How does copy and pasting focus on their relationships?
'Sides, does it really count as "intuitive knowledge" "without being able to pinpoint why" if she's actually literally reading their minds?
I chose to do more copy-pasting because people tend to trust reliable sources rather than simple word of mouth. They can also draw their own conclusions from that kind of organized, credible information.
If you focus on how the first section relates to the second, you will see that my estimations follow through with the outcoming relationship-correspondences.
A side note before I continue: The ISTP is by nature one of the types who least "trusts" intuition, just as many Ns have a difficult time with comprehending S. You have great strength in understanding your S side, which is admirable. However, I understand N quite well (also, you and I are related as "enigmas" [INFP-ISTP], so I'm sure it is naturally difficult for us to understand each other).
That being said, I'll get back on topic.
Since River does seem to be able to "read" minds, it is obvious to note that the one type which would most likely evolve to achieve this ability would be the INFJ, and much less other types (I will quote why in the next paragraph down). Since this show is set far in the future, perhaps that's what is being portrayed (conceptually speaking from an evolutionary standpoint).
"Only one percent of the population has an INFJ Personality Type, making it the most rare of all the types...
some INFJs report experiences of a psychic nature, such as getting strong feelings about there being a problem with a loved one, and discovering later that they were in a car accident.
This is the sort of thing that other types may scorn and scoff at..." (personalitypage.com)
A prime example of this would be when River advised Simon to save that dying patient in the hospital (or any of her "psychic" episodes, for that matter).
So my question is: would it be wrong to assume that River is a very evolved form of the INFJ?
Also, there are a few other things that make the INFJ type apparent in River. One example is her desire to seek revenge on those who prey on the weak (ie: when she slashed Jayne's chest with a knife because he was victimizing Simon. She acted on this desire because of her amagdyla malfunction, forcing her to feel things she could normally push back into her head).
Another would be that the INFJ is the natural "pal" of the ENFJ (Kaylee), as made apparent in the show. Also, the INFJ-INTP are natural "advisors" to eachother (as seen with her and her brother).
If you refer to my relationships page, and watch the shows again, you will see that it all clicks quite well, forming a sort of interlocking spiderweb of relation.
I have placed more emphasis on the characters and their relationships as a whole, rather than trying to identify each of their tendencies seperately (which I find to be misleading, seeing as each personality type is different based on how their tendencies work together, not independently).
Such was the goal of Isabel Briggs Myers herself (an INFP).
My apologies for rambling; I wanted to exude all of the details for you to have a better idea of where I'm coming from.