[Si] Dear INTPs your Si

[Sizzling Berry]

Dear INTPs how does your Introverted Sensing work? How do you use it?

 

[Dooraven]

I'm not really sure how to describe Si but here is an explanation I found which is pretty accurate.

An INTP Profile

 

[BlueGray]

^ the part about Si is very accurate. Every important part and most of the lesser parts of the Si description fit. Memories, sense of atmosphere etc all resonate strongly with me. The most common way of using Si to accomplish something is probably through getting information from memories and internal thoughts.

 

[sofmarhof]

My response to Dooraven's link:

I'm sort of an aesthete, but in a kind of "platonic" sense, so nobody would ever guess it. I am interested in fashion, but the way I dress doesn't reflect that at all. People have commented on it--I dress in the most nondescript way, don't even care about stains much, so people are really surprised when I start going on about 18th century gowns. This is changing, when I have money I shop for nicer things, but I don't put any thought into what I wear every day. I doubt I'll ever look like someone who's into fashion.

I also care about interior decoration, though you wouldn't tell from seeing my room. I have nothing on my walls, my room is usually somewhat cluttered; if I clean, it is extremely spartan. I picked the simplest furniture. But it's not because I like that style. Really, I love Rococo furnishings, and my ideal home would be a simplified, slightly rugged Rococo.

So, the aesthetic sense I have in my mind is rarely expressed in the outside world. I think it's partially out of an "all or nothing" sense. Getting one fancy picture frame wouldn't give me much pleasure because I wouldn't notice it; I would have to do the whole room to feel the ambiance of a certain style. So until I'm living somewhere I know I'll be living for a long time, I won't bother. But that does make me want to settle soon, so I can start that project.

When traveling, I mostly want to walk around, read in parks, and sit in cafes, I don't want to do a lot of sightseeing. I wouldn't bother going on a trip if I had to stay in a crummy hostel; or rather, I would save and go on vacation once every five years instead of every year in order to stay in a nicer place.

I love things from the past, such as historical fashion and design. I love period films (I'm pretty much the only person in the world who liked Marie Antoinette, I think) and any TV show with a highly stylized look, like Carnivale or Pushing Daisies. For my last birthday, I made my friends watch Black Adder III and eat fancy pastries with me, but I was bummed that we didn't wear costumes for it. If only I had any friends who liked Marie Antoinette and would do that with me. (I really, really like fancy pastries.)

Regarding sentimentality/hoarding: I must buy books, rather than borrow them, though I almost never re-read them. I was in a cooking class in first grade, and a lot of the things we made were more about decoration than cooking; I had to take a picture of everything I took home, but I never looked at the pictures. But compared to most people I am very good at getting rid of things; its really only books and things I've made that I have to keep, and I'm even pretty quick to get rid of things I've made (which I sometimes regret). I can not stand keeping anything associated with bad memories around, which is why I throw away any school-related papers as soon as the semester's over.

 

[sofmarhof]

Bump! Sorry if my essay of a post was too hijack-y.

 

[BlueGray]

I agree with the need to get something done either right or not at all. It seems so pointless to only get some small piece accomplished that is never really noticed.

 

[jellyfish]

That link is pretty good. I never quite knew how to describe how i felt about memories, but that's it exactly. I'm always disappointed if the atmosphere changes in a place I haven't been to in a while. The reason I chose to work at an aquarium is because I love the atmosphere of most aquariums. Atmosphere is really important to me, though I probably couldn't tell you any details of a place that had what i consider a perfect atmosphere. I collect things, too, but not things of a certain kind, that would be considered valuable by anyone other than me, more like a collection of unrelated items that mean a specific thing to me.

The fact that "melancholic" was spelled incorrectly on that website is really bothering me, though.

 

[Spamtar]

My Si is not too great for me. I am kinda a slob and my stuff is disorganized. I get lost and forget where I parked my car in parking structures or even on the street. It seem like as well as a disconnect with space I also have a disconnect with time. I have a hard time throwing away junk. I tend to value memories and nostalgia more than others. Think about the past see what I did right and wrong and try to keep what is right and discard what is wrong but then forget about my specific plans while doing the act (regardless going through this exercise helps prepare). In general pretty oblivious to the details of my physical environment and more concerned with just taking in a general feel.

I think I differ from a lot of INTPs in that when I choose I can be a fashionable and well dressed although it tends to be a bit erratic. One day I can be in my Italian suit with tie and cuffs and looking sharp and GQ the next day I can be in cutoff shorts T shirt and a beanie (but still looking pretty cool or cooler than most) Am complemented a lot about how I dress. Think it is because my Dad was always a spiffy dresser. I do however need to take the time to hang up my clothes because I have been caught several times with wrinkles in my dress slacks.

Boxes of stuff, dishes in the sink, files mixed and a long time to reorganize with a lot of distractions along the way; clearly not one of my strong points AT ALL.

I am convinced I am an introvert but nevertheless it feels like my Fe is stronger than my Si.

 

[Gen]

I don't use Si; it uses me.

 

[Begoner]

Si also makes me quite nostalgic; for example, I remember that while everybody else was celebrating elementary/middle/high school being over after graduation, I just felt sad that one chapter of my life was irrevocably closed.

 

[_Violence_]

Tertiary Si is one the primary reasons why I feel I can't be an INTP.

 

[VagrantFarce]

• I sometimes find myself obsessing over small changes in my environment, my food, my apperance etc. when I'm feeling stressed.
• When I get heavily involved in an argument, I can easily obsess over tiny, insignificant details that mean nothing to whatever I'm arguing about, but I'll argue about them anyway in order to "win".
• I often feel strangely disorientated when I'm somewhere I haven't been before, and I often need to find my bearings or "footing" before moving ahead (this is especially "fun" when driving).
• I can sometimes be wary of new or unusual experiences; this can involve anything from trying a new food to talking to a complete stranger.
• I can be very nostalgic about events, places, people etc. in the past, and I sometimes find it hard to throw old junk out because they remind me of those specific moments.
• Things around me can also trigger bad memories, and I suddenly feel like crap. e.g. If I remember an embarrassing social moment, I will literally start to feel embarassed, and might even start blushing involuntarily. It's as if your body is re-enacting "how it felt" during that moment.

In general, having Tertiary-Si means that my natural response to new or unusual things is "I don't know what will happen, I might be better off just not getting involved, even if I miss out on something good". I need to consciously convince myself to get excited about whatever might happen (Auxillary-Ne) if I'm ever going to move forward and enjoy myself.

Memento is an amazing Si/Ne film.

 

[sofmarhof]

Things around me can also trigger bad memories, and I suddenly feel like crap. e.g. If I remember an embarrassing social moment, I will literally start to feel embarassed, and might even start blushing involuntarily. It's as if your body is re-enacting "how it felt" during that moment.

Me too. And yet, somehow if something embarrassing happens to me, I often feel the need to tell my friends about it. So then I'll have a friend laughing hysterically at me, when they never would have known about whatever it was unless I told them.

 

[_Violence_]

• I sometimes find myself obsessing over small changes in my environment, my food, my apperance etc. when I'm feeling stressed.

• 
  
  Despite being an extreme introvert I'm into shit like fashion, I care a lot about getting a perfect haircut, looking good, nice clothes, etc. Little things in my food also bothers me.
  
  

  [*]When I get heavily involved in an argument, I can easily obsess over tiny, insignificant details that mean nothing to whatever I'm arguing about, but I'll argue about them anyway in order to "win".

  
  Probably, something like that.
  
  

  [*]I often feel strangely disorientated when I'm somewhere I haven't been before, and I often need to find my bearings or "footing" before moving ahead (this is especially "fun" when driving).

  
  Not really sure what you mean by this.
  
  

  [*]I can sometimes be wary of new or unusual experiences; this can involve anything from trying a new food to talking to a complete stranger.

  
  Think before you act. But a lot of times I just throw caution to the wind and say the hell to it.
  
  

  [*]I can be very nostalgic about events, places, people etc. in the past, and I sometimes find it hard to throw old junk out because they remind me of those specific moments.

  
  Yes I am exactly like this as well.
  
  

  [*]Things around me can also trigger bad memories, and I suddenly feel like crap. e.g. If I remember an embarrassing social moment, I will literally start to feel embarassed, and might even start blushing involuntarily. It's as if your body is re-enacting "how it felt" during that moment.

Little signs or objects that I see will trigger a connection in my brain between said thing and a bad memory, or good ones too.

In general, having Tertiary-Si means that my natural response to new or unusual things is "I don't know what will happen, I might be better off just not getting involved, even if I miss out on something good". I need to consciously convince myself to get excited about whatever might happen (Auxillary-Ne) if I'm ever going to move forward and enjoy myself.

For me it seems to be a constant struggle of whether to actually try not things or not because I both fear and am fascinated the the unknown and "seemingly limitless" potentials.

 

[Unique]

• I sometimes find myself obsessing over small changes in my environment, my food, my apperance etc. when I'm feeling stressed.
• When I get heavily involved in an argument, I can easily obsess over tiny, insignificant details that mean nothing to whatever I'm arguing about, but I'll argue about them anyway in order to "win".
• I often feel strangely disorientated when I'm somewhere I haven't been before, and I often need to find my bearings or "footing" before moving ahead (this is especially "fun" when driving).
• I can sometimes be wary of new or unusual experiences; this can involve anything from trying a new food to talking to a complete stranger.
• I can be very nostalgic about events, places, people etc. in the past, and I sometimes find it hard to throw old junk out because they remind me of those specific moments.
• Things around me can also trigger bad memories, and I suddenly feel like crap. e.g. If I remember an embarrassing social moment, I will literally start to feel embarassed, and might even start blushing involuntarily. It's as if your body is re-enacting "how it felt" during that moment.

In general, having Tertiary-Si means that my natural response to new or unusual things is "I don't know what will happen, I might be better off just not getting involved, even if I miss out on something good". I need to consciously convince myself to get excited about whatever might happen (Auxillary-Ne) if I'm ever going to move forward and enjoy myself.

Memento is an amazing Si/Ne film.

Yeah most of this I can relate to

I personally love Si in arguments though, sometimes that one detail is all you need to pin down your opposition

 

[paintmuffin]

Okay. I read this thread. I'm officially an INTP.

edit -- i feel the need to elaborate.

-I have been going through an OCD phase lately. For instance, whenever I lose something, I need to find it, or I won't be able to concentrate on anything I do. I drop everything I'm doing and spend hours looking for it. I once did this for the squishy part of a pair of earbuds. I realized I'd lost them at 11pm, and stayed up til 2am looking for it. I found it. On the floor of my car. Also, I need to be really well-groomed.... all the time. Otherwise, again, I won't be able to concentrate on anything.

-I've always had a knack for remembering things, and I like having a storehouse of information to compare things to. Memories are important to me (a little while ago I tricked myself into denying this fact; I think that's why I thought I was an ENTP.)

-Nostalgia -- enough said.

-Speaking of having a storehouse of information to compare things to, I'm in love with the idea of large collections of things. It's my mission in life to own a huge house with a huge library, a huge kitchen, and have as much music on my iTunes as possible.

-I'm pretty aesthetic, too, for an N. I've been called good at drawing, I love art, and I'm obsessed with developing good taste in music.


I always thought my increasingly strong ability to blend in with society (even though my mind often runs on different frequencies than people around me) was because of Fe. I think Si makes more sense, though, reading this.

 

[Fluffywolf]

My Si feels so alien. But I do use it. But much more unconsciously. I don't really enjoy indulging my thoughts on Si all that much.

That said, I've experienced some hardships that I got over in my life, and have needed to force my Ti so far up front, and push my Si so far back, in order to get out of a very unhealthy pit.

Since then, my Si seems trickling back very slowly. But I still don't tend to rely on it all that much. At least not when concerning the major things. I try to see every experience as a new one, and not allow Si to prevent me from doing what I feel I must in order to keep myself and my other cognative functions healthy and happy.

I've got a personal Si remote controller now.