The WhimWham
New member
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2008
- Messages
- 22
- MBTI Type
- INTP
the way i look at it is that ENTPs do less deductive work -- they spend way MORE time on inductive jumps than INTPs. they'll connect two things (extroverted intuition), send that to Ti to analyze, and then before they're even done, they've moved on to the next connection.
Ti doms make way fewer connections than Ne doms, they just analyze those connections to death.
(someone else back me up on this?)
We're really getting into semantic territory here, and I apologise for that.
Undoubtedly, part of the process of correctly formulating precise explanatory principles is a test against the real-world data, and yes, that is deductive, but (speaking for myself here) it's hardly the primary concern. That, to me, is properly assigned to Te, which INTPs seem to regard more as a necessary evil than anything else.
So I essentially agree with you, but the sticking point is that I still think the bulk of the analysis of those connections is inductive.
plus, seeing the specific in terms of a larger picture cannot be thought of as either introverted or extroverted, as it's the primary purpose of both Ni and Ne. the difference between introversion and extroversion here is that Ni sees the present specifics in the context of an abstract picture of the past, and Ne is less concerned with an encompassing abstract picture of the world -- it just cares about making as many connections with the things it sees as possible, even if they go against any kind of overall picture.
This is where I'm going to sound like a complete nutjob, so bear with me...
The common line of thought is that, yes, S = concrete and N = abstract, and in one sense that's correct, but in another sense I tend to disagree.
Take any ENTJ, for example. ESTJs tend to be a lot more literal-minded, but both are very "concrete" in that they're both results-oriented -- this is the Te at work. Meanwhile, even Si is "abstract" in the sense that it unifies sensory experience, linking the present to the past (hence the orientation towards stability and permanence).
You've now piqued my curiosity, because your description of Ni sounds like my idea of Si. It's the first time I've ever heard "Ni" and "past" in the same sentence. (This may be better in another thread.)