Curtis24
02-23-2011, 07:59 PM
Here's Keirsey's description of the values of Rationals. Also, I chose Rationals because I believe this is the type that most accurately describes most of the people here :)
Self-Esteem in Ingenuity
Rationals pride themselves on their ingenuity in accomplishing the many and varied tasks they set their minds to. Indeed, so important is ingenuity to the Rationals' self-esteem that artistry, dependability, and empathy, so important to other character types, pale into insignificance for them. It doesn't matter whether the task be to design a machine or an experiment, to develop a theory or a long-range plance, to build a computer or a business. The degree of inventiveness which they bring to these tasks is the measure of their ingenuity and therefore the measure of their pride in themselves. Rationals aren't comfortable bragging on themselves, but listen on as one of the engineers of the national information highway lets his NT pride show for a moment when he speaks of ingenuity:
You want to be the first to do something. You want to create something. You want to innovate something... I often think of Edison inventing the light bulb. That's what I want to do. I want to drive over the bridge coming out of New York there and look down on that sea of lights that is New Jersey and say, 'Hey, I did that!'
And yet Rationals do not confine their ingenuity to business or professional matters; they apply it to almost anything they set out to master. For example, Rationals play not so much to have fun but to exercise their ingenuity in acquiring game skills. Fun for NTs means figuring out how to get better at some skill, not merely exercising the skills they already have, and so for the Rational the field of play is invariably a laboratory for increasing their proficiency. In tennis or golf, for example, each game or round must be the occasion for pondering the physics of the most effective swing, and for trying out new strokes that seem to fit the paradigm.
Thus it is impossible for Rationals to play with the thoughtless abandon of Artisans(SPs). For the Artisans, playing is a free, impulsive activity, engaged in for the fun of it, with improved game skills coming as a result of the doing. Rationals are just the opposite, in that they mightily tax themselves with improving their skills during play, which makes improvement come rather slowly and with great difficulty. In this sense the Artisans are the Rationals mirror image. Both can become absorbed in practicing their sport or game, but if the SP's practice is absorbing because it is free, unconscious doing, the NT's doing is absorbing, and less effective, because it is deliberate, conscious practice. If the Artisan is naturally impulsive and effortless in action, the Rational is naturally thoughtful and purposeful in action. If the Artisan cannot be induced to try, the Rational cannot be induced not to try.
Althought it is too much to say Rationals are grim in their recreational activities, they can be quite unhappy with themselves when they fail to elminate errors. When an NT plays sports, or even cards and board games, there must be continuous improvement, with no backsliding. On the golf course or the tennis court, at the bridge table or the chess board, others may shrug off mistakes, but not Rationals. In other words, just as ingenuity is the NTs' pride, so lack of it is their shame, and when they see themselves as slow or second-rate in any activity they are merciless in their self-condemnation, calling themselves "klutz," "idiot," "numbskull," "turkey," and other pejoratives. Such self-recriminations are not mere critiques of their performance, but are also likely to be scathing self-denunciations, with each term indicating the unforgivable crime of stupidity.
Rationals are easily the most self-critical of all the temperaments regarding their abilities, rooting out and condemning their errors quite ruthlessly. But others beware. NTs allow no one else to criticize them without warrant - and even with warrant, the critic is advised to be cautious and accurate. Just as NTs hold themselves to be precise, so they require those who remark on their errors to be precise as well, at the risk of learning the precise value they put upon such criticisms. And when unjustly or inaccurately criticized, Rationals burn with resentment and have even been known to fantasize about revenge, efficiently and poetically executed.
Self-Respect in Autonomy
While ingenuity is the basis of Rational self-esteem, autonomy is the basis of their self-respect. As much as possible, at times even regardless of the consequences, Rationals desire to live according to their own laws, to see the world by their own lights, and they respect themselves in the degree that they act independently, free of all coercion. Individualists all, NTs resis any effort to impose arbitrary rule on them. Indeed, they prefer to ignore any law, regulation, or convention that does not make sense to them, though they are willing to obey those that do. Little wonder that the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were largely the work of Rationals such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison.
Rationals want to govern themselves, and also to think for themselves. From an early age Rationals will not accept anyone else's ideas without first scrutinizing them for error. It doesn't matter whether the person is a widely accepted authority or not; the fact that a so-called "expert" proclaims something leaves the Rational indifferent. Title, reputation, and credentials do not matter. Ideas must stand on their own merits, and NTs simply do not trust anyone else to have done the necessary research and applied the rules of logic adequately. "I understand that Einstein said so," comments the Rational, "but even the best of us can err." This natural lack of respect for established authorities tends to make the Rationals seem irreverent, some might say arrogant.
Instinctively taking autonomy to be the greatest virtue, Rationals regard dependence on others as the greatest vice. Whether or not they agree entirely with Ayn Rand's political and economic theories, Rationals are hard pressed, after careful consideration, not to join in her contempt for interpersonal dependency: "All that which proceeds from man's independent ego is good," she wrote in The Foutainhead, "All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil." Self-respecting Rationals want to be self-directed and self-determined, and their own occasional lapse into dependency is their only source of guilt.
Self-Confidence in Resolution
Rationals are self-confident in so far as they sense in themselves a strength of will or an unwavering resolution. NTs believe they can overcome any obstacle, dominate any field, conquer any enemy - even themselves - with the power of their resolve. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rochester must will himself to live with the secret of Thornfield Hall:
He ground his teeth and was silent: he arrested his step and struck his boot against the hard ground. Some hated thought seemed to have him in its grip, and... to hold a quivering conflict... under his ebony brow. Wild was the wrestle which should be paramount; but another feeling rose and triumphed: something hard... self-willed and resolute: it settled his passion and petrified his countenance; he went on: - 'During the moment I was silent, Miss Eyre, I was arranging a point with my destiny.'
Once Rationals resolve to do something they have in a sense made a contract with themselves, a contract they dare not go back on. Indeed, their worst fear is that their determination might weaken, their will power might falter, and that they will fail in their resolve. Why is this? Why are NTs so fearful of their will power weakening? It is because they can never take will power for granted, however strong it has proved itself in the past. They know, perhaps better than others, that they are not in charge of their will, but that their will is in charge of them. Einstein was fond of quoting Schopenhauer's words: "Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills." Rationals know, for instance, that they cannot will themselves to control involutary functions, such as speech, sexual desire, digestion, warding off infection, and so on. After all, involuntary is by definition not subject to the will, but must occur spontaneously.
And yet, even though they know some things must happen of themselves, Rationals can dread this loss of control. This is why so many NTs turn out to develop unreasonable fears, especially of germs and other forms of filth, something they have no control over. The Rationals Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, and Buckminster Fuller each developed disease phobias, some of them incapacitating, as in the case of Hughes. And speech is a special problem for the Rationals, who are the most likely of all the types to develop gestural tics when they try to take control of their speech. Though it tends to impair their performance, strength of resolve is of such extreme importance to Rationals that, under stress, they have no choice but to invoke their will and try harder.
Being Calm
The preferred mood of Rationals, as Galen suggested, is one of calm. This is particularly true in stressful situations, when things around them are in turmoil, as C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower discovers in a moment of crisis, after having set fire to the enemy ship which held him captive:
A side pane fell in as they watched, and a rush of flame came through the opening. That store of paint, Hornblower calculated - he was calmer now, with a calm that would astonish him later, when he came to look back on it - must be immediately under the cabin, blazing fiercely.
Artisans(SPs) like to be excited, Guardians(SJs) are likely to get concerned about their responsibilities, and Idealists(NFs) give their enthusiasm free rein, Rationals prefer to remain calm, cool, and collected. And if they cannot avoid these emotional states, they will try hard to avoid letting their concern, excitement, or enthusiasm show. SPs, SJs, and NFs are puzzled more by this seeming unflappability in trying circumstances than by any other trait of the NT character. Indeed, because they are reluctant to express emtions or desires, NTs are often criticized for being unfeeling and cold. However, what is taken for indifference is not indifference at all, but the thoughtful, absorbed concentration of the contemplative investigator. Just as effective investigators carefully hold their feelings in check and guage their actions so that they do not disturb their inquiry or contaminate their results, so Rationals are prone to examine and control themselves in the same deliberate manner, being careful to avoid reading their own desires, emotions, and expectations into their observations.
But make no mistake, althought they hold back on any intemperate display, Rationals are not the cold and distant persons they are often made out to be. For one thing they can get quite intense and pressured about matters under their control(and few things they will admit they cannot control), becoming as tight as a bowstring when they think they might be able to solve a problem if they put their mind to it. For another, being closet romantics, their feelings are just as varied and strong as those of other character types, though again, and more than others, Rationals tend to hold them tightly in check.
Trusting Reason
The only thing Rationals trust unconditionally is reason - all else they trust only under certain conditions. Thus they trust their intuition only now and then, their impulses even less often, and they completely distrust titular authority. Of all these only reason, NTs say, is universal and timeless, and only its laws beyond dispute. Thus Rationasl take it for granted that "if men would but reason together," even the most difficult of problems might be solved. When the Rational Thomas Jefferson wrote the charter for the University of Virginia, he insisted that here education "will be based upon the illimitable freedom of the human mind, for here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it."
Jefferson's vision was of a free competition of ideas, unfettered by convention or tradition, an inquiry limited only by the scope of the human mind and the laws of reason. In this he was a typical Rational. More than the other temperaments, NTs listen carefully to new ideas as long as they make sense - as long as they are logical. But they have little or no patience for ideas that don't make sense, and they will not be swayed by any argument that fails to meet their criterion of logical coherence.
Yearning for Achievement
One of the most important things to remember about Rationals, if they are to be understood, is that they yearn for achievement. Some might suppose that these seemingly calm and contemplative types have no strong desires. But beneath the calm exterior is a gnawing hunger to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves. While NTs prefer to acquire know-how, and would like to be ingenious, they must achieve, and their longing is never fully satisfied.
Because their hunger for achievement presses them constantly, Rationals live through their work. For them, work is work and play is work. Condemning an NT to idleness would be the worst sort of punishment. However, Rationals work not so much for the pleasure of action(like the Artisans), nor for the security a job provides(like the Guardians), nor for the joy of helping others(like the Idealists). Rationals work with a single-minded desire to achieve their objectives; indeed, once involved in a project, they tend to be reluctant, if not unable, to limit their commitment of time and energy. Unfortunately, at this point they can be unreasonably demanding of both themselves and others, setting their standards too hgih and becoming quite tense under stress. No wonder that NTs frequently achieve notable success in their chosen field.
Achievement eats at NTs in this way because it demands of them ever greater knowledge and skill, a challenge they eagerly accept, as Sinclair Lewis explains in Arrowsmith, his novel about a giftend young scientist:
There was no strength,... no knowledge, that Arrowsmith did not covet, when consciousness of it has pierced through the layers of his absorption. If he was but little greedy for possessions, he was hungry for every skill.
Thus, and because of their persistence, Rationals tend over their lifetimes to collect a large repertoire of skilled actions, few of which they employ very extensively. In this they are quite unlike the Artisans, who also become skillful. For the SPs, skills are opportunities for action and have no meaning if they are not used, while for the NTs skills are competencies to be sharpened through practice, then held in reserve until actually needed.
Rationals demand so much achievement from themselves that they often have trouble measuring up to their own standards. NTs typically believe that what they do is not good enough, and are frequently haunted by a sense of teetering on the edge of failure. This time their achievement will not be adequate. This time their skill will not be great enough. This time, in all probability, failure is at hand.
Making matters worse, Rationals tend to ratchet up their standards of achievement, setting the bar at the level of their greatest success, so that anything less than their best is judged as mediocre. The hard-won triumph becomes the new standard of what is merely acceptable, and ordinary achievements are now viewed as falling short of the mark. NTs never give themselves a break from this escalating level of achievement, and so constant self-doubt and a niggling sense of impending failure are their lot.
Seeking Knowledge
While Artisans go in search of stimulation, Guardians security, and Idealists identity, Rationals are on the lookout for knowledge. Some of them are so relentless in their search, that(like Prometheus) they would steal knowledge even from the gods. Francis Bacon declared at the beginning of the 17th century that knowledge is power, and advised that nature be "put to the rack," so that her secrets could be extracted by scientific experimentation. In doing so he established the Rational method of scientific investigation which has prevailed in the West for 400 years.
The Rationals' search for knowledge has two objectives: they must know how to as well as know about. To know about is to comprehend the necessary and sufficient conditions under which events occur. To know how to is to comprehend the operational capabilities and limits of technologies - the possibilities and constraints of their tools, be they cutters, carbines, or computers. By knowing about and knowing how to, Rationals increase their capability to predict and to control events.
Knowledge for Rationals is never merely speculative. When NTs ask "why?" they are really asking "how?" or even "how to?" To ask why the sky is blue, why water is wet, why a lever has power, is not to ask for the meaning or significance of these things(something that greatly concerns their abstract cousins, the Idealists). The Rationals' questions are about why things take the form they do, about how things work - and thus about definition and description of structure and functions. As his biographer James Gleick notes, Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynman had no use for what he called the philosopher's "soft" questions:
Feynman's reinvention of quantum mechanics did not so much explain how the world was, or why it was that way, as tell how to confront the world. It was not knowledge of or knowledge about. It was knowledge how to... There were other kinds of scientific knowledge, but pragmatic knowledge was Feynman's specialty. For him knowledge did not describe; it acted and accomplished.
Such a quest for pragmatic knowledge arises early for Rationals, as soon as they have the language for inquiring, and seems fueled by insatiable curiosity. But since they are likely to pose their question as a "why?" they will often be unsatisfied with the answer they receive, for they are actually interested in "how?" not "why?" And since they can be insistent in their questioning, they often dismay their parents and teachers, who don't understand what they are really asking. Further, NTs want to be given a rationale in the answers they receive, something most parents and teachers have difficulty giving them.
As Rationals grow up, their pursuit of knowledge leads them to grapple with an ever-widening range of complex problems. Whether the problem is one of engineering machines or of coordinating operations, Rationals consider problems of central importance, and they will persist in their search for models and maps, for paradigms and algorithms, with which to construe and attack these problems. Problem-solving for the Rationals is a twenty-four hour occupation, and if they don't have a problem to work on they will actually set one for themselves as a way of exercising their skills. They are especially drawn to problems that tax their knowledge base, since practice with such problems adds to their knowledge and naturally expands their repertoire of useful models. And the more extreme the Rational style, the more exacting and stringent the demand they place on themselves for acquiring knowledge.
Another way of looking at this is that, in contrast to the social and moral shoulds and oughts of the Guardians and Idealists, the Rationals have a good many should-knows itemized in massive lists inside their heads. And though they can concentrate fully on one thing at a time, they are inclined to accumulate more and more useful knowledge, rarely deleting or forgetting any, and to work continually on solutions to the many problems that intrigue them. Having won a Nobel prize in 1972 for his work on immunology, biologist Gerald Edelman was not at all content to cease his inquiries:
About three years after Edelman won the prize he essentially left the field to pursue even bigger questions - the biggest ones imaginable, concerning the essential mysteries of biology... 'I have a small romantic streak and a very definite belief that's coupled to it, which is that the asking of the questions is the important thing... So if you said to me, "Well, now you're the czar of immunology." Horrors!... None of that really interests me. What interests me is dark areas.'
So intent are Rationals in their pursuit of knowledge, that they might be thought of as the "Knowledge-Seeking Personality." Of all the traits of character that set the Rationals apart - and at the same time group them together - it is their life-long search for knowledge.
Prizing Deference
What is pleasing to one sort of person may not be nearly as pleasing to another. Artisans are quite pleased by generous treatment, Guardians by gratitude, Idealists by being recognized as their unique selves. Certainly Rationals are not indifferent to generosity, gratitude, or recognition, but they are much more pleased when asked by an admirer to comment on something the NT has produced, especially if the request is for an exposition of their rationale. NTs regard such deference as being given not so much to themselves personally as to their productions. After all, when they make something or do something it is usually after long and sometimes obsessive analysis. So even if they are not especially brilliant, it is to be expected that their productions have been carefully devised, with pros and cons considered, and errors of inclusion and exclusion rooted out.
But Rationals cannot ask for deference, any more than Guardians can ask for appreciation, or Idealists for recognition. It must come to them spontaneously, out of interest in their work. And, of course, if in their view they haven't achieved anything they regard as worth noting, then they have no desire to be consulted in the matter. But if they have done something rather well, they are pleased when someone defers to them for definition and explanation of their production, and they can be disappointed if none comes their way, or worse, if someone else is asked to expound on what they've accomplished.
Their problem is that their accomplishment is often so highly technical - designing a computer chip for instance - that most people are only vaguely aware of how difficult it was to make, and so have little or no reason to acknowledge and give credit to its maker. So the vast majority of Rationals who manage to achieve something great are unsung heroes to the public, and therefore heroes only to their family or their colleagues - and perhaps in their own eyes.
Aspiring to be a Wizard
Because Rationals value the strategic intellect so highly, they tend to take as their idol the technological wizard, especially the scientific genius. After all, a wizard is the ultimate scientist, with what seems an almost magical power over nature, and in single-minded pursuit of the four aims of science: the prediction and control of events, and the understanding and explanation of their contexts. Scratch a Rational, find a scientist; but glimpse the figure the Rationals would aspire to become, and behold a wizard. Listen as Merlin, King Arthur's wizard in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, teaches young Arthur what he considers the most important lesson of all:
Merlin: There's only one thing for all of it. Learn! Learn why the world wags and what wags it.
Arthur: How could I learn if I couldn't think?...
Merlin: Yes... thinking, boy, is something you should definitely get into the habit of making use of as often as possible.
But listen also to Jonas Salk as he explains his view of the magic of biological science:
When I discovered there was moe to learning than the books we were exposed to, and then when I became interested in bringing science into medicine, I recognized that there was a logic to magic. Life is magic; the way nature works seems to be quite magical... I started to try to understand how that system works. I began to tease out the logic of the magic that I was so impressed by
Self-Esteem in Ingenuity
Rationals pride themselves on their ingenuity in accomplishing the many and varied tasks they set their minds to. Indeed, so important is ingenuity to the Rationals' self-esteem that artistry, dependability, and empathy, so important to other character types, pale into insignificance for them. It doesn't matter whether the task be to design a machine or an experiment, to develop a theory or a long-range plance, to build a computer or a business. The degree of inventiveness which they bring to these tasks is the measure of their ingenuity and therefore the measure of their pride in themselves. Rationals aren't comfortable bragging on themselves, but listen on as one of the engineers of the national information highway lets his NT pride show for a moment when he speaks of ingenuity:
You want to be the first to do something. You want to create something. You want to innovate something... I often think of Edison inventing the light bulb. That's what I want to do. I want to drive over the bridge coming out of New York there and look down on that sea of lights that is New Jersey and say, 'Hey, I did that!'
And yet Rationals do not confine their ingenuity to business or professional matters; they apply it to almost anything they set out to master. For example, Rationals play not so much to have fun but to exercise their ingenuity in acquiring game skills. Fun for NTs means figuring out how to get better at some skill, not merely exercising the skills they already have, and so for the Rational the field of play is invariably a laboratory for increasing their proficiency. In tennis or golf, for example, each game or round must be the occasion for pondering the physics of the most effective swing, and for trying out new strokes that seem to fit the paradigm.
Thus it is impossible for Rationals to play with the thoughtless abandon of Artisans(SPs). For the Artisans, playing is a free, impulsive activity, engaged in for the fun of it, with improved game skills coming as a result of the doing. Rationals are just the opposite, in that they mightily tax themselves with improving their skills during play, which makes improvement come rather slowly and with great difficulty. In this sense the Artisans are the Rationals mirror image. Both can become absorbed in practicing their sport or game, but if the SP's practice is absorbing because it is free, unconscious doing, the NT's doing is absorbing, and less effective, because it is deliberate, conscious practice. If the Artisan is naturally impulsive and effortless in action, the Rational is naturally thoughtful and purposeful in action. If the Artisan cannot be induced to try, the Rational cannot be induced not to try.
Althought it is too much to say Rationals are grim in their recreational activities, they can be quite unhappy with themselves when they fail to elminate errors. When an NT plays sports, or even cards and board games, there must be continuous improvement, with no backsliding. On the golf course or the tennis court, at the bridge table or the chess board, others may shrug off mistakes, but not Rationals. In other words, just as ingenuity is the NTs' pride, so lack of it is their shame, and when they see themselves as slow or second-rate in any activity they are merciless in their self-condemnation, calling themselves "klutz," "idiot," "numbskull," "turkey," and other pejoratives. Such self-recriminations are not mere critiques of their performance, but are also likely to be scathing self-denunciations, with each term indicating the unforgivable crime of stupidity.
Rationals are easily the most self-critical of all the temperaments regarding their abilities, rooting out and condemning their errors quite ruthlessly. But others beware. NTs allow no one else to criticize them without warrant - and even with warrant, the critic is advised to be cautious and accurate. Just as NTs hold themselves to be precise, so they require those who remark on their errors to be precise as well, at the risk of learning the precise value they put upon such criticisms. And when unjustly or inaccurately criticized, Rationals burn with resentment and have even been known to fantasize about revenge, efficiently and poetically executed.
Self-Respect in Autonomy
While ingenuity is the basis of Rational self-esteem, autonomy is the basis of their self-respect. As much as possible, at times even regardless of the consequences, Rationals desire to live according to their own laws, to see the world by their own lights, and they respect themselves in the degree that they act independently, free of all coercion. Individualists all, NTs resis any effort to impose arbitrary rule on them. Indeed, they prefer to ignore any law, regulation, or convention that does not make sense to them, though they are willing to obey those that do. Little wonder that the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were largely the work of Rationals such as Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison.
Rationals want to govern themselves, and also to think for themselves. From an early age Rationals will not accept anyone else's ideas without first scrutinizing them for error. It doesn't matter whether the person is a widely accepted authority or not; the fact that a so-called "expert" proclaims something leaves the Rational indifferent. Title, reputation, and credentials do not matter. Ideas must stand on their own merits, and NTs simply do not trust anyone else to have done the necessary research and applied the rules of logic adequately. "I understand that Einstein said so," comments the Rational, "but even the best of us can err." This natural lack of respect for established authorities tends to make the Rationals seem irreverent, some might say arrogant.
Instinctively taking autonomy to be the greatest virtue, Rationals regard dependence on others as the greatest vice. Whether or not they agree entirely with Ayn Rand's political and economic theories, Rationals are hard pressed, after careful consideration, not to join in her contempt for interpersonal dependency: "All that which proceeds from man's independent ego is good," she wrote in The Foutainhead, "All that which proceeds from man's dependence upon men is evil." Self-respecting Rationals want to be self-directed and self-determined, and their own occasional lapse into dependency is their only source of guilt.
Self-Confidence in Resolution
Rationals are self-confident in so far as they sense in themselves a strength of will or an unwavering resolution. NTs believe they can overcome any obstacle, dominate any field, conquer any enemy - even themselves - with the power of their resolve. In Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, Rochester must will himself to live with the secret of Thornfield Hall:
He ground his teeth and was silent: he arrested his step and struck his boot against the hard ground. Some hated thought seemed to have him in its grip, and... to hold a quivering conflict... under his ebony brow. Wild was the wrestle which should be paramount; but another feeling rose and triumphed: something hard... self-willed and resolute: it settled his passion and petrified his countenance; he went on: - 'During the moment I was silent, Miss Eyre, I was arranging a point with my destiny.'
Once Rationals resolve to do something they have in a sense made a contract with themselves, a contract they dare not go back on. Indeed, their worst fear is that their determination might weaken, their will power might falter, and that they will fail in their resolve. Why is this? Why are NTs so fearful of their will power weakening? It is because they can never take will power for granted, however strong it has proved itself in the past. They know, perhaps better than others, that they are not in charge of their will, but that their will is in charge of them. Einstein was fond of quoting Schopenhauer's words: "Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills." Rationals know, for instance, that they cannot will themselves to control involutary functions, such as speech, sexual desire, digestion, warding off infection, and so on. After all, involuntary is by definition not subject to the will, but must occur spontaneously.
And yet, even though they know some things must happen of themselves, Rationals can dread this loss of control. This is why so many NTs turn out to develop unreasonable fears, especially of germs and other forms of filth, something they have no control over. The Rationals Mark Twain, Nikola Tesla, Howard Hughes, and Buckminster Fuller each developed disease phobias, some of them incapacitating, as in the case of Hughes. And speech is a special problem for the Rationals, who are the most likely of all the types to develop gestural tics when they try to take control of their speech. Though it tends to impair their performance, strength of resolve is of such extreme importance to Rationals that, under stress, they have no choice but to invoke their will and try harder.
Being Calm
The preferred mood of Rationals, as Galen suggested, is one of calm. This is particularly true in stressful situations, when things around them are in turmoil, as C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower discovers in a moment of crisis, after having set fire to the enemy ship which held him captive:
A side pane fell in as they watched, and a rush of flame came through the opening. That store of paint, Hornblower calculated - he was calmer now, with a calm that would astonish him later, when he came to look back on it - must be immediately under the cabin, blazing fiercely.
Artisans(SPs) like to be excited, Guardians(SJs) are likely to get concerned about their responsibilities, and Idealists(NFs) give their enthusiasm free rein, Rationals prefer to remain calm, cool, and collected. And if they cannot avoid these emotional states, they will try hard to avoid letting their concern, excitement, or enthusiasm show. SPs, SJs, and NFs are puzzled more by this seeming unflappability in trying circumstances than by any other trait of the NT character. Indeed, because they are reluctant to express emtions or desires, NTs are often criticized for being unfeeling and cold. However, what is taken for indifference is not indifference at all, but the thoughtful, absorbed concentration of the contemplative investigator. Just as effective investigators carefully hold their feelings in check and guage their actions so that they do not disturb their inquiry or contaminate their results, so Rationals are prone to examine and control themselves in the same deliberate manner, being careful to avoid reading their own desires, emotions, and expectations into their observations.
But make no mistake, althought they hold back on any intemperate display, Rationals are not the cold and distant persons they are often made out to be. For one thing they can get quite intense and pressured about matters under their control(and few things they will admit they cannot control), becoming as tight as a bowstring when they think they might be able to solve a problem if they put their mind to it. For another, being closet romantics, their feelings are just as varied and strong as those of other character types, though again, and more than others, Rationals tend to hold them tightly in check.
Trusting Reason
The only thing Rationals trust unconditionally is reason - all else they trust only under certain conditions. Thus they trust their intuition only now and then, their impulses even less often, and they completely distrust titular authority. Of all these only reason, NTs say, is universal and timeless, and only its laws beyond dispute. Thus Rationasl take it for granted that "if men would but reason together," even the most difficult of problems might be solved. When the Rational Thomas Jefferson wrote the charter for the University of Virginia, he insisted that here education "will be based upon the illimitable freedom of the human mind, for here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor tolerate error so long as reason is left free to combat it."
Jefferson's vision was of a free competition of ideas, unfettered by convention or tradition, an inquiry limited only by the scope of the human mind and the laws of reason. In this he was a typical Rational. More than the other temperaments, NTs listen carefully to new ideas as long as they make sense - as long as they are logical. But they have little or no patience for ideas that don't make sense, and they will not be swayed by any argument that fails to meet their criterion of logical coherence.
Yearning for Achievement
One of the most important things to remember about Rationals, if they are to be understood, is that they yearn for achievement. Some might suppose that these seemingly calm and contemplative types have no strong desires. But beneath the calm exterior is a gnawing hunger to achieve whatever goals they set for themselves. While NTs prefer to acquire know-how, and would like to be ingenious, they must achieve, and their longing is never fully satisfied.
Because their hunger for achievement presses them constantly, Rationals live through their work. For them, work is work and play is work. Condemning an NT to idleness would be the worst sort of punishment. However, Rationals work not so much for the pleasure of action(like the Artisans), nor for the security a job provides(like the Guardians), nor for the joy of helping others(like the Idealists). Rationals work with a single-minded desire to achieve their objectives; indeed, once involved in a project, they tend to be reluctant, if not unable, to limit their commitment of time and energy. Unfortunately, at this point they can be unreasonably demanding of both themselves and others, setting their standards too hgih and becoming quite tense under stress. No wonder that NTs frequently achieve notable success in their chosen field.
Achievement eats at NTs in this way because it demands of them ever greater knowledge and skill, a challenge they eagerly accept, as Sinclair Lewis explains in Arrowsmith, his novel about a giftend young scientist:
There was no strength,... no knowledge, that Arrowsmith did not covet, when consciousness of it has pierced through the layers of his absorption. If he was but little greedy for possessions, he was hungry for every skill.
Thus, and because of their persistence, Rationals tend over their lifetimes to collect a large repertoire of skilled actions, few of which they employ very extensively. In this they are quite unlike the Artisans, who also become skillful. For the SPs, skills are opportunities for action and have no meaning if they are not used, while for the NTs skills are competencies to be sharpened through practice, then held in reserve until actually needed.
Rationals demand so much achievement from themselves that they often have trouble measuring up to their own standards. NTs typically believe that what they do is not good enough, and are frequently haunted by a sense of teetering on the edge of failure. This time their achievement will not be adequate. This time their skill will not be great enough. This time, in all probability, failure is at hand.
Making matters worse, Rationals tend to ratchet up their standards of achievement, setting the bar at the level of their greatest success, so that anything less than their best is judged as mediocre. The hard-won triumph becomes the new standard of what is merely acceptable, and ordinary achievements are now viewed as falling short of the mark. NTs never give themselves a break from this escalating level of achievement, and so constant self-doubt and a niggling sense of impending failure are their lot.
Seeking Knowledge
While Artisans go in search of stimulation, Guardians security, and Idealists identity, Rationals are on the lookout for knowledge. Some of them are so relentless in their search, that(like Prometheus) they would steal knowledge even from the gods. Francis Bacon declared at the beginning of the 17th century that knowledge is power, and advised that nature be "put to the rack," so that her secrets could be extracted by scientific experimentation. In doing so he established the Rational method of scientific investigation which has prevailed in the West for 400 years.
The Rationals' search for knowledge has two objectives: they must know how to as well as know about. To know about is to comprehend the necessary and sufficient conditions under which events occur. To know how to is to comprehend the operational capabilities and limits of technologies - the possibilities and constraints of their tools, be they cutters, carbines, or computers. By knowing about and knowing how to, Rationals increase their capability to predict and to control events.
Knowledge for Rationals is never merely speculative. When NTs ask "why?" they are really asking "how?" or even "how to?" To ask why the sky is blue, why water is wet, why a lever has power, is not to ask for the meaning or significance of these things(something that greatly concerns their abstract cousins, the Idealists). The Rationals' questions are about why things take the form they do, about how things work - and thus about definition and description of structure and functions. As his biographer James Gleick notes, Nobel prize winning physicist Richard Feynman had no use for what he called the philosopher's "soft" questions:
Feynman's reinvention of quantum mechanics did not so much explain how the world was, or why it was that way, as tell how to confront the world. It was not knowledge of or knowledge about. It was knowledge how to... There were other kinds of scientific knowledge, but pragmatic knowledge was Feynman's specialty. For him knowledge did not describe; it acted and accomplished.
Such a quest for pragmatic knowledge arises early for Rationals, as soon as they have the language for inquiring, and seems fueled by insatiable curiosity. But since they are likely to pose their question as a "why?" they will often be unsatisfied with the answer they receive, for they are actually interested in "how?" not "why?" And since they can be insistent in their questioning, they often dismay their parents and teachers, who don't understand what they are really asking. Further, NTs want to be given a rationale in the answers they receive, something most parents and teachers have difficulty giving them.
As Rationals grow up, their pursuit of knowledge leads them to grapple with an ever-widening range of complex problems. Whether the problem is one of engineering machines or of coordinating operations, Rationals consider problems of central importance, and they will persist in their search for models and maps, for paradigms and algorithms, with which to construe and attack these problems. Problem-solving for the Rationals is a twenty-four hour occupation, and if they don't have a problem to work on they will actually set one for themselves as a way of exercising their skills. They are especially drawn to problems that tax their knowledge base, since practice with such problems adds to their knowledge and naturally expands their repertoire of useful models. And the more extreme the Rational style, the more exacting and stringent the demand they place on themselves for acquiring knowledge.
Another way of looking at this is that, in contrast to the social and moral shoulds and oughts of the Guardians and Idealists, the Rationals have a good many should-knows itemized in massive lists inside their heads. And though they can concentrate fully on one thing at a time, they are inclined to accumulate more and more useful knowledge, rarely deleting or forgetting any, and to work continually on solutions to the many problems that intrigue them. Having won a Nobel prize in 1972 for his work on immunology, biologist Gerald Edelman was not at all content to cease his inquiries:
About three years after Edelman won the prize he essentially left the field to pursue even bigger questions - the biggest ones imaginable, concerning the essential mysteries of biology... 'I have a small romantic streak and a very definite belief that's coupled to it, which is that the asking of the questions is the important thing... So if you said to me, "Well, now you're the czar of immunology." Horrors!... None of that really interests me. What interests me is dark areas.'
So intent are Rationals in their pursuit of knowledge, that they might be thought of as the "Knowledge-Seeking Personality." Of all the traits of character that set the Rationals apart - and at the same time group them together - it is their life-long search for knowledge.
Prizing Deference
What is pleasing to one sort of person may not be nearly as pleasing to another. Artisans are quite pleased by generous treatment, Guardians by gratitude, Idealists by being recognized as their unique selves. Certainly Rationals are not indifferent to generosity, gratitude, or recognition, but they are much more pleased when asked by an admirer to comment on something the NT has produced, especially if the request is for an exposition of their rationale. NTs regard such deference as being given not so much to themselves personally as to their productions. After all, when they make something or do something it is usually after long and sometimes obsessive analysis. So even if they are not especially brilliant, it is to be expected that their productions have been carefully devised, with pros and cons considered, and errors of inclusion and exclusion rooted out.
But Rationals cannot ask for deference, any more than Guardians can ask for appreciation, or Idealists for recognition. It must come to them spontaneously, out of interest in their work. And, of course, if in their view they haven't achieved anything they regard as worth noting, then they have no desire to be consulted in the matter. But if they have done something rather well, they are pleased when someone defers to them for definition and explanation of their production, and they can be disappointed if none comes their way, or worse, if someone else is asked to expound on what they've accomplished.
Their problem is that their accomplishment is often so highly technical - designing a computer chip for instance - that most people are only vaguely aware of how difficult it was to make, and so have little or no reason to acknowledge and give credit to its maker. So the vast majority of Rationals who manage to achieve something great are unsung heroes to the public, and therefore heroes only to their family or their colleagues - and perhaps in their own eyes.
Aspiring to be a Wizard
Because Rationals value the strategic intellect so highly, they tend to take as their idol the technological wizard, especially the scientific genius. After all, a wizard is the ultimate scientist, with what seems an almost magical power over nature, and in single-minded pursuit of the four aims of science: the prediction and control of events, and the understanding and explanation of their contexts. Scratch a Rational, find a scientist; but glimpse the figure the Rationals would aspire to become, and behold a wizard. Listen as Merlin, King Arthur's wizard in Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, teaches young Arthur what he considers the most important lesson of all:
Merlin: There's only one thing for all of it. Learn! Learn why the world wags and what wags it.
Arthur: How could I learn if I couldn't think?...
Merlin: Yes... thinking, boy, is something you should definitely get into the habit of making use of as often as possible.
But listen also to Jonas Salk as he explains his view of the magic of biological science:
When I discovered there was moe to learning than the books we were exposed to, and then when I became interested in bringing science into medicine, I recognized that there was a logic to magic. Life is magic; the way nature works seems to be quite magical... I started to try to understand how that system works. I began to tease out the logic of the magic that I was so impressed by