How Do You Tell N from S?

[Matthew_Z]

If you throw the grenade: S.
If you throw the safety pin: N.

I think it's safe to say that if N/S were from a single gene, N would not be on a dominant allele. Natural selection would have made the gene extinct by now.

 

[Windigo]

Here's how I know I'm N. When I go out with my artist sister to eat at a new restaurant the ride home will be filled with comments about the environment, such as,
S "Did you notice the pretty blue cornflowers on the plate?"
N "What? No, I thought the plates were white.
S "Yes, they perfectly complemented the sage green and brown pin striping on the wall paper.
N "What? No really? I thought the walls were white!"
LOL! I can't tell you how many times I've had variations on that theme!

 

[highlander]

I don't use any of the cognitive function garbage when trying to draw out S or N. I look at 2 things:

1) what they seem to covet
2) how they frame their ideas

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Please explain further.

 

[highlander]

Why read a book when the internet can provide information on any subject imaginable?

Why limit yourself to one form of media?

 

[nozflubber]

I would if i could. When typing people i just don't anchor anything they do or say in particular, nor do i try to explain what I see via cognitive functions since multiple functions/combinations of functions can be used to explain any behavior. I just watch them and LISTEN to them intensely, and my intuition does it for me. Its pretty neat. I could be off greatly at times though and would never know....

But even if I am wrong much of the time, I'm supremely confident that most people basically "Wear" their type on their body, on their face and especially in their voice. The trick is to find someone you know that is, say INFP, and study their mannerisms until you can spot them in a stranger.

 

[highlander]

I would if i could. When typing people i just don't anchor anything they do or say in particular, nor do i try to explain what I see via cognitive functions since multiple functions/combinations of functions can be used to explain any behavior. I just watch them and LISTEN to them intensely, and my intuition does it for me. Its pretty neat. I could be off greatly at times though and would never know....

But even if I am wrong much of the time, I'm supremely confident that most people basically "Wear" their type on their body, on their face and especially in their voice. The trick is to find someone you know that is, say INFP, and study their mannerisms until you can spot them in a stranger.

Makes sense. I don't understand the "covet" part though. What impression are you forming there?

 

[Matthew_Z]

Why limit yourself to one form of media?

Different forms of media have different advantages and disadvantages. While supplementing materials from many forms of media is preferred, I've presently declined avid bookreading for its disadvantages.

 

[nozflubber]

Makes sense. I don't understand the "covet" part though. What impression are you forming there?

I just mean try to get a feel for where their mind is coming from and where they are going with what they say and what they believe, as its a good sign of what they are after.... NFs a more principled/harmonious world, NTs the elusive/novel forms of knowledge, SJs the next rung on the ladder, etc

 

[sleepy]

Here's how I know I'm N. When I go out with my artist sister to eat at a new restaurant the ride home will be filled with comments about the environment, such as,
S "Did you notice the pretty blue cornflowers on the plate?"
N "What? No, I thought the plates were white.
S "Yes, they perfectly complemented the sage green and brown pin striping on the wall paper.
N "What? No really? I thought the walls were white!"
LOL! I can't tell you how many times I've had variations on that theme!

So Ss are more dominant then Ns, since she decides what the conversation will be about. And Ns the passive one. That makes sense.

I often wonder if there is not an hidden correlation between N/S and F/T, sometimes they seem to come out as the same thing, F being N, and S being T. Governed by the P/J and E/J for direction and conclusion vs perception. Anyone else notice this? I know, not very well explained, but system analyse isn't exactly my strong point. I just found it peculiar, and wonder if it is true?

 

[Windigo]

So Ss are more dominant then Ns, since she decides what the conversation will be about. And Ns the passive one. That makes sense.

I often wonder if there is not an hidden correlation between N/S and F/T, sometimes they seem to come out as the same thing, F being N, and S being T. Governed by the P/J and E/J for direction and conclusion vs perception. Anyone else notice this? I know, not very well explained, but system analyse isn't exactly my strong point. I just found it peculiar, and wonder if it is true?

No, she just dominated the conversation about the environment about which I was utterly lost, because I had dominated the conversation over dinner about ideas and was focused more in a world of possibilities and ideas than wall paper and fine china.

 

[Kaveri]

I've had the impression that my mom is an N but I frequently find myself questioning that... Like, today we went to see the film "Avatar" together. I was mesmerised by the film and, when we left the theatre, I went over the film in my head, the beautiful imagery, the beautiful message, and the lovely Na'vi people... but my mom started instantly talking about how she needs to wash the car. :/ Then we started talking about the film, and I said that it was mind-blowing, and mom agreed that it was good. I started making comparisons to Native cultures in Africa and America and how people once destroyed them, and then my mom got irritable and said: "It was a nice film but please don't ruin this by starting to talk about something that has nothing to do with it. It's not the same thing! This was just a film."

It's things like this that make me think that my mom can't be an N despite her premonitions about the future... Now I think that I've incorrectly concluded that she's an N based on insuffucient evidence.

 

[Walking Tourist]

That won't work on a strong S type... we're too observant. We'll just duck.

Sorry about this...

*whips a pair of Timberlands at you*

That should test for super-S.

 

[Saslou]

I am going to say it people .. A sensor is finally going to say it .. Stop seeing, hearing, feeling everything as black and white Where the hell is the grey??????

Is their thought process more random, connecting the dots, or future oriented (N) or is it more factual, specific, and based on past history (S). You can try and get clues related to this based on how they talk but it is not always easy because people use their left or right hand to fit the specific situation.

Another clue - Ns finish other people's sentences

Oh darling .. being an S, i like connecting the dots, i enjoy different interpretations than my own, i want to be challenged. Now granted, i don't always verbalise my thoughts so it may seem i am not a deep/intellectual thinker .. But the thoughts are there, i am just connecting and expanding them myself. I personally don't need to impress anyone else with my conclusions. I get satisfaction from it myself.

Do you know why i don't finish other peoples sentences .. And there are times when i know what they are going to say .. Because it is rude

 

[Windigo]

It's things like this that make me think that my mom can't be an N despite her premonitions about the future... Now I think that I've incorrectly concluded that she's an N based on insuffucient evidence.

Now here's an interesting thread . . . My mom was a definite sensor and yet she was very in tune with the supernatural/premonitions/mind reading . . . What does that mean? Does anyone have any theories?

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Now here's an interesting thread . . . My mom was a definite sensor and yet she was very in tune with the supernatural/premonitions/mind reading . . . What does that mean? Does anyone have any theories?

I am starting to think it's not all or nothing N/S or T/F. Wow. That sounds so profound, DUH....hahaha! But really, I think if a person is, let's say INTP with 60% N, then they might have 100% Ti, and 60% Ne with 40% Se. Or if someone fits the type description of ISTJ, but is very intuitive, perhaps they are 55% S, 45% N; allowing them to have nearly equal use of Si and Ni, followed by good Te.

I started thinking about this by really watching and analyzing my kids. I thought my son was For Sure an infp cuz he's pretty wacky and definitely an Fi user. But he also likes to fix things and take them apart and see how they work (Ti). Since my husband's primary function is Ti, I recognize it well. So I think my son is INXP, with good use of both T and F (from his parents?). As an infp, he'd be Fi/Ne and as intp, he'd be Ti/Ne. So, judging by his personality right now, I'd list his functions as Fi/Ti, and Ne.

This is the only function theory that really makes sense to me. I'm convinced we get a mix from our parents, unless our parents are the same type (then we still get the less expressed traits). Of course genes can and will do anything, but I'm talking statistically, using averages. And this helps me to understand why an ISTP can be very intuitive. If his S/N is close, then Ne will be one of his earliest functions to develop. I think this is probably more likely than the later projected and theorized development of Ni in an ISTP.

 

[onemoretime]

Now here's an interesting thread . . . My mom was a definite sensor and yet she was very in tune with the supernatural/premonitions/mind reading . . . What does that mean? Does anyone have any theories?

Premonitions are pretty common in Si users. The environmental stimuli resonate with a past experience, bringing up a recollection of the experience as a whole, but interpreted as a omen of the future (Si - what is past is the same as what the future will bring)

 

[Kaveri]

Premonitions are pretty common in Si users. The environmental stimuli resonate with a past experience, bringing up a recollection of the experience as a whole, but interpreted as a omen of the future (Si - what is past is the same as what the future will bring)

Ah, this makes sense, because my mom is obviously a J, so if she's an S, then she's not "supposed" to have strong Ni. I thought that Ni alone is responsible for things like mind-reading and premonitions

My mom is really good at interpretting subtle signs... Like, when she calls me, she always knows by the tone of my voice wether something is wrong, wether I'm reading something or walking somewhere... She's like: "A-ha, so you're on the computer now? A-ha, now you're going to town?"

And she has these premonitions all the time... Once she called a clerk to pass on a message, and after the call she felt like the clerk hadn't properly passed on the message, so she called again, and it turned out that the clerk hadn't properly passed on the message. But my mom just couldn't get rid of the feeling that something's not correct, and she called a third time, and turned out that the clerk still hadn't properly passed on the message.

 

[Tiltyred]

I think S tends to read books that have a strong plot line, and they can tell you every step of the plot line, whereas N can't. So when you ask an S what the book was about, he will say something like, "This guy was kidnapped, and he was hidden in an underground tunnel, and the police were trying to find him, and ..." and an N will say "It was about the struggle between good and evil, the conflict between light and dark..."

 

[tinkerbell]

Do N's repeat... re-read/rewatch things they enjoy....

My sister commented about a programme she had seen that she'd seen it once already....

I love watching things I enjoy more than once

 

[Tiltyred]

I only keep books I've read more than once. When I order a movie, I typically watch it at least three times in a row. If I buy music, I listen to it until it's memorized. If I like it, I want to incorporate it completely.