Unusual ideas and connections
Appreciating strangeness and having ideas that surprise people were recurring signals. You may be drawn to an unexpected interpretation or a connection that has not yet become obvious.
One preference. Eight possible types.
IntuitionThe N preference
Looking for the pattern behind the details.
In the Jung and Myers–Briggs framework, Intuition (N) describes an emphasis on connections, meanings and possibilities when taking in information. Its opposite preference is Sensing (S), which emphasizes concrete information and direct experience.
N is the second letter in types such as INTP and ENFJ. It describes one part of a profile; the other three preferences still matter.
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What does an Intuition preference look like?
Different starting points for understanding the same information.
Imaginative absorption
Daydreaming, fantasy and getting lost in thought differentiated the historical groups. Imagination may be enjoyable in its own right, even before it has a practical application.
Exploring ideas for their own sake
Being full of ideas and getting excited by new ones also appeared. Generating a possibility and checking whether it works are separate steps; give both room.
Intuition versus Sensing
The distinction concerns which information you tend to emphasize. Both approaches can contribute.
Intuition
“What might this mean—and what else could be possible?”
- Connections between examples.
- A broader explanation or framework.
- Alternative interpretations and possibilities.
Sensing
“What do we actually know—and what has happened?”
- Specific details and observations.
- Concrete examples and direct experience.
- What is present and practically applicable.
The same task, two useful questions
Learning a new tool
An N starting point: “What is the underlying idea, and what else could I use it for?”
An S starting point: “Show me a working example and the steps I need to repeat.”
An illustrative comparison, not a rule about how every person learns. You can ask both questions.
Putting the preference to use
Make the connection visible
If you jump from a few details to a broad conclusion, other people may not see the steps. Explain the observations that led you there, and invite them to test your interpretation.
If you work with someone who wants specifics, a concrete example can make your larger idea easier to discuss.
Preference and ability
N does not necessarily mean “smarter”
There is a relationship worth acknowledging. McCrae and Costa (1989) found that MBTI Intuition scores were strongly associated with Big Five Openness to Experience.
Openness, in turn, has a modest positive association with measured intelligence. A meta-analysis covering 162,636 people reported a correlation of ρ = .20, corrected for measurement error, with a stronger relationship to acquired knowledge than to fluid reasoning (Anglim et al., 2022).
The details matter: intellectual curiosity and engagement with ideas show different associations from aesthetic interests and fantasy (Stanek and Ones, 2023).
These findings describe average relationships, with substantial overlap between people. They do not establish an intelligence correlation for this particular SimilarMinds test or turn an N score into an IQ estimate. An S preference does not rule out high intelligence.
From the SimilarMinds response archive
What distinguished the N groups?
The historical N groups stood out for unusual ideas, imaginative absorption and appreciation of strangeness. They also reported being full of ideas and enjoying new ones. This adds texture to the framework’s emphasis on possibilities: in this archive the pattern included originality and fantasy, rather than only abstract problem-solving.
See six item comparisons, averages and response counts
The selected items differ in the same direction in two related views of the archive. Paired preference uses the N/S classification; main type uses the separate main-type classification. These are overlapping views of historical responses, not independent replications.
| Item | Paired preference | Main type | Main-type delta versus all respondents |
|---|---|---|---|
| I appreciate strangeness. | N 3.23 / S 2.10Responses: 776 / 845 | N 3.66 / S 1.88Responses: 143 / 164 | N +39% S -29% |
| I like bizarre things that most people don't know about. | N 3.07 / S 1.91Responses: 718 / 784 | N 3.44 / S 1.69Responses: 143 / 164 | N +39% S -32% |
| I like to get lost in thought. | N 3.29 / S 2.35Responses: 712 / 789 | N 3.43 / S 2.04Responses: 216 / 204 | N +23% S -27% |
| I love to daydream. | N 3.27 / S 2.38Responses: 1,445 / 1,557 | N 3.41 / S 2.17Responses: 405 / 393 | N +21% S -23% |
| I quickly think up new ideas. | N 3.15 / S 2.48Responses: 702 / 801 | N 3.30 / S 2.35Responses: 207 / 210 | N +18% S -16% |
| I get excited by new ideas. | N 3.42 / S 3.00Responses: 707 / 797 | N 3.53 / S 2.83Responses: 192 / 185 | N +10% S -11% |
Delta = selected-group average ÷ overall average − 1. For example, +30% means an average 30% above the overall item average; it is not an effect size or a percentile. Displayed deltas were rounded by the original app.
Source: SimilarMinds legacy MBTI item archive, read November 9, 2026. Active scaled items, including both normal and rotational items; all available versions and genders pooled. Counts vary by item and represent recorded responses. Items shown had at least 100 responses in each main-type group and 200 in each paired group. This descriptive selection does not control for other preferences, gender, questionnaire version or item wording.
The eight personality types with N
They share Intuition while differing on the other three preferences.
INTP ↗
Introversion · Thinking · Perceiving
INTJ ↗
Introversion · Thinking · Judging
INFP ↗
Introversion · Feeling · Perceiving
INFJ ↗
Introversion · Feeling · Judging
ENTP ↗
Extraversion · Thinking · Perceiving
ENTJ ↗
Extraversion · Thinking · Judging
ENFP ↗
Extraversion · Feeling · Perceiving
ENFJ ↗
Extraversion · Feeling · Judging
Common questions about Intuition
Why is Intuition represented by N?
I is already used for Introversion. N distinguishes the Intuition preference in a four-letter type code.
Is Intuition the same as a gut feeling?
Here it names a preference for how information is approached: patterns, meanings and possibilities. Having a hunch in everyday life does not by itself establish an N preference, and an N score does not verify that a hunch is right.
Is this the same as introverted or extraverted Intuition?
N is the broad preference in the four-letter result. Ni and Ne refer to different forms of Intuition in cognitive-function models. SimilarMinds has a separate Cognitive Functions test; the N percentage alone does not give a measured Ni/Ne result.
What if I recognize myself in both N and S?
That is a reason to look at the paired scores and the individual statements. A narrow difference supports a less definite interpretation than a large difference. Your examples may also depend on the subject or situation.
Does sharing N make two people compatible?
It gives them one preference in common, not a relationship outcome. Distinct Traits comparisons show a more detailed pattern of similarities and differences between two people's results.
See your own N / S result
Explore all four preference pairs in one Jung personality test.
Framework background: The Myers & Briggs Foundation’s preference guide. Test implementation: SimilarMinds Jung system. Everyday scenarios are illustrations of the framework.