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[MBTI General] Improving the ENTP's inferior Si

teslashock

Geolectric
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ENTPs, do you notice that you have a serious problem with remembering the details of certain situations? I read so many books, I go to school, I watch interesting television shows, and listen to tons of music, yet I cannot remember the details of hardly any information that I receive, particularly when prompted. I know some ENPs that can quote books, recall lines from movies, and create expansive databases of trivia from all of their external sensory inputs. I cannot do this; I am either not soaking up the trivia, or I do soak it up but just fail to find it within some chaotic pool of knowledge.

I can often recall bits of information when I have some sort of external stimulus that I can relate to my database of knowledge, but if somebody asks me specifically to recall a detail from a book or what happens in a movie, I cannot do it for the life of me. I believe that this is attributed to my lack of Si. How can I develop this Si so that I am more capable of referencing my knowledge without some external aid? Can any of you ENTPs easily withdraw information from your warehouse of random, trivial crap without some sort of external aid?

ENFPs, I suppose this thread can be applied to you guys as well. Feel free to offer any advice too.
 

onlyonemorgan

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Oh my goodness! I am so bad with this. I'm horrible with trivia and history was always brutal because I had such a hard time remembering names and dates. I really think I don't absorb such details in the first place. I'm more concerned with the overall situation/theories etc. that those details seem unimportant. When I'm reading I'll actually skim over little details to get to what I think is the important matter. They seem like a waste of time.

Unfortunately I have no idea how to get better at this...
 

BlahBlahNounBlah

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This thread makes me remember how bad I am at remembering details. :cry:

I keep a notebook to write down important facts when I read, but that hasn't helped my retention. If the notebook was lost, the names and dates and statistics would be gone as if I'd never known them.
 

Asterion

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The trick with trivia, is you need to expose yourself to it a lot before it'll sink in, are you sure that you've studied enough? Sleep is also a huge factor when it comes to memory. Having inferior Si causes you to be less aware of sensory detail, Ne should be just as good at recalling information, it just does so by looking at patterns. Si is a pretty big vice though, it means that you don't pay attention to your immediate surroundings, I continuously manage to misplace my coffee cup 5 times because I put it down and fail to notice, my wallet is gone because I kept it in my hands, I don't naturally keep track of the models of cars, the numbers and names of football players.

It's also likely that you need to be able to recall the whole picture before you can focus on the details at hand (see the forest before the trees, aka think globally). For example you might not remember that part in the movie until you can recall the rest of the movie. This way of gathering info doesn't pay off immediately, but when it does pay off, it should be quite useful
 

Mitzy

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687
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i laughed when i read this. this is so true in my case! i can remember things but its only temporarily. i constantly have to look things up ive already learned. thats why i hated school because its all trivia and studying and remembering information.

as for building it, who knows. who cares. i just keep a walking talking encyclopedia around and use him whenever necessary.
 

Qre:us

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In a way, I relate to the OP, in a way I'm completely the opposite.

The trick with trivia, is you need to expose yourself to it a lot before it'll sink in,

This is very true for me. If I'm exposed to something in depth and for a while, I might not know that I know it, but when it comes to recalling the details......it's quite sharp and on point.

Having inferior Si causes you to be less aware of sensory detail, Ne should be just as good at recalling information, it just does so by looking at patterns.

I can see the truth in this. I think it's my Ne rather than my Si that helps me remember the things that I do.

It's like everything is stored as an interconnected huge web (and the web expands and expands with each new moment lived), so if a trigger or a cue is given to me, that part of the web is activated, and there's a forcefulness to the clarity I feel when I know *I am right*. Of course, I get stuff wrong, but, I know in my gut when I'm sure of a piece of information's rightness and when I'm not that confident.

My memory is more "visual", as well. I can see it in my mind's eye, when I recall with a clarity, like the thing is just floating in front of me, apparent.

It's also likely that you need to be able to recall the whole picture before you can focus on the details at hand (see the forest before the trees, aka think globally). For example you might not remember that part in the movie until you can recall the rest of the movie. This way of gathering info doesn't pay off immediately, but when it does pay off, it should be quite useful

This.

What I am horrible at is remembering the technical terminologies for things, but, ask me to explain it, and I'll talk up a storm (the net helps in refreshing my memory because I know what it is, just not the name, so searching the web is an easy feat for me). I am also horrible at remembering, and recalling specific events, if the cues are 'vague'. E.g., how did you celebrate your 21st birthday? My ESFx best friend can recall it given just that question, while I am left stumped...but if she starts talking about a specific thing about that birthday....then, I'm transported back there, and I can recall. My past memories thus are hazy, and takes a very specific cue to recall, unless they were impactful in some grander, meaningful way. Also, my memory is not good with linear time unless some aspect of the details makes 'logical sense' timewise. I think this is the consequence of the stuff being stored as one huge interconnected jumble, rather than sequentially.

I can't recall dates for history related stuff, and am horrible at remembering birthdays. But, a piece of information about someone, something about their personal self, their identity, it somehow sticks with me, and well.

I think its the phenomenon of the Ne web, the associations has to be stimulated and not with some arbitrary trigger for that association, but, something that engages my Ti. The association has to make sense for it to be retrieved, hence why dates and other random trivial facts escape me, unless the cue has a "hint" embedded within it. And, the hint doesn't even have to be blatant, it can be subtle, obscure, as long as it's not trivial.

This, in a way, is a blessing in disguise. If someone tells me a detail about them (doesn't matter how small or inconsequential the detail is), somehow, I can tell if that detail is truthful or not, if I have a previous memory bank of them, and they had told me the opposite of that detail previously, or something about their personhood is contradictory to this new piece of information they're trying to feed me. It's like Ne-Ti blares off inside my head going......'wait, wait, wait....I can't store this information as I don't know where it goes in to connection within the web, there's a contradiction, we need to reshape the form of this web for this new piece of information to fit!' And, that's usually how I know if something is right or off, when my brain does a double-take and tells me that it's having trouble taking in that information. That's when I know that either my previous memory of it is wrong, or shoddy, or that the new piece of information is somehow an inconsistency. I call this my bullshit detector. (the flip side of this is that if I wanna fuck around with someone, and I'm telling tall tales to them, I am good at knowing if some random obscure thing I've told them in the past will point out the inconsistency of what I'm telling them now. I call this my bullshit maker.) :D
 

Tamske

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I can't choose what to remember. I remember lots of useless but interesting details... Well, they're useless in the Te sense of useless, but they make my stories come to life.
Also, the recalling isn't that flawless:
"Describe the library you've visited in Prague" -> ??? I've visited a library in Prague ???
"Hmm, I need to describe a big, old-fashioned library in my story. There are hand-painted colourful globes in the center and stone statues between the bookcases..."
 

Shimmy

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I'm quite good in remembering details if it's anything I'm interested in.
 

Fluffywolf

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I'm quite good in remembering details if it's anything I'm interested in.

Same. But no interest, no memory. :D

As for improving your Si in all situations, I would advice against it. It will likely stress you out. It's an acceptable weakness anyhow. It pales in comparison to our stronger points, so deal with it. :smile:
 

CJ99

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I often forget details like poeples names, the name of my train stop (got me lost more than once) I don't even know my parents birthdays I gave up trying to remember.

But I do remember lots of useless knowledge like that psychological research shows that poeple are attracted to members of the opposite sex that look like what they would look like if they changed gender. ie You fancy people with similar genetics.

I think the reason I remember that stuff is Ti. It was a conclusion that made me think and so I engaged it with Ti a function I know well. So what I try to do to remember stuff is engage it with Ti and when I do it often works quite well.

But I still to always keep postit notes and a pen ready incase.
 

onlyonemorgan

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I can't recall dates for history related stuff, and am horrible at remembering birthdays. But, a piece of information about someone, something about their personal self, their identity, it somehow sticks with me, and well.


I agree with this completely. Ironically it makes me great at picking out gifts for people...the trick is remembering when to give them!
 

veins

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I don't know if this is actually inferior Si or not and would like clarification - I know an ENTP who, once he finds an idea regardless of whether that idea is flawed or not, will stubbornly stick with it no matter what. No matter how much the inconsistencies are pointed out in it. Particularly MBTI. He believes in the stereotypes and the generalities and believes that they are applicable in real life, as in to read people. Which may or may not be the case. It's more that he holds on dearly to his experiences without seeming to consider the possibilities outside of those experiences. That the system that he has set up in his mind doesn't really blanket much, aside from those whom he've met. Perhaps he has considered the possibilities but then concluded that they don't match up with what has worked for him before, so it is better to stick with what's worked. I don't really know. Isn't that more of INTP territory? I am a bit tired to think right now.
 

EcK

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I don't know if this is actually inferior Si or not and would like clarification - I know an ENTP who, once he finds an idea regardless of whether that idea is flawed or not, will stubbornly stick with it no matter what. No matter how much the inconsistencies are pointed out in it. Particularly MBTI. He believes in the stereotypes and the generalities and believes that they are applicable in real life, as in to read people. Which may or may not be the case. It's more that he holds on dearly to his experiences without seeming to consider the possibilities outside of those experiences. That the system that he has set up in his mind doesn't really blanket much, aside from those whom he've met. Perhaps he has considered the possibilities but then concluded that they don't match up with what has worked for him before, so it is better to stick with what's worked. I don't really know. Isn't that more of INTP territory? I am a bit tired to think right now.

That really doesn't sound like an entp.
or maybe the guy's an idiot.
or maybe your opinion is sort of flawed.

pick ur favorite(s)
 

veins

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That really doesn't sound like an entp.
or maybe the guy's an idiot.
or maybe your opinion is sort of flawed.

pick ur favorite(s)
It could be that he's an idiot. It could also be that my post may have been too biased in representing him, that he's shown in a negative light. It could also be both. That's not one way in which inferior Si can manifest itself?
He really does take to stereotyping people with MBTI though. For instance, he constantly claims that he can predict and read me from what he has observed from other INTPs that he has interacted with, without actually having interacted with me on a daily basis. Is he only joking? He does it rather consistently.
 

EcK

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It could be that he's an idiot. It could also be that my post may have been too biased in representing him, that he's shown in a negative light. It could also be both. That's not one way in which inferior Si can manifest itself?
He really does take to stereotyping people with MBTI though. For instance, he constantly claims that he can predict and read me from what he has observed from other INTPs that he has interacted with, without actually having interacted with me on a daily basis. Is he only joking? He does it rather consistently.

I don't know, is he young ? entps can be sort of high on their behavior reading skills when younger, you know, before they wise the fuck up. We can also be quite rude. -coughs-
Yeah It sounds a bit like Si or maybe it's just Ti, extracting the theory and trusting it without looking at enough information. Si tends to internalize arguments of authority rather than purely rely on one's experience of things in my hum experience.
I prefer not to give an opinion without getting the data first hand or get the theory if we're talking about a closed experimental setting of sort.
 

veins

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Ha ha, I am quite aware of the rude bit. Penis banters come to mind. He is young, yes. And what you've mentioned is probably what rings true in this case, that he is over-confident in his people reading skills. He is a rather cocky person.
What do you mean by closed experimental setting?

EDIT: Actually, I can see it being Ti at work. He comes up with the idea using Ne, then after Ti dissects it, it can get tougher seeing anything else from it. Does that seem more accurate?

That's interesting about the Si usage in your experience. I kind of figured that since it's introverted, it'd take in the experiences first.
 

Qre:us

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I don't know if this is actually inferior Si or not and would like clarification - 1. I know an ENTP who, once he finds an idea regardless of whether that idea is flawed or not, will stubbornly stick with it no matter what. No matter how much the inconsistencies are pointed out in it. Particularly MBTI. He believes in the stereotypes and the generalities and believes that they are applicable in real life, as in to read people. Which may or may not be the case. 2. It's more that he holds on dearly to his experiences without seeming to consider the possibilities outside of those experiences. That the system that he has set up in his mind doesn't really blanket much, aside from those whom he've met. 3. Perhaps he has considered the possibilities but then concluded that they don't match up with what has worked for him before, so it is better to stick with what's worked. I don't really know. Isn't that more of INTP territory? I am a bit tired to think right now.

This dude does not seem ENTP to me, due to the bolded.

Bolded 1: Either his Ti is severely repressed or he doesn't prefer Ti. The latter is more likely.

Bolded 2: Is an insult to Ne and its use.

Bolded 3: Same as #2, and add to that that ENTPs are notoriously known to NOT stick with the tried-and-true, what has worked before, sameness, but, rather prefering the novel, a change...makes me suspect that.....

The guy doesn't have a dominant and aux preference for Ne or Ti.

Hence, this dude does not seem ENTP to me.
 

Fluffywolf

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This dude does not seem ENTP to me, due to the bolded.

Bolded 1: Either his Ti is severely repressed or he doesn't prefer Ti. The latter is more likely.

Bolded 2: Is an insult to Ne and its use.

Bolded 3: Same as #2, and add to that that ENTPs are notoriously known to NOT stick with the tried-and-true, what has worked before, sameness, but, rather prefering the novel, a change...makes me suspect that.....

The guy doesn't have a dominant and aux preference for Ne or Ti.

Hence, this dude does not seem ENTP to me.

I agree, seems much more Te-Si, an ESTJ that doesn't use his tertiary function, and seems to rely too much on his inferior function. So, an ESTJ and an unhealthy one at that. :p
 

veins

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This dude does not seem ENTP to me, due to the bolded.

Bolded 1: Either his Ti is severely repressed or he doesn't prefer Ti. The latter is more likely.

Bolded 2: Is an insult to Ne and its use.

Bolded 3: Same as #2, and add to that that ENTPs are notoriously known to NOT stick with the tried-and-true, what has worked before, sameness, but, rather prefering the novel, a change...makes me suspect that.....

The guy doesn't have a dominant and aux preference for Ne or Ti.

Hence, this dude does not seem ENTP to me.

There's a likely possibility that's he's mistyped himself. Or that his upbringing could have an effect to some degree. Or that, again, the particular post was biased. So, Inferior Si usually only works in a way that mostly pertains to forgetfulness of details? Rather than experiential clinginess of some sort? I'm just wondering.

I am curious though, what type does he seem like from that description? Although, this probably doesn't belong here.

EDIT: Actually, maybe I should probably take into account all the functions rather than just focusing on one. :cheese:
 

veins

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I agree, seems much more Te-Si, an ESTJ that doesn't use his tertiary function, and seems to rely too much on his inferior function. So, an ESTJ and an unhealthy one at that. :p
Ah! That's interesting. :D
 
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