N's: beating around the bush

[substitute]

I came across this comment in the S vs N thread and it immediately triggered thoughts in my head and explanations as to why (apart from the specific question actually BEING the point) it might appear this way...

Originally Posted by Colors

I like this board, but sometimes Ns can be very annoying about getting to the point too. They ask really vague questions when they want to know about solutions to very specific problems. For example, an opening post might ask about why ESFPs are flighty, but a few posts later the real question would turn out to be "How do I get this ESFP to pay attention to me?". (An exaggeration, but common phenomenon.)

I know this has to do with the way N's think - or at least, I do - being to solve problems and explore solutions and methods etc by linking something specific to as many other things as possible, in order to gain a bigger general picture.

But I'm having a bad vocabulary day today and seem unable to articulate what it is I'm thinking properly. Anyone care to input?

[substitute]

Oh, a word just came to me: leverage. It's all about leverage for N's, isn't it? Or is that just me? You know, the reason we're more interested in 'why ESFP's are flighty' than asking 'how do I get this ESFP to notice me' is because the general idea is that when you understand the whys and hows of something, it enables you to know exactly where to apply leverage in order to achieve the desired effect.

No?

[whatever]

agreeing with the second post there

I prefer to ask a question that appears more vague, I suppose, because I want a more universally applicable answer to the question as opposed to an explanation of a specific phenomonon. It's just a manner of being more efficient

[substitute]

yeah that's it - one eye on the future possibilities all the time isn't it? like never just thinking 'how can I solve this specific problem right now' but more like 'how is this specific problem linked to other things that happen more generally, and how can get the maximum learning experience from it so as to be armed against future events?'

[Rachelinpa]

I don't think I tergiversate intentionally. Often, I ask broad questions because I'm not sure entirely what it is I want to know yet. Sometimes I even ask stacked questions because in order to know what it is I want to know, I have to hear myself ask it or it doesn't count yet. As NF, I find the point is the process of understanding and the rapport. I like the discussion more than the outcome.

[Rachelinpa]

Originally Posted by substitute

yeah that's it - one eye on the future possibilities all the time isn't it?

Definitely! You never know what may come of it. It's better to keep the questions broad because you never know what people will say... why limit them?

[substitute]

Originally Posted by Rachelinpa

I don't think I tergiversate intentionally.

+1 for wanton sesquipedalianism

I like the discussion more than the outcome.

yes, it's what you learn from it that's more the point than just getting what you want right now?

[Rachelinpa]

Well, yes and no. Because I do get what I want in the immediate... the interesting conversation! The new viewpoints!

[substitute]

Originally Posted by Rachelinpa

Well, yes and no. Because I do get what I want in the immediate... the interesting conversation! The new viewpoints!

Ha, yeah... whether or not the ESFP notices you becomes of secondary importance... "what's happening now" just never quite seems as interesting a topic for N's as "what could happen in the future"

perhaps sometimes we're too busy future-proofing ourselves to notice the present

[Jack Flak]

Perhaps it's because if you ask a very specific question online the thread tumbles to the bottom with zero replies. That's been my experience.