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Si - good memory?

Shaula

Te > Fi > Ni
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Nov 27, 2008
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608
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INTJ
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Si - good memory?
From personal observation, I would say yes.

I like that description. And Nozflubber's sounded good, too.

But it isn't exactly the same as "memory", it's not that simple. Information such as "things I've read somewhere" can definitely be Si working, I think.

The funny thing I've found is that the "impression" that I get from an event can be remembered long after the event itself has been forgotten. Sometimes, the impression somehow becomes detached from the original hard-facts of the event.

The topic of "moral/social values" is an interesting case; I think Jock tried to point out that it comes from expectations built up from data/experiences acquired over time, and when using that to examine current problems, that's Si. Moral and social structure can be built from that Si input along with Te, but there's much more that Si and Te can do, also, so I think that's only part of it.
That explains so much about my (unhealthy) SJ family. Particularly why my ISTJ dad was such an asshole. It took me YEARS to rebuild his Si database with good memories. Once he figured out that not everything was hateful, evil, and wrong in the world he lightened up a LOT. I remember having to almost literally drag/guilt him into doing something that he'd might have fun with. When I noticed he started to have fun I'd make the comment, "See! This wasn't so bad, now was it?" I also took a lot of time out to explain the (mostly social) phenomenons that took place in his unpleasant past experiences versus his new pleasant experiences. Evidentally I did the right thing. :D
 

NewEra

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But it isn't exactly the same as "memory", it's not that simple. Information such as "things I've read somewhere" can definitely be Si working, I think.

The funny thing I've found is that the "impression" that I get from an event can be remembered long after the event itself has been forgotten. Sometimes, the impression somehow becomes detached from the original hard-facts of the event.

The topic of "moral/social values" is an interesting case; I think Jock tried to point out that it comes from expectations built up from data/experiences acquired over time, and when using that to examine current problems, that's Si. Moral and social structure can be built from that Si input along with Te (or Fe), but there's much more that Si and Te can do, also, so I think that's only part of it.

Yes, exactly! One thing I find is that when I do something I've done before, I always remember the experience I had with the activity before. If it's a good experience, I become more enthusiastic, but if it's a bad one, I become hesitant to undergo the activity again. If it was a bad experience before, I actually would prefer to do a new type of activity more. This is the gift/curse of Si.
 

527468

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... which means ISxJ types presumably have a better memory than others?

Well if one had good memory, it would be more likely that one would value it rather than value something else.

Take into account now that one has good memory and good skills in noticing patterns. That's when dichotomy becomes much more dependent on preference.
 

raz

Let's make this showy!
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LoLz
Well if one had good memory, it would be more likely that one would value it rather than value something else.

Take into account now that one has good memory and good skills in noticing patterns. That's when dichotomy becomes much more dependent on preference.

Yep. With the SJs, the judgment preference will determine what Si deems relevant to remember. I can remember a crapload of facts, dates, numbers, etc, but remembering details about someone's personal life? I have to like intentionally try to catalog it mentally.
 

Apollanaut

Senior Mugwump
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Yep. With the SJs, the judgment preference will determine what Si deems relevant to remember. I can remember a crapload of facts, dates, numbers, etc, but remembering details about someone's personal life? I have to like intentionally try to catalog it mentally.

Yeah, I agree. If you remember the example I gave in my previous post about an ISFJ with an exceptional memory for personal details - she was far less proficient at remembering impersonal facts and technical details and relied on others to help her in these areas. So the Extraverted Thinking/Feeling preference will strongly influence the nature of the impressions which Si stores in memory. They may even act as a sort of "gatekeeper" - allowing in information which relates to the persons T or F preference, and filtering out the other type.
 

Blackmail!

Gotta catch you all!
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Si is supposed to be my weakest function, but my memory is not supposed to be bad. As a matter of fact, it is supposed to be astounding, almost eidetic.

I often stagger people with my ability to quickly memorize a lot of datas, it makes me feel like a freak of nature. Other children used to tease me because of that.

---

So I guess the main difference I have from Si-people would rather be how I structure my memory, how I use it, and why.

I tend to forget very simple things, related to the daily, average normal life. Anything I find boring, redundant or trivial, in fact. For instance: where my keys are?

But I would recall very well entries from an encyclopedia, the shapes of a Paul klee painting, or a Bach's prelude in detail. All I need is to identify the significant pattern, and the rest follows almost automatically. But as you can guess it, there is no pattern involved to locate my keys or my bloody tax papers... :(
 

Haphazard

Don't Judge Me!
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Apparently Si is my lowest function, but I have a pretty good memory.

However it's only for particular things. Things that exist in a vacuum or are memorized as a vacuum I can't memorize -- things like birthdays, random pieces of trivia, multiplication tables, etc.

The only things I know from memory are things that are connected. I know where all my possessions are because there is a flow to my life that everything is a part of, so I usually remember when I was using it last and where I left it (thus, my space gets very messy because I never feel the need to 'organize'). I remember songs because there is an order they always go in. I remember history because there is a logical progression of events to it. Once I get them down, I'm pretty good at remembering methods, and I remember my own ideas.

But anything that people tell me to remember because 'it's really important'? Out of my brain like a sieve.
 

NewEra

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Remember, if you have a low Si, it doesn't mean that you don't have a good memory lol. I have an innate ability to remember birthdays and numbers, like that John Doe guy. With my highest cognitive of Si, I have a gift.
 

TenebrousReflection

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As with all functions, I think it manifests a little differently depending on where it is in the function order and what other functions is is mostly interacting with. In the case of an INFP, it is the tertiary function so it would not be as developed and dominant as in an ISxJ but it should also not be insignificant as well.

In my case, I relate fairly strongly to the description of quickly being able to notice things that are out of place (its usually "something does not feel right" and then a followup validates that suspicion) so I think that aspect of it in me is working at a subconscious level. Catching typos (other than my own of course :)) is the most common ocurance of that for me, but walking into a location I have not been for a long time and noticing that things have moved or changed (sometimes even minor stuff) when nobody else with me notices the same things is another manifestation of it that still happens often enough to be memorable.

My short term memory is absolutly horrible to the point that I've rightfuly been called "absent minded" - "Gah! where did I put that pen!", "oh, its already in my hand, that explains why it wasn't where I thought I would have left it", but I can often recall things in great detail from my childhood that neither my sister (who is older than I) or my parents do "remember when you (recolection of specific event or activity) back when I would have been about 5 or 6 (or similar age for example)"). In general, the more meaning somethign has to me personally, the stronger the memory is, but I also have my share of long term memories that seem fairly meaningless to me too. One specific diference is that in meaningful memories, conversations, emotions and the environment they took place in are the strongest part of the memory (recalling a conversation at a specific resturant, what was talked about and how it made me feel and such), and in the less meaningful ones, things like the weather, time of day and other more sensory things like that are the bigger part of the memory (recalling a childhood trip to a waterpark (somewhere between 20-25 years ago)), what slides I went on, which were my favourite, what the weather was like, what the layout of the park was like, what I got for lunch, and so on.

I would further add that my memory with fact based stuff is also quite poor. I never could memorize my times tables for instance (but I could calculate them as needed through more basic math on the fly to fake it most fo the time) and needing to memorize minutiae has always been a weak point for me. If I do not have a specific reason to want to know the details, I will quickly forget them and just look them up as needed, but if the facts and details are important to somethign that is important to me, I can often recall them without consciously making an effort to store them in memory.

This is a bit of a tangent to the direct topic of memory, but still pertains to Si, so I think it has some relevance and may be of interest to some readers. This applies more to it as a tertiary function, but here is a short description from INFJorINFP.com regarding Si.

From INFJorINFP.com (by Vicky Jo)
INFJ or INFP? a closer look

INFP Tertiary
Introverted Sensing (Si)

Reviewing
Linking
Comparing and contrasting
Noticing match and mismatch
Past
"This is how it has always been."
"This reminds me of . . ."

...

I compare current experience against stored past impressions and experiences.
OR
I am aware at a detailed level of what is going on in my body, including my emotional state.

...

INFPs are often well rooted in the past, with a good memory of things that have happened historically, and are attracted to "collecting" facts. They sometimes have a strong grasp of family and tradition and may have a great deal of familiarity with their family tree or display an interest in genealogy. They may act as the "family historian" at times, knowing who begat whom and how a particular branch is related. They have long memories. I know one INFP who could recite from memory what year of childhood he first spoke or began walking, including details about what hairstyles he wore at different stages of life! Others like to visit the same places frequently, and let their minds drift back in time to recall previous visits. Nostalgia is often engaged, and they enjoy telling stories from their past. (Introverted Sensing is a cultural norm in the U.S., so it seems fairly "typical" to look to the past this way.) One INFP tells how he enjoys his routines, his habits, doing things by rote. He does the everyday chores of maintaining his home, and these keep him in his comfort zone. Similarly, sometimes INFPs will stay at the same job for years because they're used to it -- even when the job stinks. (A friend of mine stayed at a dreadful job for 9 years!) INFPs sometimes display "body wisdom," and their bodies can be barometers for how they are feeling, whether through illness, food allergies, or headaches. They are often given to taking medications to control their physical being in some fashion. (On a Yahoo Group one time when there was a discussion of medications, it was a veritable drugstore! It seemed every one of them was popping pills to control something.) These are all common ways that Si will manifest in the INFP type code.

I suspect that many INFPs believe they are "J's" because they enjoy the predictability of a routine, and imagine that is "J."

I agree with the nostalgia part of that, but have very little interest in geneology or family history and such - I have some curiosity about what my great great anscestors of the old world were like, but not enough to actualy dig into it and research it. The rest of that description I have mixed feelings about. I would not say I like routines, but I don't hate them either, and the reason for staying at the same job has more to do with factors thaat are nto related to the job itself or even job satisfaction one way or the other. As mentioned in a recent conversation, I like some structure and order to things, but knowing that I have the option to make changes whenever I want is essential before I can try to become comfortable with a routine way of doing things.
 

Into It

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Aug 30, 2008
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Strangely, the person with the best memory I know is an ENFP. And no one holds a candle to him-he's always the one to say "Haha, well, that's not really how it happened, should I clarify?" And even if it was years ago, he can say, "Yeah, but don't you remember that that was the day before Samantha and Rachel got into that argument about so and so and didn't talk for a week? And so the week later, our camping trip fell through because Samantha wouldn't drive if Rachel was coming..." I apologize for the wordiness, but I'm trying to express that my friend with inferior Si has the most remarkable memory that I have seen. That is why I wonder about this myself, Si=good memory seems to make the most sense. And I couldn't care less about recalling situations concretely. What's done is done. I have that bias because it is very difficult to do so accurately and so it is uncomfortable.
 

run

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Dec 27, 2008
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My dad doesn't remember shit about his childhood, or what he ate for breakfast. My mom has bad short term memory too.

and they're both Si domiant people.

Maybe brain hemisphere dominance or Gardner's Multiple Intelligences are factors.
 

Virtual ghost

Complex paradigm
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Jun 6, 2008
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Yes they usually have a good memory but thet same memory can make them close minded towards needed changes.
 
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