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How Do You Tell N from S?

Nigel Tufnel

New member
Joined
Nov 30, 2008
Messages
116
MBTI Type
ENTP
I/E, J/P, T/F are often fairly apparent after you meet someone a few times

but I've known people for years I can't tell if they're N or S

being handy is one indicator, but not always apparent from typical office/party/playing sports activities

many Ns, like me, don't walk around discussing theories, and some people who seem like Ss do, so that doesn't really seem to work

not enough evidence in daily life for me, how do you tell?
 

tinkerbell

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
3,487
MBTI Type
ENTP
yes I agree the N S dicotomy is probably the trickest to type people...

Look at language use and conversation content...

If it's consistantly abstract then it's likely to be N, if is more concrete then S....

If you really listen to the words people use and how they articulate ideas... also get a fairly clear steer, but it's almost like you need to set people a test.... What would your ideal day look like... and see how they answer.. try it on a few people and see how it works.

Alternatively you could submerge both types in water and see which on floats... but thats a really antiquated method of typing...:D
 

Totenkindly

@.~*virinaĉo*~.@
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
50,187
MBTI Type
BELF
Enneagram
594
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
Kind of hard sometimes, I usually just feel it out holistically.

Biggest difference is that S's tend to focus on concrete detail -- the FACTS -- while N's constantly are thinking about the insinuations and implications of the facts as their native tongue.

And that's what makes it hard. It's not that S-heavy and N-heavy people don't overlap, they do. You have to tease out their foundational view, however.

S people can talk about implications... but usually they talk about them as certainties... based on their past experiences. They are very aware of implications they have EXPERIENCED and tend to talk in those very real terms. (This is where you get the image of the ISTJ engineer who is adept at explaining exactly what will go wrong; it's not that theory necessarily says it's true, it's that he has experienced it going wrong and thus expects it to.)

N people can talk about facts, especially if they are trying to make something work in the external world, but they are much more at ease at thinking in terms of implications as the base language and tend to weigh possibilities with more nuance. There's a big difference in this with NT vs NF, which makes it kind of hard to describe (N has more flex in its expression than S). To N's, theory/abstract perception IS reality, and they can speak naturally in that mental algebra.

An interesting overlap area is religion. I know a lot of female ISFJs who are religious, for example, in the conservative realm. You would think 'faith' would be more an 'N' thing, but it's not necessarily; however, it is implemented differently. I find N's far more flexible in discussing faith issues; N's think in terms of possibilities; the S people tend to take religious faith and make it "real facts" and then follow it as if it were proven science (since, after all, there is just ONE reality... which is the one the S perceives; multiple realities do not tend to make sense and/or are confusing for S's to work through). Thus they speak in faith terminology but the S's have an underlying perspective of "this is real experience" and make it concrete and real... N's are more more apt to approach it on a mysterious, ambiguous, conceptually defined level.
 

AphroditeGoneAwry

failure to thrive
Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
5,585
MBTI Type
INfj
Enneagram
451
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
I totally agree that this is the hardest dichotomy to type in others. And it's almost like the MORE you know someone, the harder it is, I guess because you do have deep, abstract convos at times, or at least they learn how to listen well.

S signs and symptoms:

--noticing environment more than me
--realizing after a few get-togethers we haven't had any soul-searching convos
--Will put going to a concert or event over getting together just to hang out
--liking tv more than reading/thinking/discussing
--tend to have nicer furnishings
--like to shower/bathe/preen more (won't leave the house without taking a shower, etc)
--can remember lyrics like crazy
********************************
MORE:
--Se dom likely to like manmade scents like perfume/cologne (because it's nicer to bodily smells)
--Si dom likely to DISlike manmade scents like perfume/cologne (because it gives them headaches or they have bodily sensitivities)
--Both tend to be VERY sensitive to bodily smells, usually finding them repugnant.


N:

--head in the clouds
--likes to turn discussions to a philosophical flavor
--doesn't notice didly
--can't remember names of movies
--not particularly into music hardcore like their s counterparts (? this might be too much assumption making)
--doesn't notice lyrics in music like an s will--because their mind is wandering during said music on other things (? true/false?)
--When an N is around an S, the S will try to change the subject onto more present/fun issues, whereas another N and N can disect one sentence for its subtle meanings for 2 hours.
--um. always ready to revisit a past discussion/idea. S's lose patience with this.
 

AphroditeGoneAwry

failure to thrive
Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
5,585
MBTI Type
INfj
Enneagram
451
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
An interesting overlap area is religion. I know a lot of female ISFJs who are religious, for example, in the conservative realm. You would think 'faith' would be more an 'N' thing, but it's not necessarily; however, it is implemented differently. I find N's far more flexible in discussing faith issues; N's think in terms of possibilities; the S people tend to take religious faith and make it "real facts" and then follow it as if it were proven science (since, after all, there is just ONE reality... which is the one the S perceives; multiple realities do not tend to make sense and/or are confusing for S's to work through). Thus they speak in faith terminology but the S's have an underlying perspective of "this is real experience" and make it concrete and real... N's are more more apt to approach it on a mysterious, ambiguous, conceptually defined level.

Awesome perspective and insight. I will start paying more attention to this.
 

tinkerbell

New member
Joined
Aug 31, 2008
Messages
3,487
MBTI Type
ENTP
being pragmatic.... assume they are an S type until you find evidence to the contrary, you'll be right c73% of the time... which is pretty huge
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
yeah, and anyway, we are who we wanna be. :jesus:

I'd say that we are who we are. Throwing grid lines over perception just confuses insight. No one needs to know if a person is S/N. Isn't what they say/do far more important than trying to divine some non-existent abstraction?

You might as well dwell on what color their soul is...
 

Fidelia

Iron Maiden
Staff member
Joined
May 31, 2009
Messages
14,497
MBTI Type
INFJ
N houses tend to be filled with a lot more books and paper than S houses, although that's not always a reliable guideline. However the books that are in S houses tend to be more of a practical nature.
 

Fluffywolf

Nips away your dignity
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Messages
9,581
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
9
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
The N is pretty straight and the S is very curvy.

For realz, I usually see if someone is an N if they are wandery, forgetful of details, names or other not really that important things. In other words, sensotarded.

S's are usually the ones that do not have sensotard moments.
 

Litvyak

No Cigar
Joined
Oct 5, 2008
Messages
1,822
Instinctual Variant
sx/sp
--doesn't notice lyrics in music like an s will--because their mind is wandering during said music on other things (? true/false?)

False. I'm great at lyrics, and I find that some other intuitives are the same too. Don't know why, I suck at remembering names for example. But lyrics - I listen to them once, and I can cite them word for word.

The N is pretty straight and the S is very curvy.

For realz, I usually see if someone is an N if they are wandery, forgetful of details, names or other not really that important things. In other words, sensotarded.

S's are usually the ones that do not have sensotard moments.

Yup. Noticing a weakness in sensing is a lot easier than noticing a huge amount of fail in intuition.
That makes me a sad panda. :(
 

Moiety

New member
Joined
Aug 3, 2008
Messages
5,996
MBTI Type
ISFJ
I'd say that we are who we are. Throwing grid lines over perception just confuses insight. No one needs to know if a person is S/N. Isn't what they say/do far more important than trying to divine some non-existent abstraction?

You might as well dwell on what color their soul is...

Then again, MBTI has nothing to do with what people say/do but how and why they do it. But yeah, I hate the cesspool that is psychology.


Fidelia : only people in need of enlightenment read books. I'm an N damnit! Admire my superior intellect.
 

Stanton Moore

morose bourgeoisie
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
3,900
MBTI Type
INFP
Then again, MBTI has nothing to do with what people say/do but how and why they do it. But yeah, I hate the cesspool that is psychology.quote]

You've just delineated the major problem with typing anyone other than yourself: the only relevant evidence is what they do and say.
 

AphroditeGoneAwry

failure to thrive
Joined
Feb 20, 2009
Messages
5,585
MBTI Type
INfj
Enneagram
451
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
N houses tend to be filled with a lot more books and paper than S houses, although that's not always a reliable guideline. However the books that are in S houses tend to be more of a practical nature.

oooh, good one! I have stacks and stacks of books nearly (and messily) covering every surface in my home.

Then again, MBTI has nothing to do with what people say/do but how and why they do it. But yeah, I hate the cesspool that is psychology.


Fidelia : only people in need of enlightenment read books. I'm an N damnit! Admire my superior intellect.

Although I have stacks of books I have been off reading lately for ambiguous reasons. I just don't have time to read and ponder, so pondering takes precedence.
 

theplacesyoullgo

New member
Joined
Nov 27, 2008
Messages
243
--not particularly into music hardcore like their s counterparts (? this might be too much assumption making)

Hm, I can't agree with this. Sensors might have a more broad collection of music, but I've found that Ns are more likely to be deeply into their music collection. I've found that there's a tendency for Ss to listen to an album a few times, think "that's was nice," and then move onto the next thing, while Ns tend to become more involved with the songs and search for deeper meaning in them. Ns are also more likely to get heavily "into" a couple artists at a time (as in, downloading the entire collection of a band and listening to that almost exclusively for a couple weeks) than Ss are.

And as for having papers lying around one's house/apartment: I think that's really more of a J vs. P thing. I'd probably agree that Ns tend to have fuller bookshelves, though.
 

Mad Hatter

Head Pigeon
Joined
Nov 3, 2009
Messages
1,087
MBTI Type
INTP
Enneagram
-1w
Instinctual Variant
sp/sx
N people can talk about facts, especially if they are trying to make something work in the external world, but they are much more at ease at thinking in terms of implications as the base language and tend to weigh possibilities with more nuance. There's a big difference in this with NT vs NF, which makes it kind of hard to describe (N has more flex in its expression than S). To N's, theory/abstract perception IS reality, and they can speak naturally in that mental algebra.

I'm really only beginning to get a grasp of what those letters represent, so I'm just offering my 0.02c here.

The point you've mentioned is very interesting.
I think the most important point in your post is that to Ns, ideas and concepts are just as real as the physical reality.
Generally I'd say that Ns are a lot more fuzzy than Ss when it comes to perception. I think I'm living together with an S guy and an S girl, and I've had a lot of discussions with the guy. He often says that things are "clear", and whenever I say that most things are in fact complicated and "not that easy", all I get is usually a :huh: or a :dont:. He's studying geology and I'm studying English, history and Latin. All of these are academic subjects of course, but his is probably the most concrete I can think of while I'm dealing with nothing more than texts and ideas. To him, if something isn't, it isn't, end of line. - That's when I start asking "But what if it were...". It could be more a J/P thing though.
I'd say that I perceive most things as some sort of "symbol" - I know this sounds weird, but I'm always wondering about the physical reality of things. The opposition could be like this: When he hears someone talking, he listens to what the other person says and the things he or she talks about. I listen to the ideas the other person might represent. Sometimes it almost seems like there is some layer between me and the physical reality - even when I'm touching something, I sometimes wonder what the object actually is :rolleyes:.
That's for starters. I hope I wasn't too confusing ;)
 

simulatedworld

Freshman Member
Joined
Nov 7, 2008
Messages
5,552
MBTI Type
ENTP
Enneagram
7w6
Instinctual Variant
sx/so
Read Jung and figure out what Ne, Ni, Se and Si are.

MBTI is one big oversimplification of Jung.
 

sleepy

Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
536
Challenge the one you would like to figure out. Ns are future orientated, Ss past orientated. Make a proposal you know to work more efficient and overall improved. A new way of thinking, preferably not readily apparent. If they reject the idea, they are S, if they make an effort to understand your idea they are N, certainly if they are impressed with your clever thinking.

Make sure your idea is sound though.
 
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