Reality Does Not Exist
Carl Jung and Intuition
First, let’s start out with what Carl Jung said about Introverted iNtuition.
“The peculiar nature of introverted intuition, when given the priority, also produces a peculiar type of man, viz. the mystical dreamer and seer on the one hand, or the fantastical crank and artist on the other.”
In modern terms, this is either the person who predicts the future with an uncanny insight, or the tinfoil-hat-wearing lunatic that has predicted the end of the world every year since 1999. The line is very thin, and in most cases they are the same person until a prediction comes true. Only then are they a “genius.”
Intuition vs Sensation
It’s best to include what the opposite of Intuition looks like to get a reference point. Sensation and Intuition are both perceiving functions, meaning that they collect information like a sponge in either an active or passive way.
Sensors generally focus on the details as they exist in the physical or concrete realm. What it is, how it smells, the color, the texture, etc. These are descriptions of objects or events in their most overt form.
Intuitives generally focus on the meaning or theme of an object or event. What it means, what it says about humanity, what implications it yields, what the forces behind the event are, etc. These are intuitive leaps, as they say, into the essence of the object.
Though S and N both perceive the same thing, their conclusions couldn’t be more dissimilar.
Cognitive Functions and MBTI
Introverted Intuition is one of the 8 cognitive functions within the MBTI model, and arguably it is the most fascinating to discuss. It is denoted as “Ni” within the Type community, and I will write it as such for the remainder of this article.
Ni has been described in many colorful ways, and here are some of my favorites:
- Abstract conceptualization
- Non-linear thinking
- Patterns within patterns
- Dot connecting
- Seeing the future
- Uncanny insight
Also, do yourself a huge favor and check out one of my favorite Youtube MBTI celebs, Love Who, as he describes how the INTJ in particular manifests as a conspiracy theorist.
When you think about the list of bullet points above, you can easily see how these can be viewed with positive outcomes. But the negatives are much juicier!!
- Abstract conceptualization
- Not grounded in a reality that others can easily follow.
- Non-linear thinking
- Cannot get their point across, bouncing around from concept to concept, grasping at connections that aren’t there or are too far-fetched.
- Patterns within patterns
- Can become unhinged with discussions of conspiracy pyramids, Illuminati, Reptilians, New World Order, etc.
- Dot connecting
- Connecting dots that shouldn’t be connected.
- Seeing the future
- Apocalypse, dystopian nightmare, negative outcomes, dark clouds on the horizon.
- Uncanny insight
- Others view you as creepy and suspicious…”How did you know that…” but not in a good way.
Describing Introverted Intuition (Ni)
The way I like to describe it to others is having thousands of random data points (your experience, news articles, social media, things you see in public, things people say, facial expression, etc.) that you are accessing to merge into a single idea or theme.
The brain of the Introverted iNtuitive (Ni) is trying to make sense of the world by connecting seemingly unrelated events together. It’s trying to distill down the world into its essential element or “truth.”
I am reminded of a very random quote from an obscure Rodney Dangerfield movie called Back to School. In it, a young Robert Downey Jr. does not want to go to his college’s football game because football is a “crypto-fascist metaphor for nuclear war.” Say what now?! That’s something an unhinged intuitive would say! To come to that conclusion takes many leaps in logic and possibility to arrive where he did. Also, if you were to ask how he came to that analysis?
“I’m not entirely sure,” would be the answer.
Conspiracy Theorist
It’s easy to see how this style of perception can lead one down the road to crankery and tinfoil-hatism. The common theme of Ni users is that they feel like an alien in a human’s body, and the use of Ni is the reason why. It’s really no wonder that Carl Jung himself (an INFJ) went insane at the end of his life.
However, we have to admire those throughout history who changed the world through the use of their Ni:
- Elon Musk
- Nikola Tesla
- Issac Newton
- Ayn Rand
- Friedrich Nietszche
- Karl Marx
- Mark Zuckerberg
- Stephen Hawking
- Vladimir Lenin
…to just name a few!
To find more content from an Ni user (such as myself), find the links below:
