maybe being technically idiotic

(written by a friend)

trampolines and rubber bands mirror the complementary nature of function pairs, but they operate in fundamentally different ways. in each case, the elastic object performs a push-and-pull action. when you jump on a trampoline, you can’t go up without going down, and you can’t come down without bouncing back up. when you snap a rubber band, you can’t pull it out without it taking the same shape it did before and you can’t give it a resting shape without the potential to expand. the difference, then, is in intent: do you want to jump, or do you want to land? do you want to expand, or do you want to contract?
Se-Ni is a trampoline: Se launches you upwards, Ni is there to catch you when you fall.

• if you favour Se, you’re all about leaps of faith, starting from scratch and taking in as much of the world as you can.
• if you favour Ni, you recognise that there’s a lot to take in, so you want to start with a foundation of as many ideas as possible.

Ne-Si is a rubber band: Ne pulls the band outwards, Si pulls it back in.

• if you favour Ne, you’re all about expanding, starting with a foundation of ideas and stretching it as far as it will go.
• if you favour Si, you recognise that the world is full of so many ideas and you want to keep them in order as best you can.

hilariously i feel a lot more familiar with noticing judging functions, but i think i've finally grasped a concept of how Ni works to make this post...

and as usual, it's all metaphor. because that's how i work i guess.

the body of water analogy
Ni = the dry path of a stream (carving, anticipatory, outlined, distinct, aiming, linear, mental guideline, acute/goal, having a method)
Se = the water in the stream (filling, being, there, action and reaction, substance, working to work, actually doing/making use [a stream is not a stream without water in it!], doing the method)
Ne = clouds above the sea (hovering, unrestrained, ambiguous, expanse, flexible in size, excitable on many fronts, constantly everywhere, moving, unpredictable, looks flimsy and senseless but is definitely there)
Si = sea below the clouds (moving with substance, intent, mysteries below the depth that it concretely knows, works at a pace that can't be easily shaken, containable but practical, moves in the space it has)

or...

the physical object (or sphere, as that is what i usually picture) analogy (not to be taken interactively)
Ni = inside the sphere
Se = the outside the sphere
so: the Ni/Se user possessions that awareness/consciousness of what they are thinking vs what they are actually doing. they are simultaneous and together and aware of each other, but bias/practice/placement in stack can also create that separation and disconnect. either way they remain conscious (neutral term; can indicate hyperawareness/overload, paranoia, or comfortable awareness) of both despite behavior; even if they withdraw "inside" they remain aware that the "outside" exists, or if they overexert/try to live most "outside," they are still aware of the hollowness or darkness or whatever other shit that is possessed on the "inside"
Ne = the sphere split into multiple other smaller objects that make it up and scattered across a space (not necessarily broken, just in pieces)
Si = the sphere as it exists: together, whole, solid as one
so: from my experience, Ne/Si users tend to feel each is a different "mode" and usually try to find the middle ground or how to use both at once. they are much more separate and motion-based and less simultaneous, as within analogy if a sphere is split up into multiple pieces it cannot exist as a whole solid sphere at the same time. essentially the Ne tries to find ways it is not the way that is expected of them - hence, though expectantly the sphere (the initially stated analogy), it is determinedly not a sphere within the analogy, while the Si exists as expected. this leads to an intensity since it can take time to take something apart, or put it together, which is why Ne/Si users often become intense in their work while not really meaning to be that intense, because subconsciously when they work their brain and body work together to focus on a single task, which also can lead to their efficiency in other areas getting impaired
(as opposed to the Ni/Se, who fall to these things more intentionally since they are aware of/need to pair the brain & body work, if also exhibit this behavior)

now i'm tempted to find legos and make a video about this lol

The difference between Si and Se is that one is internal, one is external, thus that the internal one can change - because it's the user's understanding of how their past experiences can affect current and future ones - while the external one is grounded. Not rigid, not firm, but aware. Present. Here. Both are fundamentally concrete and things that people can physically recognize as facts, but Si is the internal recognition of what is fact while Se is the external awareness of what is fact.

Picture this:

The sea and land. Land stays solid, is itself. Land shows you everything above it, as they are. Texture of what's beneath your feet, trees and building and people. Land is obvious, presents itself as it is, makes no attempt to hide itself but instead contains an outward "here is what things are and what you can sense is all there is" with nothing hidden, nothing to figure out. It is not only surface level - surface is the only level, and it can be simple or complex but it is there.

The sea, meanwhile, moves about. The creatures in the sea are constantly swimming from different places, and there are different layers that you may or may not be able to see from the top. The sea is expansive and constantly accessible but also always moving, changing, readjusting itself but in every way still the sea. If you don't dive deep enough you'll find something; if you dive too deep you'll still find something. It contains multitudes of things that still make it the sea, but many things are still things that only the sea knows.

In the same way, Se is the land - Si is the sea. Se is aware of the physical world's inability to hide and, depending on the user, can recognize or embrace or try to adjust to that. On the other hand, Si contains vast and multitudes that are constantly being reassessed, but things that it already contains, things that come into it. Si is a constant source of information and recognition of things that have been stored or addressed, the same way the sea may seem so tumultuous surface level but everything fits beneath it anyway.

For the Se user, the Ni is a mountain.

On all the flat land, there are still mountains and hills, some hidden behind clouds, some inaccessible to climbers. These are deep, angled places where people go alone because they want to be, and mountains will only get higher. (This is not a scientific fact but bear with me here.) Mountains are high above the rest of the land and away from civilization, seeking their own aspirations away from physical presentness and ultimately achieving it, on their own.

People who main Ni live on this mountain, always looking for how high they'll go, in their minds. On their own, they keep looking and looking until they see the top, because every mountain has a top (otherwise it wouldn't be a mountain.) They like and prefer this, and are always looking for higher mountains to climb. Once in a while they will have to remember what it's like to come back down and feel the flat ground under their feet again.

On the other hand, main Se users are the ones whose feet are usually on the flat ground. They are constantly interacting with the world around them, walking and running on flat ground, seeking and finding and understanding what they can do now, the plain unhidden reality of today. It's fine, of course, but there are still hills and mountains on the ground and every once in a while they will remember that the only way for them to walk all of the land is to climb the hills, too, unexplored things that they will have to achieve themselves.

As for the Si, the Ne is the seafloor.

The thing about the ocean is that there are so many unexplored depths - scientifically there is no possible physical way for any human to explore all of the ocean floor (because of water pressure) and the things we have seen are dark and vast and full of strange things we can't even begin to dream of. I mean, it's dark and mysterious of course, but there are still things, things that could be found if we just looked. Yes, it's not explorable and far too much for us to possibly see, much less understand - but the ocean floor still exists despite what we don't know about it.

Similarly, Ne is constantly aware of the abstract unknown (although a seafloor is, well, concrete, not literally abstract.) They are constantly searching through this seafloor, uncovering whatever, no matter how dark it may be. People who main Ne do not reject things that we cannot see, that do not have any fundamental basis or proof of existence. Because at the bottom of the seafloor things do exist and the Ne user consistently discovers things and ideas that others may never get to see with their own eyes. However, those who main Ne do need to remember that they still live in the sea, and that the bottom is not its only layer; they still have to come up to the main visible sea level - the Si - and recognize and remember the things they do see and know.

So the main Si user will constantly live in this - what could be considered "bubble" or "comfort zone" but to the Si user would be recognized as what they see is necessary, which is also correct in their own way because for them, there really is no need to search the depths of the ocean when the vastness of the sea already contains the things they have already learned to recognize and know. But the seafloor - the Ne still exists, and sometimes the Si user will feel a sudden desire to explore it even if it's not what they're used to, or they will try to ignore it as deft as they can even though it's still there. Despite all the main Si user knows, there is still a darkness (not to be associated with evil of course, by the way, just ~uncovered mysteries~) at the bottom of their ocean that they will realize they are completely unfamiliar with.