niffweed

[Jonathan]

Personally, I sometimes wonder if niffweed's type is one of the forum typings that has been taken for granted, even to the extent of having become part of what some people's idea of ILI's is. I'm not saying that he is or isn't any particular type, but I want to remark on a few things.

Joy, I think you actually have a pretty good description of ILI here...better than most. Only the application to Niffweed seems in question. Of the two people who Rick saw as very clearly ILI in NYC, Niffweed actually seems to fit some of the typical descriptions than I do...e.g., he's critical of bizarre theories; I love any new theory; he seems to hate any show of Fe whatsoever; I rather like it; he seemed quiet most of the time; I was very talkative etc. In any case, there are lots of variations within any given "type."

Temperament: IP's are observers above all else. Their experiences are often largely defined by their observations. That's why they're "relaxed, go with the flow".

In NYC, he seemed mostly to observe and make comments from time to time. He seemed pretty "relaxed, go with the flow" to me.

Ni dominants generally have a feeling about them of being not quite in the moment entirely. They're often detachedly reflective and see hidden connections between little things that most people, including Ni creatives, wouldn't have taken the time to consider.

He seemed detachedly reflective in person.

I don't see weak Se. All of the ILI's I've known have appeared rather dispassionate most of the time. From a distance, they all come across as being somewhat passive and unobtrusive. The dual seeking function and PoLR are the weakest functions, the functions that we're totally helpless in regards to. Niffweed does not strike me as being helpless where Se is concerned. He seems self-possessed, has a strong will, and readily stands up to pretty much anyone. He's also more self-possessed than any Ni dominant I've ever seen.

In person, he didn't seem Se. He was quiet much of the time and talked in a reflective manner characteristic of Ni-dominants. However, he is from NYC where it's the culture to be aggressive, and people there may seem more Se-like than folks from the middle of the country, all other things being equal.

Fi: I'm not sure niffweed has weak Fi, either. Te types usually don't have clearly defined Fi. They doubt whether their idea of what's right and what's wrong, and they don't usually have many strong likes or dislikes for particular people, either (this obviously has exceptions though). While there isn't much evidence at hand showing that he has particularly strong Fi, looking back at some of his interactions, he does seem to have some clear principles that's he's quite confident in and comfortable being vocal about. The things he's assertive about are more related to Fi (or maybe possibly Ti) than to Te.

Not sure what to make of this one since it's not a conclusive argument in any direction. ILIs might give off certain degrees of Fi or Ti.

Te: ILI's are very unassuming in the way they deliver information about what they see as being potential problems. I think that it's quite possible that niffweed is using Se to criticize, and people here are thinking that it's Te criticism (and have for so long that it's become a part of how they see Te in ILI's). ILI's have a very different way of going about criticism. Their criticisms are impersonal. They're about the realities of situation, not about people or principles. Their criticism will more likely be something along the lines of "this could have that negative consequence" or "this won't work" or "that is incorrect" or "this bad thing is going to happen" or "if this would have been done that way, this wouldn't have happened", not "you are an idiot" or "die". ILI's are unlikely to attack people over ideology.

Probably not type-related, although it could have to do with subtypes of some sort. I would speculate that when he's on the forum, he feels free to let out all the aggressiveness that he wouldn't in person. People are often less reserved online than in person, because they don't have to worry about the consequences as much.

Fe: If ILI's offend someone, it is most likely because they failed to understand that their words or actions (or lack of words to actions) may do so. They don't see catering to people's emotions and or the mood in a room or the atmosphere of a group as something important that should be done, but they don't purposely upset people either, generally speaking.

Same deal. I can't picture Niffweed saying in person some of the things he says online.

Ne: I think some people like to think that niffweed's randomness is an ILI trait, perhaps Ni + irrationality. The problem with that though is that Ni is about connections and flow. Niffweed's randomness is too abrupt and... well, random to be Ni. It seems more like bastardized Ne combined with Se. When Ne PoLR types try to use what they think Ne is (even if they don't think in those terms), it can come across as just being totally random.

This is the one analytic point I disagree with. Despite what people say, you don't see Ne types engaging in this kind of make-believe much. Perhaps there's a mixture of Ni and Ne there....but basically outlandish and bizarre mental images do not mean Ne.