MATRIZ DE CONSISTENCIA DE LA INVESTIGACIÓN

I have always believed, somewhere in the back of my head, that it would be nice to live in prison. Of course I know that prison is not nice at all, but the thought persists nonetheless.

In the book, “The Loner’s Manifesto,” author Anneli Rufus (INT) notes, “When parents on TV shows punished their kids by ordering them to go to their rooms, I was confused. I loved my room. Being there behind a locked door was a treat. To me a punishment was being ordered to play Yahtzee with my cousin Louis. I puzzled over why solitary confinement was considered the worst punishment in jails.”

Think of it--no responsibilities, free room and board. You can do anything you please with your abundant spare time: read, write, create art, design things, study. No one to bother you or interrupt your work.

I suspect that prison does not present as much suffering for INTPs as it does for other types. Of course, it depends on the conditions in the particular prison. In the table below I have made an attempt at guessing the INTP response to various hardships of the prison life.

Hardships of Prison and INTP Responses

Solitary Confinement

• As introverts, INTPs gain energy from being alone. They enjoy a quiet and undisturbed

environment because it allows them to concentrate on their work better. Indeed, it almost seems that the abstracted, mind-oriented INTs prefer solitude more than most other introverts.

Nothing to do; boredom

• INTPs have a rich thought life; this compensates somewhat for lack of external activities.

Lack of external stimulation; sensory deprivation

• INTPs are often totally oblivious to their surroundings because they are so lost in thought.

They don’t notice or need the outside world as much as other types.

No luxuries and few necessities

• INTPs can be content leading a simple existence; they are not worldly.

Deprivation of family and friends

• Depends upon the quality of the relationships.

Deprivation of opposite sex

• INTPs tend to have a lot of marital problems.

Lack of privacy

• INTPs would find it more stressful than for most other types.

Hypercontrolled, structured environment

• INTPs would dislike it the most of all types.

Harrelson - A Unique Perspective on Life in Prison

A prisoner named Harrelson offered some commentary on solitary confinement in a supermax prison.

It is likely that Harrelson was an INTJ rather than an INTP, but there is so much overlap between the two types that most of his observations probably apply equally well to both.

Supermax is supposed to be “a clean version of hell.” The most secure prisons in the world are characterized by the following conditions:

• Prisoners are kept in solitary confinement for decades.

• Prisoners are allowed out of their cells for one hour per day, a solitary exercise period in a small enclosure.

• The cell is made of poured concrete and steel and all furniture is immovable.

• Meals are taken in the cell, alone.

• Prisoners are under constant electronic surveillance.

There are legal questions of whether or not keeping a human being alone for decades constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. I think it does--for most people. But obviously not for Harrelson the INTJ.

He enjoyed his almost-soundproof cell. In a letter to his lawyer, he wrote, “Part of the plan here is sensory deprivation. It probably works on some of the inmates. I’m pretty sure it hardly bothers me at all.” At another point, he added, “There is much to be said for these conditions. Again, the silence is wonderful. And living alone is great...nobody bothers me. ... And even though I’m an avowed curmudgeon, I don’t object to my own company very often. Being alone has some advantages.”

It should also be noted that Harrelson spoke to his fellow humans (the guards) only three times a week, and this to request basic supplies. So essentially, he was living with almost zero human interaction.

And he enjoyed it. A very clear introvert.

However, he did like listening to the radio on earphones during most of his waking hours. He preferred the radio over the TV because he could read and write while it was on, whereas the TV disrupted his thoughts.

Some inmates pace their cells ceaselessly like caged tigers. Harrelson had no such urge:

“The actual floor space is some 6 1/2’ x 9’ should the urge to walk strike me. That doesn’t happen very often. I’m almost always in the prone position, holding down the mattress...or sitting on it leaning back against the wall, my writing equipment resting on my knees, penning my thoughts.”

He also preferred to skip the one hour exercise period he was entitled to each day, noting a.) that it was too much hassle to go through the cell entrance/exit procedure, and b.) that there was nothing he could do in the exercise yard that he couldn’t do in his cell. Sedentary pastimes are typical of the mind-oriented Rationals, and INTPs are most mind-mind-oriented of all the NTs.

Further evidence for NT is provided by Harrelson’s choice of television programming. His top four favorite TV shows included two science programs, Nova and Nature. (The other two favorites being Letterman and Frontline.)

Harrelson kept himself busy with reading and writing: “Everyone here must find a way to fill the hours of each day. To me it is essential I stay busy...every waking moment is filled with something...reading, writing or doing chores (I’m a clean freak).”

Given the comment about being a clean freak, we can assume that Harrelson is probably a Judger. The fact that he kept constantly busy is important too; Keirsey (1998a) has noted that the Rationals must work and that idleness would be the “worst sort of punishment.” Indeed, supermax seems to have failed quite badly in regard to the punishment of idleness. Harrelson went on to say, “I s’pose you might think boredom is a problem for me. Not true. There are not enough hours in a day for my needs as a matter of fact.”

Some people go insane in solitary confinement. Harrelson noted objectively, “I still have a relatively intact mind.” It is significant that the mind was highly valued by this INTJ. When counting his many

blessings compared to others, he wrote, “And perhaps most important of all, I have my mind.” For Rationals, the mind is the most prized faculty and it provides much richness in their lives, especially in supermax, when it is pretty much all they have.

In Harrelson’s prison each prisoner can control his cell’s lighting and thus keep whatever hours they please. (This is as opposed to other prisons, where showers and lights out occur at regularly scheduled intervals.) Harrelson liked the “independence” of the supermax way of life, and took advantage of it to stay up into the wee hours of the morning. In this regard, it seems that supermax may be preferable to regular prison for INTs.

In terms of family situation, Harrelson had family and friends outside of prison whom he wrote to daily. He pitied the other prisoners who had no one outside, and his correspondence with his family seemed to be very important to him.

As regards the issue of control, he basically decided that he couldn’t do anything about it, and thus there was no point in fussing over it. He didn’t fight the system; rather, he was a good prisoner, and thus earned many extra privileges.

So what can we make of all this? First of all, it seems obvious that supermax was not designed with INTs in mind. In fact, supermax seems to be more like “a clean version of heaven” for introverted Rationals.

Don’t ever wind up in prison, but if you do, maybe the high security lockdown cells are the way to go.

But only if you have get access to paper, pencil, and books.

INTP Complaints About Prison

Of all the types of deprivation that a person undergoes in prison--deprivation of liberty, friends, family, luxuries, the opposite sex, safety--one type of deprivation that is never brought up is technological deprivation. Albert Speer noted in his autobiography, “In Spandau prison I had to live like a man of the nineteenth century without a radio, telephone set, telephone, or car and was not even allowed to work the light switch myself. After ten years of imprisonment I experienced a...rapture when I was allowed to run an electric floor polisher.” This may very well be a uniquely Rational phenomenon.

When INTPs are kept in captivity, they turn to writing, which is one of their favorite leisure pastimes.

Speer kept himself entertained by secretly writing two thousand pages of toilet paper notes that he turned into a ~600 page autobiography when he was released. He was allowed to read anything he wanted save for political texts; he chose to read about psychology, metaphysics and philosophy. A prison psychologist also decided to record Speer’s statement that, “My fantasies run into musical channels. I can entertain myself here in my cell for hours by running over classical musical

compositions in my mind.” I’m not sure why the psychologist recorded that particular detail, but it is interesting.

Another example is Thomas Jefferson, though he wasn’t imprisoned so much as debilitated: “He himself met with an accident about this time—a fall from his horse—which, though not attended with serious consequences, kept him, for two or three weeks, more closely confined in the house than it was his habit to be. It was during this confinement that he wrote the principal part of his ‘Notes on

Virginia.’”

Jefferson would also voluntarily shut up himself up in a local monastery in pure silence to work--he would stay there for up to a week.

Do INTPs Go To Jail a Lot?

A study of introverted veterans found that INTPs and ISTPs tended to commit non-substance abuse-related crimes more often than other introverted types.¹⁷⁶ However, none of the various studies of prison populations have turned up the expected overrepresentation of INTPs, though ISTPs were often overrepresented.¹⁷⁷ Considering that INTPs are one of the least rule conscious types, this is a bit surprising. Do INTPs tend to commit different kinds of crimes than ISTPs, leading to them being placed in different types of prisons? Do stereotypes of criminal behavior tend to exclude INTPs, thus deflecting investigator suspicion from them? Are INTPs merely better at evading capture, or

impressing juries? Or do INTPs actually commit fewer crimes than normal?

Escape

"Oh! if you knew," said she, "how many times Aramis has got out of prison!"

So said the Duchess de Chevreuse, speaking of the third Musketeer of the famous trio, the INTP Aramis.

Are INTPs good at escaping?

We really have no idea. But it’s fun to speculate, and we can certainly imagine some advantages they might have in making certain kinds of attempts.

The unconventional, imaginative INTP mindset and knack for questioning basic assumptions may serve an INTP well in an escape scenario. Let’s read an excerpt from the Count of Monte Cristo about a probable INTP prisoner, then we’ll discuss some of the implications.

The Count of Monte Cristo—A Brief Portrait of an INTP in Prison

(The governor of a French prison and a state inspector are touring the prison to see how the captives are faring.)

"Will you see the register at once," asked the governor, "or proceed to the other cell?"

"Let us visit them all," said the inspector. "If I once went up those stairs. I should never have the courage to come down again."

"Ah, this one [the INTP prisoner] is not like the other, and his madness is less affecting than this one's display of reason."

...

"How curious!—what is his name?"

"The Abbe Faria."

"No. 27," said the inspector.

"It is here; unlock the door, Antoine." The turnkey obeyed, and the inspector gazed curiously into the chamber of the "mad abbe."

In the centre of the cell, in a circle traced with a fragment of plaster detached from the wall, sat a man whose tattered garments scarcely covered him. He was drawing in this circle geometrical lines, and seemed as much absorbed in his problem as Archimedes was when the soldier of Marcellus slew him.

He did not move at the sound of the door, and continued his calculations until the flash of the torches lighted up with an unwonted glare the sombre walls of his cell; then, raising his head, he perceived with astonishment the number of persons present. He hastily seized the coverlet of his bed, and wrapped it round him.

176 Otis & Louks, 1997 177 Mitchell, 2009

"What is it you want?" said the inspector.

"I, monsieur," replied the abbe with an air of surprise—"I want nothing."

"You do not understand," continued the inspector; "I am sent here by government to visit the prison, and hear the requests of the prisoners."

"Oh, that is different," cried the abbe; "and we shall understand each other, I hope."

...

"Monsieur," continued the prisoner, "I am the Abbe Faria, born at Rome. I was for twenty years Cardinal Spada's secretary;

I was arrested, why, I know not, toward the beginning of the year 1811; since then I have demanded my liberty from the Italian and French government."

“...[I am come] to inquire if you have anything to ask or to complain of."

"The food is the same as in other prisons,—that is, very bad; the lodging is very unhealthful, but, on the whole, passable for a dungeon; but it is not that which I wish to speak of, but a secret I have to reveal of the greatest importance."

"We are coming to the point," whispered the governor.

"It is for that reason I am delighted to see you," continued the abbe, "although you have disturbed me in a most important calculation, which, if it succeeded, would possibly change Newton's system. Could you allow me a few words in private."

So here we see a portrait of an INTP in prison: So completely lost in thought as to be unaware of his squalid environment, and busily devising a new system of mathematics. This INTP was apparently unbothered by his solitary confinement: when Edmond Dantes, the protagonist of The Count of Monte Cristo, accidentally bumped into the Abbe during the latter’s tunneling activities, the Abbe’s first thought was to seal up the tunnel and have no further contact with Dantes. However, Dantes was able to change his mind.

The Abbe also furnishes us with a detailed example of how creative engineering, applied science, and strategic planning can be used for escape (read on).

The Count of Monte Cristo—An INTP Escape Plan

(Here Edmond Dantes meets the Abbe Faria for the first time. The Abbe had just discovered that the calculations for his escape tunnel were slightly off. This excerpt is some seven pages long; feel free to skim.)

The stranger [the abbe] might have numbered sixty or sixty-five years; but a certain briskness and appearance of vigor in his movements made it probable that he was aged more from captivity than the course of time. He [the abbe] received the enthusiastic greeting of his young acquaintance [Dantes] with evident pleasure, as though his chilled affections were rekindled and invigorated by his contact with one so warm and ardent. He thanked him with grateful cordiality for his kindly welcome, although he must at that moment have been suffering bitterly to find another dungeon where he had fondly reckoned on discovering a means of regaining his liberty.

"Let us first see," said he, "whether it is possible to remove the traces of my entrance here—our future tranquillity depends upon our jailers being entirely ignorant of it." Advancing to the opening, he stooped and raised the stone easily in spite of its weight; then, fitting it into its place, he said,—

"You removed this stone very carelessly; but I suppose you had no tools to aid you."

"Why," exclaimed Dantes, with astonishment, "do you possess any?"

"I made myself some; and with the exception of a file, I have all that are necessary,—a chisel, pincers, and lever."

"Oh, how I should like to see these products of your industry and patience."

"Well, in the first place, here is my chisel." So saying, he displayed a sharp strong blade, with a handle made of beechwood.

"And with what did you contrive to make that?" inquired Dantes.

"With one of the clamps of my bedstead; and this very tool has sufficed me to hollow out the road by which I came hither, a distance of about fifty feet."

"Fifty feet!" responded Dantes, almost terrified.

"Do not speak so loud, young man—don't speak so loud. It frequently occurs in a state prison like this, that persons are stationed outside the doors of the cells purposely to overhear the conversation of the prisoners."

"But they believe I am shut up alone here."

"That makes no difference."

"And you say that you dug your way a distance of fifty feet to get here?"

"I do; that is about the distance that separates your chamber from mine; only, unfortunately, I did not curve aright; for want of the necessary geometrical instruments to calculate my scale of proportion, instead of taking an ellipsis of forty feet, I made it fifty. I expected, as I told you, to reach the outer wall, pierce through it, and throw myself into the sea; I have, however, kept along thecorridor on which your chamber opens, instead of going beneath it. My labor is all in vain, for I find that the corridor looks into a courtyard filled with soldiers."

"That's true," said Dantes; "but the corridor you speak of only bounds one side of my cell; there are three others—do you know anything of their situation?"

"This one is built against the solid rock, and it would take ten experienced miners, duly furnished with the requisite tools, as many years to perforate it. This adjoins the lower part of the governor's apartments, and were we to work our way through, we should only get into some lock-up cellars, where we must necessarily be recaptured. The fourth and last side of your cell faces on—faces on—stop a minute, now where does it face?"

[The abbe climbs on Dantes' back to look out the window of the other man's cell.]

The elder prisoner pondered the matter. "Yes," said he at length, "it is so. This side of your chamber looks out upon a kind of open gallery, where patrols are continually passing, and sentries keep watch day and night."

"Are you quite sure of that?"

"Certain. I saw the soldier's shape and the top of his musket; that made me draw in my head so quickly, for I was fearful he might also see me."

"Well?" inquired Dantes.

"You perceive then the utter impossibility of escaping through your dungeon?"

"You perceive then the utter impossibility of escaping through your dungeon?"