Ne and Ni

[Oaky]

Ne and Ni are supposedly the most confusing functions people try and make out. There are many false explanations I've seen before so hopefully this thread will make things clear.



Some definitions say Ni is looking through the facade and some say Ni is just knowing or having a sense about something. Personally I think it's looking through the facade. It was written that there can be no solid definition of Ni and it is more of something to be experienced. The definition I will use is the 'looking through the facade" definition. Here's an example of this Ni thought process:

"Why did that person spit to the side as he walked past me? Does he know me? Did he do it without thinking? Perhaps he spat just because he had something in his mouth and coincidentally I was there when he spat. But then again perhaps not. He could have also done it because he doesn't like the way I look, or dress, or my posture. Hmmm.. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe he's telling me something without being direct. He's wearing a similar scarf therefore he probably despised the idea of me wearing one too. Maybe he wants to see my reaction. He's not looking back so perhaps he expects me to go to him and ask him why he did that. Perhaps there is a person with a camera nearby video taping this. Maybe he is good though. Maybe he is indicating he is sick and wants me to stay away from him. Too noble. He's definitely up to something... "

It is more focused on the object.



Ne is more easily definable as the endless lines of what could happen or what could've happened. Looking at the possible situations that has or will happen in different lines of possibilities. An example of the Ne thought process would be:

"I woke up late in the morning therefore I missed the bus to work which could have had a nasty guy spitting on me which could have carried a disease which could have made me sick therefore I am happy I woke up late... but what if because I'm late my boss shouts at me and he has a disease worse than the guy at the bus and makes me even more sick and I suffer more thus making me not go to work for a longer period of time and the boss is so satisfied with my temporary replacement he fires me and I end up with no job causing me to be bankrupt and live on the streets because of the difficulty of finding a job... etc."

It is more focused on the 'could be'.



A good distinction is that Ne can be seen as a "How?" function while Ni being a "Why?" function
Ne asks "How did/could this happen?" or "How may this happen?"
Ni asks "Why did/could this happen?" or "Why may this happen?"

A detective of Ne would find a a clue in a crime scene and think to himself "How in the events did this appear here? What lead to this being here?" trying to find the story of the clue whereas a detective of Ni would look at the clue and say "Why is this clue here? What is it's purpose?" trying to find the purpose and meaning of the clue being there.

Both, however, are most likely to come to similar conclusions. Only through different thought processes.

A source in greenlightwiki has an interesting way to explain in.
"Ne looks outside the box whereas Ni looks at the box."

 

[Serendipity]

A source in greenlightwiki has an interesting way to explain in.
"Ne looks outside the box whereas Ni looks at the box."

I'd explain that sentence as:
Ne notices the box but prefers to look at the surroundings around the box, whilst Ni notices the surroundings around the box but prefers to look at the box.

Would you find that interpretation close?

Besides, There is no damn box. ._.
(been looking for ages)

 

[Riva]

I'd explain that sentence as:
Ne notices the box but prefers to look at the surroundings around the box, whilst Ni notices the surroundings around the box but prefers to look at the box.

Would you find that interpretation close?

Besides, There is no damn box. ._.
(been looking for ages)

No.

Ni s don't prefer to look at the box. They see the box.

 

[nozflubber]

No no no, they see themselves IN the box, that's why its INtroverted INtuition!

 

[Riva]

^ Si?

 

[Oaky]

I'd explain that sentence as:
Ne notices the box but prefers to look at the surroundings around the box, whilst Ni notices the surroundings around the box but prefers to look at the box.

Would you find that interpretation close?

Besides, There is no damn box. ._.
(been looking for ages)

Indeed, an Ni user can 'look outside the box' and an Ne user can 'look at the box' but the phrase put down would give a more solid distinction between the two.

 

[Serendipity]

Indeed, an Ni user can 'look outside the box' and an Ne user can 'look at the box' but the phrase put down would give a more solid distinction between the two.

Hmm, my bad. I looked upon people and not the two singular functions themselves. (it's clean)

 

[VagrantFarce]

I think the easiest way to tell the difference between Ni and Ne is to pair them up with their opposing Sensate functions.

• Extraverted Sensation (Se) says that the observable world is filled with wonderful stimuli, and all you have to do is let yourself react to it. No need to think, just react. The meaning of something is what your gut tells you you should do in response. If it's not here or not now, it's not real.
• Introverted Intuition (Ni) says that the observable world is arbitrary and deceitful, and not representative of all the possible interpretations of itself. You have to liberate yourself from these arbitrary interpretations by considering all possible interpretations, or you will risk being led astray.

• Extraverted Intuition (Ne) says that everything in the observable world is connected to a greater context, and it allows you to make contextual connections between this object and another one. Through this act of discovery, we become aware of greater possibilities for meaning, knowledge or action.
• Introverted Sensation (Si) says that the observable world is so overwhelmingly filled with stimuli and randomness that you need something stable to focus on, or you'll just be permanently overwhelmed and confused.

A nice method of telling the difference is to just consider the difference between Introverted and Extraverted Perception:

• Ne is open-ended and led by observation
• Ni is closed-off and not led by observation

 

[human101]

Ne steps out of the box and makes sense of it's universal features
Ni doesn't acknowledge box until they create their own box which they compare to the original existing box.

 

[jenocyde]

My Ne is nowhere near that linear or literal. Looking at someone spit might end up with a theory on space travel.

 

[Poki]

I think the easiest way to tell the difference between Ni and Ne is to pair them up with their opposing Sensate functions.

• Extraverted Sensation (Se) says that the observable world is filled with wonderful stimuli, and all you have to do is let yourself react to it. No need to think, just react. The meaning of something is what your gut tells you you should do in response. If it's not here or not now, it's not real.
• Introverted Intuition (Ni) says that the observable world is arbitrary and deceitful, and not representative of all the possible interpretations of itself. You have to liberate yourself from these arbitrary interpretations by considering all possible interpretations, or you will risk being led astray.

• Extraverted Intuition (Ne) says that everything in the observable world is connected to a greater context, and it allows you to make contextual connections between this object and another one. Through this act of discovery, we become aware of greater possibilities for meaning, knowledge or action.
• Introverted Sensation (Si) says that the observable world is so overwhelmingly filled with stimuli and randomness that you need something stable to focus on, or you'll just be permanently overwhelmed and confused.

A nice method of telling the difference is to just consider the difference between Introverted and Extraverted Perception:

• Ne is open-ended and led by observation
• Ni is closed-off and not led by observation

I like your explanations, but I disagree with Ni not being led by observation. I think this is a more dominant/aux Ni feature. My Ni is led almost entirely by observation.

 

[Oaky]

I think the easiest way to tell the difference between Ni and Ne, is to pair them up with their opposing Sensate functions. Comparing two pairs of functions is far easier than just comparing two functions, since you have a more reliable frame of reference to act as a comparison.

• Extraverted Sensation (Se) says that the observable world is filled with wonderful stimuli, and all you have to do is let yourself react to them. No need to think, just react. The meaning of something is what your gut tells you you should do in response. If it's not here or not now, it's not real.
• Introverted Intuition (Ni) says that the observable world is arbitrary and deceitful, and not representative of all the possible interpretations of itself. You have to liberate yourself from these arbitrary interpretations by considering all possible interpretations, or you will risk being led astray.

• Extraverted Intuition (Ne) says that everything in the observable world is connected to a greater context, and it allows you to make contextual connections between this object and another one. Through this act of discovery, we become aware of greater possibilities for meaning, knowledge or action.
• Introverted Sensation (Si) says that the observable world is so overwhelmingly filled with stimuli and randomness that you need something stable to focus on, or you'll just be permanently overwhelmed and confused.

A nice method of telling the difference is to just consider the difference between Introverted and Extraverted Perception:

• Ne is open-ended and led by observation
• Ni is closed-off and not led by observation

Yes, although this is a good way of telling the difference between Ni and Ne it may not be understood easily by those who are beginners with understanding the functions. They would like to know the pure essence of the N functions without jumbling up their minds thinking about the S counterparts. Simple worded explanations I believe would work better on the masses.

 

[VagrantFarce]

Yes, although this is a good way of telling the difference between Ni and Ne. The problem is is that many people won't understand it that way. They would like to know the pure essence of the N functions without jumbling up their minds thinking about the S counterparts.

But you don't get the full picture, and thus a proper understanding. You just get the same vague explanations you always get. And then you're back to square one.

I like your explanations, but I disagree with Ni not being led by observation. I think this is a more dominant/aux Ni feature. My Ni is led almost entirely by observation.

Are you sure it's Ni? When I say that Introverted Perception isn't led by observation, I mean that it makes its own conclusions without considering possibilities suggested by the outer world, since following what is observable simply can't be trusted. Being led by observation is a textbook definition of Extraverted Perception.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

I like your explanations, but I disagree with Ni not being led by observation. I think this is a more dominant/aux Ni feature. My Ni is led almost entirely by observation.

But, Poki, your Ni would be your tertiary function. You are more expert on S. Purely speaking, an Ni dom person would use Ni as a closed function, using Ni by turning inward and needing no extraneous forces to filter perceptions; using solely what's in one's head to make sense of the world around them. Instead of using the world around them to make sense of what's in one's head (Ne).........does that even make sense? I'm stuck in a loop.

 

[Wonkavision]

I think the easiest way to tell the difference between Ni and Ne is to pair them up with their opposing Sensate functions.

• Extraverted Sensation (Se) says that the observable world is filled with wonderful stimuli, and all you have to do is let yourself react to it. No need to think, just react. The meaning of something is what your gut tells you you should do in response. If it's not here or not now, it's not real.
• Introverted Intuition (Ni) says that the observable world is arbitrary and deceitful, and not representative of all the possible interpretations of itself. You have to liberate yourself from these arbitrary interpretations by considering all possible interpretations, or you will risk being led astray.

• Extraverted Intuition (Ne) says that everything in the observable world is connected to a greater context, and it allows you to make contextual connections between this object and another one. Through this act of discovery, we become aware of greater possibilities for meaning, knowledge or action.
• Introverted Sensation (Si) says that the observable world is so overwhelmingly filled with stimuli and randomness that you need something stable to focus on, or you'll just be permanently overwhelmed and confused.

A nice method of telling the difference is to just consider the difference between Introverted and Extraverted Perception:


Ne is open-ended and led by observation
Ni is closed-off and not led by observation

Yeah, I agree with this.

It's a very clear and simple way of putting it.

I think the last (bolded) part is especially important.

 

[Oaky]

But you don't get the full picture, and thus a proper understanding. You just get the same vague explanations you always get. And then you're back to square one.

See my edit. and also the second person you quoted was not me. Please fix it.

True. That is why I tried solidifying what is Ni and Ne in this thread.

 

[Wonkavision]

My Ne is nowhere near that linear or literal. Looking at someone spit might end up with a theory on space travel.

Same here.

But it was a noble attempt.

 

[Oaky]

Same here.

But it was a noble attempt.

Hmmm? The spitting example was about Ni.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

Perfect sense and I agree 100%, thats why I didnt like that as such a hard pressed Ni vs Ne.

I do Ne but no where near as wonderfully as the entp/enfps I've seen on here. Ne appears genius to me. of course S is just one hot function! but that's for another thread..........

 

[VagrantFarce]

Simple worded explanations I believe would work better on the masses.

They always end up as the same vague explanations we're trying to avoid. There's nothing simple about any of this, I'm afraid. That being said, I don't think what I wrote is that hard to understand anyway.