[mickey]

Hey, I'm fascinated with S functions and have been thinking about why and have come to conclusion that it MAY be because it is the one function that eludes me the most. I could improve my E, my P, maybe my F, but I have been trying to improve my S and just continually fail, and across the board I seem to admire S function.



I was curious as to whether this is true for anyone of my opposite. Or anyone who has noticed this in themselves concerning any function that seems to be the hardest for them to develop in themselves.

[Sela]

It's been mentioned before that the N/S split is the most divergent among the functions. Having said that, there's a big difference (IMO) between someone that is 95% N and someone that is 55% N, right on the "border", so to speak. What are the strengths of your preferences? What is it about the S function that you find interesting?

[Michail]

Haha i thought that was just me. I am continually jealous of people in my life who can know their environment very well cause I am the exact opposite i will walk into a wall that is right in front of me but my n is like 98% so that might be why....

[hello317]

What's the difference between "sensing" and "intuition"?

This is all I know : They focus on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.

[Dizzle]

I've been trying to improve my Si and Se as well. I have really tried to be more in the moment and remembering things in a concrete and linear fashion rather than putting things into some type of pattern or tagging system. I also have been trying not to go off on a tangent at any point during a discussion or while listening to another person's ideas. I've been practicing by trying to remember the order of events in a movie or tv show and relating that to someone else that watched it that I know is an S. I can only do it for a bit and I still have alot of missing pieces and may need to watch something over and over to get it straight. Most of what my inferior Si appears to naturally be used for is negative recall of people that I compare a current person to.

I imagine it's just as frustrating for some S folks to try to think in a more abstract manner about a topic while brainstorming in a group without relying solely on their remembered experiences and perhaps known facts?

[mickey]

It's been mentioned before that the N/S split is the most divergent among the functions. Having said that, there's a big difference (IMO) between someone that is 95% N and someone that is 55% N, right on the "border", so to speak. What are the strengths of your preferences? What is it about the S function that you find interesting?

Strength of my preference: I get a quick answer out of nowhere that works basically. The weakness of this, however, seems to be the strength (and one of the things I admire) of the S. There are holes everywhere, the S sees it before I do. I try to see the holes to begin with, and I do see some, but I always miss somethingl!! And no matter what anyone says, that something is important. If I don't catch it in time, it could be the end of the whole plan. But I don't become aware of an overlooked hole in the theory until I observe something not working in practice, then I have to trace it back. I want to see it BEFORE that.

Real life example: I always grasp the whole concept of a mathematical process in class very quickly . I am always helping the other students to see what they should do when. But when I go to do it myself- too often I get some wacko number. Can't see why in the theory (because the theory is good) but when I go through all the numbers PAINSTAKINGLY, I often find I have made some basic mistake such as as arithmetic error, or copying down a number from the book wrong!! I constantly wish I had someone checking over my shoulder that does not make as many of these kinds of mistakes. All the other students that I work with are always bewildered and amused by my constant 'what page are we on?'- 'is that a six or an eight?'- 'what did you just say, I drifted off for a minute.' remarks. It sounds funny, but I assure you it is not!!

Not only that, but the one thing I can not do at all (don't even want to try) is have any faith in anything. The S seems to- I don't know- have humility or something. One of my friends once said to me 'you never listen to anybody'. I was surprised because I had already told her over and over again that I would never listen to her (or anybody else)- so if she wanted to give me advice, not to bother unless it was to amuse herself. However, she was still annoyed with the terrible reality of the fact- and this did, still, make me somehow annoyed with both her AND me.

I greatly admire trust in and/or honest (too often I see people who are only pretending) devotion to something (whether it be religion, the law, family name, blind loyalty to a loved one, any personal cause) but it is completely beyond me. I greatly respect devoted, steady, humble people. But I continue to be mercenary, chameleon, and cynical. Of course I rarely get taken advantage of, but it does little for other people. Despite my detachment, I am always most fond of the kinds of people who do things for others, institutions, the world, ect. I want to be fond of me, so I regret that I can't feel like they do, be like they are- because then I would better like myself (in theory- ha! ha!.)

Also, I am never in the moment. When I try to be, I get bored, very, very fast and start to try to overload my sensory (overwork, exercise, risk-taking, even self-injury). This really pisses me off about myself. Unless I'm daydreaming some overblown fantasy, or am experiencing some intense sensation- I'm unhappy! It's ridiculous! I feel like there's something wrong with me in that way- how can I not be satisfied with reality? I read an S post once that basically said: 'You know you're an S when real life doesn't bore you'. I am honestly jealous.

[rawr_sheila]

Yes. I am interested in how N works. It is also the hardest function for me to develop

This year, I've began to understand more and more about N.
How? I took a physics class. The teacher and most or all of the students were N people (no joke). It was so hard for me to grasp the concepts-even the book could not help me! Months flew by and somehow I slowly began to comprehend the topics, which was good. But I dropped the course due to laziness. Besides that, I've made more N friends this year and hung out with them.


How to develop your S? I am not definite, but I'm sure some N people can help you. I would try to make more S friends.

[Qadosh]

I've been trying to improve my Si and Se as well.

I'll trade you some Si for some Ni. You can keep the Ne, though.

[teddy564339]

To answer the OP's question, I definitely admire N's and their intuitive abilities. I've talked about this in a few threads, for now this is the only one I can remember:

Bridging the Sensor/Intuitive Communication Gap


Intuitives just seem to be on another level mentally a lot of times. They seem to be constantly thinking and seeing things that I don't...I feel left in the dark sometimes. I feel like I'm kind of slow to pick up on things and need it spelled out for me, while they're already jumping ahead. Sometimes I have to focus really hard on what they're saying because they can leave me behind.

This is stronger in NT's than in NF's, but I've felt it with both. I think this is particularly prevalent on PerC, which is more discussion based than many situations IRL.

[Apollo Celestio]

What's the difference between "sensing" and "intuition"?

This is all I know : They focus on the big picture rather than the details, and on future possibilities rather than immediate realities.

It's as simple as concrete and abstract. S deals with the literal/actions and N deals with abstract/understanding.