What is the Se function, exactly, and how does it work?

Can anyone tell me how Se works - how it 'thinks', for lack of a better term?
For example, I know Si is associated with vivid memories of past experiences. Ne makes odd quantum leaps between seemingly unrelated ideas but is still focused in the present.
Fi holds strongly to its own values and defends itself when those values are challenged. And so on.

I'm confused about Se because we all take in information through our five senses, but how does Se (as opposed to, say, Ne) use that knowledge to fuel Fi/Ni?

Examples as concrete as possible, please, preferably from Se-dom users aware of how their Se functions. The more abstract stuff you give me, the less likely I am to understand.



Thanks! :)

Not Se dominant, so I can't elaborate. Just in case this helps though:

S---------------------------------------------------N
Concrete-----------------------------------------Abstract
Deductive-----------------------------------------Inductive
Focus on object physical properties----------------Unfocused-seeing many objects at once
Notice people faces clothes-----------------------Notice movements patterns

I have trouble with seperating them in Pe or Pi though, sorry. I'm very good with Je and Ji though if you want any help with those.

An exercise to try:
If you've ever tried a mindfulness exercise youu are deliberately using it. Try one that involves absorbing into yourself the sensations from as many senses as possible. For me it feels AMAZING and I get so charged up. Assuming the sensations are pleasant ones otherwise it's kind of a sucky experience. XD Don't judge anything when you are doing this, just let it all absorb and no labelling of things either. Try that some time when the conditions are right to get the full experience.

@SuPEReViL: Ah, okay, thanks! It makes more sense now. :)

Arguably one of the best descriptions of functions can be found here:

Extraverted Sensing (Se) - Experiencing and noticing the physical world, scanning for visible reactions and relevant data. You are one with the experience. There is no "naming" or describing - just pure, vivid experience. The whole scene comes into your awareness almost at once. You may be drawn to experience more and more, seeking any variation that will intensely excite the senses. Writing that is richly descriptive can also evoke extraverted Sensing as can other mental stimulation. The process is momentary and tied to the events of the immediate situation. It is used in the here and now and helps us know what is really there in the physical world and to adapt to it. Exraverted Sensing - occurs when we scan for information that is relevant to our interests, then we mentally register data and facts such as baseball statistics, the locations of all the restaurants in town, or the names of all the actors in the popular television shows. There can be an active seeking of more and more input to get the whole picture until all sources of input have been exhausted or something else captures our attention. Associated behaviors include eating a whole box of chocolates for the variety of tastes; playing an instrument for hours with pure enjoyment, not for practice; voracious reading or continual asking of questions to get specifics.

Some other examples are given in Lenore Thomson’s book.

An example of Se is use may be:

Se - You might look at the apple tree and notice the contrast of the ruby red apples and the deep green leaves, the rich brown-gray of the trunk and branches, and how the sunlight plays across the yard. You go to the tree and pick an apple, and bite into it with a crunch, savoring the tree ripened sweetness and the aroma of a really fresh apple. Sitting down on the ground you feel the coolness under you and the warmth of the sun.

From this thread, you may get an idea of how Se is similar and different than Te and Ne:

Extraverted Sensing (Se)/Extraverted Thinking (Te) – Se and Te are often used when there is a focus on facts and an empirical approach. Keep in mind that Se is a perceptive process and may consist of data gathering with questions, whereas Te is a judging process in which the purpose of question is to establish logic.

Extraverted Sensing (Se)/Extraverted Intuiting (Ne) – Se and Ne are both simultaneous in nature and involve perception of many things at once. This can lead to random activity as the outer world is scanned for additional information. With Se, there is an emphasis on possibilities for actions to take. With Ne, there is an emphasis on possibilities to be considered for action.

@Functianalyst: Aha, thanks! That was exactly the kind of thing I wanted. :)
You gave me both what Se does and how it works with the other functions - thanks!

I think it might be interesting to look at these from an evolutionary standpoint.

Some scientists did an experiment where they put a mother turkey in a cage with a figure they dressed up to be a polecat. Polecats are predators, so as soon as the mother turkey saw the polecat figure, she'd attack it. However, if they put a speaker inside that made chirping noises like baby turkeys make, the mother turkey would nurse the polecat and treat it like one of her babies. This is clearly a situation where Se might be an evolutionary advantage over Ne. Whenever the mother turkey puts all of the details she sees together in a concrete manner, she realizes that the figure in front of her is a polecat. But all it takes is one tiny detail to activate her Ne and forget about everything she sees in front of her. Now, in a turkey, this use of Ne is probably a good thing. After all, the only people that might play this kind of prank on a turkey are scientists in a laboratory. But you do see this kind of behavior all throughout nature, and there are predators that will take advantage of this.

On the other hand, let's pretend some of our ancestors couldn't tell if that stick in their path really was a stick, or if it was a snake. If we had never developed Ne, our reaction would probably have been "Well, let's go in for a closer look"... and let's just say we wouldn't have made it as far as we did as a species. However, when we use Ne, we can say "No, last time I saw a stick like that, I almost died. I'm staying away."

Hopefully, this illustrates the difference: Se tries to put all of the details in front of it together while Ne picks up on patterns and details it sees as significant into a larger picture.