[NT] Mistrust of ambiguity, aka, needing things to be concrete

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

So, I just realized that, when I'm doing certain tasks, and I ask for feedback from others, I don't tolerate a lot of ambiguity from others. If there's any ambiguity, I need to ask for clarification.

For example, I'll need to do something, and I'll ask somebody with more experience if it should be done a certain way. I'll often get an answer like "do what makes sense to you." I always find myself unsatisfied with these answers, and want something more concrete.

I'm curious to see if any other NT's possess this trait, or if this is a character quirk that's more unique to me. Have any other NT's noticed this kind of thing in themselves? (Or for that matter, has anyone else noticed this in NT's they know?)

 

[Nescio]

In some cases I tolerate ambiguity, in others I don't.
It really depends on whether or not I find it expedient to my purposes.
but in people, I have to admit. I find it really annoying.

I can't really think of any concrete examples right now.
But I'll post em if I do think of them.

Here's a cop out

 

[ceecee]

For example, I'll need to do something, and I'll ask somebody with more experience if it should be done a certain way. I'll often get an answer like "do what makes sense to you." I always find myself unsatisfied with these answers, and want something more concrete.

I hate this answer, period. Do what makes you happy. Do what feels right. Yanno, I might want to go on a killing spree because it "feels right to me". Did anyone ever think of that kind of thing when giving such sage advice?

 

[Begoner]

I hate completely unedifying answers like "do what makes sense to you". It's not like I was trying to do something in the zaniest, most nonsensical way possible before someone bestowed that nugget of wisdom upon me. If someone gives me a suggestion, I'd like it to be constructive -- if I can't do something, it's generally because I lack sufficient knowledge or experience, not because I don't just "go with the flow".

 

[ChocolateMoose123]

So, I just realized that, when I'm doing certain tasks, and I ask for feedback from others, I don't tolerate a lot of ambiguity from others. If there's any ambiguity, I need to ask for clarification.

For example, I'll need to do something, and I'll ask somebody with more experience if it should be done a certain way. I'll often get an answer like "do what makes sense to you." I always find myself unsatisfied with these answers, and want something more concrete.

I'm curious to see if any other NT's possess this trait, or if this is a character quirk that's more unique to me. Have any other NT's noticed this kind of thing in themselves? (Or for that matter, has anyone else noticed this in NT's they know?)

I understand your need for requesting clarification. I do that. However, when someone tells me "do what makes sense to you" I take it as there is no right or wrong way to do something so long as it gets done. If they don't like my way they should have been more informative.

 

[Heinel]

I can't tolerate ambiguity in most things I can think of, but I don't always speak up about it.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I can think of instances where "Do what feels right to you" applies. Different things make different people happy, and because of that, people figure that they aren't in a place to tell others what would work for them. Moreover, we, as individuals, know ourselves better than anyone, so it doesn't make sense to seek out answers to personal questions from others.

But there are also, certainly, instances where it is just annoying. If it relates to a specific task I need to do, like cooking, I'd like less ambiguous information. It's really odd, but it seems to me like most people out there are more comfortable with ambiguity than me. I have to wonder if that's some sort of NT thing.

 

[Heinel]

I can think of instances where "Do what feels right to you" applies. Different things make different people happy, and because of that, people figure that they aren't in a place to tell others what would work for them. Moreover, we, as individuals, know ourselves better than anyone, so it doesn't make sense to seek out answers to personal questions from others.

But there are also, certainly, instances where it is just annoying. If it relates to a specific task I need to do, like cooking, I'd like less ambiguous information. It's really odd, but it seems to me like most people out there are more comfortable with ambiguity than me. I have to wonder if that's some sort of NT thing.

I think it's more Ti than NT. I get that more often from people with weak Ti.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I think it's more Ti than NT. I get that more often from people with weak Ti.

You're suggesting that the ambiguous, "Do what feels right", response is related to weak Ti? I know that this seems to be really bad with people I suspect to be strong Fs, so there might be something there.

 

[JustHer]

I find it pretty annoying, like I'd rather people just shrug instead of giving me a completely useless reply like "do what you think is right".

 

[BlueGray]

I hate when such responses are given when a task has been asked of you. However I find myself giving these same responses except that I give them when I am trying to teach someone. If I'm trying to coach or teach another person a skill I normally like them to do some exploring and to then build on what they uncover themselves. I wonder if everyone has different situations in which theses responses annoy them.

 

[jenocyde]

If I'm looking for feedback, I'm much more tolerant of bullshit answers. But if I require a specific answer to a specific question, I need it answered completely and concisely.

 

[cavarice]

This is a pet peeve of mine that is commonplace feature of my life.

Often times, when I ask someone how something needs to be done, their response often has me responding with: "That's too vague. Can you be more specific?"

My need for precision in descriptions, especially as it pertains to instructions, can be asinine. I don't like to make assumptions on how something should or shouldn't be done. With any level of perceived ambiguity, I will come up with 55,000 different ways of approaching it and have a hard time picking an "appropriate" one.

 

[Totenkindly]

The title of the thread was a little misleading. I guess all types like SOME level of clarification... just in different areas.

I mean, SJs I know IRL seem very bent on getting closure on things; the abstractions tend to bug them, the words are empty and have no tangible meaning and they can't figure out what to do with them, and they ask ME to explain better what I mean... when another N would know exactly what I meant even with my one vague sentence.

But I do like to get things clearly stated when it matters. I like to know more information rather than less, and in a conversation, I'm not a minimalist... I want people to share everything relevant to topic so that we can find the best answer together and I can see clearly.

I also don't like getting vague tasks from people where I KNOW they are going to complain/judge me if I do it a way they don't like but they haven't specified exactly what they want. Or if I'm doing work for hire... you have to be very clear so that there is no confusion later. For me, context drives the demand for tangible clarity; otherwise I'm usually happy with abstraction clarity and don't need the physical details.

 

[cavarice]

I also don't like getting vague tasks from people where I KNOW they are going to complain/judge me if I do it a way they don't like but they haven't specified exactly what they want. Or if I'm doing work for hire... you have to be very clear so that there is no confusion later. For me, context drives the demand for tangible clarity; otherwise I'm usually happy with abstraction clarity and don't need the physical details.

I concur, especially with the bolded sections of this quote. It's another good way of saying what I said in my previous post. I tend to screw up horribly with tasks that I don't have precise-enough instructions. If I do something based on what "feels right", I will usually piss the other person(s) off. Relative to other people, what "feels right" for me tends to be idiosyncratic and asynchronous - I have very different approaches to performing a task for myself, vs something for other people.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

The title of the thread was a little misleading. I guess all types like SOME level of clarification... just in different areas.

I mean, SJs I know IRL seem very bent on getting closure on things; the abstractions tend to bug them, the words are empty and have no tangible meaning and they can't figure out what to do with them, and they ask ME to explain better what I mean... when another N would know exactly what I meant even with my one vague sentence.

But I do like to get things clearly stated when it matters. I like to know more information rather than less, and in a conversation, I'm not a minimalist... I want people to share everything relevant to topic so that we can find the best answer together and I can see clearly.

I also don't like getting vague tasks from people where I KNOW they are going to complain/judge me if I do it a way they don't like but they haven't specified exactly what they want. Or if I'm doing work for hire... you have to be very clear so that there is no confusion later. For me, context drives the demand for tangible clarity; otherwise I'm usually happy with abstraction clarity and don't need the physical details.

I guess I'm not sure what the difference is between the SJ clarification and the NT clarification. I know there's supposedly the concrete/abstract differentiation between the two temperaments. What sort of closure do SJ's need, and what sort of closure do NT's need?

This comes about because I apparently need things to be nailed down a lot, or at least am tired of people being vauge and fuzzy when there's something they want me to do, which is supposedly an S trait. I'm not sure how needing this sort of exactness when it comes to tasks fits as a form of "abstract" communication, which I'm supposed to have as an NT.