Do ILIs-INTps have good memories and easily absorb information?

[uninspired]

Do you (INTps) have naturally adept, highly capable memories, or do you need to work hard to absorb and memorize facts/ideas/etc.? If the latter is true, do you undertake the effort because you believe it's your duty to memorize and understand facts in order to arrive at the truth, or at least the most effective way to act? Do you do it because you find it enjoyable? Or is it something else altogether?

I know that I'm easily able to remember facts if they relate to something important or personally significant to me (most of my "facts" are tidbits about people I know and care about), but otherwise I have to spend lots of time memorizing them before they enter into my long-term memory. I'm more of a generalizer as opposed to a particularizer (not a word, I realize). It's an arduous and ungratifying process, in my experience, and I marvel at anyone else's ability to do this.
Thoughts?

[reyn_til_runa]

Do you (INTps) have naturally adept, highly capable memories, or do you need to work hard to absorb and memorize facts/ideas/etc.? If the latter is true, do you undertake the effort because you believe it's your duty to memorize and understand facts in order to arrive at the truth, or at least the most effective way to act? Do you do it because you find it enjoyable? Or is it something else altogether?

I know that I'm easily able to remember facts if they relate to something important or personally significant to me (most of my "facts" are tidbits about people I know and care about), but otherwise I have to spend lots of time memorizing them before they enter into my long-term memory. I'm more of a generalizer as opposed to a particularizer (not a word, I realize). It's an arduous and ungratifying process, in my experience, and I marvel at anyone else's ability to do this.
Thoughts?

my memory works spatially. i can easily memories facts on textbook pages provided that i look at them. unfortunately, my memory of people telling me *very important* things is average or below. my musical memory is very good, but i believe this is partially due to years of training, possessing a naturally good musical ear, and also due to my tendency to think of music as, primarily, structure (i.e. spatial relationships).

i believe there's a direct correlation between my ability to memorize and my interest in the subject. i often stare through books/television screens when bored or preoccupied, appearing to watch intently, but really not paying any attention. if i become interested in the tv for even one second, i will remember exactly that dialogue or scene for quite some time. i remember seeing this thing about beta fish and bubble nests, and then playing with the image (and emerging analogy) in my mind for a couple months afterwards. it bothered me that i could not find a picture on the internet which looked like that one photo on the tv. but honestly, i probably only watched 2 minutes of the show and i couldn't for the longest time remember the name of the fish (only remembering what the bubble nest looked like).

i'm not exactly sure what you mean by finding memorization enjoyable. i'm also not sure what you mean by "truth." is it necessary to memorize facts to arrive at the truth? sure, to an extent. but having too many useless facts will make detecting the motion of life (whereby we derive the "truth") difficult. basic knowledge of innerworkings / sum & parts should suffice.

[drd252]

Certain random facts stick with absolutely no effort, example: a friend told me that Johnny Cash had 50lbs of excrement in his bowls when he died, due to his strict meat and potatoes diet. When it comes to school, I've realized that the more relaxed I am, the better I learn the material. Unfortunately, this relaxed state highly resembles sleep. It's like everything just soaks in, and I develop an instinct for navigating the subject matter. I rarely have to "work" in order to understand the "big picture" of new material, however I do have to work to retain the specifics. Like in Organic Chemistry, I can tell you that LiAlH4 (Lithium Aluminum Hydride) is a very strong reducing agent that must be used under specific conditions in order to prevent explosions, but I dont know what those conditions are. People reaffirm me of my genius on a daily basis, 4tw

[discojoe]

I think it's because of creative Te.

[KSpin]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I think it's just because INTps rock, to be honest.

[Jarno]

Most INTP's tend to be walking encyclopedia's. And used by their colleague's for this purpose.

[Phaedrus]

Most INTP's tend to be walking encyclopedia's.

Yes. And encyclopedic information is . That fact has made me start to wonder about the most extreme person in the world in that respect: Kim Peek. Is he typable at all, considering that he has no corpus callosum? Assuming that he is typable, he is clearly a type with in the ego block, but which one?

[mike_INTJ]

it varies. if it's visual or verbal, i'll remember it that way. but in pieces. like if i'm learning a language, i'll remember a segmant from years past of someone mouthing the word, or an event i can attach it too. i can remember back to nursery school.

as for facts, if i need to know something, i'll break it down into pieces so small that when i'm done i become an expert on the subject. one thing i hate most is not knowing something when i need to know something. and while i can make the answer (and sometimes do), i would rather know and understand it better than anyone. i'm the super informed shopper.

i generally don't do something unless i understand it fully.

if the facts bore me, then forget it. it's gone before i turn my head. i never did well in school because of this.

mostly i think i need to know things, because deep down inside, while i don't like to be used - i need to be wanted. and since i lack i social skills, romantic skills, friendship skills, etc. i become a human tool of information. so atleast on a minimal level i might be useful to someone.

Do you (INTps) have naturally adept, highly capable memories, or do you need to work hard to absorb and memorize facts/ideas/etc.? If the latter is true, do you undertake the effort because you believe it's your duty to memorize and understand facts in order to arrive at the truth, or at least the most effective way to act? Do you do it because you find it enjoyable? Or is it something else altogether?

I know that I'm easily able to remember facts if they relate to something important or personally significant to me (most of my "facts" are tidbits about people I know and care about), but otherwise I have to spend lots of time memorizing them before they enter into my long-term memory. I'm more of a generalizer as opposed to a particularizer (not a word, I realize). It's an arduous and ungratifying process, in my experience, and I marvel at anyone else's ability to do this.
Thoughts?

[mike_INTJ]

i agree on the music part. i can remember any song that i ever listened too. thousands of them, or more, even after hearing it once. each time i hear it, it becomes more detailed. but the weird part is, while i can hear the whole song, i can't sing or hum along. it's like i'm hearing it, but that's it.

i can't do that with normal verbal patter. unless it's song in harmony, then it's stuck there like glue.

[Quirk Satellite Div.]

Do you (INTps) have naturally adept, highly capable memories, or do you need to work hard to absorb and memorize facts/ideas/etc.? If the latter is true, do you undertake the effort because you believe it's your duty to memorize and understand facts in order to arrive at the truth, or at least the most effective way to act? Do you do it because you find it enjoyable? Or is it something else altogether?

I know that I'm easily able to remember facts if they relate to something important or personally significant to me (most of my "facts" are tidbits about people I know and care about), but otherwise I have to spend lots of time memorizing them before they enter into my long-term memory. I'm more of a generalizer as opposed to a particularizer (not a word, I realize). It's an arduous and ungratifying process, in my experience, and I marvel at anyone else's ability to do this.
Thoughts?

My memory is a little bit better than others but its nothing superb or worth idolizing over. I don't find the process of memorizing to be fun but rather I feel that I need to properly gather information in order to develop applications from the data. When it comes to just learning more about the world I hardly ever sit down over facts to memorize them. I just want to learn more so I can exercise the information in my fantasy land.

[Elro]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I think it's just because INTps rock, to be honest.

[BLauritson]

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, I think it's just because INTps rock, to be honest.

As my favourite saying goes, "It's funny because it's true"

[Logos]

I do not necessarily think that the memory capacity is type related, as while you may think of what is being stored as , it is but a single aspect of the sort of knowledge, information, and experiences which are stored in memories. So while you may talk about your (presumably INTp here) ability to be a "walking encyclopedia" your memory may be so terrible as to forget where you laid your keys, the day of your parents' anniversary, the tastes of certain sensations, or the name attached to a face.

[Ms. Kensington]

I do not necessarily think that the memory capacity is type related, as while you may think of what is being stored as , it is but a single aspect of the sort of knowledge, information, and experiences which are stored in memories. So while you may talk about your (presumably INTp here) ability to be a "walking encyclopedia" your memory may be so terrible as to forget where you laid your keys, the day of your parents' anniversary, the tastes of certain sensations, or the name attached to a face.

hm yeah

I think all Ixxj types are able to recall many things accurately, but they might not be able to recall things in the public arena.

[BLauritson]

i've read that INTPs are able to use their intuition to imagine the missing facts.

Do you have any examples of such? I've got a feeling that statement's true but I can't think of anything to back it up with right now.

[FDG]

i've read that INTPs are able to use their intuition to imagine the missing facts.

Facts are defined as being real.

[Shades of Gray]

i've read that INTPs are able to use their intuition to imagine the missing facts.

I think it has more to do with using logic to fill in the probably pieces, which are generally correct, since we are very good at that short of thing.

As far as the overall topic of memory, as someone mentioned earlier, I'm very good at remembering ideas and concepts. Concrete details fall through the cracks. I even have difficulty remembering the name of nouns at times. I have to describe the object and it's job, and my audience of course fills in the word for me. Then laugh at my forgetfulness. It's annoying, to say the least.

My mother, on the other hand, remembers names, dates, and relationships between people, with astonishing accuracy. She can ramble off the entire family tree, both sides, back beyond the civil war, including dates of birth and death. I would say she is an ISTJ, but I'm not a student of personality, I just read it for my own personal interest.

Therefore, I conclude that exceptional memory isn't the sole realm of INTP's. It's WHAT we remember that sets us apart from others.