Ni: the source of analogies and metaphors?

[KazeCraven]

Really I'm just taking a stab in the dark here, but I'm curious as to whether usage of analogies, similes, and metaphors is at all correlated with a given type. My guess is that Ni generates (or even 'thinks' in) metaphors, and I don't mind being dead wrong on this one.

See, here's the issue: a metaphor compares two things and can easily say that one thing 'is like' another, and somehow we make sense of which things are supposed to be considered similar when it's quite clear that most of the time there's a whole bunch of possible wrong interpretations of what the elements of the two objects are similar.

I'm less interested in whether a given type finds metaphors useful, as it seems everyone kinda 'gets' the good ones without having to think too much, but it's the coming up with them that I'm real curious about. I can do it, but it feels unnatural, like I'm translating to another language, and I have to think about it to make sure it'll have the intended associations.

Oh right. So how much are analogies and metaphors a part of your life?

 

[Quinlan]

I use them all the time, I thinks it's because I think in images/feelings/tones/vibes etc.

 

[KazeCraven]

Yeah, I was curious about SPs too, as I've got an ESFP friend who just clicks things together in her mind with metaphors.

Of course, a few NFPs posting about the same thing, and my theory is pretty much dead (Ne and Si, but no Ni going for them).

 

[the]

I love metaphors. I dont make them up but I can usually understand what is being said. I think that they are a great communication tool.

 

[gloomy-optimist]

I think in connections, so metaphors are easy since my mind already jumps from one thing to another in a "this is like that, which is like that, which is like that..." pattern.

But sometimes my metaphors don't make sense to other people, even though they might make sense to me.

 

[BlinkandThink]

I communicate in metaphors anytime the direct route doesn't get close enough to my intended meaning. It's not difficult for me at all, because I think in connections.

My ESFP best friend goes stranger with it than I do though ... bordering on synesthesia. Names taste like things to him, and so on. Although I could say something like that, I'd be making it up completely.


Mine would be more saying something like: "It's like we're standing inside a dog's mouth."

 

[Gaze]

I use them all the time, I thinks it's because I think in images/feelings/tones/vibes etc.

This describes the way i think but not necessarily the way i speak. I'm pretty matter of fact when i speak (literal) but more figurative in my thought processes.

 

[Razare]

Oh right. So how much are analogies and metaphors a part of your life?

I use analogies and metaphors to explain things to my ISFJ friend. Very often it's the only way to get through to him.

 

[Odyne]

I once wrote an excerpt about the similarity between life and a mathematical function. I was able to find the connections between a decreasing, increasing, discreet and continuous function...and life.

The idea came to me on the bus ride back home. I have to say to be able to see (or imagine) the connections and come up with such an analogy is exhilarating. I absolutely love my Ni.

Sometimes, all I lack to construct or put down on paper a beautiful analogy is the right words. I find it hard to translate all those images and vibes into words. Vocabulary holds me back a lot.

 

[Jonathan]

I always really loved metaphors, because it allows you to compare two things that you normally would never think of together. I use them often when explaining how I felt about something or what something looked/tasted/sounded like. The metaphor doesn't factually have much to do with what I'm describing, but it's always the vibe I'm referring to.

A lot of the time, when people don't undertand what I'm describing, I'll say "It's like... *insert metaphor/ analogy here.*" Sometimes they'll get it, usually not though. I'm working on my discretion as to who I can converse abstractly with.

The problem is, I want to describe what I'm thinking/feeling so specifically, but I feel so limited. Maybe developing Si and Ne a bit more will give me more words and ideas to work with.

Introverted intuition is sooo amazing!!

 

[Trifoilum]

I use metaphors too, albeit sometimes it can be so random it's not even funny. I once described moral beliefs as paintings, and music with foods. So it's like, "...hearing orchestra is like eating haute cuisine." As in, it's done well in terms of conventional standard, and it's arranged beautifully, but.....it doesn't really fill me well. Also, I once described the plot of Inception using apple.

Kinda....random, but either way I like it and I still use it (and trying to enhance it). I think Ni is responsible for finding the connections hidden between seemingly different things.

 

[whytiger]

I think in anecdotes and funny stories.

 

[Gaze]

but.....it doesn't really fill me well. Also, I once described the plot of Inception using apple.

Nice analogy. Could you explain?