Ni in the 6th (Witch / Senex or Critical Parent) Position

This function and especially this function in this (critical parent) position of my personality type seems to fit the issues I have around my critical side. Those times that I know I am right and nothing anyone says can change my mind. In fact often times I find myself being very critical of opposite view points. You could even say that I am extremely suspicious of anyone claiming to have the right answer if it is not what I already know is right. (Even if I am wrong) I think this suspicion might be coming from the fact that I am not always certain that I am after all right. I often discover a better way, or on the other side of the spectrum I often find myself feeling that I hate being right. This is often the case when I feel something bad is going to happen and I can see it with my mind’s eye but do not say anything because I know that I have been wrong before and don’t want to make the same mistake again.

Introverted iNtuition (Ni) is about knowing the way. The right answer, if you will, even without knowing why. Beebe talked about the idea that an introverted experience by its introverted nature can not be shared. He also mentioned that an extraverted experience isn’t experienced until it is shared. Since we all have introverted functions as well as extraverted functions we might recognize this duality in ourselves. So with Ni, we are talking about a perceiving function that just seems to “get it”. It looks this way because you haven’t shared the reasoning or the facts. This lack of sharing is just the way it is. Beebe’s list of describing words calls this “envisioning”. We envision the answer based on the same set of data that others get but when using Introverted iNtuition (Ni) we do not need to have the data for proof or for others to see where this knowledge comes from. I think I see this most often in a Math class in those that don’t like to show their work. “Why should I show you my work when the answer is correct?” This is where someone with this function as a preferred function needs to be careful and try to stretch a bit to use other functions. There are a number of very good reasons to provide this work besides the fact that the teacher is asking for it. Maybe my brother the high school math teacher can shed some light on all the reasons for why it is worth making the effort. We will have to see if he submits a comment to this one.

How willing are you to provide your work behind the answer? Do you just “get it” without really understanding why? What do you think?