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[Ni] Do You Think Introverted Intuition Is Focused On The Future

á´…eparted

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I think these types of elements are much closer to the heart of Ni than the future aspect.

This is because pretty much every type may look to the future in some way, it's just a matter of degree, whereas many people aren't going to identify with the bullet points you list here.

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I often look forward into the future, in the sense of projecting my current life out into the future, far into the future, and asking myself if I am ok with my current life far into the future. Or, in the past I've gotten very hung up and anxious about not knowing what I want for the future - which is a different type of future focus (it's trying to define the future when the act of defining it doesn't come naturally). But in a broad sense I very much try to look at my life with a longer lens, to help me in the choices I do make.

But life plan? I have never had one. I don't even know what I will be doing next year, though I am working on that. ;)

I agree with this. Focusing on the "future" aspect of Ni sort of short changes it. That's not what it is all about.

As I understand it, I have always seen Ni as "convergence". It looks at unrelated items, or items that don't immediated look like they are related, and fills in the blanks to connect them. It doesn't mean theses blanks will be correct. They can be, but it's more that Ni has intrinsic faith that making these connections, filling in the blanks, and reasoning the information will be done correctly. Ni is also largely unconscious. In the sense that it doesn't require a lot of conscious thought to work, or the conscious thought is very non-linear. It relies a lot more on memory of patterns, without needing to recall the details of the pattern. This is why some Ni users can come across as completely off their rocker and be completely oblivious to their errors; they recall informations without the details and assume it's correct by default, because experience tells them it usually is.
 

highlander

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Ok. I'm not an Ni dom, but I have it. [MENTION=8936]highlander[/MENTION] Are you looking for overall agreement of Ni or just relegating that to Ni doms?

I don't know how you're setting the test up though.

Will the questions be sorted by filtering dominant cog function first? Then working down the line from that point?

It's about Ni in the dominant or auxiliary position.
 

VeniVidiVertigo

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I don't really plan ahead perC. My Ni does a number of things. But spesifically relating to future orientation: I se a series of events in the future. This is not real, but i think the same laws apply to my vision as they would actual series of events. like if i say something or act in a certain way THIS would happen. I am CONVINCED the same laws apply. These series of events i don't really control, i see them. But i can try different scenarios. I am emotionally affected by what i see. Theese can be crossroad scenarios. i can learn from what i see like i would if it was anything real (as the same laws apply). So i guess, conviction that my vision is real + motivation towards something i have seen is what get's me going on the larger scale. And everything finds it's place. me beeing -Te dom, it's better for me to start doing something and thinking follows. instead of reverse i guess. (it's really the same)

On the more practical side, it's REALLY good at filling the gaps. So you need minimal information to complete the picture. it get's that from memories/patterns of something you barely remember etc. but you don't have to conciously think about it.

It's a really poor description, but it's what i got.
 

Z Buck McFate

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I develop a perception of what will happen in the future

I envision the future and foresee how things will unfold

I'm oriented towards the future and have a feeling of certainty as to what it holds

I think this is true, but it actually takes a lot of effort to realize that's what I'm looking at/reacting to. I see some small indication of a bigger thing and it takes effort to isolate what I'm seeing back into the small indication directly in front of me. I will actually feel like I'm already seeing the bigger thing happening/about to happen- often without even knowing specifically what the bigger thing is. An emotional reaction to the thing precedes understanding of exactly what the thing is.

The thing to take away here is: if I were to take this test knowing nothing about type, I'd likely respond no. I don't think of myself as being especially future-oriented. But essentially, it's why INFJs have such strong reactions (that are nearly impossible to explain, but strong nonetheless)- we're reacting to the dominoes that haven't fallen over yet. It's like our limbic system sees those dominoes, but we aren't actively looking for them and our conscious mind is often the last one to get that memo (sometimes it all doesn't 'make sense' until years later).

It's very frustrating to have a strong emotional charge while working through information (and for that charge to bleed through) because my limbic system got some memo that I haven't seen yet- whilst simultaneously having little or no idea what that memo actually says. It isn't certainty, exactly. At this point in my life I trust the feeling is strong for a reason, but I'm pretty much always aware that the reason I think it's there might be wrong. (eta: In more than a couple places in this forum, INFJs explain that once they figure out 'why' the emotional charge is there, there's a tremendous feeling of relief. Waiting for that memo can be excruciating.)

I develop a fundamental change in the approach or underlying assumptions

Making this specific- giving a very specific example of how this might play out- might yield more accurate results. Because I think it's true, but it's so vague that I don't really know exactly what it's asking. (And I did try, but it's going to take time for me to come up with an example of "specific example".)

I come up with new ideas or perspectives by synthesizing various opposing points of view

This one I can get onboard with.
 

anticlimatic

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Insofar as I've been able to tell Ni + future = paranoid dillusion that 90% of the time never comes to pass.

Ni - Fe is handy because it lets you read a room, but Ni - Te seems to be a recipe for failed predictions, which is likely why INTJs are such an ornery self-disappointed lot.
 

VeniVidiVertigo

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Insofar as I've been able to tell Ni + future = paranoid dillusion that 90% of the time never comes to pass.

Ni - Fe is handy because it lets you read a room, but Ni - Te seems to be a recipe for failed predictions, which is likely why INTJs are such an ornery self-disappointed lot.

then there are 10% of the paranoid delutional that are SO sure of his/her delutions that circumstance has no choice but to manifest them.
 

anticlimatic

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then there are 10% of the paranoid delutional that are SO sure of his/her delutions that circumstance has no choice but to manifest them.

It's like gambling. You win one out of ten and keep coming back for more (until you're broke).
 

VeniVidiVertigo

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Ni - Te seems to be a recipe for failed predictions, which is likely why INTJs are such an ornery self-disappointed lot.

so.. nietzsche wanted to be prom king, but ended up spending his life in a delusion that culminated in him having a mental breakdown over someone hitting a horse :)
 

Tilt

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It's interesting because I have always had a very long range view of the future - like 20 or 30 years. I plan that far ahead. I'm always thinking about what is going to happen in the future. I think many INTJs do this. I have always thought Ne is more about picking up on emerging patterns - so it's more accurate at predicting the short range future than Ni is which is more focused on long term.

I wonder if INFJs are different than INTJs on this question.

I have pronounced usage of both Ni (in fact, I used to confuse it often with Ti) and Fe. When I engage in Ni, I pinpoint exactly what I want and can usually accurately pinpoint what "course of action" (Ni?), especially in relation to other people (Fe?), needs to happen in order for it to come to fruition. My Ni can conceptualize the different facets of a long-term plan without prior experience or knowledge because it cross-compares to different realms of what I already know...in essence, extrapolates. The advantage that NTJs have over me is that they don't tend to get quite so hung up on or anxious about how certain irrelevant things/ details will affect other people.

If I had to compare myself to my good ISTJ friend, the last thing you would attribute to him would be "visionary". He's very future-oriented, but most of his plans stem from the things that he ALREADY knows and are gradual stepping stones from his previous experiences.

I would say Pi, in general, seems rather future-oriented, but Ni is much more focused on implications, nuances, cause and effect. Si is more, "it is what it is", "look to the past to get a sense of where the future will lie."
 

KitchenFly

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Would you gamble on taking a chance because you adamantly believe you know the future, the out come?

You misunderstood me, that was my suggestion for a Ni cognitive question. Your looking for the inner cognitive focus, fuel that drives the passion, the appetite. The bait that tempts.

Entropy is a real factor, and all people have a visceral response, to a passion, a passion that provides an avenue a path for managing experience, a manifested chose for a sense of control.

Place that question or a similar question in three context's one for each factor, cognitive influence ( serotonin, adrenalin, dopamine ) and you honour the question being relatable for each person that belongs to one of each of the three instincts. Positive negative neutral there are three states a passion can flow by and visible will be the order of the three catalysts ( serotonin, adrenalin, dopamine ). With mindful intent develops questions that solicit identifications ( positive neutral and negative ) with all three and you should have a sound questionnaire.

In other words you need to invoke the chemical action within the participants so as the participant can correctly determine a positive identification and provide a correct answer.

Ni I believe is a very fluid cerebral view upon reality and reactions and responses are lead in tandem with temperament and reaction and responses are visibly viewable.

There are most likely many question that are better than the one I provided but for those INTJ and INFJ types who are lead by the dual influence of serotonin - dopamine the and in these flight are propelled by adrenalin the So/Sx's and Sx/So's, will identify and respond to that question I believe.

I think what I am trying say is that your questions seem to me to be addressing the T and the F response and reaction rather than the Ni cognitive action for the INFJ and INTJ. That's my opinion.
 

highlander

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I develop a perception of what will happen in the future

I envision the future and foresee how things will unfold

I'm oriented towards the future and have a feeling of certainty as to what it holds

I think this is true, but it actually takes a lot of effort to realize that's what I'm looking at/reacting to. I see some small indication of a bigger thing and it takes effort to isolate what I'm seeing back into the small indication directly in front of me. I will actually feel like I'm already seeing the bigger thing happening/about to happen- often without even knowing specifically what the bigger thing is. An emotional reaction to the thing precedes understanding of exactly what the thing is.

The thing to take away here is: if I were to take this test knowing nothing about type, I'd likely respond no. I don't think of myself as being especially future-oriented. But essentially, it's why INFJs have such strong reactions (that are nearly impossible to explain, but strong nonetheless)- we're reacting to the dominoes that haven't fallen over yet. It's like our limbic system sees those dominoes, but we aren't actively looking for them and our conscious mind is often the last one to get that memo (sometimes it all doesn't 'make sense' until years later).

It's very frustrating to have a strong emotional charge while working through information (and for that charge to bleed through) because my limbic system got some memo that I haven't seen yet- whilst simultaneously having little or no idea what that memo actually says. It isn't certainty, exactly. At this point in my life I trust the feeling is strong for a reason, but I'm pretty much always aware that the reason I think it's there might be wrong. (eta: In more than a couple places in this forum, INFJs explain that once they figure out 'why' the emotional charge is there, there's a tremendous feeling of relief. Waiting for that memo can be excruciating.)

I develop a fundamental change in the approach or underlying assumptions

Making this specific- giving a very specific example of how this might play out- might yield more accurate results. Because I think it's true, but it's so vague that I don't really know exactly what it's asking. (And I did try, but it's going to take time for me to come up with an example of "specific example".)

I come up with new ideas or perspectives by synthesizing various opposing points of view

This one I can get onboard with.

Thank you. I think this articulates things very well. I experience Ni in a similar way. I have a vague but strong feeling on a direction to go or a sense about something. The rationale always comes after that feeling or sense. I used to think that i came up with logical reasons just in order to explain things to other people because my intuitions were illogical and I couldn't explain the reasoning for my thinking. I later realized that I do use the logic to vet out these intuitions and that they aren't always right - I bounce them off of reality. I ask other people's opinions a lot too and am very open to input but I often looking for them to validate or disprove this impression I already have or to provide further data points to allow me to refine that intuitive impression.
 

Lady_X

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i didn't realize ni was future focused. it's more than that tho...i mean there's something about paranoia in there too.

ni vs ne fascinates me. i so want to be able to understand ni better. i have an enfj friend tho and she seems to make up all these scenarios about other peoples motivations like to the point of actually thinking they're proven facts.
 

Lady_X

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I think what all four (ENFP, ENTP, INFJ, INTJ) have in common, is that they like to gage the present in contrast of the past to predict the future and rely on there impression to plan for the future and to manipulate the future. This can lead to a life is a gamble take a chance mentality and chance is rewarding it needs a plan and risk is exciting it can yield understandings.

I like your questions, but I think they are to "N" the kind of "N" that is universal. At a level all types equally inter reflect and that requires all four function to work in tandem to steer the ruder (up down left right) of the Passions. The passions that influence us are constantly in flux to sustain and promote a satisfied self, and a balanced Self. That is the nature of emotion "forward movement" though time.

i agree with this. i would've personally answered yes to those questions in a test.
 

Z Buck McFate

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I think the difference between NP and NJ is that NP "future orientation" seems purely theoretical, whereas for NJs it's based more on experience and it's more about what will happen than what could happen. I don't know quite how to parse that out in a test though.

I later realized that I do use the logic to vet out these intuitions and that they aren't always right - I bounce them off of reality. I ask other people's opinions a lot too and am very open to input but I often looking for them to validate or disprove this impression I already have or to provide further data points to allow me to refine that intuitive impression.

Yes, I do think the need to bounce it off others is very strong. When I have someone I can bounce the actual thoughts off of- without needing to put an excessive amount of work into sterilizing them or adding a million bajillion disclaimers (so it won't be taken the wrong way, or get misunderstood and end up creating an even bigger mess)- it makes the process of figuring out what's bothering me A LOT easier, and can help reduce the emotional charge or stop it from being so distracting. Bouncing this stuff off of the wrong people though can create an even bigger/more confusing mess than I started with.

I suspect INTJs have an easier time finding people to do this with. Because it does sound paranoid to people who don't understand what it's actually like- and it's more acceptable, generally, to be paranoid and 'read things between the lines' about objective matters than of interpersonal ones. I'm not sure I've ever heard INTJs complain about how they have to be very careful about who they bounce reality off of to untangle the Ni spaghetti, because the wrong person can easily make a bigger mess of it- but INFJs have.
 

highlander

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Yes, I do think the need to bounce it off others is very strong. When I have someone I can bounce the actual thoughts off of- without needing to put an excessive amount of work into sterilizing them or adding a million bajillion disclaimers (so it won't be taken the wrong way, or get misunderstood and end up creating an even bigger mess)- it makes the process of figuring out what's bothering me A LOT easier, and can help reduce the emotional charge or stop it from being so distracting. Bouncing this stuff off of the wrong people though can create an even bigger/more confusing mess than I started with.

I suspect INTJs have an easier time finding people to do this with. Because it does sound paranoid to people who don't understand what it's actually like- and it's more acceptable, generally, to be paranoid and 'read things between the lines' about objective matters than of interpersonal ones. I'm not sure I've ever heard INTJs complain about how they have to be very careful about who they bounce reality off of to untangle the Ni spaghetti, because the wrong person can easily make a bigger mess of it- but INFJs have.

Yeah, I do it with a small number of people I trust (maybe one or two). Not sure if most INTJs are that way.
 

Kullervo

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Ni is spiritual. It is like the force.

I am being serious; when you daydream and have a sudden vision and sense of clarity/purpose, that is Ni at work. In a way, Ni dom/aux are the special humans who have no need for orgasms or MDMA. We can create them with our mind.
 

á´…eparted

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Ni is spiritual. It is like the force.

I am being serious; when you daydream and have a sudden vision and sense of clarity/purpose, that is Ni at work. In a way, Ni dom/aux are the special humans who have no need for orgasms or MDMA. We can create them with our mind.

This is putting Ni on a rediculous pedastal, and it's things like this that have caused the massive amount of stereotypes and problems with the presentation of INFJ's (and to a lesser extent INTJ's) online. They're not special or unique in this way. Ideas like this have been one of the largest reasons people over-identify as INFJ's when they aren't, and also leads to the type getting a far more pretty/beautiful image than is warranted. Ironically it even came at the expense and detriment of other types. It's not this fantasic and high flighted thing. Others already outlined fairly accurately what Ni is in this thread.

Maybe you experience things like this (it sounds immensely hyperbolic though, and if it is real it's honestly concerning to me), but it's not an illustration of what Ni is.
 

Pionart

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I have mentioned before that I believe that imagining past and future events is Introverted Perception.
 
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