Extraverted Intuition is the INTP’s Superpower. Here’s Why

INTPs get called many names: the warm-hearted robots! The cats of the personality world who only ever come out for food! The lazy geniuses who could change the world if only they could get off the couch! The chronic hobbyists who hold a billion works in progress!

What’s the ingredient behind these descriptions? Well, INTPs all have a secret superpower in their cognitive function stack. That’s Extraverted Intuition, or Ne. It's where ideas get cooked and baked to perfection and served up in the real world. And that's the recipe for a very satisfied INTP.

From career progression to relationship satisfaction to stress management, INTPs can hone their Ne to open doors towards self-improvement. They can learn to develop their relationships, look at issues from new angles, beat stress loops, adapt to the demands of the corporate world, and better understand how people and ideas are linked.

Buckle up because in this article, we’re going to learn what Ne is, how it shows up in good ways, how it shows up in bad ways, and what INTPs can do to make the most of this incredible cognitive function.

So, What is Extraverted Intuition (Ne)?

As the auxiliary (or second) function in INTP’s main stack, Extraverted Intuition (Ne) is the co-pilot of their dominant function, Introverted Thinking (Ti). 

How these two work together is that the INTP will first have a strong opinion or hypothesis about something—that’s Ti at play. Then their Ne takes over and spins out every possible idea and solution around that theme. Ne is a big old idea-generating factory. When Ne is in control, it asks with vigor, “What else is out there?” and “What else can we try?” 

This exploratory process is often very obvious in INTPs. Perhaps more than any other type, INTPs tend to have a wide range of interests, be natural tinkerers and problem-solvers, can come up with 50 silly puns on the spot, have a lot of trouble making decisions (because there are so many options to choose from!), and are always ready for something new. This is Ne at its finest.

How Does Ne Show Up in INTPs?

The good: creativity and outside-the-box thinking

At its best, Ne helps INTPs take an open-minded approach to life. Working hand-in-hand with Ti, it helps them see patterns that others may miss, approach problems from unconventional angles, and develop innovative solutions. Ne allows INTPs to constantly adapt and update their understanding of the world, rather than being stuck in one fixed way of thinking.

Here's what that looks like in INTPs:

• Constantly exploring what-ifs and possibilities ("What if we could build a machine that does this?" / "What is we changed this step in the process?")
• Easily connecting seemingly unrelated ideas or concepts—it may look as if they're creating something from nothing.
• Brainstorming lots of ideas and solutions.
• Readily jumping from one idea to the next—and working in bursts of inspiration because of it. 
• Communicating with colorful metaphors, puns, jokes and references, because they’re always making links and connections. 
• Dabbling in multiple jobs and transferring skills across industries, or creating a hybrid or slash career (e.g. video editor / director / screenwriter / photographer) that suits their many interests.
• Instead of having one neat life plan, figuring it out as they go. 

The bad: stress and the Ti-Si loop

There are four functions in the cognitive function stack. For INTPs, their dominant function is Introverted Thinking (Ti) and their tertiary function is Introverted Sensing (Si). Extraverted Intuition (Ne) is sandwiched in the middle.

This is an interesting combination because each function has a different direction of travel.

Ti looks inward. It focuses on logical consistency and internal frameworks.  If an INTP doesn't understand something, they'll keep at it until they do—if their mind was a diamond, they’d be polishing it continuously. 

Si looks backward. It focuses on the tangible details of an experience or memory. Si can be helpful because it allows INTPs to learn from past experiences and compare how things were in the past to how they are now.

Ne looks outward. It plays around with different ideas and pushes them out into the world. Ne is a flexible function that helps INTPs cope with change and new information.

When Ne isn't working as it should, INTPs can hit a wall. They get stuck in the Ti-Si loop. Without Ne for balance, INTPs may only rely on information acquired in the past (Si) to feed their internal analysis (Ti). This can lead to overthinking and self-doubt, where the INTP ruminates over past mistakes and stays in their comfort zone, because they think their past has doomed their future.

To the outside world, an INTP who is stuck in the Ti-Si loop might look like a recluse who is afraid to take risks or try new things. Some other signs include: 

• Losing track of time.
• Becoming withdrawn and detached from reality (the opposite of their Ne's curious and exploratory approach).
• Feeling overwhelmed by details or changing circumstances. 
• Difficulty in making decisions and taking action. 
• Scrutinizing every little detail and second-guessing choices.
• Falling into deep self pity.

How do INTPs escape from this doom-and-gloom cycle? It's Ne that saves the day. Remember, Ne is the function that asks, “What else is out there?” and “What else can we try?” It encourages the INTP to try new things, explore new ideas and break free from the constraints of the Ti-Si loop.

Wrapping Up

Maya Angelou famously said, “You can’t use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.” Her words capture the essence of Ne. Extraverted Intuition plays with ideas and connects the dots that appear in an ongoing, self-feeding loop. The possibilities are…limitless!

Some advice? Keep a notebook or download an app to track ideas, however far-out they may appear. When you have time, run with them. See where they lead you. They may barely make sense—yet—but that doesn’t mean there isn't the seed of a novel idea in there, waiting to be watered.