Examples of Ni

solitarywalker's description of Ni is quite good, however, it's quite hard to read. Had to reread most sentences :/

sample:
Such ideas of the Introverted perception are highly abstract as this type is most intuitive of all--due to the intensification factor of introversion. As a matter of this discovery, the INFJ turns out to be the most intuitive of all types because Feeling imposes less limitations on the perception than Thinking. Feeling is not a tough-minded function and is therefore more easily diluted by foreign elements than Thinking. For this reason Extroverted Feeling contains less of the judging element than Extroverted Thinking and therefore countervails the perception of Introverted Intuition to a much lower degree. Incidentally the perceptions of the INJ are ineffable and cannot be properly transmuted into the realm of concrete phenomena. When they do attempt to, their initial hunches are either grotesquely distorted or lost altogether. However, the Intuitionist himself appears much content with merely having the hunches that he has as they adequately guide him, even if he cannot duly explain it to others. Once more this is even more fitting to the INFJ as he relies less on objective assessment of his ideas than the INTJ for the reason mentioned earlier.
Click to expand...

mirror: http://personalitycafe.com/infj-articles/13349-solitarywalkers-infj-profile.html
 
Someone suggested to me that my experience, following, back when I was in college might be an example of Ni.

I would love it if someone could comment as I too would like to see examples of the functions.

Thanks.


The Universe Looks After Me

About my second year in college, …

Anyway, back in those days, we used punched cards, to “record” our programs we developed. We had to “request space”, in kb, when we turned in our cards to the guys who ran the ibm computer. I’m talking big boxes taller than a man with reels spinning on them as they ran our programs.
…

I was always walking around in a fog when it came to figuring out how to program in that language. (I later took COBOL and it was piece of cake compared to Fortran).

We had to fight for a key punch machine in the main engineering building, so when I found out there was one in a back room over at the social sciences building, I was delighted. I began going over there in the afternoons when no one was around so I could spread my work out, keypunch my cards, and relax. Just think what would happen if the cards were dropped and became out of order. Aaaghhh. I was extremely paranoid about that happening so all my focus was on watching those cards, keypunching those cards, and then getting them safely to the computer lab.

To get to the keypunch machine, I had to walk through a large classroom and enter a small enclosed room off to one side. I never paid much attention to any detail as no one was ever there, although the lights were always on. It was usually around 3 in the afternoon, so maybe they were anticipating a night class.

One day, as I was deeply focused on my homework and keypunching cards, all of the lights went out. It was totally black. I listened intently, heard stillness, and then hollered, “Hey. Turn on the lights! I’m back here and not finished!”.

Nothing. No sound.

I decided someone must have come by, quickly turned the lights off, and left without any knowledge I was there.

I stood up and began walking towards the door of the little room and paused. I still could not see anything…
…but I heard something…could Feel something…emanating from the middle of the big classroom.

It was then all my senses went into overtime, overdrive, whatever you call that heightened sense of awareness.
… and then I heard someone breathing.

Ahh shit! I’m in a classroom, with no light to see, I realize the door has been closed to the hallway outside as I hear no noise of students or anybody walking or talking out there. I realize I’m in a silent, pitch black room, with another person who obviously heard me holler to turn out the lights…

Oh shit….

My heart began to pound and race.

At this point, I don’t know what came over me, but I put my hand on the wall to my left and began to slowly make my way to the door. All the while I kept my senses tuned to the breathing. It was if some inner part of me knew what to do. Finally, my left hand found a light switch I had no idea was there, and I flipped them on at the same time I turned to face the person. Simultaneously, I gauge my distance from the closed door. Fortunately, he was not between me and the door.

I stared at him. He stared at me. I can still see his face. His eyes. I’d never seen anyone look like that before in my life. Vacant. Intense.

Weirdly, I spoke to him.

I said, “Wow. Looks like you got caught in here with the lights out too.” I remember then he looked at me as if he was confused and surprised. He did not move…

And with that statement I turned my back to him, calmly opened the door, and walked down the hall to the nearest exit.

When I saw a man, in a business suit, coming up the steps of the building, I broke down sobbing, telling him, there was a man in a classroom who scared me and could he please come back with me so I could retrieve my books and things.

Of course the guy wasn’t there anymore and the nice man in the business suit helped me gather my things and took me to campus police. They took my description and informed me a man with the same description had been raping women on campus. Later I found out, my story helped them catch the guy.

I’ve often thought back to those moments in awe.

I wonder:

How did I know to put my hand on the wall so as to find the light switch. It was as if my hands knew exactly where to find it.
How was I able to keep calm?
Why did I talk to him like that?
What did I hope to gain?

I swear the Universe took care of me on that day - like so many of the days in my life when I narrowly escaped harm.
Click to expand...

http://forums.infjs.com/showthread.php?t=14674&page=7
 
[MENTION=2578]K-gal[/MENTION], wow! What an experience. I love your writing style, it's very vivid and descriptive.

In light of this thread, however, that was not much indicative of Ni at all. Ni does not have magical, mystical properties and has no relation with spirituality, although some Ni-dominants tend to be spiritual.
 
“Wow. Looks like you got caught in here with the lights out too.”
Click to expand...
genius ^

Possibly a good example of the Ni+Fe approach - changing a situation by manipulating its meaning.
 
I called Ni overactive paranoia. I think it relies on hypersensitivity to environmental stimuli, not in a sensing fashion, more like an environmental filter--panning for gold as it were. Swish (toss out rocks), swish, swish...ah! Gold! The rapid movement from a position of uncertainty toward understanding bypasses regular sensing--it is more of an unconscious effort that tells you what to swish out of the pan and enables you to find the gold.
 
  • Like
Reactions: acd
JCPA said:
My History professor once said, "If the past repeated itself, we should be able to predict the future." Keep this in mind as we delve into an example of what it means to be Ni.

Think about getting a test with the following math problem to solve 68 x 124 = ?. Unlike an Ni, I think a Si would suspend concluding on what the answer could be until 1) understanding the problem needs to be solved, 2) privately running through a calculation of some kind. Whereas an Ni could answer instantly by guessing on the spot before being asked. More often than not, an intelligent Ni could come to approximately the correct answer, because once the Ni was exposed to the test, he or she has actively taken in information, whether consciously or unconsciously, to anticipate the possibility of solving the problem.

The Si may read the math problem, and require a prompt "The test begins now" and more information or instructions to go ahead and solve the problem "Choose the best answer for each problem." However, the Ni continuously reasons over the smallest minutiae to form a basis for his or her knowledge. Even before the Ni receives the test with the problem on it, like when walking into the testing room, or the building where the testing room is located, information about the test would be rapidly poured over regardless of whether the information is confirmed. In this example the Ni receives the test and thinks 1) I have a test 2) tests need to be completed 3) completed correctly 4) there is a problem 5) with a question mark 6) questions need to be answered 7) calculating 70 x 120 can be done in my head 8) I can answer this as approximately 8400 9) the answer is probably 8432 10) my calculator confirms this answer 11) the instructions for this test tell me to choose the best answer for each question 12) the instructor told me "The test begins now"

The Ni takes in a barrage of information at all times, continuously processes this information to form conclusions about the tiniest of minutiae, which in turn become the basis for the Ni's knowledge about the world around him/her. So in essence, while the Si seeks external verification to make conclusions about information taken in, Ni relies on internal references to past memories, experiences, observations, and sensations to make (sometimes accurate, sometimes false) predictions about information taken in.
Click to expand...

I've also heard it described that Ni can go from step A directly to step D without ever touching B and C along the way. In other words, they can draw a conclusion once presented with "just enough" information without needing all the dots connected along the way.

My own personal example would also be in Math. I'd say I'm horrible at Math, not because I'm actually horrible at the math itself. It's because of what was mentioned above "7) calculating 70 x 120 can be done in my head 8) I can answer this as approximately 8400". This usually means that at least half the time I look at a math problem, I can see the solution to it within a certain margin of error. This also means I usually end up not showing my work and can't really explain to the teacher/professor how I came up with the solution... saying "I estimated" in math is usually an automatic "F".

Most of my Math teachers have been the I/ESxx types; they need and live for those rules. In my experience, Ni's seem to be more ready to abandon the rules in order to get a result... usually because we already have the answer well before we were told to solve the problem.
 
Lerxst said:
I've also heard it described that Ni can go from step A directly to step D without ever touching B and C along the way. In other words, they can draw a conclusion once presented with "just enough" information without needing all the dots connected along the way.

My own personal example would also be in Math. I'd say I'm horrible at Math, not because I'm actually horrible at the math itself. It's because of what was mentioned above "7) calculating 70 x 120 can be done in my head 8) I can answer this as approximately 8400". This usually means that at least half the time I look at a math problem, I can see the solution to it within a certain margin of error. This also means I usually end up not showing my work and can't really explain to the teacher/professor how I came up with the solution... saying "I estimated" in math is usually an automatic "F".

Most of my Math teachers have been the I/ESxx types; they need and live for those rules. In my experience, Ni's seem to be more ready to abandon the rules in order to get a result... usually because we already have the answer well before we were told to solve the problem.
Click to expand...

Ni definitely skips steps. But I feel it's useful for math. Maybe I'm just high Ti so it's easy for me to check the work as I'm writing but usually, the things I screw up on in math are little. But I can look at a problem and, most of the time, see where it needs to go.

I don't know about abandoning rules though. I think Ni sees creative ways to work inside of the rules.
 
Ni and Si are really similar since both rely on past experiences. The only difference is that Si will keep a very concrete and real-based map of their experiences, while Ni will shift the perspective of their experiences to come up with new ways of looking at things.

Si will store an event almost, if not, completely exact as the way it looked in reality. Ni will draw out the meaning out of the event and insert their own perspective as to how the event looked like. What then is stored is that altered perception, not the way it really looked.

For example, Si will be more likely to take literally the bible or any other religious text because that's the way it was portrayed when they read it. Ni will interpret it their own way, and come up with their own unique way of drawing meaning behind the words that are written there. Of course, I'm not saying that this is exclusively correct, some Si users will do what Ni does, and vice versa.

Si tries to see things as they are, and are naturally suspicious of people who read between the lines. Ni tries to look at all the different ways that things in the world are expressed to get to a fundamental truth, but they are naturally annoyed at people who take things at face value.
 
Knowing the answer without knowing exactly what it is....?

No words, no 'methods' (initially), just....is?
 
Trifoilum said:
Knowing the answer without knowing exactly what it is....?

No words, no 'methods' (initially), just....is?
Click to expand...

More like knowing the point of something without going into depth. Like I read the back of a couple a psychology books once and understood what points they were trying to make and had an opinion about it.

Seeker of Truth said:
they are naturally annoyed at people who take things at face value.
Click to expand...

You can say that again.
 
bickelz said:
More like knowing the point of something without going into depth. Like I read the back of a couple a psychology books once and understood what points they were trying to make and had an opinion about it.
Click to expand...

True enough.
 
It has been brought to my attention that most people misinterpret the Se function, and think traits of Se are traits of Ni. Also, the majority of Sensors come out with _N_ responses on MBTI tests instead of _S_. Ni is a function that has profound interest in the most immediate Sensory data, as does Se have profound interest in what can be. Ni is about planning ahead of themselves from 'that' moment on, while Se is about impulsively and efficiently improvising from 'that' moment on.

Example #1: Ni-dominant - You see something in the most immediate Sensory data that gives broad insight into the future of what may possible come to pass, something you might end up achieving. Automatically, Ni begins to plan ahead to that particular moment you imagined, in order to achieve it.
Example #2: Se-dominant - You see something in the most immediate Sensory data that gives broad insight into the future of what may possible come to pass, something you might end up achieving. Automatically, Se sees little if no reason to plan ahead to that particular moment you imagined because Se knows that the future is ever-fleeting, constantly changing. Instead, Se simply takes it into consideration until later, until something more concrete comes up ahead, and then they will strike at the opportunity.

I test as INTJ, and people think I'm an INFJ. However, I am an improviser, an SP. I too, like intuitives, look far into the future, and knows how to plan ahead to that particular moment I imagined, but I find it ultimately folly to do so, because no one can pin point the future with exact precision. And I too, like intuitives, read people's minds, body-language, and so on.

Difference between SP and NJ? SP's avoid judging the future as they see it.
 
Last edited:
Majesty said:
You feel like you don't know what, but you're only using patterns from the past that you're applying to the present.
Click to expand...

Quite possible; in fact the process of finding the answer are more likely to tap into patterns; even entering Si, for some people.
 
Artsu Tharaz said:
Yeah. JCPA, you sure you're not ISFJ? =/
Click to expand...

I resent that. ;-)

Can't say I know about being S, so I would ask you judge only the N portion of my example. Also, to further clarify my example, the numbered section about "what the N thinks" isn't a sequence nor is it linear. I merely attempted to describe the impulsive processing the brain does for a N to reach intuitive conclusions. For me, it usually happens fast and randomly. Sorry if what I wrote did not meet your expectations by falling within the paradigm of what you know to be true.

As a child, I would experience deja vu of memories from dreams I had. Figure that one out Freud.
 
An example of Ni?

When I was getting a tour of the house I now own, I kept remembering dreams that I'd had years before ever setting foot on the property, that took place in this house. It was like memories in reverse. Over the years, most of them have happened exactly as I dreamed them and remembered them.

One in particular was looking into an empty room in the evening sunlight, and seeing my current computer set up at night. At the time I didn't have this monitor, the desk, or anything from that vision. A few days later, I found all but the monitor at a garage sale, and the monitor came along about a year later. I can't tell you how many hours I've spent here, but in that vision, I knew that I would be sitting in that spot a great deal. I remember feeling a sense of uneasiness knowing that I'd lose so much time in that spot in that way. It has certainly come to pass exactly as I foresaw.

This is how I knew I would eventually lose my wife. I had seen it when I toured the house.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top