o_19kdfsn0q18e31dfraas1esh19vta.pdf

small groups where he knew everyone: "He was a member of a juvenile club, for the discussion of
different subjects. In this association his opinion had much weight, because he rarely spoke, and
never, unless he had something of importance to say."
He avoided large gatherings, preferring instead a small group of familiar friends: "[H]e did not feel
at home in the ball-room or crowded assembly. He seldom, it might almost be said never, went into
general society, but nothing contributed more to his happiness than a familiar intercourse with his
friends."
Though he had many friends, he mainly hung out with just three or four people: "He had a few
particular friends, in whose society he especially delighted. Thus while he lived at Salem, and also
during his residence in Boston, there were three or four individuals with whom he associated more
than with all his other friends and acquaintances together. They were also the companions of his
daily walks, and at their houses almost exclusively he made his evening visits." He also was not too
open about his personal life: "...his most intimate friends would feel that they themselves knew of
him but the half."
So is Bowditch an introvert or an extravert?
Western INTJs live in a society that values extraverted behaviors; for this reason, introverts end up
getting a course in Extraversion 101 from their earliest years in life. As a result of group
encouragement and self taught "extraversion skills," it is easy and natural for many introverts to
behave like extraverts (at least until their batteries run out). This is why it is important to look at
introversion in a broad variety contexts—friendships, preferences for solitude, lifestyle—and not
just rely on indicators like "quietness" or "softspokenness." Taking all the evidence into account, I
think that Bowditch was most likely an introvert. A well socialized one, to be sure, and I suspect he
leaned towards the extraverted end of the spectrum, but an introvert nonetheless.
A final thought: One of the things that people will often try to do when they learn about type is to
conform themselves to their type description in a sort of self-Pygmalion project, quashing the parts
of themselves that do not exactly fit into their type description. In effect, they endeavor to become
a stereotypical version of whatever type they believe they are. (I fear that such behaviors can give
amusement to their acquaintances.) But as Bowditch demonstrates, there can be a great deal of
diversity encompassed within the four letters of a type.
Discussion
Nathaniel Bowditch is probably the most healthy, well-rounded INTJ described in this book. This
fact becomes even more remarkable when one considers just how grim his life was. He was born
into poverty, and his father took to drinking to escape the misery thereof. His mother died when he
was ten. His numerous brothers and sisters subsequently died also, and he outlived the last of them
by almost thirty years. (William in died 1776, Elizabeth died in 1791, Samuel died in 1794,
Habakkuk died in ~1799, Mary died in 1808, and Lois died in 1809.) As a child he had no winter
clothes to wear, and he was occasionally forced to dine upon nothing but mealy potatoes. Bowditch
attended a very badly run school from age 7 to 10, then was forced to quit so that he could help his
father support the family. After this he received no more formal education of any kind. Then his
first wife died within a year of their wedding. In his later years, he started having fainting fits, and
then finally he died of stomach cancer after a prolonged, agonizing period of starvation.
Despite all this, Bowditch's life ended up great. Just great. He was an incredibly happy, cheerful
guy. But first some background information is in order.
Bowditch lived in the coastal town of Salem, Massachusetts in 1773; he was the fourth of the seven