# Difficulty Putting Thoughts Into Words- Type Related?



## The Exception (Oct 26, 2010)

Can you know something yet have trouble expressing it in words? I think you can. I know that it happens to me every now and then. For example, I'll have trouble explaining why someone is a certain MBTI type asides from giving off certain vibes that are reminiscent of that type. 

Do you think certain types are more prone to this problem than others? I'm guess N more than S and possibly F more than T.


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## Scruffy (Aug 17, 2009)

Yeah, I was talking about this in the "annoy an intuitor" thread.

N's seem like they have a more natural disposition to expressing metaphor, and less of a tendency for direct language.
S's seem as if they have a natural disposition for direct language, and less of a tendency for metaphor.

Neither are limited to their natural, it's just not their preference. 

I have to *try* to speak without metaphor, I have a hard time with pure word.


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## devoid (Jan 3, 2011)

I know plenty of things that I can't express with words. But that doesn't stop me from speaking eloquently in most other situations. Nobody would really want to hear most of the things I can't express anyway, so I see no reason to worry about it.


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## IonOfAeons (Dec 2, 2010)

Explaining things is difficult, there is so much to express in a compact potentially-misinterpretable way. Sometimes I forget what I'm trying to explain because I got so caught up in enjoying translating it to a metaphor, by the end I'm not even sure if I'm still explaining what I intended to, it turns into me expanding the metaphor, instead of using the metaphor to expand my interpretation of reality, or at least that's how it feels sometimes.


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## Invisimort (Mar 22, 2011)

I have difficulty putting thoughts into words when my vocabulary is exponentially larger than the person I'm talking to. It's really aggravating- having to mentally sort through to find equally articulate synonyms.
Also, when dealing with really off the wall concepts and attempting to give a brief overview...
Or, when someone announces how awesome you are at talking to a room full of people that you've never met...


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## Fenrir003 (May 14, 2011)

Even though my vocabulary arsenal is large enough for me to usually get my point across I can't always make use of it with speech...Why I haven't the foggiest clue..Written mediums are usually my best bet when I need to make a point..When it comes to speech my words usually fail me...Unless I need to talk myself out of a situation. Then I'm usually good to go.


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## bagel (May 16, 2011)

i believe it has to do with familiarity of the language to the person, and whether that person has enough grasp of the knowledge to express such idea... not sure about type, since every type can have a knowledge in certain area :l


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## Naama (Dec 5, 2010)

my guess would be that its hard to communicate what comes out from your lower functions, but havent thought about this much, so dunno


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## Jennywocky (Aug 7, 2009)

Dementia in Absentia said:


> Can you know something yet have trouble expressing it in words? I think you can. I know that it happens to me every now and then. For example, I'll have trouble explaining why someone is a certain MBTI type asides from giving off certain vibes that are reminiscent of that type.
> 
> Do you think certain types are more prone to this problem than others? I'm guess N more than S and possibly F more than T.


ST is probably the most straightforward, quantifiable type of processing.

N already has difficulties, compared to S... typically, S is "linear thinking," and so is writing. However, N is far more spatial in how it works -- often a radiated web, and you can't describe a web easily in linear writing, instead you need to draw a picture or a diagram in order to show the interconnections among ideas.

F is "fuzzy" too... you're trying to describe values statements, whereas T is a detached type of valuing that can be universally derived regardless of the deriver. (e.g., science is what is replicable regardless of who the researcher is). So there is not necessarily even a common lexicon there for F to describe itself by.


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## alionsroar (Jun 5, 2010)

I have a hard time articulating things. Writing is easier since what I've just written is right before me and I can always pause to think of what I want to say (my sentence structure is pretty crap though, since I just write what comes to me).
But maybe it is just lack of practice on my part.
I think sometimes when I am trying to explain something, it's hard to focus on my own train of thought since I am busy focusing on what's going on around me or the response of the other person.
I don't know how many details to stick in. Using too many irrelevant details bores me, but if I don't say enough, people don't know what I am talking about. I guess I don't know what details are relevant so I leave a lot out.


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## personalityjunki (Jan 25, 2011)

I would definitely say an F would struggle with this type of thing. Their words do not do their emotions justice. 

Whereas a T, on the other hand, say what they mean and mean what they say.


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## alionsroar (Jun 5, 2010)

All this talk about STs being so good at putting things into words annoys me. It sounds like ISTPs are being described as extremely verbally eloquent. I thought the stereotype for them was a grunting caveperson with one liners since they can't put things properly into words.


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## MrSmashem (Aug 25, 2010)

pc3000:1294188 said:


> All this talk about STs being so good at putting things into words annoys me. It sounds like ISTPs are being described as extremely verbally eloquent. I thought the stereotype for them was a grunting caveperson with one liners since they can't put things properly into words.


I know I can't.

Unless I somehow distract my Ti, I suck verbally. And if I can't distract it, I end up over-thinking every thought that comes to mind until I can't process anything anymore.

Yeah, I know...it's pretty sweet......


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## Hastings (Jan 8, 2011)

I'm often eloquent, but sometimes I get these "association mind bombs", where my NF turns everything into a huge mess and I have to spend time figuring it out. That's pretty hopeless. Writing is always better.


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## IonOfAeons (Dec 2, 2010)

pc3000 said:


> All this talk about STs being so good at putting things into words annoys me. It sounds like ISTPs are being described as extremely verbally eloquent. I thought the stereotype for them was a grunting caveperson with one liners since they can't put things properly into words.


xSTx types are probably the least well understood types on personality cafe, at least that's what I believe. It's no surprise that a lot of assumptions are flying around about them.


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## erasinglines (Sep 1, 2010)

This, I believe, is a very complex and multifaceted question. One of the reasons for this is the fact that 'knowing' and 'expressing in words' are defined by people in different ways. And even for one person, there are different sorts of 'knowing' and being able to 'express this knowledge in words.'

As for myself, I rarely think in words, so I would have to answer in resounding agreement that it is certainly possible to know a thing without being able to do it justice by way of words. Whether or not that has anything to do with S/N or T/F, I can't really say for certain. It would be tempting to suggest N, grasping onto a larger picture in the flash of an instant without having the time for the linear translation of words to express the interconnected complexity. However, I can just as easily see S doing this as well, pulling information in through the senses with such detail and intricacy that bypasses a person's lexicon, the wholeness of it unable to fit into the concepts of words. Of course, I'm like to feel that people have experienced both instances at some point in their lives.

I'd also be like to say the same for F/T. That there are times that a person's emotions and values and as they relate to themselves and others could easily find themselves slipping between the cracks of words like water through fingers. The same goes for a person's thoughts and reasoning; that the construction of words can only hope to provide for an inefficient and inaccurate model for what we know. And again, I'd wager we've all felt this way, both on the T side and on the F side, at one point or another.

............. Could it have something more to do with the E/I or P/J side of things? I'm not sure.


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## snizz (May 3, 2011)

"You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." - Einstein

Intuitive flashes are great, but they are not indicative of true understanding. The ability to express complex things in words implies a high familiarity with the subject. That would be the reason why there are conceptual books about string theory, general relativity, etc that laypeople can buy, and they are typically written by highly intelligent people. I know many times I think I come across a penetrating insight and when I try to explain it, word salad comes out.


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## IonOfAeons (Dec 2, 2010)

snizz said:


> "You do not really understand something unless you can explain it to your grandmother." - Einstein
> 
> Intuitive flashes are great, but they are not indicative of true understanding. The ability to express complex things in words implies a high familiarity with the subject. That would be the reason why there are conceptual books about string theory, general relativity, etc that laypeople can buy, and they are typically written by highly intelligent people. I know many times I think I come across a penetrating insight and when I try to explain it, word salad comes out.


Writing thoughts down helps to unclutter and clarify so many of the ideas within. Explaining an intuitive flash to someone and expecting them to get it when you yourself aren't quite sure of it is a largely hopeless enterprise, because your understanding of what you said actually gets warped by their 'translation of it'.
When they respond "So you meant this..?" if they think they understood you then the chances are that you'll take on board some of that to replace what you said because you think it is clearer, sometimes it loses something in that translation but you might find it hard to see that because the idea was so hazy to begin with.


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## Eric B (Jun 18, 2010)

These theories are something that I find hard to find the best terms for. That's why I've been seeking new ways to express things, such as the functions.


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## vixin (May 11, 2011)

My problem might be that when I think, I have all these ideas at such a rapid pace, that the connects I make mentally, are so difficult to explain because they've happened so quickly, and I make strange connections from one thing to another, that people can't seem to see. It's valuable in a discussion with people willing to expand their own thoughts and consider new possibilities, but it is dreadfully confusing to people that don't want to listen.


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