Wanonymous
New member
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
- Messages
- 25
- MBTI Type
- INFJ
Si vs Ni (for those interested):
What I noticed is that there are many different explanations, some opposing each other. This is obviously confusing. I also noticed that most descriptions of the functions were mostly just describing behaviors associated with the functions, not how the functions really work. Using words such as "tend" and "may" for example the Ni user may...blah blah adds further uncertainty. The descriptions I'm going to give are what most people seem to agree on, simplified, without the uncertainty of many subjective details. Just keep this in mind. I believe these are the closest to an objective correct description, but again these are my descriptions and others will disagree.
Introverted Sensing (Si):
From introverted we understand that this is an internal process (the focus is on the person's mind) and from sensing we understand that this is concerned with concrete perception, what the 5 senses can detect. Combine the two terms and we realize that Si is: Internal concrete perception, but what does this mean? Let's use an example: The Si user looks at a flower (the flower is the concrete perception), but the main focus isn't on the the flower itself, instead the person focuses on his mind (internal). When an Si user sees the flower, it is immediately compared with a storehouse of information in the persons mind. This often produces an image in the person's head of whatever is associated with the flower. So the Si user is only referencing, comparing the external sensory perception with internal information. It doesn't mean that the Si user constantly does this, but he will often do it (probably without realizing it at first). I would think this is most noticeable when the Si user is shown something NEW, let's say a new pair of shoes. Try thinking about this. Do you automatically relate perceptions to something else? What about the times someone showed you something new?
Introverted intuition:
From "introverted" we understand that this is an internal process (in the person's mind) and from "intuition" we understand that this is about in-concrete (abstract) perception, more specifically it's about patterns and connections. An Ni user is used to experiencing sudden insights. The way it works is this: a person constantly collects lots of information in his life. What Ni does is that it takes this information, connects and compares it with stored information and condenses it to give one insight. Ni is similar to Si in that stored information is compared with, BUT the main difference is that Ni is unconscious and automatically makes connections and sees patterns. Si doesn't connect the information and it's conscious. Keep in mind that I'm talking about the functions on their own, isolated. Isolated Ni makes connections and Si doesn't. Both functions are visual in nature, so they can be very similar. For example: Let's say you're reading a book that contains new information, for example explaining why the sky is blue. The Si user suddenly sees an image of waves when reading a paragraph. Let's say the Ni user also suddenly sees the same image. The difference here is that the Si user can identify why this picture occured in his mind, it's because he is comparing to something he for example learnt in physics class. There's a direct link, the user is able to realize that all that happened was a reference to a past physics class, something that was learnt. The Si user is consciously comparing, that's an other difference between Ni and Si. Now let's look at Ni: Ni sees the same picture of waves, but the user has no control over these images (it is an unconscious function). Because of this unconsciousness the Ni user cannot directly identify exactly how the present information was related to the stored information. The user can try to write this down on paper and try identifying the connections that were triggered by that read paragraph, but they will always be incomplete and not as elegant as Ni really is.
What I noticed is that there are many different explanations, some opposing each other. This is obviously confusing. I also noticed that most descriptions of the functions were mostly just describing behaviors associated with the functions, not how the functions really work. Using words such as "tend" and "may" for example the Ni user may...blah blah adds further uncertainty. The descriptions I'm going to give are what most people seem to agree on, simplified, without the uncertainty of many subjective details. Just keep this in mind. I believe these are the closest to an objective correct description, but again these are my descriptions and others will disagree.
Introverted Sensing (Si):
From introverted we understand that this is an internal process (the focus is on the person's mind) and from sensing we understand that this is concerned with concrete perception, what the 5 senses can detect. Combine the two terms and we realize that Si is: Internal concrete perception, but what does this mean? Let's use an example: The Si user looks at a flower (the flower is the concrete perception), but the main focus isn't on the the flower itself, instead the person focuses on his mind (internal). When an Si user sees the flower, it is immediately compared with a storehouse of information in the persons mind. This often produces an image in the person's head of whatever is associated with the flower. So the Si user is only referencing, comparing the external sensory perception with internal information. It doesn't mean that the Si user constantly does this, but he will often do it (probably without realizing it at first). I would think this is most noticeable when the Si user is shown something NEW, let's say a new pair of shoes. Try thinking about this. Do you automatically relate perceptions to something else? What about the times someone showed you something new?
Introverted intuition:
From "introverted" we understand that this is an internal process (in the person's mind) and from "intuition" we understand that this is about in-concrete (abstract) perception, more specifically it's about patterns and connections. An Ni user is used to experiencing sudden insights. The way it works is this: a person constantly collects lots of information in his life. What Ni does is that it takes this information, connects and compares it with stored information and condenses it to give one insight. Ni is similar to Si in that stored information is compared with, BUT the main difference is that Ni is unconscious and automatically makes connections and sees patterns. Si doesn't connect the information and it's conscious. Keep in mind that I'm talking about the functions on their own, isolated. Isolated Ni makes connections and Si doesn't. Both functions are visual in nature, so they can be very similar. For example: Let's say you're reading a book that contains new information, for example explaining why the sky is blue. The Si user suddenly sees an image of waves when reading a paragraph. Let's say the Ni user also suddenly sees the same image. The difference here is that the Si user can identify why this picture occured in his mind, it's because he is comparing to something he for example learnt in physics class. There's a direct link, the user is able to realize that all that happened was a reference to a past physics class, something that was learnt. The Si user is consciously comparing, that's an other difference between Ni and Si. Now let's look at Ni: Ni sees the same picture of waves, but the user has no control over these images (it is an unconscious function). Because of this unconsciousness the Ni user cannot directly identify exactly how the present information was related to the stored information. The user can try to write this down on paper and try identifying the connections that were triggered by that read paragraph, but they will always be incomplete and not as elegant as Ni really is.
