Near is very intelligent, although his childish appearance and demeanor can cause others, such as David Hoope, to question his abilities. He has an obsession with solving complex problems and views the investigation as like solving a puzzle. He is highly observational and was once seen piecing together a puzzle that was almost entirely colored white. He is proficient when it comes to multitasking and is able to monitor multiple computer screens at once. Near also appears to be ambidextrous, playing darts with his left hand and stacking dice with his right.