# NF's and Sensors



## Beetlejuice (Mar 29, 2019)

How do they interact?


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## ai.tran.75 (Feb 26, 2014)

Beetlejuice said:


> How do they interact?


I relate more to some sensors than I do to NF - after all Nf is consisted of enfp infp enfj and infj - 

So if we’re talking about xsfp - I find them more relatable due to sharing the same functions ( Fi-Te) and being perceivers - 

Hmm I interact well with sensors - closest person to me in my life is my esfp cousin- she understands me thoroughly inside out- we get along great due to our love of talking ethics - emotion- humanity - trends - sports and entertainment. She stands up for me more than anyone I know and I trust her with my emotions more than anyone is this world 

My son is an estp- his energy level is over the type and can drain me out sometimes- however we get along great , he’s very sweet, adaptable and easily excited - he’s very impulsive in which I have remind him to slow down but other than that we get along great - we both love doing science experiment and watching documentaries -


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WraithOfNightmare (Jun 20, 2019)

I would not say I "hate" Sensors, because I rarely use "hate" against any particular individual unless A) They have impacted my well-being negatively in profound ways B) I find them morally detestable as a matter of ideals / principles even though I may never know them personally. There ways in which I sometimes envy Sensors, but there are also many areas where I tend to have gripes with them because there is evidently a lack of mutual understanding and connection beyond more or less a superficial level. This is not to say that I have not had any in-depth conversations with them, but I find that many of them just listen without the ability to really engage in response and discourse (which is intellectual food for me), or they just become shut off to these subjects and let me know that "enough is enough."

I don't feel like I have it easy with either SFs or STs, SJs or SPs. They all present their sets of challenges when it comes to attaining a deeper level of understanding. I also feel, at least from a very subjective point-of-view, that the understanding between S types and I tends to be a bit asymmetric in the sense that it's not too difficult for me to gain access to insights regarding their personality and their motives, but that it's much more difficult for them to really "tap" into me beyond a certain point.

On the SP / SJ axis, I have an easier time getting along with SPs than SJs because the P makes them a bit more spontaneous and less rigid when it comes to doing things. I don't know if I've encountered a confirmed STP in my life so I'll speak about the SFPs. I'm not sure if I've ever been with an ISFP but I'd imagine them to be much more physically oriented than I am, like how we can both be very imaginative but they'd be much more inclined, and perhaps much better at creating something visible, audible, touchable, tangible than I am. I usually live inside my head. I'd also imagine them to be much more present-oriented rather than past / future-oriented or abstract. Perhaps we'd share a lot, but over time I might feel that I lack in them a partner who can really respond and be on the same page as me when it comes to my fondness for the abstract. With ESFPs the only one I know could be my uncle, and unfortunately that's not left me with a good impression of the type. They can be really fun and light at heart, but I feel like we have different energy levels while lacking a deeper connection based on a shared time / space conception (they're very down-to-earth, present / physically oriented / people oriented while I am the opposite). I am not very fond of their "Hakuna Matata" approach towards life, it's like while we both want to relax and live a relatively simple life, we've got different ideas how to get there. My definition of a simple life is a life where there's peace and calm on the outside, but to remain very philosophically inclined and very vigilant on the inside. The outside world would ideally serve to protect my inner sense of peace and consistency. ESFPs can also be a bit prone to drama, they're very emotional but it seems like a much more volatile, uncontrolled form of emotion rather than one that's deeper and more introspective. I cannot stand drama in my life and I try not to start any unless I'm really pushed. ESFPs I've encountered can also be a bit prone to showing off and buying flashy things, which I disapprove.

Onto the SJs, the xSFJs so far seem to be the type I have the biggest gripes with. Being S types with Fe in either dominant or auxiliary position, their expressions of Fe often come as far less reflective and considerate (because they're so present / physical-oriented rather than being introspective as their natural mode) than the Fe in some N types like INFJ, ENFJ. I've also had disagreements over Fi and Fe with ENFJ and INFJ, but the shared N preference means they're a lot more likely to intuit where I am coming from, and since they're pretty rare types like the INFP, they often share the experience of being misunderstood and dis-enfranchised in the system. However, xSFJs are 2 of the most common types and they're far more likely to find people who think, behave like they do. Their preoccupation with social norms, games, often following social and cultural practices without much if any questioning, their obsession with what I consider to be the very mundane details of life (yet I have got to admit they are vastly superior than me when it comes to getting so many things done) are all sources of dissatisfaction and conflict from both sides. ISFJs, with their inferior Ne, often frustrate me because their lack of intuition often gives them unwarranted worry (they're always thinking about "the worst" even when there's not much if any reason to be), and it often manifests as their reluctance / lack of flexibility when approaching new things and new possibilities. It's just so hard for them to wrap their head around them. Many ISFJs come from stable families where they've never had or have never been pushed to search for deeper meaning and / or challenge the status quo, while I come from a broken family and I've become very sensitive and independent in this regard. If I did not seek out these answers myself, who would have had the ability or patience to teach me? ESFJs are like a louder, more obnoxious, "in your face" version of ISFJs. Sometimes I'm more T than F when analyzing something (I'd say I am 65% F and 35% T) and the inferior Ti in ESFJs can be just as frustrating because I feel like they haven't got a strong internal system of analysis, that they just more or less go with the flow. It makes me unsafe spending extended periods of time around people who lack consistency in their beliefs and morals, I'd feel much safer with someone who's strong, even confrontational in this way. They also generally perceive me as "weird", "unusual" in one way or another and I've had some horrific things said to be by them. Their Fe is often described as being understanding, "others" oriented, and compassionate, but I feel like it does not extend to people they perceive to be outside "the norm". That's when they become very critical or even shunning towards another type like an NF. The way I see this is, they're missing out on so much because if they took the time to get to know us perhaps they'd realize how much wisdom and insight we could provide them, that we're a lot more than the "misfits" and "weirdos" they perceive us to be. Not all of them are bad people and they can actually be really nice, but their lack of interest in the abstract, and their over emphasis on being "people's people" drain me to the point of annoyance, exhaustion, and outright frustration. They don't quite seem to understand the more intense side of me and my need for solitude or 1-on-1 interaction (WITHOUT them constantly judging me based on social, cultural standards of the way things must be because of..... like I've got no right to even ASK why).

Sometimes I do encounter an xSFJ that's more understanding and sympathetic towards me and at least tries to listen, but even then I feel like the deeper connection's just not there, and I NEED that deeper connection and resonance. The STJs, I feel, can be a bit too unemotional and utilitarian in their world view. Like the xSFJs they're often dogmatic in their attitude towards tradition, towards the establishment, but sometimes I feel as if they leave out the human element for the sake of effectiveness and efficiency. Some can have views that I find too extreme even for someone that can get quite emotionally and intellectually intense like me. They're definitely not the kind to bend the rules or trust emotions too much, which can come off as too cold and impersonal for me. Some of them can have militaristic / right wing tendencies. I've had some interesting talks with I / ESTJs, but in the end it's just too hard for our respective viewpoints to converge and they find me too emotional / sentimental / unrealistic. The upside is that can be very reliable and dutiful, but that to me does not overlook / replace the fact that I'm looking for a true emotional / mental resonance and understanding.

Sensor types in general can be slightly challenging because sometimes I feel like you always need to do some kind of activity, to have somewhere to go with them, rather than just doing whatever and enjoying each other's company through conversation. While I very much believe that sharing experiences is a vital part of deepening the bond between two individuals, that's not enough for me if there isn't a heart-to-heart connection. the xSFJs and xSFPs when traveling tend to be very preoccupied with taking photos to show their friends or just to have very "sensory" experiences. While I can also appreciate the "sensory" side of things, I feel the need to dig deeper into the place's history, culture, people, social issues etc. and that often causes an intellectual disconnect with the Sensor / Sensors I'm traveling with. Lots of repressed disappointment on my end. I believe digging deeper is an undeniably enriching part of any travel experience but they just want to have a "good time" by their definition. I often express myself far better through writing and encounter stumbling blocks when they expect me to express myself verbally. I'm far more of an eloquent writer but I am a dummy when it comes to speaking.

Unfortunately, my challenges and frustrations relating to S types are augmented by the fact that I come from a very S part of the world, especially xSFJ and xSTJ (but many xSFPs too): East Asia. Confucianism, the dominant ideology for the last 1-2 thousand years, stamped out pretty much all the other schools of thought. I believe at one point China was probably more N than it is now / after the predominance of political Confucianism as the means to control society (look up "Hundred Schools of Thought"), but once Confucianism managed to grip onto society, independent, abstract, critical thinking and depth / intensity of feeling, the pursuit of one's own dreams and desires, of feelings such as love and etc. have all been discouraged in favor of fulfilling your obligations and "knowing your place" and not questioning the status quo because it's "the will of the heavens." I feel this has been absolutely catastrophic for Asia and hinders progress. Now, I'm certainly not saying NFs have it easy in the West, and this has been true for me as a matter of personal experience, but the West at least has far more room for political and intellectual discourse.

Despite all of my issues with Sensors, there are still times where I feel perhaps a bit of envy towards the way they live life. No type comes without any problems, but sometimes it seems as though it's much easier for them to be content with the way things are and to just take it as it goes. I talk a lot about living in the moment, living in the present, but I cannot recall ever really putting it into practice as my mind's way too alert and way too active. At one point I also felt genuinely inferior to the Sensors around me because it seemed like knew how to do so many things whereas I didn't, and how they seemed to be much more socially adept and graceful than I was (and am). They're also a lot more aware of their physical surroundings which gives them a kind of coordination that I lack. A lot of times I've wanted to do things for people but I just don't know where to start because I'm far less in-tune with the practical aspects of life than they are. Would I ultimately wish to trade being an N for an S? Overall, no. As much as I wish I could just have a "good time and not be puzzled about so much, I also recognize that it's what makes me who I am, that there are people (even if just a few) who can appreciate me, and that as S types they have their own share of struggles that us N types may not necessarily have. For example, the SF types can become so caught up in "people issues" and have no retreat when their outer identities and social lives fall apart. In that case we might find it much easier to cope and re-frame things because out natural mode of being is internally focused rather than constantly needing the external stimulation. S types also seem to have it easier because the system favors them. Once their outer shells, their reliance on their external / social identities and / or traditions and customs is no longer reliable, or if they're suddenly perceived to be "abnormal" one day in one way or another (never say never, though they'd hate to admit the possibility), they may have very little left to sustain their lives and fall into a deep void because their internal selves may be far less "blast resistant".


Because many of us are so used to being "out of the norm" and therefore may not seek it, I feel it could possibly make us have somewhat of a resilient edge over S types.


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## Llyralen (Sep 4, 2017)

Your guess is as good as mine. 

Sometimes communication does work between S and N. Knowing MBTI helps.


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## Kommandant (Jun 27, 2017)

They interact normally?
I have had great interactions with Sensors and great interactions with Intuitives.
I have also had awful interactions with both.

Often I don't know my conversation partners type, but sometimes it's quite clear if they're S or N. But for me it isn't really about that. Usually it is about maturity and mental health. Mature and healthy (any type) = great talk. Immature and unhealthy (any type) = difficult talk. Usually though, not always!!


Also *please* hide this thread from Stevester because after Wraithofnightmares post he's going to think this is a biased Intuitive thread talking crap about Sensors lmao (yes this is a joke).


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## 74893H (Dec 27, 2017)

How does a piece of string interact with another piece of string?
That sounded cleverer in my head. Shh.

In a positive interaction, I'd say the Intuitive appreciates the Sensor's grounded perspective and the Sensor appreciates the Intuitive's insight, each able to give a perspective on things the other lacks. In a negative interaction, the Sensor think the Intuitive needs to get their head out the clouds, and the Intuitive thinks the Sensor is ignorant.

Personally I don't treat Sensors any different than I treat Intuitives. I like the deep conversations you're more likely to have with Intuitives but I find Sensors to be much easier company at times. They tend more than Intuitives to be more what-you-see-is-what-you-get which I appreciate. And sometimes our deep dive thinking patterns can drudge up thoughts that are just far-fetched and nonsensical, times like that it sometimes it takes a Sensor to give us a reality check and snap us out of it.


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## Marvin the Dendroid (Sep 10, 2015)

Beetlejuice said:


> How do they interact?


In the flesh.


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## soop (Aug 6, 2016)

I interact with N types the same way I interact with anyone else because people are more than the sum of 4 letters or 8 cognitive functions, however I will explain my observations of my interactions with NF type here:

I get along with ENFPs and INFJs pretty well. I think its just because it's almost impossible not to get along with healthy ENFPs and I just have a lot in common with (sane) INFJs. ENFJs are for the most part pretty solid too as long as they're not the ridiculously manipulative or weird ones, INFPs are the only ones where its a strained relationship, but I get along with most of the mature ones and really enjoy their sense of humor for the most part (they're usually really fucking smart and humor most of the time reflects intelligence level)...sometimes though its a little bit of idealism vs practicality, and my particular combination Ti and enneagram 1 type pushes back hard against idealism when its not the most realistic (and thats not to say that idealism that's not realistic is always bad, in fact its important to dream...its just annoying to me if its too indulgent sometimes)

Also let the record show I somehow typed "in fact tits" instead of "in fact it's"...I never said my sense of humor reflects my intelligence...or maybe it does...since ya know...I'm a sensor.


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## Pippi (Dec 24, 2016)

A lot depends on temperature, atmospheric pressure, molar concentration... and what they had for breakfast.


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## Llyralen (Sep 4, 2017)

Actually, did you want practical advice on how to work better with sensors? 

If so, I’ve asked for that before and without too much help even though if MBTI is good for anything, you would think it would be good to help with this. 

I am learning to modify what I talk about with my ESFJ son. I just barely realized his type a month or two ago. I realize when he is being quiet it is usually because what I’m saying is more theoretical and If I focus on his interests which right now are his friends and the fact that he’s building a computer.... then as soon as I switch topics to concrete stuff he starts talking again usually. So... I guess it’s like with everyone, you have to figure out their interests.

It is usually easier for NFs to adapt to others than the other way around, unfortunately, but that’s okay— understanding people is an NF super power. Also— there are obviously some good S and NT people who are good at adapting to others too, of course.


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## Sour Roses (Dec 30, 2015)

With some sacrifice on both sides. 

Unless sharing some mutual interest, in which case it works perfectly fine, even beneficially... but most of the time with N and S in the same convo, both people loose out a bit on what they want to talk about and the way it gets discussed.

When chatting with my ISFJ mom, for instance, I usually have to stop and rethink then translate what I want to say in more concrete terms. Frequently I forget to do this and what comes out of my mouth just confuses her to bits. Especially the most far-reaching metaphors. We've had good results though when I translate those by building a plausible real life scenario and helping her see herself in it.

I still don't 'get' some of the implications of what she talks about either. 
Our humor can be a bit of a mismatch, too... sometimes she repeats these jokes to me and I'm left just staring at her all perplexed. Like yeah, that was the obvious conclusion, how is this funny? Or my many protests of "but wait, that isn't accurate..." and then she tells me that jokes don't have to be true (sidenote: yes they do! or else the connections that form them break down)
Whereas my jokes are so super dry they are often easy to miss in ordinary conversation.

Many of the sensors I've met have a tendency to see me as a total drip. Based on moments when I didn't get what they were trying to convey right. Like when a friend was house painting and trying to show me how to cut in so I could help, instead I got banned from painting after doing a mere foot of baseboard. 
Or when my ISTP father (builder) considered my ideas for better work flow in a house he was designing to be a waste of funds, and stopped seeking my opinion when he polled the other females for whatever feedback he was actually looking for. Usually he just added a few more landscaping bushes afterwards.  to the most boring cookie cutter houses in the world.


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## Aridela (Mar 14, 2015)

Sensors are like more than half the population. 

I'm not going to adjust my behaviour based on the fact that someone _may_ be a sensor. 

I know most people are sensors therefore I keep my wild musings and what ifs to be discussed with fellow intuitives (though I have had plenty a deep conversation with sensors too; they're not incapable of deep though, just less inclined to do philosophise all day). 

That being said, some of the best conversations I had were with Sensors (mainly ISTXs).


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## Katie Tran (Apr 8, 2017)

I don't treat sensors any different than I treat intuitives.

I've found incredibly stupid intuitives as I've found incredibly dumb sensors. I have also found amazing intuitives and fantastic sensors. 

Sensors make up a good majority of my friends (and people I find crushable) and if it weren't for the obnoxious MBTI division, most people in the real world wouldn't give a rat's ass about sensor vs. intuitive dividing. 
Most would be able to relate and bond with each other. 

I've found intuitives who balk at me saying something bizarre and sensors who seek to understand or empathize. Similarly, I've talked to intuitives about practical, every day life stuff while some sensor friends seek me out to ask about the spiritual/supernatural.


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## WraithOfNightmare (Jun 20, 2019)

I believe culture may have something to do with this, but what I can say is East Asia on the whole isn't exactly NF, or N friendly. The people here (mainland China) tend to be very pragmatic-oriented and not many are into the discussion of things they don't see as having immediate / tangible relevance to their daily lives, even among many of the "educated". There is a general attitude of apathy / disinterest / stoicism towards many of the things I love to discuss, such as politics, philosophy, and spirituality among others. The whole cultural ethos is not one that promotes independent, broad-minded, and very engaged modes of thought. As much as the CCP likes to pay lip service to the idea of cultivating a non-materialistic culture, they know how effective the poison of modern-day materialism and consumerism is as a tool to divert the minds of youth away from the deep social and political issues that lay beneath the facade of stability the government has created through economic development. To many people here, economic development and stability is the be-all-end-all and as long as there is this stability (or rather, an illusion of stability that's masking a burning crucible of suppression and oppression) there's nothing to worry about. I really feel a bit sad and I believe this part of the world needs a lot more N attributes.

I'd say majority of mainland Chinese and the mainland ethos is very SFJ / STJ. There's definitely a lack of rational thought, but there is also a lack of deep insight into matters other than those concerning the mundane (especially money, money, money). Imagination, innovation, outside-the-box thinking and speculating about many future possibilities isn't that welcomed here. Not many people will understand you because you are, as a result of both explicit and implicit social coding, expected to simply "know your place" and life is supposed to be the fulfillment of a series of roles and obligations in a linear, no-nonsense fashion without focusing too much on "Truth" or the depth of your personal feelings and emotions (yet funny enough, there's so much emotional drama when anything involving ridiculous concepts like "face" is involved). "Truth" often isn't welcomed here and it's seen as a waste of time and energy to be in pursuit of any "Truth".

Dialectic thinking, at least how it's practiced in China, often leads to an amoral / stoic world view. While Western linear philosophical thinking could do better by taking more perspectives into an integrated account and sometimes I feel Western philosophy tries to classify too much, dialectic thinking as practiced in the East seems to downplay the fact that oftentimes there is not only an objective right / wrong, but there is also a clear and pressing need to make a correct moral judgment in response to this objective right / wrong. As an N type with dominant Fi (but I assume it would be the same for all NFs to one degree or another), I have very strong convictions and beliefs on what's right or wrong. When I express these feelings, I'm often met with apathy, bewilderment, or even ridicule from some of the locals who think they are know-it-alls with their dialectic world view. I often get called "immature", "naive" when I express these clear views.

I don't know about S types from other parts of the world, but being a Chinese-Canadian who grew up mostly in a predominantly Chinese suburb of Metro Vancouver who's now living in China, I often find my imagination, my views, my insights ignored or scrutinized because they're not of immediate practical relevance (or so they think, never say never). It's this very "S" based approach towards life among many people in my ethnic community and country of heritage that leaves me quite sad a lot of times.


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## Llyralen (Sep 4, 2017)

@WraithOfNightmare , I find your account very interesting. From the news it sounds like there is a lot going on there right now with oppression and Hong Kong. I’ve really found lately that it feels so nice when our Fi can find common ground with others when the nation is doing things that seem so wrong. I hope you get to talk to some individuals with your same political views— even just on PerC . 
I see how important for some types conformity is— it’s how the learn, it’s how they trust— and NFPs are far on the other side of thinking conformity is important. Right/wrong is definitely more important for us and we want the big picture to be working towards goals that will improve the future. 
Anyway, thank you for writing about your experience.


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## WraithOfNightmare (Jun 20, 2019)

Go Hong Kong. "One Country Two Systems" was planned for 50 years, 1997-2047. There has never been a clear statement on what could / will happen to Hong Kong in 2047, but when Deng was in power it was said that he and other reformists intended for mainland China to follow Hong Kong's system of democracy and form a united, democratic Chinese nation. Wen Jiabao, the former Premier (Prime Minister) of China under Hu Jintao (Xi Jinping's predecessor), said in an interview (post-retirement) that he envisions a fully democratic China in the decades to come.

Students in China still study "Deng Xiaoping's Theories" but it's sheer hypocrisy that what the government's doing now is turning its back on what Deng proposed, which was China's continuing reform and gravitation towards more civil and even political freedoms. The whole anti-corruption campaign is just as much of a move to stamp out anyone who opposes his regime as it is to take out actual corruption. Nobody really knows how Xi even came to power, there are other sons of early CCP leaders (called "princelings") and Xi's just one with that sort of pedigree. Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao were selected by Deng Xiaoping, and they were very mild compared to Xi.

China's taking a turn towards becoming a totalitarian, digital authoritarian state with worldly ambitions. If China becomes the most powerful country in the world, surpassing the US, its combination of an authoritarian system, a large, brainwashed / docile population, and digital advancements will make it far more frightening than the things the US and Western powers have done. While electoral democracy is far from a perfect system, it's the best we've got in the context of a sizable nation-state when it comes to people having the opportunity to present differing voices. The Communist Party is NOT China, and it has NO right to claim itself as China's Manifest Destiny and the next step in the Chinese people's political evolution. Any arguments that "democracy is not suitable for China and the Chinese people" is BULLSHIT. I feel that if China were an electoral democracy it would be far easier to manage than India. Why? India's got many MAJOR ethno-linguistic groups. China is 90% Han Chinese and there are several cultural factors giving Chinese people a far greater level of unity and commonality from place to place compared to a country like India. India's population is almost as big as China's and just keeping the country together is a tough enough job, yet a democratic India still exists despite the far lower level of homogeneity ethnically and culturally compared to China.

"Chinese have no precedence on an intellectual / philosophical level when it comes to a democratic tradition."-Many, if not most countries, were monarchies at one point. You don't need "precedence." Why not learn the good things from the outside world and start something new, even if they may not be originally from your existing culture? Just because "it's always been this way" doesn't mean it's worthy of being kept. There are some things I believe in that happen to follow the majority, but I am rarely someone who follows anything social or cultural without asking questions. Questions must be asked, even if they sound ridiculous at first (as long as it does not go against my Fi). Ideas take time to refine and sink in. I'm sure slavery abolitionists in the 18th and 19th centuries were viewed by many as the outcasts and pariahs of their societies, yet slavery was eventually abolished and nowadays it's widely considered to be an unacceptable practice.

This also brings me to something that really bugs me about the Chinese / East Asian mentality: Being overly focused on the PAST and feeling the past can be used to infer the future almost 100% of the time. While I believe the past CAN often be used to infer future patterns in many cases (I have Si as my 3rd function), there are also times where we must put the past behind and be open to new possibilities that may very well lead to a better future. "If it's always been done this way, therefore it must remain this way" is a mentality held by many people here, even when there are clear drawbacks and harmful aspects that are in sore need of change.

The CCP, and many Chinese people to an extent, always blame "the other" when something goes wrong. They don't seem to recognize that challenging the status quo can come from sane, intelligent, and independent minds. When there's something wrong this current government often blames "the Americans", "the West" etc. When some people here who are in positions of "authority" are acting unreasonably and get challenged by the people who are sick of their ways, they often respond with "who told you to oppose me?" rather than accepting the fact that justified resistance comes from sane, rational, independent minds and NOT some outside force working to undermine said authority. I'm sure this tendency to scapegoat is far from unique to China and the Chinese government, but I'm beginning to notice it quite strongly.

I'm much more skeptical of the group than I am of the individual (with exceptions, such as Xi Jinping and other dictators). The group, when led in the wrong direction, had far more potential to damage and destroy than the individual. Unfortunately, some strong and narcissistic individuals can sway entire groups of people to act in controlled and dehumanized ways. In a highly collectivist culture like China (and 20% of the world's people), it's really a case of the nail that sticks out getting hammered down, or screwing itself back into place because there's no other like it and it'll get drowned in the silence of the masses.

There's little regard for privacy in the Western sense here in China. Privacy, as understood by Westerners, is a fairly recent concept in China. Traditionally, "privacy" as a word was connoted to being bad / having something to hide / having an agenda. It's a lack of privacy and boundaries in Chinese culture that the government's taking full advantage of. If people don't respect it / demand it and accept the lack of boundaries as it is, the progress of civil rights and freedoms with civil society being a check and balance to the 
higher ups" has been mostly stagnant with the exception of the time leading up to 1989, when China was in its first decade of economic reform after Mao's death.

It's really a pity because China has made so many cultural contributions to the world and I feel the country and people have so much potential to be more, to be better. There was even a period during Chinese history that was more philosophically inclined, perhaps it can be described as being more N. It was the Spring and Autumn / Warring States Period where different philosophies (I'm sure some would have been more NF-friendly than others) competed for influence, rather than the Confucian ideological hegemony that was adopted during the Western Han under Emperor Wu (Liu Che). The Tang Dynasty was also remarkably open for feudal China, and it was an era where Buddhism and Daoism were quite influential. However, the Tang definitely stands out as the exception, rather than the norm for imperial China. The Song reverted to a strict Confucian view of society and governance.

The Chinese are definitely an intelligent people with the capacity for social progress, if only the cultural and political roadblocks could be removed significantly or completely. Despite all of my criticisms, the majority of people here are decent at heart and China (perhaps Asia) overall is far safer than most Western countries.

On a concluding note, while I am against gun ownership being out of control, the only time I believe gun ownership on a mass scale could be justified is to act as a deterrent or an offensive force against an oppressive regime that goes as far as to crack down on unarmed protesters using the national military (though technically China's got no "separate" armed forces, the PLA's the armed wing of the CCP), and Communist China's one of them.


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## Buoyant (Oct 7, 2010)

Growing up in a family of sensors, I learned to communicate with them using fewer metaphors and by using direct, concrete language whenever possible. My ISTJ brother and father get hostile when I use analogies and pop culture references to get a point across. With them, I use the same style of communication I use in the business world. Conversing with my N buddies is like a friendly game of jousting where we throw obscure movie references and cultural witicisms back and forth. Its all about creating vivid mental pictures for each other without saying the actual words we're trying to convey.


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## WraithOfNightmare (Jun 20, 2019)

There are S types who may be better versed in the workings of NFs (or Ns in general) or at least try to be accommodating towards NFs or Ns in general, but I feel that even with the relatively more open S types (especially referring to the SJs) there is a feeling of asymmetry past a certain point as to how far they'd go, either willingly or as a matter of their ability to comprehend, to not only understand us more, but to appreciate us and integrate with us. This might feel a bit like an asymmetrical relationship from our perspective because although we can begin to appreciate the fact that they're willing to see things from our perspective, what we ultimately need is that resonance on a further level, a mutual kindred spirit of general agreement (note, we don't have to agree wholly on everything). It's hard to describe using words, but I know when it's there and when it's not. Vice versa, we're only able or willing to integrate ourselves into their worlds and the way they choose to live (much more physical, spatial) up to a certain degree. To say that the disconnect does not exist would be an inaccurate perception.


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## Gossip Goat (Nov 19, 2013)

Love em


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## FerryMerry (Aug 31, 2019)

For me, as an NT, its just pure pain to even watch it.

Lies->emotional manipulation->sex,money,or fame explo->ditch.

Its like paraciting.

And then, THEN they say the NF was useless to guys or that they were a victim to gals.

Just ... grose

But. Then again. N men get disgusted 1000 times faster than S men, so.. But thats before the mutual unannounced agreements. so..

Its the way the world works. Via lies.


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