Reposting this…
I relate to Little Linguist's Ne perception in that my focus is often not exactly on the object. I can most certainly see a color as a color and an apple as an apple, but there is also a level of detachment. It can easily go from the color to my own thoughts regarding the things associated with it, things I've encountered in the past. Maybe a line from a book I've read some time ago will immediately pop up. Often, my head is then filled with thoughts and questions branching off from that line in that book. It can go on and on. I think that Si and Ne are more related in this way than is immediately apparent. In my mind, the difference is like this: Si associations are a chain of falling dominoes, though not always in a single line, while Ne associations are the billiard balls shooting off, I prefer to say 'outward' instead of 'future', after the white ball hits. In both cases, the object of perception is there primarily to provoke a set of unrelated mental "events". Maybe that's why Si-Ne works so well in tandem. Put together, the web just gets more and more infinite.
I'd also like to point out the emphasis I place on [subjective] meaning. The reason that I become so attached to things is because I am attached to what they represent. Each important object is embedded with meaning and viewed accordingly. Very often, the personal meaning trumps the object to the extent that even while consciously not valuing the object, I am compelled to preserve it. This is why I don't like constant dramatic change if it's not especially important. The new object is "empty", with no history and no meaning. I also don't "know" it or how much I can rely on it. So you see, to have all of my meanings uprooted again and again by change or discard, especially for no great reason in particular, would be akin to having my personal world destroyed [and to top it all off, replaced with basically nothing]. The worst thing about having prominent Si is feeling like I am in a constant battle against time's natural [and inevitable] erosion of my world.
So sometimes I find it's like... outside can feel surreal while I know that inside is what I can trust. Inside does not change so much as it expands.
Regarding memory, my Si "memory" process is in actuality maybe only about 50% conscious memory. I say that because I often don't consciously choose to remember something, I certainly don't remember everything, and sometimes, I don't even know where a memory is coming from. Information is grabbed from everything that I come into contact with, but often on a subconscious level. Later on, even years later on, it bubbles up into my conscious mind and that's when the "hey, this is familiar" moment happens. Sometimes it's very vague and I have to wait to discover the origin of it.
I am completely dreadful at remembering dry details if I'm not interested. I also don’t learn or remember things well if I am trying too much. It stays longer and is stored more deeply when I just let it swish around and “soak in†somehow, without too much conscious effort. The more I experience something, the more it naturally soaks in. Maybe that is why SJs are associated with learning through repetition?
But the storing isn’t limited to general detail. I can bring up past feelings, thoughts, and very often sensations as well. I think that Socionics' Si description is very appropriate when it states that Si users are also strongly attuned to what's going on inside of their bodies. I rarely try to maintain it as I would conscious memory. It’s just floating around -- like having a mini-world -- inside of my subconscious. And of course, I love visiting again and again.
Because the images, and sometimes sensations, are so “real†inside, I can fall into the trap of trusting and favoring my internal world over actual reality (along with not trusting new things immediately). I don't notice how amazing reality is as well until I'm confronted by it again.
Last, I think that most descriptions of Si are really Si-Te, so it was easy for me to think that routine, prioritization and organization were innate qualities of Si itself. But now I kind of disagree. I do feel my overpowering need to have things in the “right placeâ€, but as for actual organization, it might come more from my relief process (Ti) than Si. I love learning about systems. I am very interested in how anything can be categorized, analyzed, and of course how it is internally structured or ordered. I often have more fun learning about something than simply enjoying it.
But I am messy, don't prioritize well, bad at making/following routines, can be *very* annoyed by undue repetition, bored with most stereotypical ISJ things (shadow Te, I suppose).