INTP 5w6 Characters

Sheldon is highly analytical, always asking questions, and so logical he doesn’t understand why other people get emotional about foolish things. His interests are all highly abstract and mathematical—astrophysics for example, and he intends to earn a living doing them one day. He easily memorizes and learns equations and thinks he has solved those high above his grade level, while in the narration reminding the audience of his superior intellect. Sheldon instantly picks out the flaws and inconsistent thinking in the pastor’s sermons and constantly raises his hand to ask questions that irritate the entire congregation. He becomes wrathful when his superior science project did not win over a flashier one at the school science fair, and displays a low Fe meltdown (throwing a tantrum in public). Sheldon showcases Ne in his many interests, his abstract understanding of concepts, that most of his attention goes to fields of scientific study without firm conclusions, and his open-mindedness when exploring other belief systems, approaches, and thought processes. But he also shows Si in that he hates change, he is quite picky about how things are done, he is fanatical about cleanliness and keeping his possessions in order, and he is meticulous in how he collects information and shares it. He thinks if he copies what has worked for others (out of How to Win Friends and Influence People), he will achieve great success. He has many subsequent low Fe signifiers throughout the series, such as when he learns it makes his mother sad that he has no friends, he tries to go out and make some just to adapt more to a lifestyle that would make her happy. It seems important to her that he listen about her faith, so he does so to please her, then asks her permission to read about other religions and winds up making up one of his own based around math (Ne).

Enneagram: 5w6

From the start, Sheldon thinks he’s smarter than everyone else, and is quite proud of that fact, while also denouncing other people’s intelligence. His insistence upon how right he is alienates other kids, but makes him a good student (who has jumped a couple of grades, and plans to start college early). Sheldon collects all kinds of useful information, but most of it pertains to his highly specific interests (abstract fields, mathematics, space, etc). He is also highly fearful, withdrawn, and seems to have no interest in making friends at first (when he does decide to make them, he checks out a book from the library and tries to follow its advice, with varying degrees of success). His 6 wing shows in how clingy he can be to a handful of people when he feels stressed, even though ultimately he pulls away from them to self-isolate (such as in the episode where he fears germs, so he turns the garage into a germ-free zone and won’t even let his mother cross through the plastic; his grandmother has to coax him out with cookies). He also admits that he’s terrified of … well, just about everything that exists, if you want to get specific about it.