There have been many attempts to describe this difference on here and though the description for Se here isn't perfect, I think this post
http://www.typologycentral.com/forum...=1#post1649444 gets pretty close to describing the difference.
It seems kinda biased to me. It sounds like "Se people can't produce any complicated thought whatsoever, and Ne people are creative geniuses!"
But I'll go through the post anyway. The points I leave out are the ones I thought were overly-biased.
Se
- Life is determined by impressions received from outside, to which they react with instinctual impulses
I lack significant physical instincts. The main actions I take are with words... I'm a good liar and I can get out of shitty situations with words. But not actions.
- Recognizes the wealth of ancestral experience & understands the meaning of traditional forms better than do individuals of other types, finding it difficult to develop other ways.
- Stick to experience, empiricists par excellence
I don't place much value on experience. I don't "learn by experience" -- this is why I hate lab work that's supposed to teach us "theory". Not a "hands on" kind of person.
- Doesn't lead exclusively to personal satisfaction of sensuous desires, but can drive him to dedicate his powers to service of a group he identifies with, even to sacrifice himself for it (ie. instinct to protect family physically).
The only causes I would die for are the ones that, if I failed at protecting them, I would die anyway. Which makes sense -- if I'm going to die anyway, I might as well die trying not to die.
- Good observers, often good storytellers, good at practical professions
I am a good storyteller (kind of like being a good liar, as I said above). But I tend not to describe physical details when i tell stories... more of a dialogue person. Not particularly observant/ hands-on.
- Often capable of discussing problems and theories of life, but more for the pleasure of the discussion than out of interest in the actual problems
I'm interested in the actual problems.
-realists, facts
I find facts useful to check my theories/hypotheses against, so I don't go off the deep end believing ridiculous/paranoid theories. So yeah, I'm pretty fact dependent.
I thought I would relate to more of them but, I guess not. Most of the points are biased so I left them out.
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Ne
- Stimulated by difficulties, for they are by nature combative
- They will discover fresh possibilities where others have failed
I see potential for improvement where most others don't -- this is true. But I'm sure they see it in areas where I don't so I don't think this is special.
- Take pride in seeing the possibilities of accomplishing something which others regard as impossible
Most of my acquaintences regard every remotely-novel suggestion as fundamentally impossible. I have been told, "No one will go for that", "That's not possible", etc. even after
my idea was already confirmed to work. So again, I don't think this is that special; to do something others consider impossible is nothing at all because most people consider most things impossible -- even things that have been shown to work for decades (after all, we have denialists).
- [Ne] will often provide a solution in circumstances in which none of the other functions can find a way out
- they can get away with anything
As above -- being a good liar and having some ability to see through people helps. Also, in my most overconfident moments I can start to believe there is no problem I can't solve.
- their imagination continually suggests fresh possibilities
- May have great difficulty in managing themselves, owing to the constant invasion of fresh inspirations and impulses.
Sort of, but not continually. I have to dismiss most of them. I suck at applying judgment to determine which ones to pursue. I think this is a general Pe dom problem though... my life gets led by the ideas I generate. Whereas I think for Ji doms, they would have an internal vision of what they want first, then go out into the world and find what they need specifically. Whereas Pe doms have to apply judgment to select which ideas to pursue, after they've already been generated. And they all seem good, because apparently I have shitty judgment.
- Frequently better at taking the initiative in starting something than at finishing it, leaving others to profit from their idea
- Like to see quick results, and if failing that, their attention is readily distracted by something else
- Show more impulsive energy than concentrated will-power.
Newly-generated ideas always seem better, so I start various projects with enthusiasm before abandoning them. Again, though, this seems to apply to ESxPs as well.
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I also found this interesting:
Si in the Inferior Position
Si provides information about the fixed and stable, the facts / constancies of the universe. At it's best, it provides such information as a firm basis for proceeding forward into the world. Where Si occupies the inferior position (as it does for those with dominant Ne), it is strongly tainted with unconscious contents. In these cases, Si may manifest as negative/malevolent images of eternal tendencies in people and situations that will not change. Such tendencies may well be present, but inferior Si sees the part as the whole. Inferior Si is also linked to feelings of nostalgia, overwhelmingly vivid internal imagery and a selective recall of facts and memories that are highly emotionally charged.
The bolded is spot on. I get flooded with these thoughts involuntarily, when stressed for other reasons. It works like, "What's the use? People will never change." Usually I don't think like that at all -- I'm pretty optimistic and I generally believe that, whether or not people will change in ways I think are beneficial, I can generally live my life with options open. However, in these stressed moments I seem to lose all hope for change and solutions; it seems as if I have no options at all. I find patterns in people's behaviour that are constant... and then i start to believe that the problems caused by these patterns are insoluble because the root of the problem is human tendencies themselves. The tendencies might indeed be there but they're generally not unchanging, and I'm able to see them for what they are when not-stressed. The problem is that, when stressed, I jump to conclusions and lose my ability to distinguish some people from all people.
(I have observed that my ESFJ friend is like this when not stressed... he believes people/things are hopeless, will never change, etc. all the time. So I think this might be Si/Fe something....)
Thankfully I'm not stressed very often.
I also have "selective recall of facts and memories that are highly emotionally charged." I get flooding of unpleasant memories in a way that doesn't happen when I'm not stressed.
BUT
all of that might be confirmation bias since I'm considering the two ETP types and this matches up to one of them. It might also be very widely applicable and too general to be relatable to only (E)NPs.