Socionics Personals
Female
Straight
16-25
Oceania
Libra
ENFj
Male
Straight
16-25
Middle East
Sagittarius
INTj
Male
Straight
26-35
North America
Pisces
INXj
Join now!


Ni versus Si
by I/O

The introverted data gathering functions revolve around self. For the Si, cause and effect are important while the Ni concentrates on interaction and association. The functioning of the body and mind centres in the Si psyche, and the state of the body and mind is a focus for the Ni.

Si is defined in terms of ...
Bookmark and Share

Your Comments: 1+ 26+
C1 This article has to be one of the best I have ever read. It's simple, it's clear, it's concise. An excellent read. -- BLauritson
C2 I take it that each of these functions operate differently depending on their position. The descriptions above are for / in the first position? -- Anonymous
C3 Bravo! -- Jay Bop
C4 god damn. its seriously frightening how bad this article is and how little you understand either or . -- niffweed17
C5 C4, you imply that you have much better understanding, so tell us how it really is. -- Seeker
C6 Anything that doesn't originate from niffweed17's own mind frightens him. -- Anonymous
C7 This article was very helpful. Good job. -- Anonymous
C8 This explains a lot of INTp/ISTp interaction... -- pandapanda
C9 This is by far the most true and in depth understanding of NI, at least I can relate to it prefectly, me as an ENFj, as far as the SI part, I can somewhat see the truth in this in other SI dominant people. -- Jas
C10 I don't quite understand alot of thing in depth stuff of socionics. Maybe someday I can delve deeply into it, but its interesting. -- VJD
C11 It's a nice read, but I completely disagree with the content of this article. Plus, the very few (obvious) assertions which are correct are incidentally so - that is, not for the contextual reasons they were "deduced" from. -- ISTP
C12 C11: Which parts do you completely disagree with, exactly? -- Anonymous
C13 "Si is defined in terms of the impact that self makes upon the world and how self can defend against the world, whereas Ni is in terms of the effect the world has on them and the influence they have upon the world - their place within the 'celestial' whole."-didnt understand that part!!!! -- Anonymous
C14 C13, the sentence implies that Si treats the world more like a competition where there are physical rewards and consequences in every action. The Ni deals with the world more like a debate where there their own self-image or philosophy hangs in the balance. However, both operate from an interactive, one-on-one, win-or-lose perspective, where Si is more physical and Ni more theatrical. -- I/O
C15 Beautifully written and masterfully executed (apart from the spelling errors, but details can be forgiven when content is sublime) This definitely sheds light on my relationship with my ISTp brother, who is going through his acne phase and throwing a fit, whilst I'm trying to tell him that he really shouldn't care because <<Insert generic Ni/INTp causation argument>> [Te] -- Anonymous
C16 Hmm,interesting. I am isfp but I identify a lot with the Ni description, as well as the Si description. In fact, I find myself relating to the Ni one more. "Si is the experience seeker, while Ni is the peace seeker" I would say both are equally important to me. I want to experience many things in the world, but the same time I want both of my outer and inner world to be in harmony. -- Anonymous
C17 C16, Input for most people is somewhere between being totally relative (N) and totally absolute (S); few would be at the extremes. It can be difficult determine preferences since our senses do sense everything; however, not everything is quite as memorable or as important to our internal processing. -- I/O
C18 This was very insightful to me because my brother is Si (ISFp) while my closest friend is Ni (INFp), and both of these profiles fit them perfectly. They are very alike in every way except for this aspect. The description of Si seeking positive experiences and skill fits my brother, and the description of Ni seeking experience as a means to an end fits my friend. Good article in my opinion. -- Anonymous
C19 Simplicity: S Physical, N Conceptual, I Internal (self), E External (environment). Think of the process of perceiving as weaving. An Se wants to weave physical change into the environment, Ne wants to weave conceptual change into the environment. Si wants to weave physical change into self, Ni wants to weave conceptual change into self. From this it is possible to extrapolate the behaviors. Si weaves physical change into the self, through repetition, muscle memory, which in turn builds their memory, fine motor skills. Experience must be repeated to be absorbed into the physical body. Ni weaves conceptual change, that is imagined changed, or rather imaging. Ni have the ability to "image" something in their head and they need this image to be complete so as to fit the world. The final piece is the dualizing elements. Si-Ne, Ni-Se. As Si gets exercised more the world around them is changing in chaotic ways, they begin to resist and withdraw, looking for experiences to repeat so as to regain their physical stability. Try lecturing an ISTp on morals, vigilant pro-action or negligence and watch them physically shrivel up and respond with some nonsensical statement about how they're just doing their own thing, or how people should stop bothering them, or remember the EXACT date when they last did X inappropriate/irresponsible action. As Ni gets more attention the world around them is dynamically changing and what should match their internal imagine doesn't anymore. What 'should' make sense and be mathematically perfect, does not and is not for any length of time. The dilemma of every final boss in every sci-fi futurist anything (The Matrix, Equilibrium, The Foundation Series). Or how a language changes based on physical reality, i.e. Internet brought about LoL and ROFL, dialects etc. The answer seems to be balance. An INxp with developed Si (perfect pitch) make for famous musicians and mathematicians, ISxp with developed Ni make for wise old counselors (on top of being seriously skilled at whatever). Similarly Se primary start to wonder how exactly other people think of them (Ni) and Ne have grandiose ideas and no way to implement the finer details or to enjoy the resulting stability (Si). Se buys a gold plated Hummer, everyone thinks he's compensating for something. Ne invents a new vacuum, doesn't take the time to enjoy vacuuming before inventing a new hovercraft. Incidentally, arousing the dual of a function has positive effects on the function. Albert Einstein (ENTp) would go sailing and take walks through the forest (an Si experience) to stimulate his genius. -- Anonymous
C20 C19, note that my article has a slight tongue-in-cheek element and my concepts deviate from Socionics theory. In my view, S refers to input of an absolute nature, which is more than just the physical, and N refers to input of a relative nature, which wouldn't describe all concepts. In an input context, internal (I) is an indicator that data is presented to output processes in a comparative form and that input and output work interactively in real-time. It also indicates that self identifies more with reference information than with process references. Perceiving (p) is a misnomer because we all perceive; it simply indicates that input leads the cognitive control system. The terms I, E, p and j specify cognitive function while S, N, F, T are cognitive preferences; preferences should be treated as independent of function. -- I/O
C21 C19 makes a lot of sense to me. I/O, I enjoyed your Ne vs Se article. I wasn't able to follow your Ni vs Si article as well, though. Maybe it's because I'm not as familiar with Ni and Si? I'm not bad at recognizing Ne and Se in people but it is harder for me to recognize Ni and Si. Do you have any explanation for this? Also, are you going to write an article on Ti vs Fi anytime soon? -- Anonymous
C22 C21, you're on to something. Both Ni and Si are preferences of input processes that compare new information to a reference, which is an invisible process to the outside observer. One has to observe the output of the IXXp and EXXj during the externalized rationalization process in order to determine input preference. An Ni will communicate and operate more in relative terms while the Si will deal more in absolutes. I will write articles with F when I can think of a clear way of describing relative rationalization processes – I think they have parallels with content addressable memory or associative memory. -- I/O
C23 Content addressable memory and associative memory...what do you mean by those terms? Content addressable memory being memory where the content can be clearly defined? And associative memory being memories that are associated with concepts, things, or other memories? Could you give some examples of how an Ni communicates/operates and how an Si communicates/operates? -- Anonymous
C24 C23, for a definition of content addressable memory, see https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Content_addressable_memory . For your second question, refer to my article: My Take On Temperament. One cannot exhaustively describe the input of closed-loop systems (IXXp and EXXj) without including their output because they operate interactively; it's a little easier with open loop systems (IXXj and EXXp) where input operation is largely independent of output. -- I/O
C25 Okay so Si wants to "WIN" and Ni wants to "understand" Si is like Cell from DBZ 0_o -- Zero-11
Page 1 2
Would you like to add anything?
(When posting, we ask you to make the effort to qualify your opinions.)



Name: (leave blank for "Anonymous")