[INFP] INFP telling impressively detail-oriented stories about relationships?

[gromit]

I have a very dear INFP friend who tells stories in the most detail-oriented manner I have ever encountered.

"He was at work so I was hanging out with my friend so-and-so and we met up with this other friend I had met one time at my brother's show. Then he texted me "______" (whatever it was he texted her) then I texted him (some other text message). Then he said __________ and I said _______, but then he didn't text me back at all. I had to go take a walk and I was crying. I tried to call my sister but she didn't answer. I went to see so-and-so's boyfriend perform at this cafe but I couldn't pay attention, I just wanted to see (original boy). Then he showed up and was talking to our other friend. I was sitting on the other side of the cafe. And he came over and said ______ to me. He said he had slept four hours in the past three days..."

She will describe several consecutive days in this level of detail, recounting precisely the chronology and specifics of each conversation, interaction, and feeling. Her memory for this kind of thing is pretty impressive, and I can tell all of the facts are important to how she is processing the situation.

I guess I am wondering if this is a general INFP idiosyncrasy or just one specific to my friend.

 

[chickpea]

i had this infp (self-identified) friend in high school who had this crazy episodic memory. she'd write this really long, detailed livejournal entries about the days events, and sometimes i had been there with her and couldn't have possibly remembered half of the things she did. i was always very impressed by it, because my recollections tend to be very vague and scattered. however, i do have a very selectively good memory, and i do tend to remember stories and specific conversations from my relationships in greater detail than anything else. just because it's important to me, i guess.

 

[Eugene Watson VIII]

hmmm looks like Fi-Si to me. I sometimes do the same, maybe not as lengthy, when writing some important things. it's like recalling a favourite movie and you tell your friends why you liked it, and how cool ___ was when ___ etc. or maybe its just a girl thing? they tend to write a lot

however, i do have a very selectively good memory, and i do tend to remember stories and specific conversations from my relationships in greater detail than anything else. just because it's important to me, i guess.

This..

 

[chickpea]

also in interpersonal situations like that, i'll go into (unnecessary) detail because i'm trying to squeeze every bit of juice out of whatever interaction i had. like i'm trying to analyze every little word or action to try and figure out what they really meant or what they were thinking. which ends up being a pretty pointless exercise most of the time, but sometimes i'll catch something that other people miss.

 

[flameskull95]

hmmm looks like Fi-Si to me. I sometimes do the same, maybe not as lengthy, when writing some important things. it's like recalling a favourite movie and you tell your friends why you liked it, and how cool ___ was when ___ etc. or maybe its just a girl thing? they tend to write a lot


This..

Ageed. Our emotional drive gets us to a better Si recall. I thought this thread was pretty peculiar especially being created right after the http://www.typologycentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55452 ENTP-INFP relationship thread which contains a lot of these detail-oriented stories.

 

[flameskull95]

I could identify with Si by personal experience, and this is one way I found out I was INFP. Even though I have crappy memory and attention, and Si is probably not the function I contrast my main perception against, yet I know I function by it. Like, I can remember a lot of hurtful circumstances/things that have been said or discussed with me from years back, and others have told me not to 'hang on to those things' giving me odd looks like not just 'why' but 'how' I remember those things.
Although, I'm not necessarily hanging onto them, it's just there, because it hurt me. In a way, I still don't totally get why I remember, but I like to believe its because it doesn't happen in the future again. Even then, rationally speaking, the information can't necessarily encourage me to do better so I don't know why... I really don't know why I hold onto those things. It may just be purely how I'm built. It could also be because I have a fetish for sad things; it's like I can relate to sad things, because it reveals a lot about me and the human condition in general. Maybe I find comfort in the interconnections.

 

[gromit]

Interesting. Thank you folks.

 

[skylights]

Yeah, Fi-Si. I'm not INFP but I think I have a touch of this too because it's easy to remember detail when it has a huge impact on your emotional state. It's really a chronicle of feeling-changes when you read it as it occurs in my head. It'd be translated like this:

He was at work We were not together so I was hanging out with my friend so-and-so and we met up with this other friend I had met one time at my brother's show. so I was doing something with someone I like and then this other person joined who I didn't know very well Then he texted me "______" (whatever it was he texted her) His message seemed to imply this then I texted him (some other text message) so I implied that. Then he said __________ He communicated this and I said _______ so I communicated that, but then he didn't text me back at all but then he stopped communicating, which made me really upset.. I had to go take a walk I could not handle my negative emotion as a result of this and needed to be alone and I was crying and it all spilled out. I tried to call my sister I tried to reach out to someone I trust for support but she didn't answer but I couldn't get relief. I went to see so-and-so's boyfriend perform at this cafe I tried again to relieve myself by enjoying a performance by someone who is connected to someone I care about at a spot I enjoy but I couldn't pay attention but was still feeling overwhelmed, I just wanted to see (original boy) I couldn't get over my current state and needed resolution. Then he showed up Then I got really lucky and the opportunity for resolution presented itself and was talking to our other friend But he was not paying attention to me at first. I was sitting on the other side of the cafe I was not in uncomfortable proximity but was available. And he came over And he demonstrated connection to me and said ______ to me and communicated with me again. He said he had slept four hours in the past three days... So turns out it was an idiosyncrasy and he was stressed and we are okay.

All that detail is really relevant but it's probably hard to know that from the outside... it's only the cause half; the effect half - the feeling - is implied.

 

[gromit]

Yeah makes sense. She does feel everything so keenly, but keeps it all inside.

 

[King sns]

I was actually just going to make a thread about this, surprisingly... Super detail oriented INFP's, but then I decided it was just going to get answered with "Fi-Si."

 

[Scott N Denver]

I have a very dear INFP friend who tells stories in the most detail-oriented manner I have ever encountered.

"He was at work so I was hanging out with my friend so-and-so and we met up with this other friend I had met one time at my brother's show. Then he texted me "______" (whatever it was he texted her) then I texted him (some other text message). Then he said __________ and I said _______, but then he didn't text me back at all. I had to go take a walk and I was crying. I tried to call my sister but she didn't answer. I went to see so-and-so's boyfriend perform at this cafe but I couldn't pay attention, I just wanted to see (original boy). Then he showed up and was talking to our other friend. I was sitting on the other side of the cafe. And he came over and said ______ to me. He said he had slept four hours in the past three days..."

She will describe several consecutive days in this level of detail, recounting precisely the chronology and specifics of each conversation, interaction, and feeling. Her memory for this kind of thing is pretty impressive, and I can tell all of the facts are important to how she is processing the situation.

I guess I am wondering if this is a general INFP idiosyncrasy or just one specific to my friend.

I am capable of this, and have done it in the past, but somewhere along the way I learned that most people dont really care and cut you off, so I shorten stories for those people now.

 

[William K]

Since everyone has already mentioned Fi-Si, I'm just gonna put in a warning that Si does not necessarily give a very precise recollection. It's what the subject remembers happened, told in his/her own words from his/her point of view. So sometimes Fi-Si becomes Sci-Fi

 

[William K]

it's like recalling a favourite movie and you tell your friends why you liked it, and how cool ___ was when ___ etc. or maybe its just a girl thing?

Nope, I do it too. Not just with movies, also with books, songs, etc. Remembering where the 'emotional' high-points (and low-points) are

 

[Ism]

Yeah, my INFP friend had a solid memory about random details and facts from various topics that interested him. Maybe your friend is just particularly invested in these people, and feels the need to describe every detail, just in case one of those facts happens to be especially relevant.

LEAVE NO STONE UNTURNED - just in case.

. . . Wait, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's Si. Sorry for being redundant.

 

[21%]

My INFP can do this, and I always enjoy listening to him

 

[RDF]

I have a very dear INFP friend who tells stories in the most detail-oriented manner I have ever encountered. [...]

INFP rants can be like that: IOW, dwell on every gruesome little detail in order to try to make the listener feel the same emotions and outrage that the INFP felt at the time.

Gets on my nerves when it's done to me, and I take care not to do it to others in turn.

 

[INTP]

my INFP friend often tells very detailed and long stories about what ever happened to him that day. and even tho he may talk 5+minutes about some simple thing, its usually a pleasure to listen to him. he has some weird talent on telling detailed long stories about boring things, without it being boring to listen to it

 

[Wolfie]

This sounds like me. Sometimes I interrupt my friends' stories to add detail or to heist the story from them because they are telling it wrong. I know that's annoying and I try not to, but if it's a really good story it should be told accurately. A big part of that is being able to lead someone through what happened accurately so that in the end they have lived it through you and have a good impression of the implications.

 

[INTP]

This sounds like me. Sometimes I interrupt my friends' stories to add detail or to heist the story from them because they are telling it wrong. I know that's annoying and I try not to, but if it's a really good story it should be told accurately. A big part of that is being able to lead someone through what happened accurately so that in the end they have lived it through you and have a good impression of the implications.

i do that too quite often and agree with the other stuff

 

[King sns]

i do that too quite often and agree with the other stuff

I suppose Ti/Si would be even more extreme about that than Fi/Si anyway... Si in addition to nitpicking accuracy!!! Do you do it with relationships too? "Then the person did this and then the person did that which didn't match what she said before so she's sending mixed messages" etc.

(for [MENTION=16164]Wolfie[/MENTION] too)