ISTJs, how do you observe and remember so much?

[Shaula]

My dad is an ISTJ had I find it's freaky that he can remember the license plate of a car he used to have ten years ago! He's usually been very good at memorising sequences of letters and numbers but he always forgets his username or password for his online accounts. (Which is funny because they are often the same usernames/passwords he always uses.) Like others have said, ISTJs remember the details in things that they are interested in or view to be important.

[Kai]

It mostly occurs when I'm interested in something. Oddly enough though I'm not so good at remembering specific words in conversations that I had with people, but I'll remember that I've had conversation itself and the feeling I got out of it.

Constantly berated for forgetting stuff~
It's just not that important.

[raz]

Originally Posted by Shaula

My dad is an ISTJ had I find it's freaky that he can remember the license plate of a car he used to have ten years ago! He's usually been very good at memorising sequences of letters and numbers but he always forgets his username or password for his online accounts. (Which is funny because they are often the same usernames/passwords he always uses.) Like others have said, ISTJs remember the details in things that they are interested in or view to be important.

Mmmhmm. Over the years, I've learned that I have a damn good memory. I've come to rely on it greatly, and at the same time, that's become a problem, because I'll refuse to write things down since I'll think I can remember it.

I was walking through Wal-Mart one night and all of a sudden, this number randomly popped into my head. I took a second to think of what it was. It was my Half-Life CD key from 8 years ago. I think it's just that we rely so much on the past, as if it's a stepping stone to the future. At times before, though, I thought that my memory came so easily to me, that it must be a common trait among people. I couldn't be special. Doesn't everyone do it?

[Cimarron]

Originally Posted by raz

...because I'll refuse to write things down since I'll think I can remember it.

There you go! I do the same thing. I guess I don't quite know what my limits are.

Maybe we notice when we forget things because of how rare it is (which is kind of an exaggeration)? In other words, if we were forgetful more often, it would become common enough that we wouldn't really catch ourselves doing it.

[EcK]

Hey!!
We do an eye typing thing.
And we just don't have much S types there.
I'd like to compare similar types like ENTP\ESTP for example.

Signature gazes and types

just rush there people! Would be awesome if we could build some really solid photobase.

[d@v3]

Originally Posted by raz

Mmmhmm. Over the years, I've learned that I have a damn good memory. I've come to rely on it greatly, and at the same time, that's become a problem, because I'll refuse to write things down since I'll think I can remember it.

lol kind of like me going to the store for a few things. "aaah I'll remember 'em". And of course, I don't.

On the other hand, part of me WANTS to write it down. Maybe that's just the "logical" ISTJ part of me?

Another reason I remember things when I'm out at like a party or something, is that I'm usually quiet and not distracted by people talking to me about stupid things. I like to "know" and be aware of my environment and who is in it. Especially if I don't know anyone.- If there's an idiot in the room, I want to know about it. Conversely, if there is a nice girl in the room, I want to know about her too. (Even if it's just to observe them from afar.) Does that make sense?

When I say observe, I don't mean staring at them or studying them from across the room in a creepy way. lol I just mean to make sure the idiot is not trying to "target" me. I tend to be very keen on using the "hidden observer".

[raz]

Originally Posted by d@v3

lol kind of like me going to the store for a few things. "aaah I'll remember 'em". And of course, I don't.

Ehh. I have no problem remembering the majority of my shopping list. People say to go with a list or else you'll pick stuff up. Picking something up that I wasn't meaning to get is so...out of character for me, that I don't worry about it. My shopping is very directed.

[ArbiterDewey]

Originally Posted by ygolo

How do you notice when even the slightest thing is out-of-place?

It is not so much that we are "looking" for the thing that is out-of-place, more so that it is the one that jumps out at us. If everything is normal, we glance at it and record it is "normal(-ish)."

Originally Posted by Recoleta

However, I was a Spanish major in college. I can recall ridiculously minute grammar details and language nuances without a problem simply because this is important to me.

Yeah, I have a store of information (especially with language/grammar) that is seemingly useless but, because it is important to me, I remember. When hanging out with my usual circle of friends someone will inevitably bring up other people's type and try to remember what someone was. I remember just about all of my friend's types (as long as they took the test near/around me, that is)...and I put no effort in doing so.

Originally Posted by Recoleta

I also can't piece historical things together to form a logical sequence of events. My guess would be because we tend to learn history in fragmented sections...rather than in a linear progression. For instance, in high school I had World Civilizations, then American History, and I think after that I took Military History or something...maybe European History (Ha! I can't even remember the names of my classes). But it was like we were jumping around all the time, and then sometimes we covered the same stuff over and over and other times we skipped chapters and stuff was left out. In my experience, I (and other ISTJ's), are very linear thinkers. We don't like skipping around...things should have a logical progression, so maybe that's why I and your friend don't enjoy history.

I agree. History is so segmented that it never "clicked" with me. I know a lot of things, but ask me something to do with history and I'll crap all over that subject, lol.

Originally Posted by CzeCze

I just remember my ISTJ friend memorized her credit card information because she would just spit it out when ordering pizza over the phone. I really don't think I could do that..well I'm sure technically I could...I just wouldn't care to.

I noticed the other day when my grandmother asked me for a couple of, seemingly random, numbers from my memory that I have tons of strings of numbers, all serving their unique purpose (come to find out she was showing my grandfather that most people have certain numbers memorized; social security, driver's license, etc.).

Originally Posted by d@v3

Hmm... a memory like an ISTJ- maybe that is why I am on the Dean's list and I NEVER study?

I had always attributed this to just being a smart person, but it could do with our preference in type function. Dunno. This worked in high school anyway.

Originally Posted by Habba

I can always find the place I have visited once already. I'm also very good in Trivia games, because I have got a huge storage of random data.

Finding a place I've been to, not only limited to driving, I find that I have a second sense to "knowing" where what I'm looking for is. In a book I'm reading, for instance, I can tell you about the thickness of the place in the book, what side of which page said information should be and approximate paragraph location (after I've read the book, or read past the section). (When I studied the Bible this was amazingly helpful.)

Originally Posted by TheChosenOne

I'm an ISTJ, and I NEVER EVER notice anything regarding clothing. I don't notice when things are out of place either.

I can't remember really anything about a person's clothing, hair, or various outer-wear. It is all so pointless. However, in response to not noticing things when they are out of place we differ, I have a great knowledge as where "something should be."

Originally Posted by raz

Mmmhmm. Over the years, I've learned that I have a damn good memory. I've come to rely on it greatly, and at the same time, that's become a problem, because I'll refuse to write things down since I'll think I can remember it.

I personally haven't experienced this. My memory isn't always on par so I tend to write down things I cannot remember because I know this. When I went to purchase a cable at Fry's I knew that I couldn't remember the technical jargon for the cord...VGA to S-Video/RCA, I believe, so it was on a piece of paper. I just showed it to the tech guys and was directed to a cord that didn't work lol.

Originally Posted by d@v3

I like to "know" and be aware of my environment and who is in it. Especially if I don't know anyone.- If there's an idiot in the room, I want to know about it. Conversely, if there is a nice girl in the room, I want to know about her too. (Even if it's just to observe them from afar.) Does that make sense?

I didn't realize that I identified with this until you posted it. I most definitely examine who's in a room, simply for the sake of knowing. It helps me determine a comfort level, personally. For example, if there is an idiot in a room, you keep your guard up slightly as to not be terribly unnerved by them if they do target you, lol. You kind of keep them in the corner of your vision. (as far as the hot chick goes, I like knowing they're there, but it serves no purpose, lol)

[TheChosenOne]

Actually yeah my memory is pretty good. I used to remember random people's birthdays in high school, and there were about 100 I could remember without any effort. However, nowadays things seem to slip my mind. Probably all those video games.

[raz]

Originally Posted by TheChosenOne

Actually yeah my memory is pretty good. I used to remember random people's birthdays in high school, and there were about 100 I could remember without any effort. However, nowadays things seem to slip my mind. Probably all those video games.

It's just that the excellent memory gets focused on the video games. When I played World of Warcraft, I was a walking encyclopedia of information.