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The Ideal Artisan

So, after knowing an ISTP and dealing with a lot of other craftsmen, I think it is time to write something about the relationship between INTJs and crafting. The title of ISTPs is "the Artisan", but are they best suited for building things? True, a lot of the professionals are from that type, doing a portfolio of skills every day. When Time is money, you need work fast. But for bigger projects, it is very important to look at the big picture, where you will finish if you start there and then it gets difficult. After working with professional crafters for the last months, I can tell you a lot about this difference and my constant fight with these types to think first. As an INTJ, that is the logical way to start something, as usually I didn't do that particular task before. I am going to think ahead and build the project virtually in my head and only after that result is meeting the criteria I have set, I pick up my tools. The next point is being a Perfectionist (Enneagram One) - I envision something which is very hard to do even better and that is my benchmark. And INTJs have the focus and versatility to get to that mark, whatever effort it takes. SPs are adaptable to deal when something is not a standard situation, but are shortsighted in the big picture. SJs may look into that, but are much too rigid and quickly lost if the situation get into unknown territory. This shows also in the usage of tools. If i have a task and the tool is somewhere else in the building, I don't mind a few minutes to get there and do it the best and easiest way possible. An SP is more likely to simply use the tool at hand which is usually slower and the result is less perfect. And because of that constant need to improve, I am often torn between the lack of time for said improvements and the joy of benefication when I did them - which usually asks why I didn't do that sooner. But S Types don't feel this need for improvement, a big difference.

The next point is the aquiring of a lot of skills. As mentioned, the skillset of the typical craftsman is not that broad, mostly what was shown to them once. INTJs have Introverted Intuition on the driver seat and that is a very big difference because that function is constantly learning, building everything into an network of information and applying that knowledge to new situations. And I mentioned the focus, so you have an unstoppable learning machine. I decided to finish that the model locomotive my father started and pulled that project trough in three years, working every day at it even if it was only one hour. He stopped the locomotive project when it got to the boiler, which had to be welded, something he couldn't do. But for me "I cannot" is only true for the moment. I inquired welding, bought a TIG machine, tried with some steel junk and started welding that thing together after I was able to make my welds looking ok. And I do that with every skill I don't have, but need for the project. Only if the inquiry shows that you need very expensive equipment or years to get the necessary skill I call "I cannot" true and outhouse it. The inside of the firebox of said boiler was very narrow and I botched the corners, which leaked somewhat. In TIG welding, when your welds start to bubble because of oxygen exposure there is not much you can do. Because stick welding needs a lot of practise, I went to someone which did that for me.

To answer the initial question: SP types are the crafters for everyday builds. But if you want the best solution possible, fitting into the big picture for something which is not routine and get it done try INTJ. With practical skills, they can be the ideal artisans.

And a final word because of a youtube vlog: "INTJs are very critical and self-opinionated": The counter-question is: Why should someone accept something happily when he wouldn't be if he did it himself? We don't use two sets of values, we treat everyone else like we do it to ourselves. And we cannot help to have these high standards. And these high standards mean that there is no simple way to make it even better. I cannot count how often I disassembled something because I thought of a way to get a better result. And don't wonder about a grumpy INTJ if you hand in your result and after a short view he sees that he has to redo it half the way because it is not like it could be. Like all other types, that is something you cannot clip of the personality. We envision, we think and then we do and if it's not working on the first try, we try as long as it takes to get the envisioned result. If we wouldn't work that way, we wouldn't be INTJs. And if we do something, we have a reason for it. We are not super-humans and if you see something which we have overlooked: You get heard. Either it was a mistake, so we would happily correct it, or it is something where two different opinions are possible, so we are happy to discuss the pros and cons. But don't speak if you want only to critisize without having a better solution: That is not helping, really. But if you can do better as said INTJ and also explain why your solution is better, you are welcome. Do I have a high opinion of myself? Perhaps. But that is not what we want, at least I want to work together with someone having and meeting the same high standards. And sometimes we can get that - for example, I improved the Bigint datatype someone else made for Freebasic, and now I'm getting updates and bugfixes from somebody which is even more thorough than me. I just delayed him a bit because I had to check if his findings were true, but after that I'm glad for the participation.

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