What do Isaac Newton, Nicola Tesla, Jane Austin, Queen Elisabeth I and Lewis Caroll have in common? They were all INTJs and they all died childlessly, or as rumour has it as virgins, which may be a hint to why INTJs are the rarest of all 16 Myers-Briggs types.
INTJs can be found among the world's experts in science (Tesla), technology (Elon Musk) and many other fields. Oddly enough, they are also the preferred type for movie villains. True, there is a suspiciously high number of INTJs among serial killers (e.g. Ted Bundy), school shooters (Eric David Harris) terrorists (Ted Kaczynski) as well as (defective) spies.
So, do movie-makers instinctively choose INTJ actors to play the villains, because this is the image we have of them from real-life villains? Interestingly, INTJs share certain physical traits, like a high forehead, long rectangular face and a pointy chin. Like the actor playing Dr Jekyll in the movie poster below, and like the Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, who is famous for playing villains like the head of SPECTRE in the recent James Bond movie.
So, are INTJs the villains they are portrayed in movies in real life after all? Is there a Mr Hyde slumbering in each INTJ doctor? No, but there are definitely two souls inside most INTJs, one that plays according to the rules of society and one that deeply deplores traditions, social conventions and the materialistic values of today’s society.
Together with ISTJs INTJs are the only type of introverts who are among the high-income group. Among IN types they stick out because all other IN types are found in the lowest income group.
INs have egalitarian, non-materialistic “hunter-gatherer” minds, but only INTJs have enough testosterone (T) and serotonin (J) to provide them with the drive and urge to understand what is underneath, succeed and make this world a better place. Born highly altruistic and sensitive they also have a higher risk of becoming psychopaths in a “farmer world”, or rather sociopaths, as psychopaths tend to inherit their traits genetically.
Unfortunately, the egalitarian and humanitarian side of INTJs is less often portrayed in movies. Remains to be explained why they are the villains in movies more often than not. INTJs display the following traits:
- Socially awkward, at least a bit autistic
- Introverted and secretive
- Seem to have low degree of agreeableness as they tend not to shy away from conflict and follow their own logic
- have visions and like making plans
These traits make them appear much less agreeable than they really are, so they seem perfect to be villains. Finally, there is one reason that makes INTJs perfect for the part of the villain that has nothing got to do with their “evil” side at all: narrative structure. Being introverts they remain hidden for the most part of the story and only towards the end is their masterminded grand and evil plan revealed. No other personality type can make a story more thrilling.
Why are INTJs so rare? As “hunter-gatherer” types they tend to be on the slow end of the life-history spectrum, i.e. they tend to have puberty late, be extremely choosy when it comes to finding a mate while at the same time having a tough time to find one in the first place. They tend to prioritize self-actualization over having children. These are all reasons why they tend to have children late in life, few or no children at all. Moreover, their children have a high risk to be on the autism-spectrum (case in point, high ASD rates in Silicon Valley and among relatives of university professors). Last, but not least, hunter-gatherers are collective breeders (it takes the village to raise a child). With the village gone, many “hunter-gatherer” types are reluctant to have children, in particular, the ones with high conscientiousness levels like INTJ, which would make parenting all the more strenuous.
This is a real shame. Like almost no other type, INTJs are in a position to understand and fix the problems that we are facing nowadays. The world needs more of them.
I am indebted to Jim Black for pointing out the facial features of INTJs to me.
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