WHAT’S UNDER THE HOOD
It’s been a personal theme of mine to compare personality types to a fictional car. Lucky for me, the Type Five Personality already has one – and it’s quite awesome!
And let me say it’s my favorite car in the whole world!
The DeLorean Time Machine! It’s not what’s under the hood that blows your socks off, it’s what happens when it hits 88 mph!
A type five’s car is full of calculations, theories, and in all ways possible -genius. In this case, the Delorean Time Machine can travel back to 1985! But can you take it to the grocery store for milk? Probably not. It’s not practical, it runs on plutonium. And therein lies your Type Five.
Genius, but many times, impractical.
WHAT’S THEIR AGENDA?
To gather enough information.
THEIR IMMEDIATE DEFENSE
Fives when triggered, immediately begin to overthink and over-analyze a situation, bypassing commonsense, and then easily getting trapped in a world of paranoia where they can’t trust society.
WHAT ARE THEIR GREATEST FEARS?
Intellects have a fear of not knowing enough about the world – to interact with it. For many of us, walking throughout our community would not require research. Interaction for the rest of us is enjoyable, a way to relieve stress rather than to create it. But for the Type Five, they would be more at ease researching rocket science, than having a conversation with a neighbor about sports.
This fear of interaction, ironically, drives their compulsive habits to study and observe. At first, they study to interact – then try to interact – fail at interacting (at least in their mind) – then retreat back into their lab to study more.
This usually repeats itself over and over again until the intellect decides it’s easier to live inside their bubble, their safe space, next to loyalists, than interacting with the world who can challenge them
REAL WORLD EXAMPLES
Type Fives are pretty easy to figure out. They are officially called “The Intellectuals” or “Investigators” by the Enneagram Institute, but they are better known as “nerds.” And when I say nerds, I don’t mean the “hipster nerd” who trots around in his trending Star Wars shirt.
I’m talking about real nerds.
The ones we knew back in high school who had more of a relationship with the library than people. The geniuses in school that filled their report card with A’s, but didn’t know how to say a single word to a girl, or even a guy.
Ray and Egon were your typical Type Five Intellectuals in the movies,.
Your modern-day Type Five tends to be your college professor who loves to live in the bubble of the University, never stepping a foot in the real world, yet lecturing about it for a living. Yes – the professor who is admired by his students, and then considered a fool by those in the real world, hence the term “Absent-Minded Professor.”
Albert Einstein is probably one of the best-known Type Five Intellects. He developed the Theory of Relativity, possessed an IQ very few could ever dream of, and won the Nobel Prize. Yeah, and he did that E=MC2 thing, which he didn’t use to invent anything. But did you know, that as smart as Einstein was, he couldn’t make it out there in the real world? He was forever an academic. He didn’t invent anything other than formulas. As smart as Einstein was, all he was in the private sector, was a patent clerk, and not a good one from what I’ve read. He never ran a business, not even a members-only club for the scientific elite. He didn’t even know how to change the oil out of his car, or how to cook a single good meal. Like many Fives, he was not well rounded. Albert Einstein succeeded only in his academic terrarium, getting paid to theorize.
Stephen Hawking is maybe as popular as Albert Einstein, and maybe just as intelligent. Hawking was known for his theory on black holes and parallel universes. What really set him aside from other scientists, ironically, was his disability. He was a genius stuck inside a body that was failing
There is no doubt that Hawking was a genius. But like most Type Fives, his genius was limited to theoretical scientific universes.
When asked, “What would most likely destroy humanity?”
He answered, “Capitalism, Climate Change, and Donald Trump.”
His answer wasn’t genius in any sense, or even original. It just was just an echo of what was heard through the hallways of every University and liberal circle.
NIKOLA TESLA IS NOT A TYPE FIVE
Nikola Tesla was more likely a Type Three Achiever than a Type Five Intellect.
Just because someone is a genius, doesn’t mean they are a Type Five.
And just because someone is dumb as rocks, doesn’t mean they are NOT a Type Five. There are stupid Type Five Intellects out there. Maybe not many but there are.
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Tesla was your real-life Tony Stark. He invented solutions to modern-day problems and didn’t sit in a room, theorizing. Unlike most Fives, he was a doer.
Think of it this way – Tesla invented AC current. Einstein explained it.
Tesla was sharply dressed, combed his hair perfectly, lived in fancy hotels, and loved the public eye – while Einstein didn’t care about his image and chose to live away from society.
WHAT IS THEIR SPIRIT ANIMAL?
The owl.
He’s perched up high in the tree away from people, observing everyone and learning from a safe distance. That’s your Type Five.
FICTIONAL CHARACTERS
When we imagine the role of Intellects we automatically think of scientists. I really think it’s because Einstein’s name is associated with word genius. But most scientists that are featured in comics and movies are not Type Fives. Most are Type Seven Enthusiast or Type Threes Achievers such as Tony Stark.
You haven’t learned about Type Seven’s yet, but to sum them up in a nutshell, think of them as your stereotypical adrenaline junky who can’t stay still. They are either skydiving, snowboarding, traveling, trying anything for the thrill. The scientist in Independence Day, Dr. Braksih Okun, was a Type Seven. Willing to try anything.
Doc Bown, in Back To The Future also had a bit of Type Seven in him for comic relief, but ultimately, Type Five was his base.
Lex Luthor, in the classic movies, comics,
Lex Luthor in the recent Superman Movies is a Type Five. He’s socially handicapped and caught up into paranoias.
Can you tell me why the director chose to rewrite Superman’s greatest villain into a nerd? It’s was a stupid idea, and remains one of the reasons why that flick failed. And it’s one of the reasons why fans hated the new Superman Movie so much.
Lex Luthor should have been written as Type Three and maybe Dwayne Johnson could be cast to play that role. I’m just saying.
Emmet Brown is well-written Type Five. He’s comedically socially awkward and disconnected from reality. Instead of being trapped in a university, he’s stuck in his house, spending every cent of his families wealth on useless inventions. He can create a time machine but can’t talk to girl – oh, that’s pretty typical.
Of course, there’s The Big Bang Theory, where every character was a Type Five. For the record, this personality is exaggerated in movies and are usually not this absurd in real life. With that being said, typically – Type Five Intellects can justify almost everything through logical arguments, very convincingly, even if those arguments are out-of-this-world-crazy, and that’s where we get the comedy for The Big Bang Theory.
THEIR FUNCTION IN LIFE
Imagine a world without science. Imagine a world without geniuses. Yeah, that world would suck. It’s pretty easy to realize why Type Fives are important to society. Even though they may struggle to interact with the world, they sure can help create it.
AVERAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TYPE FIVE INTELLECT
Your average five will have two major characteristics: a narrow spectrum of knowledge, and a degree of social awkwardness.
NARROW SPECTRUM
Fives are usually INSANELY good at a few things and horrible at everything else. For example, you may know of a Type Five that has a knack for playing the piano. They can listen to a tune, pick it up, and play it instantly. They can also write beautiful melodies, create masterpieces that no one had ever heard of.
But don’t ask them to pick up the milk at the grocery store. Fives are not good, or even average at completing the common everyday task that most of us “non-geniuses” take for granted.
And this is not an Unhealthy version of the Five. This your average five. They are off-the-chart geniuses in one or two things, surprisingly horrible at everything else.
A DEGREE OF SOCIAL AWKWARDNESS
Type Fives are your pure introverts. Many don’t desire interacting with the public and are 100% comfortable separating themselves from society. They are kinda like your pet fish who loves to live in his aquarium.
Venturing out of their safe place is a chore for the Intellect, and for these personalities, it may require thinking, analyzing, and more thinking, and then more analyzing, before finally taking that big step out of their safe space.
Their language can sometimes be quite interesting as well, as they tend to use big words, but communicate very little. They are all vocabulary – but in the end, they really are not saying much.
For example, a Type Five could say, “I’m experiencing a harmonious exuberance of a unique moment in time that is unequal to others.”
A normal person would say, “Today, was awesome! I met a chic, surfed , ate a steak.”
That normal person said so much more with less.
TRIGGERS OF THE TYPE FIVE
Nothing triggers Type Fives more than personalities who mimic the character traits of an Unhealthy Type Seven Enthusiast. Unhealthy Sevens have no direction in life, can act as though they have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder), and can be very spontaneous for no reason.
Imagine a professor, who is a Type Five, who has a student who just wants to surf, skateboard, and skydive, rather than sit in class and listen. Think that kid will get under his skin? You betchya.
And like all personalities, the Type Fives becomes who they despise the most. Fives can get trapped in their lab, creating experiments, test, and research….
THE UNHEALTHY TYPE FIVE
They are smart – a little too smart for their own good. They’re so brilliant that they have passed the cut-off point of genius, and gone full circle back to stupid. That about sums up an Unhealthy Five. A genius who uses their brain to validate their fears, which in the end, traps them in a deep well of paranoia.
The video I linked to above, is a good example of a Professor who used his intelligence to validate his racism, without realizing that he himself is a racist. This is typical of your Unhealthy or triggered Type Five.
The professor eloquently defends his position, talking in circles, to advance his narrative that President Trump supporters are racist and cannot be trusted, and that Caucasians as a whole don’t make great friends.
Of course, he’s wrong – 100% wrong. Yet if you follow his complicated reasoning, you can see how he got there.
When Fives are triggered, their talking points can look like a complicated constellation, random dots that form an image only they can see. This can lead to “Intellects” from not knowing right from wrong, overthinking and creating complicated answers to easy questions, and coming up with unreasonable answers that tread far from the truth.
Be very careful with Unhealthy Fives because they can be excellent cons. In all honesty, they don’t intend to con. They do believe what they believe. But in the end, if you follow them down the rabbit hole, you may find it difficult to come out because they can validate their suspicions quite well. You’ll get angry, you’ll get paranoid, and you’ll think you have every reason in the world to do so.
GROWTH FOR A TYPE FIVE INTELLECT
For a Type Five to grow, they must embrace their Six Wing and take on the healthy characteristics of a Type Eight. Healthy Type Sixes do not live in an one-sided echo chamber and tend to be very open to seeking new friendships and groups to grow their character. Healthy Type Eights are driven by reality.
In other words, in order for Fives to grow, they need to get out and live in the real world and to apply themselves with confidence.
THE “IDEAL” HEALTHY TYPE FIVE
The Healthy Intellect is fully aware of his tendencies to overthink simple solutions. They trust their eyes, verify it with their intellect, rather than creating complicated internal equations to fuel their fears and agenda.
They also have a very healthy relationship with society, interacting socially at parties, or with random people on the street, resisting the fear to retreat into their cave to theorize.
Lastly, their knowledge is well rounded, especially when it comes to what is considered commonsense.
SPOTTING A FIVE
Spotting a Five can be quite difficult if they are healthy, confident, and sociable. If they are mentally healthy, you won’t really know who they are unless you interview them to dig deep into their inner workings. You can probably say this about all personality types.
It’s when they show their compulsiveness do their traits shine through. And for a Type Five, it can be quite easy to spot. If they are shy, observant from a distance, unable to look at you in the eye when talking, there is a chance they could be a five.
Their largest “tell” would be their genius. Not all Type Fives are smart, but the far majority are extremely intelligent, extremely observant, like the owl.
HOW THEY WORK
Fives don’t work well in groups. If you find a Five who works well in a group setting, that’s really rare. But most would be intimidated by others and may feel threatened by the stronger personalities in the group.
Fives are not natural leaders. Just because they are the genius in the room, doesn’t exactly mean they can lead. They’d rather work with a leader who can communicate clearly what they want or need, and then be trusted to accomplish that task on their own.
MISCHARACTERIZATION
Fives are very unique personalities with very specific traits, but most often, they cab get mischaracterized with Type Fours. Just remember that Fives are not looking for an identity, while Fours are.
- When it comes to their genius
- Type Fours – are usually artistic geniuses
- Type Fives – are usually academic geniuses
- Where do they operate from?
- Type Fours – operate from the heart. They are 100% feelers
- Type Fives – operate from the head. They are 100% intellects.
- Why they retreat from the public
- Type Fours – will retreat to find themselves, to find an identity, then re-emerge to society with an image that rebels against the norms. And they will try on multiple identities throughout their life until they find themselves.
- Type Fives – will retreat and bury themselves into a narrow spectrum of knowledge where they are comfortable. and have no willingness to venture outside unless they have to. Unlike Fours who have a need to bond with the society, a Type Fives are content staying indoors.
Next personality up, The Type Six “Loyalist”
Steve Young
