Is this indicative of Ni? | INFJ Forum

Is this indicative of Ni?

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melogna

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Aug 17, 2014
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Hey all, I'm new to these forums and I'm fairly certain I'm an INFJ due to my current understanding of the cognitive functions, but I'm still exploring this theory in-depth. I know for certain that I'm a Ti user and I'm looking to see which "box" I fit in, so to speak.

During my process of decoding my mental processes, I decided to think back to my childhood to see if I indeed used Ni, and something struck me: I was often described as a talented child because I was good at almost every skill I was focused on picking up. For example, I was heavily into art; in particular, cartooning. I drew my inspiration from my favorite cartoons and often made up my own characters and storylines. I took a cartooning course led by a Disney animator when I was 10 and he said that my skills surpassed that of his high school students. I'm not saying I was a prodigy; I obviously was no Rembrandt. but in summation, I knew that since I was a child, if I saw that struck my intense interest, I would get a gut feeling that I would be good at it, and immediately pick up all the intricacies of the skill without actually knowing all of those intricacies (hope that makes sense).

In other words, I wouldn't know why I was good at it. If you asked me to teach you a skill, I wouldn't know how to teach it. I would give this character a certain trait, and it would WORK within the context of the story, but I couldn't tell you why it worked, I just knew it would. To this day I could tell you, I'll get a gut feeling that I would be good at a skill, and pick up on it fairly quickly, often getting what seems like "yes! this is why it works" during practice... But I wouldn't know the connection before I analyzed it. The only thing I would be consciously aware of was the general idea of how the skill is to be carried out.

Other than that, if I had been using Ni in any other contexts, I don't recall. I often thought I could "see through" other people (not consciously), but then again, I was a bit socially awkward and didn't appear to get most social cues. My younger years are a bit of a blur to me. I don't really relate to the personality descriptions of INFJs as children. If I could rule out what I think was Ni as a child, I'd say I were INTP instead due to my high Ti, but I don't think my thinking ever came before my intuition.

(for the record, I'm not trying to elevate myself in the slightest; this is purely introspection and I seek feedback)

Thank you!
 
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"Gut feeling" is how many describe Ni. And have you noticed how many INFJ's think they are INTP? I wonder how much of the Ti I thought was Ti may have actually been Ni. I would love to hear others describe the difference between the two. Is there a thread on that already?
 
Experienced the same as a child and now i can also relate. Yeah, it may very well be, imo.
 
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[MENTION=11987]melogna[/MENTION]

There are many things to be considered with regard to your personality that can really make the clear difference wether you are a INTP or a INFJ;
INTPs are in comparation to INFJs, much more severe and strict, they can have a very serious conception of life, almost ascetic like, very disciplinated. Of course, depending on the culture, this can be soften, but in general, INTPs can be easily recognised by a overall asperity to their character. For example, the American culture is more lighthearted, and it has this "nice and friendly" approach, so of course that a Western INTP can look more light hearted, but there still can be observed in them that seriousness and asperity in their character.

In contrast to them, INFJs have a more merry character, a more "easy" approach to life. In Socionics, INFJs are described playful and pleasant as a ISFP, and critical and idealistic like a INTJ, because of Ni (idealism and criticism) combined with Fe
(pleasant emotions)

In short, this is a way to differentiate between NTs and NFs, their character. NTs are more harsh and severe, while NFs are more soft and seeking to create pleasant emotions, because that's what naturaly comes to them.


Secondly, speaking of mental inclinations, INTPs are much more structured and logical then a INFJs of course, because they have that first Ti. This can be seen, its just there, that whole "program" of logic. In a Te user, you can easily observe the whole structure and organisation specific to Te because its a extroverted function, and it leaves its mark into the "external" world. But in a Ti users the structure and organisation of Ti is not that evident, because its a introverted function, but its still pretty evident, and it can be seen more in the writtings of the possesor of this function, the way he speaks, how he make a argument and explain something.
So based on your post, just as a personal opinion, I would say your style is far from being that of a Ti user, like INTPs and ISTPs are. There is not that specific order and structure particular to this function.
 
finifugal said:
"Gut feeling" is how many describe Ni. And have you noticed how many INFJ's think they are INTP? I wonder how much of the Ti I thought was Ti may have actually been Ni. I would love to hear others describe the difference between the two. Is there a thread on that already?
Click to expand...
Ti is a rational function, a judging function. Its called Introverted Logic, its purpose its logical consistency, unlike Te, which purpose is more logical practicality, and observing the logical functions of practical nature. So Te is more practical and according to Jung it gives high value to facts, while Ti is not practical at all, only when it interferes with its intrinsic program, logical consistency. Ti does not give values to facts, Ti gives value to logic itself, it values more the logic, the structure, the order of facts, but not facts itself.
Te follows the facts and their logical functions, while Ti follows structure and order, for the sake of it. Ti is more philosophical then Te.


Ni is a very different function. Firstly, its irrational or a perceiving function. Jung meant irrational not in the usual sense of the word, but rather in the way information is structured and perceived by the respective function. Rational functions are evolutionary, they start from simple to complex, while Irational functions are involutionary, exactly the reverse of Rational functions, because the information is perceived from complex mental processes, and then simplified. Rational functions are like a pyramid, while Irrational functions are like a vortex.
The nature of Rational functions is much more balanced and ortodox, while Irrational functions are mostly based on experience, thus those functions are very spontaneous and unortodox in their nature.

Ni is a very complex function, that searches to undertand the connections and links between events, to find the patterns that form the big picture. It doesn't follow structure and logic like Te or Ti at all, rather is has a more "narrow" focus, but in the same time, more depth. Socionics describe Ni as the function which has a "special relationship with time". Ni "fronzens" mentaly temporal moments, to "see" the links between events, to understand the nature of how things happen. Here is Socionics on Introverted Intuition:

intangible connections between processes separated in time and space: sense of when things might happen, patterns of events, abstract representations of processes

There is a "sense" to Ni, because its a highly subjective and based on personal experience function, a Introverted Irrational function.


The one big difference between Ti and Ni is time. Ni "works" with mental representations of temporal moments, that's why Ni users are described as "not being present", or "from another world". And Ti is simply hard and straight logic, system of rules and categories, compartaions and standards between objects. Ti is broad but superficial, while Ni is narrow (focused on one point) but it has more depth (temporal links, looks for patterns).
 
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An easy way to discern between INTPs and INFJs is:

1. Are you generally messy?
2. Do you take great time with your appearance? Buying nice clothes, well-groomed, working out etc?

I notice that INFJs are usually immaculate in appearance. They take a bit of time and have an interest in being presentable and the aesthetics of style. INTPs, in comparison, generally tend to be messy, and if they look presentable, it might be due to someone else taking time to pick out their clothes.
 
What if you only wear what others give you, having no sense of style of your own due to lack of finances and youth, making one unsure of who they are as of yet?
As for messiness, I have order of my own. It may appear cluttered to others, but to me, it is in a particular order. So still hard to determine.
Interesting thoughts on Ti, Te and Ni. I think I have used Ni more than I was aware of.
Here is what I do in my own head all the freakin time
I think of things as in what they represent. I have these ideals as to what I think should be. People should be impartial and fair at all times. Everything must lead me forward, towards personal growth. Every experience should be looked at as a page in a mental scrapbook. It should belong in the ideal picture I have of my entire life. Emphasis on entire life. I only think big picture. Details are not important. I look at everything with crossed eyes. I mold facts to fit my ideals. I measure everythign to make sure all is fair. I want everythign to fit my ideal image. All my obsessive thoughts go towards "Is this fair? Is this for the greater good?" It seems to be all I care about.
That's not pure Ti, is it? Or am I talking enneagram types more than functions? This is not cut and dry. I see why so many get confused.
I would be interested in reading more examples of Ni type thoughts as examples to help me understand.
 
Ni in action:
I was hanging with some guys after work. We went to a house. They were good company, but suddenly I felt uneasy. Ni warned me. I texted my dad the address.
A man approached me at age eight or seven maybe. His story changed halfway through and I had a gut feeling he was deceitful with intent to hurt me. Ran away.
Had a problem with a coworker. Decided to address her directly. Somehow knew that with this person I needed to start the conversation with "anything I can do for you?" Changed the trajectory of that convo and the outcome I believe.
I need to sleep rather than study to pass a test.
I dealt with depression by restructuring the way I thought. I knew that if I not only changed my influences (music I listened to and colors I wore,) but if I also started with a positive mantra everyday, then I would change my mentality for life. That as opposed to taking a pill. That and the psychologist said "Home schooling is obviously for you" and I thought 'Asshat. The isolation is not helping my mood, so how would the home schooling help?' Then I instantly knew I needed to do as I described above. It was a knowing, not a methodical Ti solely.
Are these examples of Ni?
Oh, and the deja vu. I got that A LOT.
 
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Not sure if this is Ni:

  • In Math classes, I am able to "see" patterns and would not be able to explain how I "saw" it. I just "did". I'm quite sensitive to numbers, but I'm not sure if this arises from experience with dealing with numbers, or Ni at work. However, if I couldn't "see" it I wouldn't be able to solve it at all.
  • I was blessed with perfect pitch since young, and was able to hone it to the point of being able to decipher chords and progressions at greatly reduced rates. I usually guess the chord from the "feel" I get. (Is this even intuition?) I am also usually able to "guess", to a fairly accurate degree, the chords which come after--before the music actually comes, of course--but I'm not sure if this is intuition or just experience. I delight myself when an unexpected, yet "logical" chord (I shall try to describe it as a chord which "follows the flow" after analysis/feel), turns up.
  • I'm not able to "see" the future; however, I am able to see many possible "futures" running through my head, without knowing with certainty which will come out as true. In most cases this is used negatively, such as when I know there is a chance something might go wrong, but I keep quiet as I don't want to come off as pessimistic, and it really happens, when I will feel very bad about it.
  • In some cases I can feel that a person will "go back on their word". I'm not sure if this is from experience, or intuition, or if I'm just pessimistic. I absolutely hate it when I am told to do something and I've done it exactly as they've told me to, even when I felt that probably wasn't what they really were wanting to do, and then they fault me for doing it.
  • At times I can "read the atmosphere", but this doesn't happen always.

As for INFJs being "immaculate in appearance": I'm not very particular about my appearance (unless politeness is involved: then, I will make a deliberate attempt to ensure my appearance isn't offensive), but I have a hobby of drawing maps of railway systems, and am extremely picky about how every station/line is positioned on the map so that it looks "good". As of yet I can't define very well what looks "good"--I just know when it does--but as a rule of thumb I make sure the map isn't cluttered (which, on hindsight, is pretty obvious), but still shows complexity. I love it when something seems complex, but is in fact pretty logical and easy to follow when I've taken a closer look.

Edit: I've just noticed this is a 11-day reply. I do apologize if this breaches some bumping rule and will take it down if requested so.
 
Well, a lot of INFJs can be messy and a lot of INTPs can be neat lol.
If an INFJ likes the phrase, "Don't judge a book by its cover." Then they might not care about fashion.
I have seen a few neat INTPs lol. They just have a nicely developed tert function.
I feel like INFJs are more artistic than an INTP though. Like INFJs just seem to have this innate color sense lol. Like idk, they are more attracted to beauty and romance (like not like shallow bf gf crap, but deep relationships, kindness etc.) than an INTP would be. INTPs are more attracted to intelligence and theories that make sense and seek theories and possibilities. They are less attracted by beauty and romance.
 
Could the Ni-Ti relationship be described as an indiscriminate snowball??

Picking up facts, feelings and mashing them together until it opens up like a music box and the tune is similar to AHA!

What do you think?
 
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