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Introverted Sensing (Si).
Introverted Sensing is nothing more, nor less, than a perception function.
It is an exclusive method of receiving and processing information, focused on what 'is'.
I intend the word 'exclusive' to mean, it excludes other information concerned with what 'is'.
Therefore, Si is a narrow and focused perception function – and the information it prefers to concern itself with, is derived directly from something specific that 'is'.
To put this into laymens terms – Si is neutral towards everything that doesn't pique it's interest.
Example
To envision Si embodied, imagine a miner. They go to the same mine every day, chipping away, and ignoring everything they unearth that isn't gold or diamonds. To them, this is the mine. The gold, the diamonds, this is what they perceive the mine as being – they see past the literal mine as a hole in the ground and a shittonne of dirt, and are focused on their own perceptions of what the mine is.
Obviously, this links beautifully with Ne – possibilities – the Si type will see the mine as something therefore full of potential, full of this data/information that it is after and seeking to gather – imagine focusing on the gold and diamonds and blatantly ignoring the actual mine for what it [bi]literally[/i] is.
This, is the heart of Si.
End example
Example
Another way to envision Si, would be to picture it as somebody foraging in the forest – think Stardew Valley – searching for berries, useful pieces of wood, useful rocks, things to create weapons with, sources of food etc – this is Si. Si doesn't care for the forest, it's concerned with how it perceives the forest – which is as a source of useful information. In looking at the forest from the outside, the Si user is focused on it's own subjective impression of the forest – what it means to the Si user – not so much, the forest for what it actually is.
For fear of this turning into the old “can't see the forest for the trees” NvS bullshit we see, understand how crucially important, and creative this is.
Rather than seeing the forest as merely a forest, rather than merely seeing the horseshit “big picture” - the Si type sees potential – in conjunction with their inferior, unadultered Ne, they see potential in the forest.
They see useful information. The perceive the forest in a completely different way, and as something far more, far bigger, far deeper, than simply a forest.
I will touch on the effects of Ne and how it works with Si, later in this post.
End example
Apply this mentality, to everything – ideas, thoughts, beliefs, people, inanimate objects, animals etc, and you will begin to realise how powerful, and beautiful, Si is – as well as how vastly different it is, to the image we all have in our head of it, as being some 'detail-oriented, tradition-keeping busy-bee worker ant' image.
It is far more than that.
First and foremost, typology is about people – so let's apply this mentality, the heart of Si – to people.
Example
The Si type is out and about, at a cafe, writing up another post in their astrology blog and someone catches their eye as they walk in the door – right here, Si zones in not on the person, specifically – rather, how they perceive the person.
So the Si type will perhaps look at the persons clothes, their hair, their shoes, their watch, the colour of their eyes, their mannerisms, their voice, the way they walk etc etc and be more interested in their own subjective impressions of these facets of the person – the person themselves, might as well simply be an 'idea' – Si types have a disconnect from reality in this regard.
The might therefore, wind up thinking the person has a cheap taste in clothing, or maybe they're poor – can't afford better clothes? Might be their upbringing. What's with the hair? It's not the '80s anymore bro, mullets are out. Rolex watch is interesting, doesn't really match how I've perceived him so far - his mannerisms don't really add up either, he's too composed – oh, the voice, that accent – okay, so he's probably from a richer family – people with that posh London accent always are, I guess he's just having a bad day or having some bad times back at home at the moment that would explain the clothes.. you get the picture.
In this example, the focus is on the users perceptions of the person – not the person, as they are, literally. I realise my example here might be tinged with either a feeling style of evaluation, however this is beside the point – I want to get across that Si types aren't particularly interested in reality as it is, per say, rather their own perceptions of it, and it's a very focused and narrow form of perception – note the above example pertains to a person, not the person in context of their surroundings or anything else that's not the person.
Si is interested only, I repeat only, in things that pique it's interest.
It is very, very narrow.
Anything that doesn't pique the Si types interest is met with neutrality.
..
Si is a concrete sensation function, from Jung himself:
For a demonstration of Si, on this very forum, in perfect harmony with all of the above, see this post, simply replace the mine, the forest and the flower, with 'avatar' and everything will click into place:
http://personalitycafe.com/cognitive-functions/1180025-tendency-indicative-specific-function.html
Please don't bitch about this link nor target it in any responses, because that would deviate from the topic and I truly only want to highlight Si in this thread and that post is too good an example of it to let slide.
..
With regards to the detail-oriented aspects of Si – this is evidenced throughout all of the above – Si is absolutely concerned with details, however the details it is concerned with, and pays attention to, are highly selective.
They are selective in that it only pays attention to details concerning things it is interested in – which for the most part, probably isn't much at all.
This hyper focus on details related to interests, is the reason Si types are regarded as generally having good memories, or being detail-focused, however to accept this at face value would be a critical error with regards to understanding Si, what it is and how it works.
Consider the above example with the person who walked into the cafe – could the Si type tell you for instance, what other people were doing whilst they were focused on their own perceptions pertaining to the newcomer? Could they tell you how many coffees someone else drank, or even how many sips they themselves took during this period of time? What about recalling literally anything that anybody said?
Probably a resounding no to all of this, because in these moments where they are focused on an interest, they practically zone the world out.
Absolutely nothing like the aware and present general Sensor stereotype.
..
These impressions, these perceptions, are stored as memories – they have to be, this is the information they are focused on, therefore this is the information they collect and recall in their mind.
It therefore makes sense that the Si type would be able to recall specific information when they recall these perceptions and these impressions – ergo, if asked about the person who came in – they would recall the impressions they were receiving, and then be able to go into detail about what it was they were observing.
It also then, makes sense, that Si types would be observant to, collect, and recall, vibes – or feelings – associated/attached to these impressions – or perhaps the feeling or vibe itself would BE the object of the Si types focus, therefore they could vividly recall the feeling or vibe at a later date.
Consider the same situation with the newcomer – and imagine you get a general uneasy feeling about him, you might not be able to pin-point it.. right here, there are a couple of possibilities, related to Si.
First is that – you have observed something that matches with something else you have perceived in the past – maybe the Rolex watch is identical to that of someone you don't like – without immediately recalling that piece of information, you simply recall the vibe of that impression – so now, in the present moment, the Si type is overlaying a previous impression with reality.
Sounds like magic.
Another possibility is that this situation becomes an impression or vibe that may be recalled at a later date – consider if the newcomer does something to irk you, or make you feel 'off' about him – so later down the track, you notice someone walking that exact same way – you would overlay the impression you had of the newcomer, with the reality you are currently experiencing, and be focused on your own perceptions, rather than the simple fact that this is a different person altogether.
In saying this – now, think about deja vu.
What if deja vu, is connected to Si – what if the moments I outlayed above, where the past is being merged with the present – is Si – it makes perfect, logical sense to me, that this would be how deja vu occurs.
What I've described, would feel like intuition, if you couldn't pinpoint the cause of the uneasiness – consider seeing that person with the same Rolex watch – all you know, is your intuition is telling you.. something is off here, and I can't pinpoint it – but it's not, it's introverted sensing – it's a hyper focus of attention to detail, on something that has piqued your interest in one way or another – and it's focused on a vibe/feeling – I truly believe that Si would work this way – not exclusively related to things it literally observes – I believe feelings and vibes are a part of what can be observed/perceived and therefore – something Si types can recall and pay attention to.
…
With regards to the relationship between Si and Ne – Jung described this as essentially Ne having a darker flavour, when thinking about future possibilities.
I suppose, this is where the 'stuck in the past' stereotype stems from.
I don't see it this way, I read what Jung wrote as more of Si having a dark creativity of sorts – the simple fact is, Si types still look to the future – their inferior Ne just has a less optimistic view about it, than it does in a higher position.
So when people get those hunches, those feelings something bad is about to happen – motherfucker that is DOMINANT SI and INFERIOR NE. It's not Ni.
Negative thoughts about the future, are Si.
Si rummages the forest for berries etc to prepare for the future.
Si mines all the gold and the diamonds to prepare for the future.
It focuses on it's own subjective impressions of things in order to prepare itself for the future – it is an information gathering process and the way it works is it mines the absolute depths of what intrigues it, in order to be better prepared.
Even the example with the newcomer in the cafe – Si is obtaining information, which is may then use at a later date – it's preparing. For what, who knows precisely, but it's gathering and preparing for the dark Ne storm/s that may or may not ever come I.e not having enough food, not having enough money, not enough information, etc.
I want to point out, that having a darker view towards the future, when thinking about possibilities doesn't necessarily mean the Si type is scared of the future, or prefers the past.
They're simply preparing for the worst. This doesn't mean they believe in it, you could almost consider the way Si works, to be something akin to “just in case” - and then that “just in case” information is pulled from at later dates, when it needs to be – when the storm has come, so to speak I.e recalling and overlaying vibes from the past with the present moment – this reflects that the “time has come” for Si to do it's thing. It's spotted something and thought “oh shit, I know about this” and practically transported the Si user into some alternate reality.
..
I would absolutely love to hear from everyone on my thoughts regarding Si, especially Si types like @Stevester and @AllyKat who are confident in their type.
Am I idolising Si and turning it into something it isn't - essentially mystifying it, or am I on the right track?
I'd vastly prefer original thoughts on Si, rather than copy-pastes from whatever shitty typology blog y'all scab your information from.
Introverted Sensing is nothing more, nor less, than a perception function.
It is an exclusive method of receiving and processing information, focused on what 'is'.
I intend the word 'exclusive' to mean, it excludes other information concerned with what 'is'.
Therefore, Si is a narrow and focused perception function – and the information it prefers to concern itself with, is derived directly from something specific that 'is'.
To put this into laymens terms – Si is neutral towards everything that doesn't pique it's interest.
Example
To envision Si embodied, imagine a miner. They go to the same mine every day, chipping away, and ignoring everything they unearth that isn't gold or diamonds. To them, this is the mine. The gold, the diamonds, this is what they perceive the mine as being – they see past the literal mine as a hole in the ground and a shittonne of dirt, and are focused on their own perceptions of what the mine is.
Obviously, this links beautifully with Ne – possibilities – the Si type will see the mine as something therefore full of potential, full of this data/information that it is after and seeking to gather – imagine focusing on the gold and diamonds and blatantly ignoring the actual mine for what it [bi]literally[/i] is.
This, is the heart of Si.
End example
Example
Another way to envision Si, would be to picture it as somebody foraging in the forest – think Stardew Valley – searching for berries, useful pieces of wood, useful rocks, things to create weapons with, sources of food etc – this is Si. Si doesn't care for the forest, it's concerned with how it perceives the forest – which is as a source of useful information. In looking at the forest from the outside, the Si user is focused on it's own subjective impression of the forest – what it means to the Si user – not so much, the forest for what it actually is.
For fear of this turning into the old “can't see the forest for the trees” NvS bullshit we see, understand how crucially important, and creative this is.
Rather than seeing the forest as merely a forest, rather than merely seeing the horseshit “big picture” - the Si type sees potential – in conjunction with their inferior, unadultered Ne, they see potential in the forest.
They see useful information. The perceive the forest in a completely different way, and as something far more, far bigger, far deeper, than simply a forest.
I will touch on the effects of Ne and how it works with Si, later in this post.
End example
Apply this mentality, to everything – ideas, thoughts, beliefs, people, inanimate objects, animals etc, and you will begin to realise how powerful, and beautiful, Si is – as well as how vastly different it is, to the image we all have in our head of it, as being some 'detail-oriented, tradition-keeping busy-bee worker ant' image.
It is far more than that.
First and foremost, typology is about people – so let's apply this mentality, the heart of Si – to people.
Example
The Si type is out and about, at a cafe, writing up another post in their astrology blog and someone catches their eye as they walk in the door – right here, Si zones in not on the person, specifically – rather, how they perceive the person.
So the Si type will perhaps look at the persons clothes, their hair, their shoes, their watch, the colour of their eyes, their mannerisms, their voice, the way they walk etc etc and be more interested in their own subjective impressions of these facets of the person – the person themselves, might as well simply be an 'idea' – Si types have a disconnect from reality in this regard.
The might therefore, wind up thinking the person has a cheap taste in clothing, or maybe they're poor – can't afford better clothes? Might be their upbringing. What's with the hair? It's not the '80s anymore bro, mullets are out. Rolex watch is interesting, doesn't really match how I've perceived him so far - his mannerisms don't really add up either, he's too composed – oh, the voice, that accent – okay, so he's probably from a richer family – people with that posh London accent always are, I guess he's just having a bad day or having some bad times back at home at the moment that would explain the clothes.. you get the picture.
In this example, the focus is on the users perceptions of the person – not the person, as they are, literally. I realise my example here might be tinged with either a feeling style of evaluation, however this is beside the point – I want to get across that Si types aren't particularly interested in reality as it is, per say, rather their own perceptions of it, and it's a very focused and narrow form of perception – note the above example pertains to a person, not the person in context of their surroundings or anything else that's not the person.
Si is interested only, I repeat only, in things that pique it's interest.
It is very, very narrow.
Anything that doesn't pique the Si types interest is met with neutrality.
..
Si is a concrete sensation function, from Jung himself:
You can see how this very clearly ties into the above examples I provided with regards to how I see Si.
For a demonstration of Si, on this very forum, in perfect harmony with all of the above, see this post, simply replace the mine, the forest and the flower, with 'avatar' and everything will click into place:
http://personalitycafe.com/cognitive-functions/1180025-tendency-indicative-specific-function.html
Please don't bitch about this link nor target it in any responses, because that would deviate from the topic and I truly only want to highlight Si in this thread and that post is too good an example of it to let slide.
..
With regards to the detail-oriented aspects of Si – this is evidenced throughout all of the above – Si is absolutely concerned with details, however the details it is concerned with, and pays attention to, are highly selective.
They are selective in that it only pays attention to details concerning things it is interested in – which for the most part, probably isn't much at all.
This hyper focus on details related to interests, is the reason Si types are regarded as generally having good memories, or being detail-focused, however to accept this at face value would be a critical error with regards to understanding Si, what it is and how it works.
Consider the above example with the person who walked into the cafe – could the Si type tell you for instance, what other people were doing whilst they were focused on their own perceptions pertaining to the newcomer? Could they tell you how many coffees someone else drank, or even how many sips they themselves took during this period of time? What about recalling literally anything that anybody said?
Probably a resounding no to all of this, because in these moments where they are focused on an interest, they practically zone the world out.
Absolutely nothing like the aware and present general Sensor stereotype.
..
These impressions, these perceptions, are stored as memories – they have to be, this is the information they are focused on, therefore this is the information they collect and recall in their mind.
It therefore makes sense that the Si type would be able to recall specific information when they recall these perceptions and these impressions – ergo, if asked about the person who came in – they would recall the impressions they were receiving, and then be able to go into detail about what it was they were observing.
It also then, makes sense, that Si types would be observant to, collect, and recall, vibes – or feelings – associated/attached to these impressions – or perhaps the feeling or vibe itself would BE the object of the Si types focus, therefore they could vividly recall the feeling or vibe at a later date.
Consider the same situation with the newcomer – and imagine you get a general uneasy feeling about him, you might not be able to pin-point it.. right here, there are a couple of possibilities, related to Si.
First is that – you have observed something that matches with something else you have perceived in the past – maybe the Rolex watch is identical to that of someone you don't like – without immediately recalling that piece of information, you simply recall the vibe of that impression – so now, in the present moment, the Si type is overlaying a previous impression with reality.
Sounds like magic.
Another possibility is that this situation becomes an impression or vibe that may be recalled at a later date – consider if the newcomer does something to irk you, or make you feel 'off' about him – so later down the track, you notice someone walking that exact same way – you would overlay the impression you had of the newcomer, with the reality you are currently experiencing, and be focused on your own perceptions, rather than the simple fact that this is a different person altogether.
In saying this – now, think about deja vu.
What if deja vu, is connected to Si – what if the moments I outlayed above, where the past is being merged with the present – is Si – it makes perfect, logical sense to me, that this would be how deja vu occurs.
What I've described, would feel like intuition, if you couldn't pinpoint the cause of the uneasiness – consider seeing that person with the same Rolex watch – all you know, is your intuition is telling you.. something is off here, and I can't pinpoint it – but it's not, it's introverted sensing – it's a hyper focus of attention to detail, on something that has piqued your interest in one way or another – and it's focused on a vibe/feeling – I truly believe that Si would work this way – not exclusively related to things it literally observes – I believe feelings and vibes are a part of what can be observed/perceived and therefore – something Si types can recall and pay attention to.
…
With regards to the relationship between Si and Ne – Jung described this as essentially Ne having a darker flavour, when thinking about future possibilities.
I suppose, this is where the 'stuck in the past' stereotype stems from.
I don't see it this way, I read what Jung wrote as more of Si having a dark creativity of sorts – the simple fact is, Si types still look to the future – their inferior Ne just has a less optimistic view about it, than it does in a higher position.
So when people get those hunches, those feelings something bad is about to happen – motherfucker that is DOMINANT SI and INFERIOR NE. It's not Ni.
Negative thoughts about the future, are Si.
Si rummages the forest for berries etc to prepare for the future.
Si mines all the gold and the diamonds to prepare for the future.
It focuses on it's own subjective impressions of things in order to prepare itself for the future – it is an information gathering process and the way it works is it mines the absolute depths of what intrigues it, in order to be better prepared.
Even the example with the newcomer in the cafe – Si is obtaining information, which is may then use at a later date – it's preparing. For what, who knows precisely, but it's gathering and preparing for the dark Ne storm/s that may or may not ever come I.e not having enough food, not having enough money, not enough information, etc.
I want to point out, that having a darker view towards the future, when thinking about possibilities doesn't necessarily mean the Si type is scared of the future, or prefers the past.
They're simply preparing for the worst. This doesn't mean they believe in it, you could almost consider the way Si works, to be something akin to “just in case” - and then that “just in case” information is pulled from at later dates, when it needs to be – when the storm has come, so to speak I.e recalling and overlaying vibes from the past with the present moment – this reflects that the “time has come” for Si to do it's thing. It's spotted something and thought “oh shit, I know about this” and practically transported the Si user into some alternate reality.
..
I would absolutely love to hear from everyone on my thoughts regarding Si, especially Si types like @Stevester and @AllyKat who are confident in their type.
Am I idolising Si and turning it into something it isn't - essentially mystifying it, or am I on the right track?
I'd vastly prefer original thoughts on Si, rather than copy-pastes from whatever shitty typology blog y'all scab your information from.
