# Can somebody explain to me what is Ni?



## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

I've never truly understand what is the Introverted Intuition and I am wondering if somebosy can explain to me this weird cognitive function.


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## StoneMoon (Dec 23, 2013)

I came up with this analogy:

If an Ne user and an Ni user both saw an object, let's say a glass, the Ne user would pick the glass up, put it side ways, upside down, move it around to see what it looks like, the Ni user would not touch the glass but move around it themselves to see what it looks like.

Ne: about the object, Ni: about the subject

If an Ne user and an Ni user saw a bunch of random shapes and colours drawn on paper, the Ne user would start adding more shapes to it to make sense of it/turn it into a picture they want, and an Ni user would cover parts of the picture with a template to make sense of it/turn it into a picture they want.

Ne: works externally, Ni: works internally


Obviously, I don't mean literally.


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## Quernus (Dec 8, 2011)

StoneMoon said:


> I came up with this analogy:
> 
> If an Ne user and an Ni user both saw an object, let's say a glass, the Ne user would pick the glass up, put it side ways, upside down, move it around to see what it looks like, the Ni user would not touch the glass but move around it themselves to see what it looks like.
> 
> ...


Ummmmm. Well, as an Ne-user, that is exactly what I would do with that paper. Both literally and figuratively. I see potential as very expansive, sometimes endless. It thrills me to and be expressive about it, and to experiment (whether there's a specific end-goal or not).

But can you please explain to me WHY an Ni-user would ...do that template thing? I think you're right. I've seen INTJs do things like this, figuratively. Please explain whyyyyyy, as opposed to doing what you described the Ne-user doing.

The glass analogy is further frustrating to me. Yes, that's what I would do as an Ne-user, both literally and figuratively. To me it makes sense -- take a concept or a situation or an object or anything really, turn it onto its head, tilt it sideways, see all the potential purposes or appearances that something might have. Why would an Ni-user "walk around" the glass to examine it? Is it because you're learning about it specifically in relation within relation to you and your current vantage point?


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## Aletheia (Dec 25, 2014)

Ni - synthesis


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## PaladinX (Feb 20, 2013)

tangerinedreams said:


> Ni - synthesis


What is the difference between that and Thinking synthesis? Here is an example from Jung on Te:



> The thought of the extraverted thinking type is, positive, i.e. it produces. It either leads to new facts or to general conceptions of disparate experimental material. *Its judgment is generally synthetic.* Even when it analyses, it constructs, because it is always advancing beyond the, analysis to a new combination, a further conception which reunites the analysed material in a new way or adds some., thing further to the given material. In general, therefore, we may describe this kind of judgment as predicative.


or Ti:



> *The thinking of the introverted type is positive and synthetic* in the development of those ideas which in ever increasing measure approach the eternal validity of the primordial images.



Sidenote:
Bonus points if someone can explain to me what it means to "describe this kind of judgment as predicative."


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## Simpson17866 (Dec 3, 2014)

At it's simplest

Ni: hunches, subconscious connections
Ne: brainstorming, conscious connections
Si: hindsight, past experiences
Se: stimuli, present experiences


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## Deftodon (Jul 27, 2013)

How many times has this question been made in similar threads? There should be sticky threads for each individual function so people could use them as reference or to discuss/speculate about the general meaning of each function. 

A resource thread for functions would be good too.


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## westlose (Oct 9, 2014)

If you want to understand Ni, take it like a reverse Se.

Se is focused on the present, and the kinetic energy. Se is the ability to act here and now, and it is the willpower and force to achieve a goal.

Ni on the contrary, is detached from the present and from the tangible reality. It is traveling through the past and future. Instead of making a direct impact, Ni is observing the origin and consequences of everything. Introverted intuitive are detached and focused on perceiving the processes over-time.


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## aendern (Dec 28, 2013)

Deftodon said:


> How many times has this question been made in similar threads? There should be sticky threads for each individual function so people could use them as reference or to discuss/speculate about the general meaning of each function.
> 
> A resource thread for functions would be good too.


Idk about all that. I think just simply permabanning the people who won't use the search function is a much more fair approach.


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

.


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## Ksara (Feb 13, 2014)

PaladinX said:


> Sidenote:
> Bonus points if someone can explain to me what it means to "describe this kind of judgment as predicative."


(...yeah had to google what predicative was..)
The example I found from wiktionary was:
_
"predicative (not comparable)

(grammar, of an adjectival or nominal) Used after a verb, as a predicate; contrasted with attributive.
In the sentence, ‘This house is big’, ‘big’ is predicative, whereas in ‘This is a big house’, it is attributive."_

Yup then got it.

Now if you look at 'this house is big' we are essentially defining the state of the house. We are adding more information to describe *what it is*. It isn't just a house, but a big house.

The quote from Jung I often see lying around: "Sensation tells us that something exists; *thinking tells you what it is*; feeling tells you whether it is agreeable or not; and intuition tells you whence it comes and where it is going."
So the above is a form of thinking judgment.


Now i'm guessing here, that the process of Te is to to combine and recombine in this predicative way, essentially adding more and more information about what it is. It is a house. The house is big. The big house is blue, the big blue house is ...
continually adding, combining, similar to what you quoted.



(I feel I may have assumed a few things here..)


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

westlose said:


> If you want to understand Ni, take it like a reverse Se.
> 
> Se is focused on the present, and the kinetic energy. Se is the ability to act here and now, and it is the willpower and force to achieve a goal.
> 
> Ni on the contrary, is detached from the present and from the tangible reality. It is traveling through the past and future. Instead of making a direct impact, Ni is observing the origin and consequences of everything. Introverted intuitive are detached and focused on perceiving the processes over-time.


Ok,thanks dude!


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## StoneMoon (Dec 23, 2013)

Quernus said:


> Ummmmm. Well, as an Ne-user, that is exactly what I would do with that paper. Both literally and figuratively. I see potential as very expansive, sometimes endless. It thrills me to and be expressive about it, and to experiment (whether there's a specific end-goal or not).
> 
> But can you please explain to me WHY an Ni-user would ...do that template thing? I think you're right. I've seen INTJs do things like this, figuratively. Please explain whyyyyyy, as opposed to doing what you described the Ne-user doing.
> 
> The glass analogy is further frustrating to me. Yes, that's what I would do as an Ne-user, both literally and figuratively. To me it makes sense -- take a concept or a situation or an object or anything really, turn it onto its head, tilt it sideways, see all the potential purposes or appearances that something might have. Why would an Ni-user "walk around" the glass to examine it? Is it because you're learning about it specifically in relation within relation to you and your current vantage point?


Yeah, I said not literally because in a real situation an Ni user would probably also draw more into the picture and wouldn't just walk around that glass. xD It only works as an analogy to how Ni processes, because with real physical objects the Ni user is going to take more Se approach if they want something done.

Well, "why" is always a hard question, but I'll try to answer that. Ni is an introverted function, so it always works according to a frame of reference. Unlike Ne, it's not primarily concerned with how many possibilities the object offers on its own, or to how far away you can get when you start with an object. Instead, it's concerned with how the object fits in the framework of ideas the Ni has already gathered. Ni user will acknowledge that all the possibilities the Ne user sees exist, but isn't interested in them. Ni is only interested in one or few possibilities that fit with a predetermined idea/vision. Ni limits the possibilities on purpose, because it doesn't value anything that isn't... "approved" by the frame work of understanding it has. The possibilities that make the Ne user fired up seem completely random and not exciting the the Ni user because those don't feel completely understood unless they fit with the Ni's web of ideas and connections.

So the template thing is basically that. Ni user sees a picture, finds and tries "the templates" it has gathered, on it (subconsciously) and once it finds the template that fits perfectly with the picture and brings something out of it, Ni sticks with that template. The more templates the Ni user has, and the more detailed they are, the more accurate the Ni users perceptions are going to be.

Like all introverted functions, Ni is primarily concerned with the "theory". When its faced with something external, it draws from the theory to understand it. Unlike Ne, it's not actively seeking new ideas all the time. The Ni ideas will form subconsciously, they are a cohesion from everything the Ni gathers trhough other functions. While Ne sees a web as a million strings that expands from one place, Ni sees a web as a million strings that come together into one place.

So, instead of the possibilities the Ne user wants, Ni seeks viewpoints, and will settle with the one that is the most accurate, desired, beneficial etc. Ni user is aware that settling with one viewpoint means ignoring factors about the object: that's exactly what Ni is trying to do. It has a very specific idea about which factors are meaningful to what it tries to acomplish, and which factors are only in the way of its perception. Ni ignores all the information it doesn't need, hence covering part of the picture with the template, or looking at the glass from other angles.

So "Is it because you're learning about it specifically in relation within relation to you and your current vantage point?" is kind of accurate. While Ne user's way of understanding the object is by learning everything there is to learn about it, Ni user's way of understanding the object is by looking at it in a specific context. However, the "learning" for Ni user has been done internally, not when they're faced with the object. When they're faced with the object, they're putting what they have learned into use, more than trying to learn something new. Whatever new they may take away from it, will be processed and learned subconsciosly and it will take it's place in the idea-web for the next time reference is needed.

I hope that helps.


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## The Dude (May 20, 2010)

I view Ni as the opposite of Ne. Ne has an external stimulus that sets off the process to create multiple ideas/options/possibilities. Ni synthesizes information to find the optimal solution.


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## The Dude (May 20, 2010)

They are projected differently depending on their place in the function stack, but the generic definition of each...read my previous post.


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## Entropic (Jun 15, 2012)

How many threads can there be about Ni?


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## Tetsuo Shima (Nov 24, 2014)

Psychic powers that ESxPs dismiss as "just their imagination."


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## Despotic Nepotist (Mar 1, 2014)

bloodpony said:


> I've never truly understand what is the Introverted Intuition and I am wondering if somebosy can explain to me this weird cognitive function.


It's the most difficult to explain, but here are some of the things that I can say about it:

- Synthesizing ideas into a singular whole
- In contrast to Si (memory is more tangible and concrete), when it comes to Ni and memory, it has more to do with abstract impressions
- Connections are more drawn within their heads rather than drawing on outside objects for connections.


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## VoodooDolls (Jul 30, 2013)

StoneMoon said:


> I came up with this analogy:
> 
> If an Ne user and an Ni user both saw an object, let's say a glass, the Ne user would pick the glass up, put it side ways, upside down, move it around to see what it looks like, the Ni user would not touch the glass but move around it themselves to see what it looks likeD


Ok


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

StoneMoon said:


> Yeah, I said not literally because in a real situation an Ni user would probably also draw more into the picture and wouldn't just walk around that glass. xD It only works as an analogy to how Ni processes, because with real physical objects the Ni user is going to take more Se approach if they want something done.
> 
> Well, "why" is always a hard question, but I'll try to answer that. Ni is an introverted function, so it always works according to a frame of reference. Unlike Ne, it's not primarily concerned with how many possibilities the object offers on its own, or to how far away you can get when you start with an object. Instead, it's concerned with how the object fits in the framework of ideas the Ni has already gathered. Ni user will acknowledge that all the possibilities the Ne user sees exist, but isn't interested in them. Ni is only interested in one or few possibilities that fit with a predetermined idea/vision. Ni limits the possibilities on purpose, because it doesn't value anything that isn't... "approved" by the frame work of understanding it has. The possibilities that make the Ne user fired up seem completely random and not exciting the the Ni user because those don't feel completely understood unless they fit with the Ni's web of ideas and connections.
> 
> ...


Good explanation. But there's one part I don't understand:the Ni does all this subconsciously?


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)




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## StoneMoon (Dec 23, 2013)

bloodpony said:


> Good explanation. But there's one part I don't understand:the Ni does all this subconsciously?


Yes. We basically have to deduce our thought process back to learn how we got a certain perception.


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

StoneMoon said:


> Yes. We basically have to deduce our thought process back to learn how we got a certain perception.


Ah,what a mess!XD


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## StoneMoon (Dec 23, 2013)

bloodpony said:


> Ah,what a mess!XD


Precisely how I feel about Ne. D


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

StoneMoon said:


> Precisely how I feel about Ne. D


Seems legit!


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

One last question:what is the internal framework of the Ni mostly made of?


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## Trademark (Nov 13, 2014)

Ni is something that where awesome things originates. I think you already got the idea and started to ask another question.


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## Trademark (Nov 13, 2014)

bloodpony said:


> One last question:what is the internal framework of the Ni mostly made of?


hmm, it's pretty tough for me to define its elements. Well, maybe just think of how each gears and the escapement of a pendulum clock work with each other. The motion of one triggers the other. Each processing "pieces" fixed in a complex location. It's a full circle of coordination. Thus a single information generates brand new ideas. I think the one role of Ni is to refine the unreliable information into a multiple thoughts, and link each newly made thought to create one, solid idea. Like how a single stone transmutes into a diamond.​Some people with highly developed Ni found themselves "disembodied" from the physical world (imagine how the monk in the center of their meditation unites with nature). They even laugh to themselves that they can easily know the "meaning of life" by just looking at their fingernails.


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

Trademark said:


> Ni is something that where awesome things originates. I think you already got the idea and started to ask another question.


Yes,I've got the idea about how Ni works,but I don't understand this framework(or vision) of the Ni.


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## Suchi i Frutta (Feb 14, 2015)

Anyway,I understood what's the Ni thanks to you all and this:How do you develop the Ni function? It seems like... - MBTI Notes. So,I thank you again for your availability!


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## Handsome Jack (May 31, 2015)

Ni is the closest thing to a superpower there is and that's why it's so difficult to describe. It's like a spider sense. Ni is taking in a huge influx of information and letting your brain make the connections subconsciously. Then when you least expect it you get these 'aha' moments when everything aligns.

Ni for me is extrapolation based on all inputs: visual, behavioral, linguistic. Coupled with my Te I use it as a tool to predict future events and actions. I can map out what someone is going to do or get a good idea of their mental state/ambitions. It's really served me really well in the realm of business.


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