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How do you develop Ni?

CzeCze

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Apparently my 'Ni' is very low according to that smarty-pants cognitive functions test floating around the web. I may have to disagree. Once I figure out what Ni is. :laugh:

Judging from, uh, "a few examples" I've seen -- Ni seems to be bat guano kookiness? Precognition? Telepathy?

Kewl.

So -- how do you develop that?

Seriously.
 

miked277

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look at everything around you and question how it's viewed and why it even exists.

whenever i talk to an intj friend of mine i always come into the conversation from a typical Ti point of view that figuring out how all the variables relate to each other we can setup a framework to achieve the desired result. his responses are usually something like the framework doesn't even need to exist or comes at it from another angle stating that something i held to be a constant was not only not constant but should be changed or not used -- basically making all my "variable work" pointless. it's always interesting but i come away from these conversations feeling that the world i can imagine is tiny in comparison to what he can imagine. it's frustrating at times, but always interesting :)

i get the feeling if i (or others maybe) who aren't naturally strong in Ni tried to function as a Ni primary would they would go crazy ;)

so yeah, that's my experience/input.

edit: btw hey czecze, how's it going :)
 

Mort Belfry

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How do you develop Ni?

The best way is to strip to just your overalls, cover yourself in pig excrement and hang off of a flying fox by just your ankles.

Try it, it really works.
 

Lexlike

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look at everything around you and question how it's viewed and why it even exists.


i get the feeling if i (or others maybe) who aren't naturally strong in Ni tried to function as a Ni primary would they would go crazy ;)

haha, i think so too.
I still can´t understand how Ni really works... or is applied in reality, even though I score always pretty high on Ni
 

sarah

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Apparently my 'Ni' is very low according to that smarty-pants cognitive functions test floating around the web. I may have to disagree. Once I figure out what Ni is. :laugh:

Judging from, uh, "a few examples" I've seen -- Ni seems to be bat guano kookiness? Precognition? Telepathy?

Kewl.

So -- how do you develop that?

Seriously.


Amazon.com: 8 Keys to Self Leadership: From Awareness to Action: Dario Nardi: Books

This is one of the best books EVER on cognitive processes, including how to develop each of them. Seriously. :)

for a good explanation of each of the functions, see this link:

Understanding the Eight Jungian Cognitive Processes / Eight Functions Attitudes

Sarah
ISFP
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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The nature of intuition is to ask "why". Intuition does not accept things at face value, but wants to know the significance or principal behind what is right in front of us. This is true of both Ne and Ni. This asking of "why" manifests itself differently depending on whether the intution is introverted or extraverted.

Extraverted intuition, like all extraverted functions, is oriented more toward breadth because it tries to be the function that operates during almost every situation you come across in the external world. This means that Ne asks "why" about basically everything. It goes about unconsciously generating some kind of explanation for everything it encounters and then quickly moves onto the next thing. The result is that, because it is oriented toward many things at once it is excellent about seeing patterns between things that might seem totally unrelated to anyone else. It also naturally generates a large quantity of ideas, since the constant "why" already trains the mind to keep spitting out ideas. Eventually the mind becomes trained to spit out ideas on it's own without even asking the "why" question. Additionally all extraverted functions are useful for communication, but Ne is the most appropriate when giving an explanation of why something works, and is also the best for communicating novel ideas on the spot.

Introverted intuition, like all introverted functions, is oriented toward depth. It is much more focused than its extraverted counterpart. While Ne will ask "why" about one thing, and then ask "why" about something else, Ni will focus on one thing at a time and will keep asking "why" about the same thing over and over again. This is what is meant when Ni is said to be able to view things from multiple perspectives. It sees multiple possible explanations for the same thing. Then it can choose one explanation or an amalgam of explanations. This also results in the NJ having the greatest depth in understanding whatever it focuses on. It can even see patterns and trends from the present and past and extrapolate them into the future. Unfortunately introverted functions are not oriented toward communication, and the thought process for Ni is unconscious so the person is only aware of the result but not how they got there. This means that NJ's seem to have a way of just "knowing things", but they will be unable to adequately explain how they know.
 

Cimarron

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Interesting stuff, thanks for the discussion. Ni is supposedly my 8th function, so it does kind of feel like my appendix sometimes. I think I can also see how the Ne comes more naturally to me than the Ni.
 

Bella

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How do you know if N is i or e? What is it for ISTJ, do all ISTJ have the same N?
 

Cimarron

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According to the function charts, Ne is supposed to be ISTJs' 4th strongest function out of 8, and Ni is supposed to be ISTJs' weakest of all. It means our natural preference is very low for Ni, and comparatively low for Ne.

Well, not sure if this is exactly on target, but I invariably draw a blank when people tell me to make up something from thin air. That's what I get the feeling Ni is about, just coming up with an idea from out of the blue. If I'm off-base, someone may correct this post. :blush:

I have always asked "why" a lot, but not long ago I realized I could go into greater depth, and pursue that "why" for more than just a few steps. I would ask a chain of "why"s, trying to make a long chain of logic. That's switching from an Ne view to an Ni view, if I understand it. Though, that could be a T(thinking) function, and not N(intuitive); the differences here trip me up.
 
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Bella

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hmmm, thank you. I've sort of got the funtion descriptions down but still get lost about the details.
 

Cimarron

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I don't know, I wouldn't depend on it. But does the middle paragraph in my last post resonate with you (being an ISTJ)? I'm trying to get a feel for what Ni is exactly, myself.
 

Bella

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Well, I'm drawing a blank right now, have to think about it first. Is that the same thing, not being able to respond quickly to an answer? (or is that just stupidity! Haha!:blush:) Hmmm, I remember reading that S's have trouble with MBTI tests in that they're not always sure how to answer the questions. That's true - I often didn't feel like I knew how to answer because I didn't quite get what they were asking. That must most definitely have something to do with N, no? Getting the general idea of something and then responding to it.

Oh heck, I don't know......but it's good to talk to an ISTJ! There are so few around here!:hi:
 

Lexlike

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How do you know if N is i or e? What is it for ISTJ, do all ISTJ have the same N?

N is the weakest function of the Istj.... No wonder, most ISTj are not the idea types, but more the linear thinkers, stickung to the rule, detail- oriented... That´s kind of the opposite of Intuition
 

Bella

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So is N about ideas or is it about picking up on "vibes', attitudes or whatever that nobody else is picking up on. I thought the traditional definition of being intuitive is being able to just "tell". Does that make sense? Wher do ideas fit into it?

Bear with your neighborhood S........:blush:
 

Virtual ghost

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To tell you the truth I think you must be born with it or at least with the tendency.
 

Bella

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BUT WHAT IS THE TENDENCY!! PLEASE EXPLAIN THE TENDENCY!!!!!!!!!!!:huh::blush:
 

Lexlike

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Well, I'm drawing a blank right now, have to think about it first. Is that the same thing, not being able to respond quickly to an answer? (or is that just stupidity! Haha!:blush:) Hmmm, I remember reading that S's have trouble with MBTI tests in that they're not always sure how to answer the questions. That's true - I often didn't feel like I knew how to answer because I didn't quite get what they were asking. That must most definitely have something to do with N, no? Getting the general idea of something and then responding to it.

Oh heck, I don't know......but it's good to talk to an ISTJ! There are so few around here!:hi:

Well, it´s definitly not stupidy!!! Introverts tend to reflect first, than they answer, but thats another couple of tea.
To answer "abstract" question, you have to be more intuitive, not trying to fiind answer through your sensing process, but just through you N...
 

Virtual ghost

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BUT WHAT IS THE TENDENCY!! PLEASE EXPLAIN THE TENDENCY!!!!!!!!!!!:huh::blush:

Tendency to be detached from people and reality. Have an interests in advanced hard science. To be obsessed with solar system when you are 4 years old, and stuff like that.

I had tendency and I was born with it. So I have developed it very good.
Ni is from all eight functions the most ilusive function .

Personaly I think that you can't have developed Ni and be ISTJ. Sorry.
 

edcoaching

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Actually I think of Ni as asking "What if" rather than Why which Nardi for sure attributes to Ti...

So as children (and as we become writers :) what if we could travel through time? What would it be like to be a basketball? What if Captain Kirk saves someone who was supposed to die and actually stalls the allies from stopping Hitler? What if Cinderella was ugly but nice, or her sisters pretty but still mean? What if I were in charge?

Today it's manifesting itself as what if i were writing Obama's speeches...

So all those creativity exercises can help with developing skills with it, just as I can work on Si by reality exercises. ISTJs can be really creative, especially in problem solving, once there is agreement on the facts and a clear definition of the problem. N's often start solving before they get what the problem is...natural place for synergy when we're working together :)
 

The_Liquid_Laser

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So is N about ideas or is it about picking up on "vibes', attitudes or whatever that nobody else is picking up on. I thought the traditional definition of being intuitive is being able to just "tell". Does that make sense? Wher do ideas fit into it?

Bear with your neighborhood S........:blush:

The difference between S and N is concrete vs abstract. When a person is picking up on "vibes" or they can just "tell", that might be a result of either S or N. The "vibes" mean that the person is relying on an unconscious function. If the person were relying on thinking or feeling, then they would know why they reached their conclusion. When a person relies on S or N they only know the conclusion, but probably don't know how they got there, because the process is unconscious.

For example when a wide receiver runs out 50+ yards and catches a football, then he is using Se. How does he know where to be and when to get there in order to catch the ball? He just knows. He is just able to "tell". If Te were used to catch the football, then he'd have to know the speed and trajectory of the ball when released, and he'd have to know his running speed, etc.... He'd have to do a lot of measuring and calculating to get the same result. Se does all the measuring and calculating unconsciously, and then just gives the result, "Go here at this time to catch the ball". Although he doesn't even really think this thought, he just knows where to go without thinking about it.

Intuition is like this only it is about ideas rather than something concrete or tangible. Say Isaac Newton is sitting under a tree trying to figure out why the planets revolve around the sun. An apple falls and the idea comes to him suddenly, "the force moving the planets is the same force that dropped the apple to the ground". This flash of insight is intution (Ni specifically). He didn't sit down and methodically come to that conclusion like a person consciously using thinking. The calculations were done unconsciously and he only got the result. Later he went out and performed the necessary calculations on paper (i.e. thinking) to show everyone else the insight is true, but that isn't how he got the idea in the first place.

Now both the football player and Isaac Newton had a way of just "knowing" their result. The difference is that Isaac Newton's "knowing" had to do purely with an idea, while the football player's insight was more concrete in nature (a ball, a field, etc...). The concept of gravity is an abstraction of concrete things, while the football really is concrete.

edcoaching said:
Actually I think of Ni as asking "What if" rather than Why which Nardi for sure attributes to Ti...
Heh, I may have used the word "why" too much, but the idea is that intuition tries to get at the meaning behind something instead of simply seeing it as it appears. "Why", "What if", "How" etc... are all questions that intuition might ask. It simply does these unconsciously, and then we get the result without really knowing how it got there.
 
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