Humanitarian Socionics

Functional state I - intuition of possibilities

Intuition of possibility (I): hypotheses, guesses, insights; innovations, experiments; inclinations, abilities, talents; digestive system.

In terms of thinking, intuition I manifests as the extraction of information from a person’s subconsciousness. The subconscious storehouse of human information is comparable in size to that of an outside world, so the intuition of possibility is the most intellectual of all thinking functions. A person in a state of I submerges below the line of consciousness and draws from the depths of their intellect to answer paradoxical questions that logic is incapable of answering. Technologically, intuitive thinking I tends to operate with visual images. Vague images extracted from the subconsciousness are synthesized into complicated constructions, which, upon reaching certain maturity, get illuminated by a bright flash of understanding – an intuitive guess. A person in the I-state has their eyes freeze at the middle elevation, their pupils dilated, the gaze becomes unfocused.

In the society, a person engaged in a prolonged state of I takes on a role of an intellectual leader — a generator of ideas. I-type shows an increased intellectual activity, strives for new and complex tasks. The idea generator has a hard time performing standard and routine operations. They devote all their energy to rid themselves of the mundane, inventing new approaches. A person in the state of I cares little about what other people think of their proposals and projects. By making new discoveries, they satisfy their own curiosity.

Psychologically, a person in a state of I experiences feeling associated with self-absorption, a detachment from the external world with a strong internal concentration. The I-state is similar psychologically to the effect of breaking of the dam and water rushing out. The first stage of the intuitive process is accompanied by a painful feeling of dissatisfaction: a person cannot find a place for themselves while their ideas are hatching. An idea, it would seem, matures on its own. This slow process, however, requires an intervention so that the necessary images emerge from the subconsciousness. Eventually, this intellectual tension ends abruptly, replaced by relief and joy — the idea is finally born.

On the physical level, the I-state turns you into a person with a non-standard behavior. The face becomes very expressive. You may see a frozen and unfocused gaze, muscles around the eyes getting tense, eyebrows being pushed towards the bridge of the nose, forming of the vertical folds on the forehead. The body freezes in a fixed position in which you are caught by an intuitive thought. Movements freeze and body sets into a position. This continues until the moment of epiphany, after which the static freezing is suddenly replaced by a turbulent display of emotions. A strong physical manifestation of the I-state is feeling as if swimming — immersion in water and weightlessness.