Inventor (Role Variant)

The Inventor Rational is one of the 16 role variants of the Keirsey Temperament Sorter, a self-assessed personality questionnaire designed to help people better understand themselves. David Keirsey originally described the Inventor role variant; however, a brief summary of the personality types described by Isabel Myers contributed to its development. Inventors correlate primarily with the Myers-Briggs type ENTP.

Inventors tend to be expressive, introspective, tough-minded, and probing. They can become highly skilled in functional engineering and invention. Of all the role variants, Inventors are the most resistant to doing things a certain way just because it was done that way in the past. Designing and improving mechanisms and products is their constant goal. Intensely curious, Inventors have an entrepreneurial character and are always looking for new projects to work on.

Though full of ideas, Inventors are primarily interested in those that can be put into action or used to make products. They see product design as a means to an end, the goal being a marketable prototype. When beginning a project, they rarely start with a blueprint. They are confident in their ability to find effective and pragmatic solutions during the design process.

Inventors are often nonconformists and can have a circle of friends who are interested in their ideas or activities. Inventors are generally laid back, nonjudgmental, and good conversationalists. They are often able to explain their own complicated ideas, as well as comprehend the complex ideas of others. In arguments they may use debating skills, often to the significant disadvantage of their opponent. This strategy can backfire, however, by alienating those seeking a cooperative relationship rather than a combative one—a typical source of conflict between Rationals and Idealists, for example.

Inventors are generally ingenious individuals capable of rising to meet the demands of challenging situations. In work, they are usually good leaders of pilot products that test their abilities. Inventors are constantly looking for new ways to do things and usually have the social skills and drive to implement their ideas.

According to Keirsey, Inventors are often perceived as the most outwardly arrogant of all types.

For illustrative purposes, Keirsey and his son, David M. Keirsey, have identified well-known individuals whose behavior is consistent with a specific type. Unless otherwise noted, the categorization of the individuals below, whether living or dead, as Inventors is a matter of expert opinion rather than the result of the named individual taking the personality type inventory.

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