles, old and new. They listen to other people’s opinions and ideas and will consider different demeanors; however, they are smart enough to filter what’s necessary to absorb and reject what doesn’t make sense to them.
How Do INTJs Use Their Intelligence?
INTJ intelligence is majorly prevalent in adolescence and adulthood. An INTJ often takes the path less traveled – or rather what society deems “less brainy.” They will follow the artistic road like doing music, dance, theater, athletics, etc. INTJs follow their heart and base their decisions on emotion.
They will confidently make a decision and stick to it. Even if you try to provide an INTJ with your advice or opinions, they won’t readily accept it or be open to it. INTJs know what they want, and they go for it. INTJ kids are often looked at as impulsive or out of control. INTJ adults might be seen as irresponsible or ignorant. It is because they are not the orthodox definition of “smart” to the world.
When given a chance, INTJs will show unwavering strength and brilliance in their choices and success in life because they use their intuition and emotion simultaneously. To an INTJ, simply knowing or learning is not enough. They believe in the quote, “knowledge without action is pointless.” The information they store pus their past experiences allows them to make informed choices without avoiding their emotional side.
INTPs Vs. INTJs: Intelligent Famous People
Several famous INTPs and INTJs who have achieved great success in life exist. They used their intelligence uniquely to get where they needed to be. Let us look at a few of those people:
Famous Intelligent INTPs:
- Bill Gates (Entrepreneur)
- Albert Einstein (Scientist)
- Abraham Lincoln (Lawyer, President)
Famous Intelligent INTJs:
- Elon Musk (Passionate Visionary)
- Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Facebook)
- Stephen Hawking (English Theoretical Physicist, Cosmologist, Author
Looking at the mentioned names in both MBTI categories, you will realize that they are or were all highly intelligent and successful and have or will become part of history because of their achievements. Someone like Einstein was an INTP and a scientist – book smart, following the rules, analyzing theories, and focusing his life on contradictory concepts.
Then you find someone like Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook, who took his passion and creativity, came up with an idea, saw a vision, and made it happen. He didn’t waste time analyzing options. He took action and found a way to make it happen.
You will also notice the contradictory titles like Bill Gates, an entrepreneur but an INTP, and Stephen Hawking, a theoretical physicist and cosmologist. That is because they were smart enough to think outside the box and not conform to the path expected through their cognitive functions.
These famous figures portray the difference in intelligence between an INTJ and INTP; however, it also shows you that one is not necessarily more competent than the other. INTJs and INTPs use their brilliance uniquely and can even adapt functions from each other’s MBTI.
Conclusion
If you were to consider who has more knowledge and can give you all the information you need about any topic, INTPs are smarter. If you view intelligence in a person as something that comes from putting action into place and following your gut, then INTJs are smarter. INTPs focus on the “how to,” whereas INTJs focus on putting effort into place.
A personality type doesn’t have much to do with how intelligent someone is; it is how you utilize it. INTPs and INTJs are incredibly smart and vastly different in the manner they apply their brilliance to the world
