Ni as the philosopher, Ne as the detective

[Anarkandi]

I recently wrote this article on introverted intuition: The goal is that its described from the perspective or neuroscience.I often feel like there is a big Ni bias in the jungian communities and that Ne is sometimes described as more an extroverted than an intuitive function. I hope these definitions can bring more balance.

Ni is:
Foresight, perspective, vision, inner sight, hidden intention, sensory detachment, otherworldly perception, big-picture thinking, speculation, the ability to guess, "luck";, making theories about your experiences, creating concepts by synthesizing ideas.

Ne is:
"Interpretative intelligence gives powers such as the ability to spot hidden things, clues, and possibilities that others miss. It can be described as a sixth sense; the ability to instantly know something about another person or about a situation. It is the ability to quickly grasp complexity and to figure out what something means and to quickly put an idea to the test. It is the ability to suggest and start change and to start new movement."
Which function seems better?

 

[BlueScreen]

Without experience of both, it is hard to answer which seems better. I'm guessing most will have a bias toward their preferred function. Still I'd like to learn how Ni traits work so I can train myself to use them more and understand them.

 

[IndigoViolet11]

Since I have the end of Ni and Ne, it is quite apparent to me what they do. If either Ni or Ne works alone, their definition are clear cut as in how they were always mentioned, like the way in the article. However the bridge happens when the so call Ne reflects back as a copy for the Ni to process. (Ne becomes Ni, like a shadow of Ni) This way it blurs one's perception, making it hard to define a boundary. It *is* still Ni though, because the take *is* Ni, and as a human, we hardly change our core nature, or say, our dominant, but with internal stimuli expanded to the external, making one less subjective and much more towards the objective as well.

 

[Siúil a Rúin]

I recently wrote this article on introverted intuition: The goal is that its described from the perspective or neuroscience.I often feel like there is a big Ni bias in the jungian communities and that Ne is sometimes described as more an extroverted than an intuitive function. I hope these definitions can bring more balance.

Ni is:
Foresight, perspective, vision, inner sight, hidden intention, sensory detachment, otherworldly perception, big-picture thinking, speculation, the ability to guess, "luck";, making theories about your experiences, creating concepts by synthesizing ideas.

Ne is:
"Interpretative intelligence gives powers such as the ability to spot hidden things, clues, and possibilities that others miss. It can be described as a sixth sense; the ability to instantly know something about another person or about a situation. It is the ability to quickly grasp complexity and to figure out what something means and to quickly put an idea to the test. It is the ability to suggest and start change and to start new movement."
Which function seems better?

I've noticed in many function comparison threads there is a need to evaluate one as better than the other. Society ingrains that competitive model of lining everything up as steps on a ladder. It isn't possible to say which is better because it is like saying 'is blue or yellow better'? I see most things that exist as being so intrinsically different that comparisons are arbitrary. I definitely see people that way. I've spent a long time in a competitive, subjective profession and so the absurdity of competition and "winning" or "losing" is clear to me.

With this definition I would lean more towards Ni as a trait within myself, but in many definitions it's really not that clear to me. My inner child seems to be more about Ne. Ne-doms, especially ENFP are some of my favorite people, and I tend to be a quieter, more serious version of Phoebe from 'Friends' in my actual life. My sister and I played detective for years as children when we would hop on our bike, go to these old, abandoned houses, and dig through the photographs and letters left behind. We played "Nancy Drew" all the time. I can get a sense of other people's motivations, but I'm not a good detective overall, but am an arm-chair philosopher in my approach to most everything. I do tend to feel disconnected from reality, viewing it through a glass, but my inner world is often overly-intense. Perhaps I'm rambling now because I'm not certain what to say, except that I don't see how to compare functions as 'better' or 'worse' than another function.

 

[Norrsken]

Ne: This is a possibility that can go somewhere, and I better follow it to reach the conclusion.
Ni: I already know the final conclusion but ok.

 

[Fidelia]

They are complementary to one another. Ne is better at taking what is and optimizing it in ways others don't readily see. It can deal with situations where much change isn't possible in a way Ni can't. I think its great at making the best use of peoples traits and talents and reads peoples motivations and needs very quickly. Ne also is great at finding relevant tidbits of info for thw situation or occasion and usually knows where they all came from.

Ni, on the other hand, is better at seeing what is possible and at predicting what will happen based on past patterns. It helps people see themselves differently and realize their potential. Ni is able to find common threads between disparate ideas or people and can create something entirely new out of a variety of sources. Unfortunately because of the way it mulches info, no users come away with a lot of impressions and gists rather than specific sources or details.

I wouldn't trade my no, but find the slow processing and the inability to retain specific details is sometimes inconvenient. On the other hand, I like the vision that ni offers and it's ability to transform the future. O envy a lot of Me superpowers, but couldn't give up mine for theirs.

 

[Psyclepath]

Some of what you describe sounds like Ti. Certainly, the deeply contemplative philosopher is generally a Ti-dom.

 

[Shaedow]

Addressing the OP, neither function is 'better' or 'worst' than another function in and of themselves. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. It's only when they are applied to the same context is one better able to navigate than another. It comes down to which functions's strength is more useful in a particular situation, or which function's weak point is more of a hindrance, that can determine which of the two is 'better' but only for that particular situation.

Some of what you describe sounds like Ti. Certainly, the deeply contemplative philosopher is generally a Ti-dom.

Which parts exactly?

"making theories about your experiences, creating concepts by synthesizing ideas."?

 

[Jayce]

I've been pondering about the N functions a lot lately. I'm supposed to be ENXP, yet I use Ni possibly even more than Ne. It might be I'm in a phase of N & Ti & Fi introspection since I'm not as much externally focused right now. I'm beginning to think N of more as a general function, at least in myself. I read the descriptions and I definitely relate to both. It could also be that Ti or Fi seems like Ni at times. Just yesterday was talking with an INTP and she seems to not use much Ni, but the Ti is way strong so there I see the difference, I think.

 

[OrangeAppled]

I experice Ne more as creative/inventive than "detecting".

There is cross-contextualizing, reading "vibes", having idea clouds rain down (often spurred by something unrelated or unlikely; sort of unfocused and not deliberate brainstorming), juxtaposition, and spotting emerging/hidden trends and patterns, but often in order to "manipulate" them in more unexpected way so you don't end up with the predictable result.

Ne is more connected to "what is happening", but not in a literal, in-the-moment sense, but the what is going on in the general current reality (big picture). That is the starting point, which can actually make it wackier as it may not take into acount the deeper dynamics beneath the possibilites (aka it may not truly be possible or the potential is more imagined than real). The judging functions provide the filter and the depth.

I would expect Ni, like all introverted functions, to be more "timeless", mentally exploring ideas or insights that may propel a vision forward, but not based on emerging possibilities so much as an awareness of immutable, intangible dynamics.

 

[Anarkandi]

I experice Ne more as creative/inventive than "detecting".

There is cross-contextualizing, reading "vibes", having idea clouds rain down (often spurred by something unrelated or unlikely; sort of unfocused and not deliberate brainstorming), juxtaposition, and spotting emerging/hidden trends and patterns, but often in order to "manipulate" them in more unexpected way so you don't end up with the predictable result.

I can't quite wrap my head around Ne being creativity. My key gift as a person is my creativity. I see my creativity as the synthesis and the conceptualization of ideas. I come up with concepts for elaborate new video games, projects, political systems. I hardly think anyone could tell that my creativity was less creative than that of a Ne type. Most people don't even notice that my process is different, because it seems random to them, but to me, it's something that's been popping in my head for weeks. Someone can tell me something, and I flip it and rewrite it, and so, everyone knows me as the brainstormer. It's my natural role in groups. And sometimes I see creativity not just in my Ni, but also in my Ti, and in my Fe. My Fe is creative enough to come up with ways to get my point across to a new group. My Ti is creative enough to improvise a technical explanation to why something isn't working and to come up with a few alternative solutions.

 

[Abendrot]

It occurred to me in a dream last night that in their idea generation process, Ni is like a depth first search, while Ne is like breadth first search.

Breadth-first search - Wikipedia
Depth-first search - Wikipedia

Depth-first search focuses in and goes deep, then backpedals.
Breadth-first search starts shallow and broad and slowly goes deep.