Do you have an annoying need to understand?
- Thread starter Gaze
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There is always a compulsive need to understand, omitting whether a thing is good or bad. I am a creature of curiousity. Then again, I'm not an INFJ so I probably don't apply to this.
Yes I do, a lot of the time. Sometimes it is sort of like Free Mind was saying though and I just don't have the energy to put into it.
But when I do, sometimes it gets to the point I will keep asking someone to explain something until I get it (rephrasing if necessary). It can sort of depend on what it is. I just like to make sure whatever is being relayed is completely clear so I am not making an assumption about whatever it is they might have actually meant. I want to get it right. If they are explaining how to do something, I want to make sure it gets done the way it is supposed to. Also if I pick up on the fact there might be another aspect to what is being discussed that is also important for me to know about, I will usually ask about that too for clarification.
Mostly I keep pushing for more information/perspectives until it all (it meaning whatever it is I am trying to understand) clicks and makes sense to me. Then as soon as that happens I happily move on.
It bugs me quite a bit and honestly downright annoys me when I feel like I haven't totally understood what someone was trying to tell me. I think that is why I can be long winded with my own explanations sometimes because I want to make sure I don't spare any detail in case it might be needed. Of course in a lot of cases it actually isn't and I just rambled for no reason. But...I can't help it. I feel there is more than just a simple explanation to most things. Not all, but most.
But when I do, sometimes it gets to the point I will keep asking someone to explain something until I get it (rephrasing if necessary). It can sort of depend on what it is. I just like to make sure whatever is being relayed is completely clear so I am not making an assumption about whatever it is they might have actually meant. I want to get it right. If they are explaining how to do something, I want to make sure it gets done the way it is supposed to. Also if I pick up on the fact there might be another aspect to what is being discussed that is also important for me to know about, I will usually ask about that too for clarification.
Mostly I keep pushing for more information/perspectives until it all (it meaning whatever it is I am trying to understand) clicks and makes sense to me. Then as soon as that happens I happily move on.
It bugs me quite a bit and honestly downright annoys me when I feel like I haven't totally understood what someone was trying to tell me. I think that is why I can be long winded with my own explanations sometimes because I want to make sure I don't spare any detail in case it might be needed. Of course in a lot of cases it actually isn't and I just rambled for no reason. But...I can't help it. I feel there is more than just a simple explanation to most things. Not all, but most.
I find I spend my whole times finding how things link in order to see how they work. I get excited if I don't understand because I love learning new anything. Don't know about yourselves but if I'm not learning I switch off, that's everything from actions to conversation. I do try to live the polymath life though.
I don't believe it is compulsive (as far as definition goes) because you have to be doing it without prompt/awareness to be considered carried out without thought, also its application varies in people and situation e.g. Want to learn new physical skills.
I don't believe it is compulsive (as far as definition goes) because you have to be doing it without prompt/awareness to be considered carried out without thought, also its application varies in people and situation e.g. Want to learn new physical skills.
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Ditto...there's lots of things I don't fully understand, even if I do understand in part. This doesn't generally bother me if what I know is somehow consistent with what I do not know, even if some paradox is involved. My ego doesn't demand control over things, so I'm fine with some mystery.
- Nov 12, 2008
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Sort of. Mostly with things I desire to understand. The biggest thing with me is not so much the breadth of things that I wish to understand, but the depth. I have to understand something to completeness in all aspects. So much so that if someone were to ask me a question about it, I could explain it to them easily.
Kinda. I find life boring when I spend time on things I already know. I'm always trying to understand things on a different level, or from a different perspective. I tend to be very independent, so I won't necessarily ask people about things unless I'm trying to understand something about them. Usually I go off on all sorts of semi-related tangents when I'm trying to understand new things. Then I get a rich depth of knowledge of one topic which is my focus, and a superficial knowledge of a bunch of other things that I might come back to later. But I'm so focused and solitary when I do this that I doubt it annoys anyone. It only gets annoying when I feel the need to understand something, but other things in my life are distracting me from that focus.
Absolutely. You don't truly understand something until you can explain it to someone.
You might still be able to do it. But that's different to understanding it.
There are many subjects that i am mildly obsessed with understanding as much as possible. What makes people tick being the clear leader in this. Every single day i spend at least some time mulling over various nuances of human nature. Sometimes it's on my mind all day. Above all else i love to learn new things.