Southern Kross
Away with the fairies
- Joined
- Dec 22, 2008
- Messages
- 2,910
- MBTI Type
- INFP
- Enneagram
- 4w5
- Instinctual Variant
- so/sp
[MENTION=6561]OrangeAppled[/MENTION]'s post was awesome BTW
*takes notes*
I have a close INTJ friend who does this. Now and then, he will look me in the eyes and earnestly ask what I think about a specific issue (perhaps a current event that has spurred debate for example). He will then listen intently to my answer, perhaps asking another question to clarify, until I speak some sort of magic words. He will then suddenly straighten up, abruptly raising his finger in the air, eyes widened, and say, with some enthusiasm, "exactly!". He then will explain either how I inadvertently hit the nail right on the head (and addressed the essence of the issue according to his view of things) or how I fell into a common trap that people often do.
OK so it's not always exactly like this, but whenever we are discussing something he clearly has investigated or pondered upon, he will often suddenly become very responsive and leap upon my words with delight; he then explains what added information he has uncovered (which clarifies or changes the issue), and/or his theory on the matter. I don't mean to say it is some sort of arrogance, it's rather endearing actually. I also think he asks only because he thinks I'm a sensible and perceptive person and he values my opinion. But it is so interesting to see how much enjoyment he takes in people crossing the same path he has perceived intuitively.
I see the same in INFJs as well. For example they might try to pre-emptively counteract a false impression/sense/feeling you have about or toward them when you first meet them; or perhaps if you openly express this false impression they will leap upon it and correct you in no uncertain terms. With INXJs in general, it can seem like they are displeased when you get such things wrong, but really they seem to inwardly enjoy it, saying to themselves (and sometimes to others) "AHA! You've foolishly fallen into that trap and I knew you would!".
Fascinating.Ni is "narrow" because it's only answering one question at a time. It is the question that both provides focus and excludes possibilities.
Mature Ni often asks a meta-question, namely, "Am I asking the right question?"
Even less mature Ni do this to a large degree, usually by walking away from a problem after working on it without solving it. After we stop thinking about the problem, we get to "reset" the question, and come back to it a while later with an ever-so-slightly different question, and it's the different question that provides the instant "a-ha" style answer.
*takes notes*
These are some interesting points. One thing I notice about Ni-doms is just how much they want to prepare for what might likely happen and how much they take pleasure in anticipating or even pre-empting it.Good observations, here. Though I would suggest that there isn't so much a passive or intentional attempt to regulate reality. Rather, it is opportunism. The same way an athlete keeps ready, waiting for the ball to come his way and react appropriately, an Ni-dom keeps an eye on the inner dynamics (the Ni building blocks), and acts when the dynamics are favorable.
Such opportunism makes people think INTJs are great strategists, or that INFJs are great manipulators. Obviously, if events worked out to be so favorable to themselves, they must have planned the whole thing, right? No. We only have a vague idea how things will work out. We just wait until they're virtually certain to work out. I bring an umbrella because I know it will rain today. I didn't make it rain. See the difference?
I have a close INTJ friend who does this. Now and then, he will look me in the eyes and earnestly ask what I think about a specific issue (perhaps a current event that has spurred debate for example). He will then listen intently to my answer, perhaps asking another question to clarify, until I speak some sort of magic words. He will then suddenly straighten up, abruptly raising his finger in the air, eyes widened, and say, with some enthusiasm, "exactly!". He then will explain either how I inadvertently hit the nail right on the head (and addressed the essence of the issue according to his view of things) or how I fell into a common trap that people often do.
OK so it's not always exactly like this, but whenever we are discussing something he clearly has investigated or pondered upon, he will often suddenly become very responsive and leap upon my words with delight; he then explains what added information he has uncovered (which clarifies or changes the issue), and/or his theory on the matter. I don't mean to say it is some sort of arrogance, it's rather endearing actually. I also think he asks only because he thinks I'm a sensible and perceptive person and he values my opinion. But it is so interesting to see how much enjoyment he takes in people crossing the same path he has perceived intuitively.
I see the same in INFJs as well. For example they might try to pre-emptively counteract a false impression/sense/feeling you have about or toward them when you first meet them; or perhaps if you openly express this false impression they will leap upon it and correct you in no uncertain terms. With INXJs in general, it can seem like they are displeased when you get such things wrong, but really they seem to inwardly enjoy it, saying to themselves (and sometimes to others) "AHA! You've foolishly fallen into that trap and I knew you would!".