Busting ENTP Myths
A myth busting investigation to reveal how the ENTP + Enneagram type combinations are best explained by Big Five traits. Featuring Adam Savage, Steve Wozniak, and the real science of personality.
Busting the Enneagram myth
In the world of personality psychology, there's a persistent myth that ENTPs come in distinct flavors: the chaotic, thrill-seeking 7s, the harmonious, peace-loving 9s, and the ambitious and hard working 3s. This distinction, borrowed from the Enneagram system, has become so entrenched that it's treated as gospel truth. But what if this framework is built on shaky ground?
Today, we're going full MythBusters on this personality psychology myth. We'll examine the evidence, test the hypothesis, and reveal the truth about what really makes ENTPs so very unique.
Our Test Subjects
Let's start by examining some of the most famous ENTPs and their actual personality profiles. We'll dive into their Big Five traits to see what wisdom the enneagram holds while under scrutiny.
The “ENTP 7” Types
These are the ENTPs who are often labeled as “7s” - energetic, enthusiastic, and always seeking new experiences.
Richard Feynman
A playful physicist with a passion for uncovering beauty in the universe , and explaining it to the world.
"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned."
Adam Savage
MythBusters co-host and maker extraordinaire. He is inventive, expressive, and empathic with a whirlwind of enthusiasm and precision.
"I reject your reality and substitute my own."
The “ENTP 9” Types
These are the ENTPs who are often labeled as “9s” - collaborative, harmonious, and focused on maintaining peace.
Steve Wozniak
Apple co-founder and engineering genius. He is imaginative, generous, and serene with an off-the-charts technical creativity expressed through elegant circuitry rather than canvas.
"Never trust a computer you can't throw out a window."
Hank Green
A science communicator and educator who makes complex ideas accessible with infectious enthusiasm and genuine care for learners.
"The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you, but that doesn't mean we can't try to understand it."
The “ENTP 3” Types
These are the ENTPs who are often labeled as “3s” - ambitious, achievement-oriented, and focused on turning their innovative ideas into systematic reality.
Sam Altman
Futurist founder and AGI steward. Altman sees time like a blueprint , bending investment, talent, and vision into long arcs of transformation.
"The future belongs to the weird, the obsessed, and the aligned."
Michio Kaku
Theoretical physicist and futurist who brings the cosmos within reach. Kaku blends scientific rigor with visionary wonder, translating string theory into stardust and hope.
"The impossible is often merely the unimagined."
Can you see the pattern? All of these individuals have high Openness to Experience (the core ENTP trait), but they differ in their secondary highest trait. The “7s” have high Extraversion, the “9s” have high Agreeableness, and the “3s” have high Conscientiousness.
The New Framework
So what's the real truth about ENTP differences? It's not about Enneagram types or being “more” or “less” ENTP. It's about updating our knowledge with modern psychological research via the Big Five.
The Big Five Truth
ENTPs are defined by high Openness to Experience, but their secondary trait shapes how they express this openness:
The Nova
The Nova is a walking spark, curious, magnetic, and impossible to pin down. They chase ideas the way others chase comfort: with energy, wonder, and open arms. They're not just imaginative, they bring others along for the ride, lighting up rooms, creating stories, and always staying one step ahead of the ordinary. Novas live on the edge of insight and adventure. They're here to find what's next, and bring it back for the rest of us.
The Mentor
The Mentor combines expansive thinking with a deep desire to uplift others. They're imaginative, warm, and compassionate, always ready to guide, teach, and inspire. They're not just curious about the world, they're devoted to helping others understand it too. Their ideas are kindled by empathy and driven by a desire to make wisdom accessible. The Mentor creates safe space for growth. They teach, nurture, and imagine a better future, and invite others to help build it.
The Innovator
The Innovator, a rare fusion of expansive creativity and disciplined execution. Where most people lean toward either wild ideas or structured implementation, Innovators do both. Their mind teems with possibilities, but unlike the Dreamers, they have the focus, patience, and follow-through to bring ideas to life. The Innovator builds tomorrow's world, with purpose, precision, and vision.
This framework is more accurate, more useful, and more variable and predictive than the Enneagram-based distinction. It explains the real differences between people while respecting the core trait that makes them ENTPs.
The myth has been busted. There's no such thing as ENTP 7 vs ENTP 9. There's only Openness + [Your Secondary Trait], and understanding that secondary trait is the key to understanding your unique ENTP style.
Busting the 'Debater' Myth
While we're at it, let's bust another persistent myth: that ENTPs are inherently argumentative jerks. In 16 Personalities, the ENTP is described as the Debater (and they are not the only ones describing ENTPs as such), an activity the basically defines low Agreeableness. Is this really true? If an ENTP is not a debater, does that mean they are not an ENTP, or is the system just wrong?
The Debaters
Christopher Hitchens
A razor-tongued debater who used clarity, conviction, and fire to challenge dogma and dismantle institutions.
"The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but in how it thinks."
Slavoj Žižek
A philosophical provocateur who dissects ideology with surgical precision. Žižek doesn't just think outside the box—he shows you the box doesn't exist.
"The only way to be truly subversive is to be more subversive than subversion itself."
Christopher Hitchens, known for his confrontational debating style, has very low Agreeableness. But this doesn't make him “more ENTP” than Steve Wozniak or Hank Green.
Slavoj Zizek, known for his provocative and controversial views, has very low Agreeableness. But this also doesn't make him “more ENTP” than any of our other candidates.
The truth is that debate is better understood by low agreeableness than any kind of ENTP myth. Some ENTPs are naturally more confrontational (low Agreeableness), while others are naturally more collaborative (high Agreeableness). Neither is “more ENTP” than the other.
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