compare and contrast Ni and Ne | INFJ Forum

compare and contrast Ni and Ne

rawr

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Jan 17, 2010
7,293
2,403
867
Earth
MBTI
IxTP
Enneagram
human
these two processes blow my mind. And i'm having a hard time defining them for myself as the seem so complex and broad.

so, anyone wanna go for a comparison and contrast? :m200:
 
I'd be interested in hearing a good breakdown too.
 
I'm gonna take a stab at this. I'm just learning but this is what I understand... I think.

Ni is basically living in future possibilities to do with you. Your intuition is therefore focused inward and you think about what you could be, and how you could make the world better.

Ne is turning your imagination outward, dreaming about possibilities of what could happen. Basically being the realm of theorists.

Sorry for the very basic generalisation, but I'm not as sure as to make any other assumptions.
 
88chaz88's description is pretty good.

I feel like extending it to all the perceiving traits though:

Si focuses on the past
Se focuses on the present
Ni focuses on the future
Ne focuses on the eternal or the timeless



Ni tends to be a lot more confident and hopeful than Ne. Those who use it follow their gut and tend to optimistically look forward to the possibilities they envision. Those using Ne tend to be more doubtful and regretful, as they can see how much better things could have been were it not for certain failings. Ne is generally more aware of its own fallibility. In general/theoretically Ni is always used with Se and Ne with Si, so it can at times be hard to seperate which qualities fit with which sides of each pair.
 
I understand Ni and Ne to both be intuitive processes that are future focused and about seeing patterns.

I tend to see the main difference as directional focus in the pattern perception. Ni seems to start expansively, taming the complexity by mapping it's form. Ne on the other hand seems to leap from jumping off points and watch the pattern explode from there.

Even though Ni/Ne is a perception function rather than a judgment function, I tend to associate Ni with deductive reasoning and Ne with inductive reasoning.

Inductive (Ni)- begins with general and ends with the specific; arguments based on laws, rules, or other widely accepted principles are best expressed inductively

Deductive (Ne) - moves from the specific to the general; arguments based on experience or observation are best expressed inductively


Ni:
From an Ni ego-state, you want to understand the assumptions of a system of representation before you use the system, so that you can use it with true freedom--including the freedom to use the built-in interpretations in ways that violate those assumptions.

http://greenlightwiki.com/lenore-exegesis/Introverted_Intuition

Ne:
Extraverted Intuition seems to be about forming a larger context based on specific experiences and their emerging relations to one another.

In essence, we first create a context by inferring generalities from consistent behavior between related components.

http://greenlightwiki.com/lenore-exegesis/Extraverted_Intuition
 
Last edited:
I read a link a while ago that described Ni and Ne best for me. You can imagine Ne as being an airplane taking off - it can go through many different routes, just as Ne tries to conceive many different possibilities. Ni is like an airplane looking for a place to touch down, so it's focused on one solution (which is how it usually is with me).

It's a little more complex than that, I think, but this is a very basic analogy.
 
This is how I see it.


Ni tends to dive deep on the subject, absorbing as much information as it can and
then have some time to work on it. After awhile the information has been merged
into NJ's mind and it can be looked from many angles. When problem arises Ni starts
to unconsciously fill in the blank spots creating connections between various parts
of knowledge from various matters and sources, it eliminates incorrect conclusions
and trims the answer until there is one truth remaining, it produces unique solution
to every probelm.

Si on the contrary uses methods that have worked well in the past.

Ne Ne is like web of information, storage of knowledge and every bit of the data is
connected with links. It's quick and externally focused, it sees possibilities, reads
quickly the visible clues of the environment and jumps on connections. Ne seems to
move hundred miles per hour, picking the information and updating it all the time. If
somebody asks "I bought new van, do you want to see it?" their mind goes on tour:
Van -> Hippie -> Peace -> Flower -> Bee -> Wings -> Eagle -> Aeroplane -> Rocket
-> Astronaut -> Satellite -> TV -> Sofa -> Food. "Wow that's great! I need to see it,
but I need something to eat first" Ne likes to brainstorm and entertain several interests,
NP's are jacks of all trades but master of few.

Se on the contrary perceives the world as it is without rambling.
 
Last edited:
Ne Ne is like web of information, storage of knowledge and every bit of the data is
connected with links. It's quick and externally focused, it sees possibilities, reads
quickly the visible clues of the environment and jumps on connections. Ne seems to
move hundred miles per hour, picking the information and updating it all the time. If
somebody asks "I bought new van, do you want to see it?" their mind goes on tour:
Van -> Hippie -> Peace -> Flower -> Bee -> Wings -> Eagle -> Aeroplane -> Rocket
-> Astronaut -> Satellite -> TV -> Sofa -> Food. "Wow that's great! I need to see it,
but I need something to eat first" Ne likes to brainstorm and entertain several interests,
NP's are jacks of all trades but master of few.

This is probably one of the best descriptions of Ne I've read to date.
 
Ni vs Ne

Discuss?
It isn't entirely clear to me.
 
Last edited:
Ne Dominant: Ne is a function orienting towards a process developing an expanding abstract context through the functionality of perception, this is achieved by recognition of inter-related concepts that are identified and passed off to the judgment functions; Ne orients outwards from the manifestations towards further manifestations.

Ni Dominant: Ni orients itself towards an abstract reductionist perception process that seeks to reduce the perceived context, orienting itself inwards from the manifestations of the concept towards the root. Once the root is found it orients itself towards discovering the sub-roots of the sub-categories and filling in the assumed framework with abstract detail; by directing the process to access the „worldview‟ Ni can cross reference the past conceptual frameworks with the present to inductively assess the location of suspected or “known”, inherent sub-categories within the current context that may work on similar principles as previous contexts.

THERE.

Okay, the key difference is in orientation. Expansion vs. Reduction. This goes for any Extroverted vs. Introverted function.

BUT

Bear(bare? ugh!) in mind that, you, for example as a Fi dom might identify more with the reductionist than the expansive perspective. The problem here is that you guys used yourself to derive your explanations of functions, which is understandable, but it creates confusion because you're never really using your functions in an isolated state, there will always be overlap, and this will be reflected in your perception.
 
Last edited:
The other thread was pretty helpful. Maybe this can be merged into that one? And hopefully more people will post?

Ne, I grasp.
Ni, is more difficult.
 
The other thread was pretty helpful. Maybe this can be merged into that one? And hopefully more people will post?

Ne, I grasp.
Ni, is more difficult.

Your wish is my command. :) Carry on!
 
  • Like
Reactions: acd
This is intriguing.... No. No its not, this. Is. Hell.

im all ni, babee
 
Last edited:
Bear(bare? ugh!) in mind that, you, for example as a Fi dom might identify more with the reductionist than the expansive perspective. The problem here is that you guys used yourself to derive your explanations of functions, which is understandable, but it creates confusion because you're never really using your functions in an isolated state, there will always be overlap, and this will be reflected in your perception.
Do explain more, please?

Another way of looking is that Ni is like an arrow; it directly went towards some direction (others might call it random and/or wishy-washy). IF you're willing, you may look at the places it passed; the values and beliefs and tangents that are composed at one point and unconsciously used. But the point is made, the thought is (often) made. The diverging way of Ni seems to be self-reflective in nature? ("Hmm, I seem to think this. I wonder why?")

One of my closest experience is when driving, I have a thought "I should keep the unoccupied portion of the road as wide as possible." Then while I'm wondering, I began to retrace my thoughts; what makes me think of it like that? It appears I considered inbetween my car hitting other (moving) things, and my car hitting other, not moving cars / wall / sign / whatever, the latter is better than the former. Amongst other things.

Ne, on the hand, it like.....Macross Missile Massacre, I suppose. From one point, it shoots thousands of thoughts and trying to aim at (preferably) one best possible thing. So the diverging value of Ne seems to be... attentive in nature ("I want this. How should I do this ?")

Also, I'd heard from other places that Ne often works best when there's other people. Ni, for comparison, often only tells the result of the (layers of layers of layers of) brainstorming; not the process of brainstorming itself.

The way I'd imagine it would be something like,
Ne: "I want to go to a restaurant."
Ni : "(A restaurant?
Hmm, what kind of food would be good? *going deeper* >> Food that they like, also food that I'm fine with eating it. If possible, food that I want to eat. *Going meta*
What do I want? >> I want Japanese Chinese Burgers Pizzas Italian Spanish Tacos nyemnyemnyem Pizza! *going meta*
What do they usually like? >> A likes chinese B likes Burgers and hates Chinese nyemnyemnyem
So. Probably Pizza will be fine) How about Pizza?"
Ne : "Hmm, How about burgers?"
Ni : "(Burgers. A seems to be fine with it, B likes it. How about me? Ugh, I just ate one yesterday. Hmm. How about handling another burger?) Sure. Where do you plan to go?"

....and something like that.

I might be wrong of course. :| CMIIW.
 
I like to describe Ni as "perspectives", it is seeing a particular thing from many different angles, many different "frames".
 
Ni is convergence of ideas.
Ne is divergence of ideas.

Se takes in concrete information from the external world and Ni puts it together with its map of abstract patterns and associations.
Ne takes in abstract information from the external world and Si makes sense of it with its concrete map of experiences and sensations.

Ne is all ideas at once, with Si defining what's real from what isn't.
Se is all physical/concrete detail at once, with Ni deciding the stimulus/idea behind it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jn56uytrx
Ne:
avatar3538_3.gif


Anyone can see that this picture is a myriad of abstract ideas. Looks like pure craziness but would have started off as an idea and was built upon. If you can decipher meaning from this, you've good Ne.

Ni:
avatar2172_3.gif


This picture has meaning to it too, but one that's personal. It probably means a lot to Trifoilum, and maybe different meanings to others, but it's more subtle. Instead of being a myriad of abstract ideas, it's a collection of realities broken down into one abstract idea. If you find the meaning in this, that's Ni.

Edit: Hope you don't mind me using your avatars.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Trifoilum
Ne:
avatar3538_3.gif


Anyone can see that this picture is a myriad of abstract ideas. Looks like pure craziness but would have started off as an idea and was built upon. If you can decipher meaning from this, you've good Ne.

Slight correction: if you can see all the possibilities off of this, that's Ne. Deciphering meaning of any sort would be Ni.
 
Slight correction: if you can see all the possibilities off of this, that's Ne. Deciphering meaning of any sort would be Ni.

Fair enough, I'd accept that. Though meanings and possibilties exist within both N realms, it's just a case of which dominates the other.

Possibilities > meanings = Ne, meanings > possibilities = Ni.

I love making everything simple.