Introverted Sensing (Si) is More Valuable than You Think it is
I touched on this a little in another post I made, but it wasn't the main focus, so I'm making this it's own thing.
Introverted Sensing (Si) is most frequently referred to as using tradition as a way of perceiving things that lead to your judgements later. Some examples include following instructions to a T (or being unable to do things without said instructions), making lists, keeping daily planners, and referring to the past (often times personal memories, but can also be previously reported data) to inform the present.
These examples aren't necessarily wrong, but they are sometimes twisted in a negative way that can makes this cognitive function (and the associate types ISTJ, ISFJ, ESTJ, ESFJ) become interpretted as simple, thoughtless, repetititve, useless, boring, and "basic".
There is a much deeper side to Si that I think needs to be talked about, so that's what I'm going to do.
Introduction
Now, the flaws I listed above, also are not necessarily wrong. High Si uses can embody all of those negative traits, but it is much more rare than the iNtuitive bias would have you believe, because those negative traits come out when Si users are at their absolute worst.
And how often is anybody truly at their absolute worst?
I choose to think of Si predominantly not as tradition, but as a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP).
Standard Operating Procedure and Si
What is an SOP? An SOP is a detailed step-by-step list of instructions that you follow from start to finish in order to obtain a completely finished, fully function product/result.
Sounds very Si, doesn't it? That's because it is! And SOPs are absolutely mission critical to so many things in our daily lives because they ensure that a certain level of quality control (QC) and quality assurance (QA) is in place at all times. Some things absolutely need to be the exact same every single time because there is very little room for error and products need to consistently pass quality checks in order to be viable for general public use.
SOP Examples
If you don't follow the instructions exactly right, the cake you are baking will taste very badly. The furniture you are building will not be fully functional, or even unsafe to use. The scientific experiment you are doing will include bias, contamination, or simply will not work, and you won't produce any results.
Si is incredibly vital because by ensuring that everthing is done the exact same way every time, you should expect the same results every time. So when you do not get the same results, it is incredibly easy to notice, and focus heavily on why results are different than expected.
This is how we learn and make discoveries.
Conclusion
We aren't wrong about Si or what it means. We aren't wrong about it's potential pitfalls. We are wrong to focus so heavily on pitfalls and not focus on how effective and essential Si can be when it is being used productively.
Yes, Si can be very dry sometimes. But it is an essential dryness. It is intentionally dry and repetitive because it minimizes the possibility for error. And it constantly updates and innovates its step-by-step instructions as new information becomes available so that the instructions we follow are the most effective as possible.
Si ensures our success. We don't have to change what Si means, we have to change how we choose to view it. It may not always be the most exciting cognitive function, but it makes the world go round, and we need to appreciate the high Si users just as much as we do everyone else.
quirky 14 year old mbticels typing their families like:
dad: xstj cuz he MEAN AND BORING UGH!!! old man doesnt UNDERSTAND ME. 😡
mom: xsfj cuz nice :) still very boring an normie unfortunately (get well soon)
younger sibling: esxp/enfp cuz soooo louuudd and hyper🙄🙄
me: intj/intp/entp/infp swag big brain ethereal being because im deep. no one gets me. im just too intuitive and intelligent for these people. they just dont get it. ugh
So, if you are familiar with the MBTI and are very active about it online, you already know that there is a huge debate as to whether many sensors are (subconsciously) typing themselves as Intuitives because it’s way……..cooler?
Analyzing many testimonies, I think that this is actually a very true phenomenon and I’ve narrowed it down to four reasons as to why that is…
1) Intuitives are smarter than sensors: Because you know, Ni can predict things with minimal information and Ne looks at things under many different views rather than taking it as face value. But what does this have to do with intelligence? Both intuitives and sensors completely tap into their mental powers in analyzing things. Intuitives put more emphasis on possibilities and sensors put more emphasis on what is/has been. Doesn’t mean that the latter is short-sighted. They put just as much brain power on understanding how things work.
2) Intuitives are “deeper”: Very subjective term. I personally find that ISFPs for one, are very deep and contemplative individuals. we ALL use intuition. Just because it is lower for sensors, doesn’t mean they gloss over everything. Si, for example, takes in every painstaking details in mind. SPs on the other hand, use Ni to figure out implications of things. On the other hand, intuitives may disregard some valuable details of physical reality.
3) Intuitives are more imaginative and creative: As a Si-Dom I was described as a very imaginative child. Imagination is all about expanding on immediate reality. And while the latter may be more of a intuitive thing, doesn’t mean sensors can’t see behind reality. Bob Dylan anyone? Known to be one of the most poetic artists of his time, yet he’s universally considered a sensor.
4) Intuitives are more “"unique” than sensors: And THIS is where I think most of the problem stems from. Most people believe (with reason) that intuitives are a minority, like 75/25. And I believe that they are. Anyone rationally would. I mean, who the hell would wants be a sheep rather than a snowflake? If being an intuitive puts me into a whole other category, then yeah, I am an intuitive. But just because sensors have numbers and statistics going against them, doesn’t mean one should be ashamed/in denial about it, Every sensor is extremely unique. ISFJs for example: You’re not some basic, standard human being going along with social conventions. You have your own thoughts, feelings and value system. Own up to who you are and be proud of it. Stop deluding yourself that you’re an INFJ because you wanna be a special little angel. INFJs are very human just like you and me and in many cases……(may be) boring? I mean, they can be. Leanne from accounting? She’s an INFJ but she doesn’t have any special “powers” she’s just a law abding-citizen like you.
All of that being said, I’m not hating on intuitives. They’re awesome. They’re also very human, strengths, flaws and all. We’re all equal, just different ways of going about life, that is all.
me, ISFJ: how tall are you again in european measurements?
my buddy, ESTJ: 155cm
me: (whispers) that is really short...
ESTJ: thanks
me: it's okay though, it means you're fun sized!
ESTJ: don't ever call me that
Hiiii ! I'm finally completing the last mbti avatar with isfj✨ Thank you so much for all your support on this series I really appreciate it 🙏💙I only know two isfj so I hope I could represent you well 🙏
Are you an isfj? Show yourself or tag a friend who is !
I will draw couples dynamics next after a short hiatus ! I'm also considering making a webtoon!
hi, do you know what being an autistic isfj is like? i've been searching all over the internet for more information and couldn't find anything. i've also have been questioning about my type and such, like i've been typed as an isfj before, but i can't help but to feel skeptical about it, since i can be quite abstract about things and have my head in the clouds a lot, although i do relate to the inferior ne desc. such as imagining horrible possibilities, i'd appreciate your help <3
hello!
first off, thanks for sending me an ask. it makes me happy to know my insight is valued!
see, us ISFJs can also be quite abstract. i like to fantasise and i'm a rather creative person, and i have a tendency for superstition. and i'm not the only ISFJ you'll find that can relate to more classic intuitive traits; there are plenty of others on the ISFJ subreddit, for example.
as for being an autistic ISFJ... personally, my autism is something that i feel is what really influences my si-ti-ne combination:
si values the tried-and-true, the reliable; it's about the details first and everything else later. you will find this is quite common in us autistics too, we like for things to be familiar and predictable, and a great focus on detail is something i've been told by professionals is quite common.
i'm not sure if i've talked about it here, but during one of my tests, i recall needing to describe an image depicting a car crash - i went about all the details first, and once i'd scanned all of those, i managed to interpret the full image.
ti values the know-how of something; it wants to get down to the bottom of something to figure out how and why it works a certain way, often without a particular goal in mind; and it is inherently kind of tunnelvisioned in nature, from what i know. a lot of us will know a lot about particular subjects, but have no clue about something else.
ne is about possibility and new experiences; in its inferior spot, it can manifest as a fear of change due to unpredictability, or as catastrophic thinking. you will find this in many autistic individuals, you and i included! we like predictability, so we fear the unexpected because it might interfere with our routine.
as for my experience... well, i'm both autistic and for sure an ISxJ. i'm hesitant to say i'm ISTJ because i relate more to fe-ti, but then again i also had to really learn to nurture my sense of empathy. as a child, i had difficulty reading the emotions of others and felt awkward having to deal with them. nowadays i feel it's one of my better qualities, and the thought of not including it makes me feel a bit weird, admittedly. i'm very people-focused.
whether or not you are an ISFJ... i can't say. that's something you yourself have to figure out. but you can make a case for how any type can relate back to autism. i know a lot of people with autism, and they are all different types from me bar two (my mother in law and good friend, both autistic ISFJs), so the idea of "i can't be ISFJ, i'm too kwerkee to be a boring ol' sensor" is something you can throw in the bin right away.
For the past few months, my family and I have been struggling to pay the bills and groceries. My mother is unemployed due to severe illness, but because the company that provides disability aid has been negligent, she’s not received compensation in a year or so. In that time, we’ve lived off of savings.
By now, my mother’s savings are gone entirely, and mine have been drained quite significantly as well. I’m studying and disabled, making me unable to juggle school and work at the same time, meaning I cannot provide stable financial support either. The soonest we will hear from the company is in October, but in the meantime we have nothing. Whether we will receive aid or not is still but an unanswered question.
That’s why I’m asking you to please donate so that we can buy groceries and pay the rent. Even just one euro is good enough. We really need it.
If you have any questions, please send me an ask or a DM.
Please spread this post, feel free to tag any specific tumblrs dedicated to spreading donation posts around. I don’t like to beg for money, but we’re desperate.
is it possible to have your type completely eroded by mental illness and developmental issues (specifically autism & depression)? as a 20 year old dealing with these problems since childhood, my psychological development has been defined by these issues. i've been studying the functions intensely and it really feels like nothing matches up, nothing i read applies to me - my autism and my depression are part of me, they occupy so much of my psyche that there's no "room" for cognitive functions.
What you describe is low self-awareness. It is also likely that you haven't learned function theory well enough to apply it. Low self-awareness doesn't mean you don't have a type; it only means you don't know yourself well enough to figure it out (i.e. you need expert guidance). I've encountered more difficult cases than yours. It is possible to figure out your type, as long as you are committed to self-development and acknowledge that the process will be difficult.
remember that depression and autism are also two different disorders. one can be treated and usually has a clear cause - the other is a neurological disorder that never goes away and fundamentally impacts your functioning. when typing according to functions, you need to count depression away (ask yourself, if i weren’t depressed, what would my reasoning be?) but not autism. you could make a case for all functions when it comes to autism, but i’ll give you an example using my own.
my dominant function is Si, introverted sensing. often associated with focusing on details and memorising situations in great detail. Si can make someone prone to relying on the past, because the past has proven what is secure and what is not. compare that to the common symptoms of autism that are present in me: being detail-focused, being afraid to stray from what is familiar, and having a really detailed recollection. i remember having to draw images from memory, and having to describe a picture with a lot of details when i got tested a second time, and scoring really high on both.
my inferior function is Ne, extraverted intuition. because it’s in my inferior spot, Ne makes me afraid of wandering into unknown territory, and can make me quite stubborn to do things my own way. sometimes, i find it difficult to think outside of the box because it’s not familiar to me. compare this, again, to certain symptoms of autism: fear of change, fear of losing control, having tunnelvision or thinking only in extremes.
my tertiary function is Ti, introverted thinking. funnily enough, this is INTP’s dominant function, and INTP is often classified as “the autistic type” (which i hate, by the way). introverted thinking has you concerned with figuring out how things work, often getting down into the details just to have a clearer picture - even when you don’t use it. it is a lot less efficient and goal-oriented than its extraverted counterpart, caring more about consistency than usefulness. compare this to symptoms of autism: often very knowledged about particular subjects and focusing solely on those, liking to organise and plan, needing clear blueprints of things.
i could go on, especially because there are so many more functions that could fit specific symptoms of autism, but these are just a few. autism is an inherent part of us, and you can’t count it away the way you can with depression. without it, we would not be ourselves.
Hello! I have recently been thinking about how mental and/or neurological disorders can affect how your personality type presents, and how they can obstruct/make it more difficult for one to find their "true" type. I have searched the "ADHD" tag on your blog because that was the disorder in particular I was curious about, but I was just wondering about how you would get to the crux of someone's personality when ADHD or autism for example, can hinder the organization processes, (p.1) --
[con't: concentration, social behaviors, and overall thinking of someone. For example, I have been speaking to my doctor and likely have ADHD/ADD/a concentration issue of some type, and according to what I know (your blog has been a huge, huge help, tysm) and have spoken to some about, I am an ENFP. I just find it difficult to separate the aspects of: difficulty in finishing tasks, esp. when not too interested, short attention span, and boundless projects/interests, from my personality? Also, thinking about how some INTJ (among a few other type) stereotypes are common among those with social anxiety or to an extent high functioning autism. I know that you have said that these are separate things, but I guess I am just confusing myself as I don't know whether some of my traits are attributed to mind+mood or personality, and I wonder what is the type most diagnosed/attributed with ADHD/ADD, actually... (it likely is ENFP, tbh). Thank you so much]
This question comes up again and again. In a nutshell: You should examine the cognition that produces the behavior. I repeat this idea of "cognition vs behavior" many times in the study guides for a reason. Do you know what a cognitive function is, what the Ne function is, how exactly it works, and how it works in YOU? If not, you are not qualified to do type assessment with functions.
For example: Anyone, Ps and Js alike, can "have difficulty finishing tasks". This is just a superficial description of a common behavioral pattern. But different people experience the problem differently and for different underlying reasons. There are many possible reasons for abandoning a task, aren't there? Perhaps they got bored, they got discouraged, they forgot about it, they had too much on their plate, they were too disorganized, etc etc - totally different thought processes can result in the same behavioral pattern of leaving tasks incomplete. Are all of these underlying reasons indicative of Ne? Certainly not. But this doesn't stop many people from mistyping themselves as Ne dom just because their life happens to be in a mess. A lot of people come across personality quizzes and do them for fun, but they have no idea what cognitive functions actually are or how to identify them.
It is the thought processes behind the behavior that will inform you about type. Simply saying that you "have difficulty completing tasks" doesn't tell me anything about how Ne actually looks and works in your mind, or whether it's even Ne at all. My assessment method aims for certainty, so the burden of proof is quite high. I would not accept "have difficulty finishing tasks" as proof of Ne until I hear a very detailed explanation of HOW the problem arose, HOW exactly the problem plays out in the mind, and WHY the problem persists. If you're not actually the type that you claim to be, you won't be able to give that level of detail about your cognitive functions.
That level of detail about cognition is necessary for determining whether the problem is attributable to Ne, ADHD, or whether the symptoms of ADHD are also a manifestation of unhealthy Ne. ADHD presents differently in different personalities - separate, yes, but can be related. Psychology is very complicated because there are so many moving parts to account for. Is it correlation, causation, or a third mediating variable? The devil is in the details!
Many people lack self-awareness, so they have no idea what's happening in their mind. The point of putting yourself through my difficult type assessment method is to dig deeper and try to explain what's really going on with your cognition.
as someone with several disorders that impact my cognition and behavior, i want to point out for this blog that “ADHD symptoms are a manifestation of unhealthy Ne” is uhm... well, to put it bluntly, actually a pretty reckless statement to make. i’m not sure how well-versed about this topic OP is, and i’m sure there was no malicious intent there, but ADHD already gets misunderstood frequently. so much so, that lots of AFAB people don’t get diagnosed until later on because their symptoms manifest differently. i want to reiterate OP’s words and advise to seek professional help.
if mental disorder affects type — which i believe it does, my autism for example is a neurological disorder and clearly manifests itself as Si-Ne — then your functions develop as a result of that, not the other way around.
you are not smarter, more talented, or more creative than sensors. you are not more intellectual, “deep” or interesting. sensors are more than just a box you’ve forced them into.
you are not superior to sensors just because you process information differently.
agreed. time to break it down for other intuitives:
we’re not smarter - that’s absolutely correct. anyone can be smart in their own ways. and I thought this was a Feeler/Thinker bias but I guess this could also show up when intuitives/pseudo intuitives need something to blame their lack of empathy to others on.
we’re not more talented - have you ever seen an SJ/SP writer? of course you have, you just didn’t know they were SJs. IMO, from what I’ve read about SiNe and SeNi, and also reading A LOT of what people say on here (I think it was @funkymbtifiction), in fictional writing, SJs could very possibly have a talent of building worlds with lots of accurate detail from IRL, which is important if you want to keep some important details real to support your story better since you’re connecting with audience who happens to live in the real world and might know A LOT of facts about the area you are drawing from. needless to say, they could be BETTER than us at writing non-fiction because of the easier fact/data-retention that they naturally possess and prioritise having. SPs have the talent of creating landscapes and painting worlds with their words and needless to say, their visual art would be much more concrete and accurate as well as aesthetically-pleasing as they are constantly on the lookout for the best colours to match (for example) and they actually might do it WELL because they are good at constantly processing external sensory data.
we’re not more creative - look. hunny bun do you use a scale to measure creativity? that’s the world of factual data, which, btw the sensors (+ thinkers) might be better at. creativity isn’t measured, it is felt. and I don’t think what I said above disputes the fact that sensors can’t be the same level of creative, if not more. to add, SiNe might give things a very personal touch since they are drawing from their past experiences, and when they put it out there with their own thinking/feeling, their colours and words are unstoppable and perhaps also nostalgic. vintage with a new take IS creative and no one can convince me otherwise.
we’re not more intellectual - everyone has the capacity to be “intellectual”, and even if anyone (including intuitives) do not WANT to be seen as intellectual, that’s not all there is they can do, and is none of your business to judge. in fact, if intellectualism can be related to academic inclinations, shouldn’t SJs be more suited for this title than other intuitives due to fact collection and preference to rely on the tried and tested while also experimenting when needed?
we’re not more “deep”/interesting - this is fun, because this has to do a lot with the special snowflake syndrome on another level (though the above assumed traits of us intuitives could also have been produced from this). there IS something deep AND interesting about being able to live day-to-day life being engaged (Se) with your environment, or being connected with what is tried and true and arguably necessary (Si) and being able to go through the motions of life like this everyday with higher factual accuracy of thoughts (since Ni and Ne are based on Intuition, aka guesses, we may or may not be accurate or based in real life in our head). there’s something deep about living life. romanticise life and living. that’s something we need to learn, it’s a crucial part of growing and growing up.
“ sensors are more than just a box you’ve forced them into.
you are not superior to sensors just because you process information differently.”
introversion is simply the loss of energy in social settings. introversion in functions is like the interior of a machine that keeps the exterior running smoothly. in both cases, there’s no inherent negative feeling attached to it. i’m a solitary person, i like being alone. i like to work things out in my head.
but loneliness and isolation inherently feel bad; those are signs of poor emotional life. many people seem to confuse introversion with loneliness, presumably because they can’t understand that some people genuinely like to be alone. i’ve had several therapists tell me i needed to be among other people more, and the thought alone turns me away because that sounds exhausting. if i had simply felt lonely, doing so wouldn’t result in that same exhaustion.
and omfg the ESFJs man, they bug the hell out of me. never had any good experiences with them and spend about 90% of my time getting scolded by their hypocritical and constantly changing “morals”
So I don’t know if there’s a type that particularly bugs me at least in real life. I tried to think of people who annoy me and I genuinely can’t type most of them because I avoid them as much as possible. That said I reblogged this because I have one classmate who’s an ESFJ and one who’s an ISTP and they HATE each other. Which is weird because I’m pretty sure my parents, who have been together for 35 years, are ISTP and ISFJ (though I’m rethinking if my mom is ISTJ). Something about the dom vs low Fe maybe? Or the ESFJ “be a team player!” vs xSTP “I’m doing my own thing” attitude?
ISTP and… Honestly? INTPs. As much as I like them in theory, and admire their Ne, I don’t think I have ever met an INTP that hasn’t rubbed me the wrong way.
INFP and ISFJs drive me absolutely crazy. I mean, just leave me alone! I guess they can be helpful, but they’re so nosy and over-bearing. And. So. Close-minded. 😑
ENFP, and I’m not a big fan of ENTPs. I like them in theory, but I’ve never met one I’ve liked in practice. Maybe our types are just too similar? That said, I’m sure there are some LOVELY ENTPs out there, and I hope to meet more one day (to hopefully prove me wrong) 😜
I’m an ESTJ and INTPs bug me the most. Talking of real life experience, the ones I have met were generally know-it-all types who spend too much time on unnecessary things. I’m also sometimes annoyed by ENTPs, I feel like their words and actions are mostly different & they aren’t direct which confuses me. I’m not saying INTPs or ENTPs are the worst, it’s just that based on ppl I know irl, they are harder for me to get along with.
ISFP, and ENTP easily. So many have such unwarranted self-importance and think middle school insults are a personality. It all feels like a huge cope.
INFJs are close because somehow everyone is one online based on really flimsy reasons like “I like deep conversations” and the ones who aren’t mistyped can be OK, but sometimes they take a lot of credit for the good points of ISFJs, who are always brushed off as their more boring and common cousins.
i’m an ISFJ, and funnily enough i don’t vibe super well with ENFPs. not because they’re bad people or because i don’t appreciate their insight, just that they can be very present. i’m a bit of a solitary person and i don’t have a lot of energy period (even disregarding introversion!), so their aura can be very overwhelming because it demands so much attention.
