# What does it mean to be intuitive or an intuitive type?



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

I am frequently typed as a sensor by most people but I still feel like this partially isn't true.

- I enjoy thinking deeply, I am actually very interested in philosophy and people's opinions on such matters. (I'm guessing this has to do with the abstract thinking, correct me if I am wrong.)
- I am very absent minded, I often think of possibilities as well as the current situation.
- I am good at looking at the bigger picture, even when other people do not.
- I spend a lot of time in my own head thinking up creative ideas or adding to the ones I already have.
- I often listen to ambient music, but when I do not I think about how these ideas relate to the lyrics or come up with new ones from the lyrics.
- I tend to be good with laws and even enforcing laws, unlike ISTP which I have been typed before, which works with me but not completely. 
- I enjoy speaking to adults or even those younger than me than people my own age. 

I'm not sure whether this would make me intuitive or not and I know a lot of sensor profiles aren't very good. But what does it mean to be an intuitive person (predominantly) do you relate to what I am saying or am I being stupid?

Is this even in the right topic?


----------



## Kabosu (Mar 31, 2012)

First sentence in your reasoning doesn't require either sensing or intuition.
Second sentence needs context.
Sometimes the colloquial big picture is not necessarily intuition.
Spending a lot of time in your head... more Ti than intuition.
Next one may be Si?
Not every ISTP is going to be rebellious and stuff, at all.
The last of those things doesn't seem related to a type at all.

When it's said intuition is reading between the lines, it means they're "seeing" situations but not in a way you'd get out of just a regular experience. There's a certain symbolism in intuition.

If it feels like being a sensor is merely partially not true, it could be because it's not easy to use sensing with no intuition backbone and vice versa. People are probably less aware of the impact of their lesser functions.
I think you're checking to see if really you're something other than whatever type you arrived at or what others say.


----------



## StunnedFox (Dec 20, 2013)

Well, I don't feel I know enough about you specifically to give an opinion about your type, but just in direct response to the traits you've listed, I feel a lot of the phrases you've used are a little too removed, if that makes sense. So, for instance, "I am good at looking at the big picture, even when other people do not" - in what situations, exactly? You've used "big picture", a phrase often associated with intuitives, without any real clarification of what you mean by it. Same with "I often think of possibilities": all people do this, and again you're lacking somewhat in clarification.

Deep thinking has nothing to do with intuition, nor does "[spending] a lot of time in [one's] own head". I agree that most type profiles aren't very good, but I personally struggle to do any better in actually saying what being of any given type actually involves (as opposed to what's extraneous to type, or generally not related to a particular dichotomy/function). Suffice to say I don't think any of the points you list, to the extent that they're clear enough to establish something from, give any real impression of what your perceiving function might be.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

Kabosu said:


> First sentence in your reasoning doesn't require either sensing or intuition.
> Second sentence needs context.
> Sometimes the colloquial big picture is not necessarily intuition.
> Spending a lot of time in your head... more Ti than intuition.
> ...


I am able to read-between the lines too. But I'm just not too sure how much I do it. I do find it pretty easy. 
It's not necessarily the colloquial bigger picture either.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

StunnedFox said:


> Well, I don't feel I know enough about you specifically to give an opinion about your type, but just in direct response to the traits you've listed, I feel a lot of the phrases you've used are a little too removed, if that makes sense. So, for instance, "I am good at looking at the big picture, even when other people do not" - in what situations, exactly? You've used "big picture", a phrase often associated with intuitives, without any real clarification of what you mean by it. Same with "I often think of possibilities": all people do this, and again you're lacking somewhat in clarification.
> 
> Deep thinking has nothing to do with intuition, nor does "[spending] a lot of time in [one's] own head". I agree that most type profiles aren't very good, but I personally struggle to do any better in actually saying what being of any given type actually involves (as opposed to what's extraneous to type, or generally not related to a particular dichotomy/function). Suffice to say I don't think any of the points you list, to the extent that they're clear enough to establish something from, give any real impression of what your perceiving function might be.


I was able to look to the future, even if the people around me disagreed with me. I feel like I do it a little more than other people, that and if there was more sensing types around me and in my life, I should be able to relate to them but I don't.


----------



## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

To me being an intuitive means that I understand the world that is there but is not there. It's all about personal symbols and symbolism. Jung called them primordial images. It's a little like seeing things that are there but not actually there, like when I see another person I see something about their character that you can't literally see like they seem like a person who is climbing up a ladder but keeps falling down. 

For example, when I read your OP I see something akin to a confused child not sure if they should listen to their teacher or their parents about what the right answer is. 

None of the things you listed therefore relate to intuition in the Jungian sense though it may in an MBTI one.


----------



## StunnedFox (Dec 20, 2013)

Ghostsoul said:


> I was able to look to the future, even if the people around me disagreed with me. I feel like I do it a little more than other people, that and if there was more sensing types around me and in my life, I should be able to relate to them but I don't.


I don't quite follow what you're saying here. Are you saying you're better than those around you at determining what's going to happen? I'm not sure how relevant it would be even if true.

Again, I'm not entirely clear on what you're saying, but if you're suggesting that you might be an intuitive because you don't relate to the people around you too well, and they're more likely to be sensors statistically, then again I don't think that says much. People will struggle to relate to those around them for a myriad of reasons, and differences in perception/cognition are just some of those reasons.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

ephemereality said:


> To me being an intuitive means that I understand the world that is there but is not there. It's all about personal symbols and symbolism. Jung called them primordial images. It's a little like seeing things that are there but not actually there, like when I see another person I see something about their character that you can't literally see like they seem like a person who is climbing up a ladder but keeps falling down.
> 
> For example, when I read your OP I see something akin to a confused child not sure if they should listen to their teacher or their parents about what the right answer is.
> 
> None of the things you listed therefore relate to intuition in the Jungian sense though it may in an MBTI one.


That makes sense. 

I just felt myself relating too a lot of things that the initiatives said. I'm not too sure whether this was because I was sensor or because of something else. It could possibly be due to the lack of understanding between sensors and intuitives that I picked these things up.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

StunnedFox said:


> I don't quite follow what you're saying here. Are you saying you're better than those around you at determining what's going to happen? I'm not sure how relevant it would be even if true.
> 
> Again, I'm not entirely clear on what you're saying, but if you're suggesting that you might be an intuitive because you don't relate to the people around you too well, and they're more likely to be sensors statistically, then again I don't think that says much. People will struggle to relate to those around them for a myriad of reasons, and differences in perception/cognition are just some of those reasons.


Possible because I feel people don't relate to me, I don't relate to them emotionally in some way. This is more of a Ti thing?


----------



## Sixty Nein (Feb 13, 2011)

Ghostsoul said:


> Possible because I feel people don't relate to me, I don't relate to them emotionally in some way. This is more of a Ti thing?


Naaaah. It just isn't anything mang.

Tell me what you listen to, I'm a good judge of picking out types through musics.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

Sixty Nein said:


> Naaaah. It just isn't anything mang.
> 
> Tell me what you listen to, I'm a good judge of picking out types through musics.


I kind of like dark ambient:










I also like foreign music and vocaloids: (Sometimes they are fun even if I do not understand them, though I do like inspiration for English lyrics)





Sometimes just generic rock music/metal music or even screamo






Then even power electronics. But rarely, I find it interesting how it can sort of hurt your ears yet you enjoy it.


----------



## Chest (Apr 14, 2014)

Ghostsoul said:


> I am frequently typed as a sensor by most people but I still feel like this partially isn't true.
> 
> - I enjoy thinking deeply, I am actually very interested in philosophy and people's opinions on such matters. (I'm guessing this has to do with the abstract thinking, correct me if I am wrong.)
> - I am very absent minded, I often think of possibilities as well as the current situation.
> ...


read the functions, forget about profiles. I recently figured out I'm an Si dominant, I used to think I was intuitive too


----------



## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

@Ghostsoul —

I'd be curious to see your results on the official "Step I" MBTI, which you can take here, Based on a little skimming of your PerC posts, you sound more like an IN than an IS to me.


----------



## Sixty Nein (Feb 13, 2011)

@Ghostsoul

The intuition scales that I have in my brainskulls tell me that there is a potential, but you have not been able to awaken to your natural leanings to the Intuition MASTER RACE. You cannot fake being an intuition type, but you might want to expand your music listening to the more appropriate musical genres that all true Intuition enjoy.






This fine video from the artist Yung Lean is chock filled with symbolism, and the sonic intuition levels are off the charts for trap rap. The lyrics might not be an intellectual paradise, but this does arouse something very primal in all true Intuition. If you let yourself bask into the beats, letting your mind fly out of your primal body. You will see the true nature of yourself. Bask yourself in the faux nostalgia, and turn thyself into a bird. Your type is the bird that you turn yourself into.

If you manage to past the test, I will show you more advanced music.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

reckful said:


> @Ghostsoul —
> 
> I'd be curious to see your results on the official "Step I" MBTI, which you can take here, Based on a little skimming of your PerC posts, you sound more like an IN than an IS to me.


INTP

INTP: Seek to develop logical explanations for everything that interests them. Theoretical and abstract, interested more in ideas than in social interaction. Quiet, contained, flexible, and adaptable. Have unusual ability to focus in depth to solve problems in their area of interest. Skeptical, sometimes critical, always analytical.
Dominant function: Introverted Thinking.
Auxiliary function: Extraverted Intuition.

Extraversion
People who prefer Extraversion tend to focus on the outer world of people and things.	E	4 17	I	Intraversion
People who prefer Intraversion tend to focus on the inner world of ideas and impressions.

Sensing
People who prefer Sensing tend to focus on the present and on concrete information gained from the senses.	S	3 23	N	Intuition
People who prefer Intuition tend to focus on the future, with a view toward patterns and possibilities.

Thinking
People who prefer Thinking tend to base their decitions primarilly on logic and on objective analysis of cause and effect.	T	19 5	F	Feeling
People who prefer Feeling tend to base their decisions primarilly on values and on subjective evaluation of person-centered concerns.

Judging
People who prefer Judging tend to like a planned and organized approach to life and prefer to have things settled.	J	4 18	P	Perceiving
People who prefer Perceiving tend to like a flexible and spontaneous approach to life and prefer to keep their options open.

Preference clarity
I	clear
N	clear
T	clear
P	clear

I almost always get INTP in tests, I used to think I was an 'NT' before I came here, but then I was told I was an 'S' and got confused.


----------



## Psithurism (Jun 19, 2013)

Sixty Nein said:


> You will see the true nature of yourself. Bask yourself in the faux nostalgia, and turn thyself into a bird. Your type is the bird that you turn yourself into.


I shed a single tear.

I can finally soar into this new world of pure bliss. I've waited so long for this. It's all I ever wanted.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

Sixty Nein said:


> @Ghostsoul
> 
> The intuition scales that I have in my brainskulls tell me that there is a potential, but you have not been able to awaken to your natural leanings to the Intuition MASTER RACE. You cannot fake being an intuition type, but you might want to expand your music listening to the more appropriate musical genres that all true Intuition enjoy.
> 
> ...


Challenge accepted.


----------



## Octavarium (Nov 27, 2012)

@Ghostsoul

Before this thread turns into a debate, and before I offer any opinions, which system do you want to be typed in? Are you looking for your MBTI type, or the type you'd be if you go by the way Jung described his functions in psychological types?


----------



## dulcinea (Aug 22, 2011)

Ghostsoul said:


> I am frequently typed as a sensor by most people but I still feel like this partially isn't true.
> 
> - I enjoy thinking deeply, I am actually very interested in philosophy and people's opinions on such matters. (I'm guessing this has to do with the abstract thinking, correct me if I am wrong.)
> - I am very absent minded, I often think of possibilities as well as the current situation.
> ...


I'm not sure if all of these things can be linked with function theory at all, much less to an intuitive vs. sensing function.

I'm gonna go all analytical on the topic, haha (How very Ti of me)

Okay so the intuitive function, is for perceiving, and the simplistic answer is: seeking patterns in the world around you. It isn't directly tied to imagination, depth of thought or anything like that. Where the intuitive function is in a person's function stacking can be determined by how much a person is preoccupied with the patterns that can be found in the information rather than the information itself. A sensor will be more focused on information that can be taken in by the five senses, but the intuition is always running at a subconscious level.


----------



## Octavian (Nov 24, 2013)

I'm thinking ISFP.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

Octavian said:


> I'm thinking ISFP.


I've considered that type as well. But I have never seen my Te go primitive when I am stressed.
I personally think it is my Fe that I am more likely to lose control over.


----------



## Octavian (Nov 24, 2013)

Ghostsoul said:


> I've considered that type as well. But I have never seen my Te go primitive when I am stressed.
> I personally think it is my Fe that I am more likely to lose control over.


Explain that in more detail.


----------



## Ghostsoul (May 10, 2014)

Octavian said:


> Explain that in more detail.


When I get sad, it usually does not bother me. Eventually or if I'm under extreme pressure I 'burst out' with crying and shouting which I don't normally do. 
Underdeveloped/Primitive Te is more about manipulation and such, am I correct?


----------



## HBIC (Feb 28, 2014)

Ghostsoul said:


> I am frequently typed as a sensor by most people but I still feel like this partially isn't true.
> 
> - I enjoy thinking deeply, I am actually very interested in philosophy and people's opinions on such matters. (I'm guessing this has to do with the abstract thinking, correct me if I am wrong.)
> - I am very absent minded, I often think of possibilities as well as the current situation.
> ...


None of this determinates N over S. These traits are overly present in online profiles of Intuitives, but even if you check all of the boxes it won't, alone, make you a N.



StunnedFox said:


> Well, I don't feel I know enough about you specifically to give an opinion about your type, but just in direct response to the traits you've listed, I feel a lot of the phrases you've used are a little too removed, if that makes sense. So, for instance, "I am good at looking at the big picture, even when other people do not" - in what situations, exactly? *You've used "big picture", a phrase often associated with intuitives, without any real clarification of what you mean by it. Same with "I often think of possibilities": all people do this, and again you're lacking somewhat in clarification.
> 
> Deep thinking has nothing to do with intuition, nor does "[spending] a lot of time in [one's] own head". I agree that most type profiles aren't very good, but I personally struggle to do any better in actually saying what being of any given type actually involves (as opposed to what's extraneous to type, or generally not related to a particular dichotomy/function). *Suffice to say I don't think any of the points you list, to the extent that they're clear enough to establish something from, give any real impression of what your perceiving function might be.


It doesn't sound only removed, it sounds lie she expects the info she posted to stand alone. It's either lack of real understanding of cognitive functions or lack of care. Anyhow, it doesn't sound like N at all.



Ghostsoul said:


> I am able to read-between the lines too. But I'm just not too sure how much I do it. I do find it pretty easy.
> *It's not necessarily the colloquial bigger picture either.*


Then _how_ it is? The definiton of "seing the big picture"_ in MBTI_ is quite clear. I think what you're implying is that you see what's underneath?



Ghostsoul said:


> I was able to look to the future, even if the people around me disagreed with me. I feel like I do it a little more than other people, that and* if there was more sensing types around me and in my life, I should be able to relate to them but I don't*.


Actually, you shouldn't. It's quite common for people to feel alienated form their cognitive peers. There are several theories on why that is but the important thing is that it's normal.



Ghostsoul said:


> Possible because I feel people don't relate to me, I don't relate to them emotionally in some way. *This is more of a Ti thing?*


It has nothing to do with cognition _at all_. At most it points to a possibility of Ennegarm type 4.



Ghostsoul said:


> When I get sad, it usually does not bother me. Eventually or if I'm under extreme pressure I 'burst out' with crying and shouting which I don't normally do.
> *Underdeveloped/Primitive Te is more about manipulation and such, am I correct?*


Study more and get a good grasp on the functions before you try and find out your type through asking people questions. Right now you're only confunding yourself.


----------



## reckful (Jun 19, 2012)

@Ghostsoul —

I don't think there's any real question about your I and your N. And I lean P as well, but it's possible your age is muddying the waters a bit there. Here's a little recycled reckful on that issue:



reckful said:


> I think youth has at least some tendency to exert what you might call a P-ward tug, and that N's (NJs and NPs both) can have a tendency to feel somewhat rebellious and free-spirited when they compare themselves to the SJs that often make up a substantial percentage of the adults they deal with — e.g., high school teachers and (especially) administrators. The J preference is one that, especially if it's mild, may not really come into what you might call "full bloom" until a person is a bit older. A student may well feel like they have all the structure they need (and maybe more) imposed on them from outside. After a J's been out of school for a couple years, I suspect it's not uncommon to discover (as I did) that there's more damn J in there than they might have realized. So if a school-age person feels like they're more or less in-the-middle on J/P, that somewhat inclines me to think that they may actually _be_ more or less in-the-middle or they may have a mild J preference, but that it's maybe unlikely that they've got a substantial P preference.


If you're interested in quite a lot of input from me on J/P, see this post.

Whatever your MBTI type might be, it sounds to me like you may also be Limbic on the Big Five temperament dimension that isn't included in the Myers-Briggs typology and is often referred to as "neuroticism" (although it isn't a psychological disorder). The Big Five/SLOAN typology labels it Emotional Stability and refers to the two poles as Calm and Limbic. Being Limbic on that dimension tends to be associated with, among other things, anxiety/worry-proneness; emotional sensitivity/volatility; proneness to annoyance/irritation; self-consciousness; and (sometimes) depression. I'm Limbic, and it makes me less of a cucumber than some of my fellow INTJs.

If you're interested, the Big Five test I generally point people to is this similarminds Big Five/SLOAN test, which will (purport to) type you on the Emotional Stability dimension (in addition to the four Big Five dimensions with substantial MBTI correlations). And I've put some more information about the Big Five and that similarminds test in the next spoiler.


* *




Here's a table that shows which Big Five dimension essentially corresponds to which MBTI dimension:


*SLOAN dimension**SLOAN poles**corresponding MBTI poles*ExtroversionReserved vs. SocialI vs. EEmotional StabilityLimbic vs. Calmn/aOrderlinessUnstructured vs. OrganizedP vs. JAccommodationEgocentric vs. AccommodatingT vs. FInquisitivenessNon-Curious vs. InquisitiveS vs. N

I kind of like the linked Big Five test both because I think it does an OK typing job and also because, unlike the official MBTI and many of the online type tests, it's not "forced choice." It gives you five choices for each question — an "in the middle" choice as well as mild or strong in each direction. For that reason, it's reasonable to expect the SLOAN percentage scores to have something to say about the _strength_ of your preferences. With a forced choice test, that's not really true. Somebody with, say, a mild S preference could easily take a forced choice test and, assuming they knew themselves well and interpreted the questions properly, end up choosing the S response for almost all (or all) of the questions, with the result being a very high S score. (That said, I think scores that are close to the middle on forced choice tests tend to be _some_ indication that your preference on that dimension — in whichever direction — is probably on the mild side.)

BUT NOTE: Although I kind of like the similarminds SLOAN _test_, I _don't_ think much of the corresponding personality type descriptions at the similarminds site, for a number of reasons, one of which is: Most MBTI sources reflect the perspective that it isn't better to have one preference rather than its opposite on any of the four MBTI dimensions. The descriptions at the similarminds site, on the other hand — somewhat consistent with Big Five sources generally — definitely favor Accommodating over Egocentric (F over T) and Organized over Unstructured (J over P). And if you're Limbic (even mildly), that earns you a negative-adjective bonanza. So I recommend using the similarminds test as a sort of double-check/quantifier for the MBTI dimensions, but I think the personality descriptions in a typical MBTI source are better.



I'd say T/F's the biggest question mark. Although your official MBTI score was a pretty clear T, I've just explained to you in another thread that it's been my experience that INFs have a significant tendency to mistype as INTs. I haven't read very many of your posts and, from the ones I've seen, I could buy you as an INT or an INF.

Anyone with more time on their hands than any sane person should probably want to spend reading my thoughts on T/F (and NTs vs. NFs and INTs vs. INFs) can find a boatload of input from me in these three posts (all from the same type-me thread) and the posts they link to:

Post 1
Post 2 (just the spoiler)
Post 3
Buuut... PLEASE NOTE: You should _not_, under any circumstances, feel the slightest obligation to follow any of my links or otherwise pay any attention to anything in this post beyond what you're otherwise inclined to do for your own selfish reasons. (I'm a hardcore T, myself.)

Finally, in case they're of any use to you, I've put profile roundups for the eight introverted types in the next spoiler.


* *




_INTJ Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_INTP Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_INFJ Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_INFP Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_ISTJ Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_ISTP Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_ISFJ Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers

_ISFP Profiles_
MBTI Manual (2nd Ed.)
MBTI Manual (3rd Ed.)
Keirsey (Please Understand Me)
Kroeger & Thuesen (Type Talk)
Hirsh & Kummerow (Lifetypes [abridged])
Berens & Nardi
personalitypage: Portrait
personalitypage: Personal Growth
personalitypage: Relationships
personalitypage: Careers


----------

