Of the four dichotomies, the largest discrepancy lies in the difference between Sensors and Intuitives. Whereas there is an approximate 50/50 split in the population between the other preferences, a full 70% of the population prefers Sensing versus only 30% favoring Intuition.
When you distill it down, the difference between Sensors and Intuitives is this: Sensors prefer reliability of information, and Intuitives prefer speed and depth of insight. This ends up manifesting itself a couple of unique ways. First, Intuitives learn to trust pattern recognition to help them understand information quickly and see things that aren’t ‘there’. Basically, they extrapolate large amounts of information from only a few data points.
Sensors, of course, have this same ability. But they don’t trust it, and so they don’t hone it. Instead, they trust reliable information – things that can be verified in the Real World. Therefore, they become masters of historical information – their own history as well as other people’s. They also become fantastic at manipulating objects in real time. There is no need to question reality when it’s right there in front of you. Reality is reliable. Speculation isn’t.
Second, how they see information informs how both these preferences see time. If real, reliable, solid information is what you choose to focus upon, then the here-and-now context becomes far more important, as well as past information (which used to be the here-and-now context). Sensors can’t rely on what hasn’t happened yet, so the future becomes far less interesting. On the other hand, Intuitives are already comfortable seeing what ‘isn’t there’ – as in, they’re comfortable theorizing and speculating on what could be in both the here-and-now as well as into the future. The past doesn’t really hold their interest any more than a reference point for future predictions.
Third, these differences alter both values and basic interests. For Sensors, values surround things like family, tradition, getting into action, old friends, etc… these are all rooted in the known and knowable, and therefore can be trusted. For Intuitives, values focus more on the cerebral – possibilities, memes, paradigms, perspectives and concepts. Conversation will generally revolve around these things, with little interest in small talk.
Both Sensors and Intuitives have an important role. Sensors often “hold down the fort” – uphold infrastructures that keep us going as a society. Intuitives are generally the “trailblazers” – coming up with new ways of looking at and doing things which fashion new technologies and paradigms. It makes sense that fewer Intuitives would be needed – too much innovation and everything collapses. But without innovation, the world stagnates.
Understanding and appreciating these differences is how we cooperate to create both a stable system as well as pathways to whole new worlds.
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https://www.truity.com/blog/intuitives-guide-getting-along-sensors
The above link explains problems intuitives face. Because they are minority, they are expected to make majority understand them. Oh,the self righteous perspective majority uses to judge the few. It is a VERY HARD and time consuming work to get even few sensors not to misunderstand everything you say and do, even or especialy when they are close to you.
But it’s the truth. i have never seen a sensor who is passionate about abstract ideas, that;s because that is the deffinition of sensing: gather information from the enviroment, where intutives like abstract thinking and posibilities managering: what if? So yeah you can not talk to a sensor about that kind of stuff, because: he/she will not understant or not care.
Honestly, what’s the deal with this Sensors vs. Intuitives battle? I don’t understand why there has to be a prejudice from one to the other. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on the here and now and the cold, hard facts every once in a while, just like there’s nothing wrong with having a good old philosophical discussion. Also, the stereotyping of Sensors and Intuitives that I’ve read so far is pretty extreme. If Sensors truly had no capability to understand abstract ideas every once in a while, it would make very little sense as to how they got this far in life. As for Intuitives, it’s not as if they never focus on the facts. It’s just stupid to say that one is superior over the other, or that Sensors can only talk to Sensors and Intuitives to Intuitives… It’s a matter of personal preference, but opposites attract sometimes, and every type can learn from the others. So don’t act like the world has to accommodate you more than the rest, or as if you are seriously unable to accommodate a Sensor or an Intuitive when you’re the opposite of them. Because what’s the point of using MBTI to justify a prejudice? You can choose to grow from your weaknesses, or you can focus on yourself and bring others down.
-ISFP
ive taken the myer briggs test many times and sometimes my results change. oddly my other 3 letters are almost 50/50 but my intuitive never budges. it’s always over 70%. after years of this and a very, very, very stressful experience at the airport yesterday while traveling with 2 sensors I decided to dig into this a little out of sheer confusion. The usual. The 2 of them are stressed out and pissed at me for wanting to plan ahead for a likely event while we are standing in the line at customs. The situation goes like this. Our flight to Atlanta was roughly an hour late because of fog. (lame). We arrived with less than an hour to go through, tsa, customs, get our bags, check our bags, scan passports at machines, of course one of the 3 of us gets the X. Last time 2 of us did and both of us went to a separate extra line and the 3rd went through. This time the 2 of them decided that all 3 of us would go to the extra line. While in line I wanted to know why. Sensors tell me to shut up. I look up the plane status on my phone while we are in the extra line. Plane status is now leaving earlier. I told them that they had given up on us and point out that it also says that the plane is boarding. We still have more lines to wait in and our flight is in another section of the airport. (Clearly a lost cause.). Sensors seem slightly interested in the phone but are quickly angered once I bring up that we may need to start thinking about where to stay in Atlanta. Afterall, there’s only one more already overbooked flight leaving tonight and a huge snowstorm on the way. To me this seems reasonable and common sense. Both sensors join together and shun me as usual. They pretend I’m not even there as I use our wasted quiet time in line to shoot out suggestions. One chats to the other about the line not moving which seems obvious and unimportant to me. I continue to try to plan an overnight. They continue ignoring me. We miss the flight but our airline offers 3 people that volunteer to give up their seats on the overbooked flight 1,000 sky miles. 3 people take the deal. I’m stressed out from being yelled at over what I feel was common sense. They’re calming down but still VERY impatient with me while waiting for the flight. On the flight I silently plan the quickest way out of my seat so that I won’t need to wait behind as many people getting out overhead bags. It works, I get off the flight before them despite being in a further back seat than one of them. I change my shoes for winter while waiting for them and go to the baggage while they head outside for a smoke break.
I was very unhappy to read stuff on other websites that made our kind sound irrational, dreamy, with our heads in the clouds. Just stupid and wrong. As if our strategies never worked and were based on no logic. I know what I am NOT and almost everything that the other websites said is what I am not. Literally, the one and only correct thing was pattern recognition but it would be written in such a way that sensors reading it would think that we take a split second and make a decision with no thought based on a pattern all the time. I think that’s what most of them already think and I’m sick of not understanding why what I say is so unimportant that I always get tuned out. I feel bullied and secretly feel like they’re the ones that are nuts.
Thank you for the 1st article that doesn’t make us sound like we spend all day thinking about the future and dreamy with our head in the clouds. I know that I think of the IMMEDIATE future mostly. When I spot a future road bump in the future planned by the sensors I keep an eye on it and if it becomes more likely than not I address it and other possibilities. I call this planning ahead. Yes, I like dislike small talk, it’s boring and often fake but sometimes necessary. However I don’t randomly go off into a conversation about why the heck a sphere was floating around in whatever existed before it blew up into a big bang or whether or not God created that sphere etc. while standing in line at the airport. I save those conversations for when we are on vacation, laying on the beach looking up at the stars. I like to be somewhat relevant and not completely random. I feel like those other sites make us look nuts and only confirm what they already think.
I thought I was doing this to learn about what they were thinking but when I saw what they wrote about us I was offended and this is what it turned to. Good thing the 2 sensors aren’t here right now. They would be pissed again ;).
Feeling your pain, but slow down… how are you now? …It’s been a while.