What is introverted intuition?
Introverted intuition is like a memorisation of complex patterns and associations that we make often less consciously, and intuitive judging is like the organisations of these complex patterns into a grand and unified theory or association of associations. I like to say that introverted intuition for an INFJ or INTJ is a mix of theory and prediction. For an ENFJ or ENTJ, the theory is often neglected, and the ENFJ and ENTJ will focus on more quick and direct connections and applied intuition. For further contrast, where the INTP or INFP tend to be theoretical, they don’t tend to develop predictive models or visions. They get too lost in all the different possible ideas and outcomes to see which outcome is the most likely.
An introverted intuitive might say ”There is a greater pattern that I have seen in my studies of biology, physics, bird tweets and macroeconomics. Using this pattern, I can deduce how many complex events work and how things will unfold over a longer time.” A pattern can be, for example Pi – a combination of events or things that may or may not be random, processed together. A prediction is a guess about the most likely outcome of a theory or a possibility.
As an intuitive, your primary interested is in patterns, not things in themselves, but ideas, or links, or chains, or connections. Where facts and clear defined knowledge is to be found, introverted intuition is not. Introverted intuition is drawn towards the unknown, or ”what is next in line” after a pattern. It usually teters just at the end of your vision, away from what is clear to all of us, you know it’s there, and you feel it as a pull, but as soon as it becomes clear enough to see, it loses it’s intuitive value.
A world map of the unknown
You could say that introverted intuition slowly draws up a world map of the unknown, or what lies in the outskirts of human knowledge and what we can perceive. Introverted intuitives always talk about things that are new or othat people have yet to grasp, for example the future.
The future we know is coming but that is not yet here. An analogy I like to make is of intuition as ”winzip” – you know, that software you use to make files bigger and smaller in size. Most of what an introverted intuitive knows is an approximation, an estimation, a compressed or general knowledge about something. The introverted intuitive will then use ”winzip” to unpack what they have learnt about things, and use it to deduce things about their real environment. Globaltruth.zip can be unpacked to smaller parts such as ”the sun will rise tomorrow”.
Explaining your intuition to others
Imagine there was no word for teal and no way to describe the color ”light blue.”. Now, imagine that you came to the insight that there was a pattern of color nuances that could be described as teal, or light blue. Now, explaining this to other people would be more difficult than you might think.
This is because other people, through introverted sensing, have memorised these colors as blue or white. Now, when you start saying they are teal, they will look at you in a confused manner. ”What is teal?” they will say. ”Well, it’s like a whiter, lighter blue.” Now, understanding this will be more difficult than you might think. Imagine they would retort ”That’s not possible, because blue is dark.”
Well, that’s the problem with introverted intuition. You’re explaining things that are generally outside people’s vision. Great creativity and skill in bridge building is necessary to transform old information and to bring your perspectives into the world. Introverted intuitives tend to be great at creating suspense and are often gifted storytellers. Stories are extremely helpful in shifting traditional beliefs and helping people come to terms with change. But don’t worry – people have been doing this for centuries. Somehow, people have been able to challenge old ideas and assumptions and to transcend our awareness. Now the torch has been handed over to you to do the same. Best of luck.
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