My Thought Process

[Jake]

For this experiment, I'm going to walk around my subdivision for 15 minutes. I'll take note of every impression/thought/feeling/sensation/etc. that comes to my mind.

• birds chirping
• this reminds me of Stoney Creek
• rock climbing
• West Bloomfield adventure park
• a car drives by, I think 'just need to clear my head'
• memory of BBQ at a house down the street
• memory of last summer walking down the street smoking a cigarette, look where I am now! not smoking as much (yay)
• memory of driving an ex-girlfriend around the sub when I first moved in
• memory of her brother almost
• attacking me with a wrench for something stupid
• memory of bonfire at my house, now a memory and wondering when we will have a bonfire up north. memory of the time when I was a kid and my friend said he saw a ghost hanging outside our window and I thought he was crazy
• shoe becomes untied, memory of walking up to the gym a week ago.
• see a yellow Corvette, memory of H3H3/Tai Lopez video
• "oh shit, didn't know there wasnt a sidewalk here"
• memory of playing Pokemon Go and drinking with friends last summer when Pokemon Go was actually a thing
• person working on a house, memory of finding out I was moving when I was 13 years old. memory of our whole family at the new house taking a picture on our wrap-around-the-wall staircase
• memory of seeing Avenged Sevenfold, realizing I'm seeing them in a month with Metallica with a good friend of mine
• memory of saving my baby sister from falling down the stairs when I was 5, reminds me of the famous angel portrait with the man reaching for the baby
• thinking about going to the gym later
• and we have a birthday party to go to for my IEI niece! she's a space-out little one and my mom said she reminds her of me
• seeing a young guy driving and recognizing that he looks either worried or scared, thinking of that time I had to follow an ambulance that my sister was one to the hospital. memory of being mad at one of the guys because he hit her head on the bedroom wall when putting her on a stretcher (this is stressful)
• hungry, thinking about coffee and a bagel - remembering a date I was on two weeks ago that went horribly
• remembering a place my ex girlfriend and I had talked after breaking up and realizing it was the same place I was just at
• wondering if I'm going out tonight and If I do, I shouldn't drink a lot because I have to wake up early and remembering the time I did that and trying to talk to my grandma while hungover was a trip. now I'm realizing that might have been a little disrespectful, but she's a cool grandma. I'm sure she figured I was hungover (this is a projection though)

So basically, my thought process is a lot of memories that coincide with what is going on in front of me. Unless that memory reminds me of another memory. This is the rabbit-hole I often mention.

[Muddy]

I'm even more convinced then before that you are SEI after reading this due to the obvious focus on physical sensations but I know other members here are going get stubborn and argue otherwise so whatever.

[Jake]

I'm even more convinced then before that you are SEI after reading this due to the obvious focus on physical sensations but I know other members here are going get stubborn and argue otherwise so whatever.

well let's start off by saying this: everyone is attuned to their senses, whether you like to think that or not. it's not so much the senses I'm paying attention to either; it's the imagery. I'm extremely detached from my surroundings day-to-day. almost to the point where I see no meaning in the day-to-day. It's incredibly hard for me to enjoy sensations because I'm so stretched out from the real-world. In fact, I don't even focus on that realm.

I'm curious as to what you think Si is, and what makes you think I'm Si-Base. The only other typing I would think is possible, besides my own (IEI), would be WSS's typing of me (EII).

[Muddy]

well let's start off by saying this: everyone is attuned to their senses, whether you like to think that or not. it's not so much the senses I'm paying attention to either; it's the imagery. I'm extremely detached from my surroundings day-to-day. almost to the point where I see no meaning in the day-to-day. It's incredibly hard for me to enjoy sensations because I'm so stretched out from the real-world. In fact, I don't even focus on that realm.

I'm curious as to what you think Si is, and what makes you think I'm Si-Base. The only other typing I would think is possible, besides my own (IEI), would be WSS's typing of me (EII).

Si is about paying attention to things like hunger, thrist, sounds, smells, feeling sick, getting physically hurt etc. Most of things you mentioned included these.

[Jake]

Si is about paying attention to things like hunger, thrist, sounds, smells, feeling sick, getting physically hurt etc. Most of things you mentioned included these.

Those are basic senses. Without them you would be dead.
Plus, that isn't Si. That's just being a human being.

[Muddy]

Those are basic senses. Without them you would be dead.
Plus, that isn't Si. That's just being a human being.

Everyone experiences those things yes, but only Si valuers mention those things verbally on a routine basis. Ni/Se types tend to see mentioning those type of things as petty and unimportant.

[Muddy]

I mention these things verbally regularly. Am I Si?

I haven't analyzed you enough to have an opinion of your type, I only pounce like I am now when I am certain. It's possible, that's all I can say.

[Muddy]

it isn't.

Sorry bro, I don't take plainly stated comments with no reasoning or facts very seriously. When I have gathered information I will decide for myself, until then it doesn't really matter to me what type you believe yourself to be. My focus right now is passenger.

[Chae]

I'm even more convinced then before that you are SEI after reading this due to the obvious focus on physical sensations but I know other members here are going get stubborn and argue otherwise so whatever.

I'm the stubborn one so here it goes.

There's no overt focus on the physical once he slowly gets into it - note that passenger describes what he remembers and predicts: memories. He said the word "memory" itself 17 times. That's obviously .

[GuavaDrunk]

@passenger seems to get the occasional flash of sensory feedback (hungry, tired, w/e) and then go straight back to memory-association. I will note that for someone who's supposedly a sensor, they sure haven't described what their neighbourhood actually *looks* like, *feels* like, or whether there are people walking around, etc. . This walk could have happened *basically anywhere*. I don't even know if there are trees!

They don't describe their physical sensations either. No mention of the weather, temperature, whether it's humid, if their clothes are soft/comfortable, etc. I'm oversimplifying the complexity of Si here, but still.

ETA: At least they look straightforwardly introverted.

[Muddy]

I'm the stubborn one so here it goes.

There's no overt focus on the physical once he slowly gets into it - note that passenger describes what he remembers and predicts: memories. He said the word "memory" itself 17 times. That's obviously .

I would think an Ni ego would have more complex way of defining past experiences rather then using to the same word 17 times. The sensory descriptions are not overly complex either but they show more variance at least.

[Jake]

I would think an Ni ego would have more complex way of defining past experiences rather then using to the same word 17 times. The sensory descriptions are not overly complex either but they show more variance at least.

I could say image, but that would convey the same meaning so why does it matter what the exact word is? I can paint a picture for you next time if you'd like.

[Muddy]

I could say image, but that would convey the same meaning so why does it matter what the exact word is? I can paint a picture for you next time if you'd like.

You can read information element vocabulary here. In general, the Ego functions tend to house the largest vocabulary.

http://www.the16types.info/vbulletin...ation-Elements


All in all, the main reason I believe you are SEI and not IEI is because most of things you mention are local in nature. No talk about anything distant like politics, the state of the world, how people think, etc. Everything mentioned here is about events or places that happened in your personal life, which is characteristic of sensors.

[Chae]

I would think an Ni ego would have more complex way of defining past experiences rather then using to the same word 17 times. The sensory descriptions are not overly complex either but they show more variance at least.

Yes, I get the point there. But what you mean is not complexity but variety. Variety is Ne. Linearity is Ni. Add Ti, which brings consistency and then you have and . Fair enough?

[Muddy]

Really? To me it seemed like most of his walk took place within his mind, and whenever he did observe the outside world, it brought a lot of mental associations.

I mean, come on... the ability to feel hungry is not primarily Si, it's something all species evolved in order to, you know... not die? (though Si egos may make this a bigger focus? Which he clearly did not do). If that were the case, a lot of the population would have starved to death or they'd be severely underweight.

My point is I don't see why someone would see those kinds of things as worthy of bringing up here in socionics discussion if they didn't have strong Si presence in the psyche.

For Ni I would expect more of the things I mentioned in my previous post like politics, the world, nuanced opinions, etc. Everything OP talked about were about things he experienced at some point with his own eyes, which points towards sensing.

[Jake]

My point is I don't see why someone would see those kinds of things as worthy of bringing up here in socionics discussion if they didn't have strong Si presence in the psyche.

For Ni I would expect more of the things I mentioned in my previous post like politics, the world, nuanced opinions, etc. Everything OP talked about were about things he experienced at some point with his own eyes, which points towards sensing.

Or just points towards Introversion? I don't think Introverts in general really care about the world's state of affairs (unless it's something they themselves particular care about). Then considering Ni-Egos to be the most detached from reality, arguably equal to or followed by the types with Se-Vulnerable, your argument doesn't really hold up.

And this post was taken over the course of 15 minutes, bright and early in the morning. If that means something. I do think about the world and where it's going but only if I have an interest in thinking about it, which I usually don't because I'm either really ampathetic or know it will turn out interesting. It's poor logic but I don't have the resources or tools to change it to develop it into a path I want it to go down so I just tend to not follow anything anyways. This has been consistent since I was a young guy. I'm more concerned with myself and my path in the world. If my place in the world eventually has something to do with changing it, then I'll focus on changing it but that isn't where my interests lie as of right now.

[GuavaDrunk]

My point is I don't see why someone would see those kinds of things as worthy of bringing up here in socionics discussion if they didn't have strong Si presence in the psyche.
(snip)

Pretty sure the point of the exercise was to write down everything you think about, not just what you felt was most relevant. Don't *you* ever randomly want a coffee or something?

[Muddy]

Don't *you* ever randomly want a coffee or something?

I do but I just get something with telling anyone and forget about it 5 minutes later, unlike some of friends I see on twitter who constantly post about being hungry. I usually eat the stuff everyday anyway so it rarely crosses my mind. Talking about things like that seem petty to me.

[Exodus]

I have to agree with @Muddy's assessment, I'm seeing a relatively concretely-focused thought process here. Sure memory is linked to Ni but here it is relatively "surface" memories of disconnected, direct experiences. That being said I haven't paid any attention to passenger's type before so they could be IEI. I just don't think this post by itself is a very illustrative example of an IEI thought process.

edit: I just read @passenger's questionnaire and although rather short it does seem IEI.

I mention these things verbally regularly. Am I Si?

Are you seriously implying that Si types don't talk/think about these things more than other types? How would you recognize an Si type thought process?

[Singu]

It might be due to influence of Buddhism and meditation. In Buddhism, you're supposed to be focused in the "here and now" and sensory things to attain happiness.

[Jake]

I have to agree with @Muddy's assessment, I'm seeing a relatively concretely-focused thought process here. Sure memory is linked to Ni but here it is relatively "surface" memories of disconnected, direct experiences. That being said I haven't paid any attention to passenger's type before so they could be IEI. I just don't think this post by itself is a very illustrative example of an IEI thought process.

edit: I just read @passenger's questionnaire and although rather short it does seem IEI.



Are you seriously implying that Si types don't talk/think about these things more than other types? How would you recognize an Si type thought process?

2 years of daily meditation could have something to do with it. I've never been this grounded before I started it. And yeah, it may not be the best example but I read @uniden 's post and figured I might as well try it.

If you have a minute and have an interest in talking about my type further, feel free to pm me.

[GuavaDrunk]

I do but I just get something with telling anyone and forget about it 5 minutes later, unlike some of friends I see on twitter who constantly post about being hungry. I usually eat the stuff everyday anyway so it rarely crosses my mind. Talking about things like that seem petty to me.

That's fair. To play devil's advocate, could your view of such matters as petty render you overly sensitive to other people mentioning such things, and thereby cause the occasional false positive for Si-like mentions of food/etc.?

[Muddy]

That's fair. To play devil's advocate, could your view of such matters as petty render you overly sensitive to other people mentioning such things, and thereby cause the occasional false positive for Si-like mentions of food/etc.?

Hmmm, not really sure how to answer this question. I guess lol.

[Singu]

I don't know if this is Ni or even healthy, but I'm almost always having "imaginary conversations" in my head. That has became the "way I think". It's like as if someone is always listening to what I say. And it's usually to prepare for what I'd say in advance. Sometimes I can't tell if I actually had the conversation in real life, or I just thought of it in my head.

Anyway, I'm sure you can't exactly explain your thought processes with simple Socionics functions.

[maniac]

The "imaginary conversations in your head" is a thing anxious people and people who are insecure of themselves do

Im trying to stop doing this because it stops the natural flow of life - youre basically trying to control your fate and pretend that YOU know best and not the universe, when thats probably not the case. I dont want life to be movie in that I rehearse everything and stop the natural flow of energy. Not authentic. Surrender and you will be free

[maniac]

That's not really how it is for me. I'm very go with the flow and very much let the universe take control of my fate. When I see an opportunity that the universe presents, I'll go with it.

I'm constantly playing out events and interactions in my head with people and predicting their reactions to how things are going to pan out. This often involves seeing conversations with people in my mind that haven't happened yet, like confrontations and such before they've even happened. This often prepares me in advanced for when these interactions or confrontations end up taking place. I often think things like, "this person will react a certain way if I act this way or do this" I'm constantly seeing past others moves and future reactions. "if I do this, this person is either going to react this way or in this way." "If I prod just a bit at this point in time and in a certain way, I'll end up getting this person to respond accordingly to me".

This is you preparing yourself for what may come, "rehearsing" which stems from control issue most people have (but are unaware of).

[maniac]

I see it more as helping me to influence the emotional atmosphere I'm involved in (which is what Fe egos do naturally). If you got control issues out of that, to each his own. lol

Um, does rehearsing imaginative possible future and past conversations bring you joy and happiness? If so, cool.

[maniac]

It's been a useful tool when interacting with others, getting things I want and saving myself from jumping into unsettling events. There are downsides to it like with anything, though.

Discomfort makes you grow

[Aylen]

I don't know if this is Ni or even healthy, but I'm almost always having "imaginary conversations" in my head. That has became the "way I think". It's like as if someone is always listening to what I say. And it's usually to prepare for what I'd say in advance. Sometimes I can't tell if I actually had the conversation in real life, or I just thought of it in my head.

Anyway, I'm sure you can't exactly explain your thought processes with simple Socionics functions.

I don't really experience this but my sister does. Actually both of my sisters do to a certain degree. The EII used to do it frequently. I thought it was an unhealthy obsession in her for awhile there. She is a 9 core but has a 6 in tritype. I am not sure of her triype but could be 469 or 269. She is also sp/sx. For me it is a different process since I don't intentionally rehearse having these conversations. I get flashes of how things could go but I would not say it is anything like "thinking" through a conversation. I sometimes have the experience of thinking I did or said something but I had only imagined it though. Meh, I think I explained my process better elsewhere.

[Aylen]

Si is about paying attention to things like hunger, thrist, sounds, smells, feeling sick, getting physically hurt etc. Most of things you mentioned included these.

I see what you are saying but these things can also be related to being sp first. This is why I think it is important for there to be some correlations between socioncs, enneagram, instincts... The younger someone is the harder it is going to be. Not enough experience to go on. :/ I didn't even get a type impression from op in this thread since it seemed like they went into this intending to pay attention to everything that came up. I was going to try doing this experiment too but I probably would have to force myself to make note of what I was doing or thinking which would feel unnatural to me. I wait for the day that technology will allow me to upload myself to the cloud and let others know what it is like to be me. Unfortunately I will be long dead before anything like this is possible.

Self Preservation Subtype:


Self preservation subtypes are focused on issues of the self and survival. This includes but is not limited to:


Health Weight Food Money Insurance Comfort Decor Disease Death Strength Vitality Nutrition Safety and Security The Environment Family/Genealogy


The Self Preservation subtype is concerned about matters of the self and their security. They often pay great attention to time, mortality and the preservation of physical satisfactory survival. Self preservation types may forgo glamor or social connection for physical comfort, security and planning for the future, and the survival of the family unit and themselves. The extent to which the self preservation element is present will be the extent to which anxiety may be present.


Self preservation types often experience anxiety around the above mentioned issues which can make them seem like a head type because of the need to plan and adequately predict unforeseen danger or possibly breaches in security. In addition, the comfort seeking element to self pres types can cause them to appear like gut types because of their desire to avoid too much complication or "fuss". However, ironically the self preservation type can be incredibly "fussy"...focus on things being just so, food sensitivities, focus on the decor of an environment or the texture of clothing or fabrics can create a neurotic fixation on things being "just right".


Of course the primary Enneagram type will influence to what extent this is played out. For example, a self-pres One will be more persnickety and focused on the particulars than a self-pres Nine but both types will be focused on their comfort, security and survival. I know a self preservation Eight who has a bit of the princess and the Pea syndrome, refusing to sleep on most mattresses because they simply don't feel right. This runs in opposition to the tough, resilient Eight style that can seemingly take on anything, but the self preservation element makes them focused on things being "just so".


Self preservation types tend to be more reserved in presentation and tend to appear more contained, quiet or conservative energetically. They also tend to have a more matter-of-fact way of speaking, preferring to leave excess conversational fluff out of the equation. In this way they can seem cold to others or removed and aloof (even if they are extroverted types such as 7s or 8s).


There is a tendency to shore up resources and possibly a strong sense of being frugal or sometimes even downright cheap. This is because resources must be properly maintained to ensure survival for themselves and those within their sphere.


Self pres types are grounded, earthy, self-contained and health conscious (or health irreverent). They may seem crusty and impersonal or warm and nurturing.

[Exodus]

I don't know if this is Ni or even healthy, but I'm almost always having "imaginary conversations" in my head. That has became the "way I think". It's like as if someone is always listening to what I say. And it's usually to prepare for what I'd say in advance. Sometimes I can't tell if I actually had the conversation in real life, or I just thought of it in my head.

Yes, that's Ni for sure.

[Exodus]

I kind of do this too. I'm constantly playing out events and interactions in my head with people and predicting their reactions to how things are going to pan out. This often involves seeing conversations with people in my mind that haven't happened yet, like confrontations and such before they've even happened. This often prepares me in advanced for when these interactions or confrontations end up taking place. I often think things like, "this person will react a certain way if I act this way or do this" I'm constantly seeing past others moves and future reactions. "if I do this, this person is either going to react this way or in this way." "If I prod just a bit at this point in time and in a certain way, I'll end up getting this person to respond accordingly to me".

Yeah, probably NiFe in particular.

I also constantly replay past conversations and interactions in my head and try to decipher the meanings behind them. A lot of times I'll connect several past events together to form "click" in my mind which results in a deeper understanding..

Can you give an example of this?

[The Reality Denialist]

Super-Id block Si. I tasted a water melon and classified it under cucumber in taxonomy. I was right.

Pretty cool but also pretty poor in terms enjoying the experience.

Alpha SF is usually phenomenal at seeing beauty of things. like : "Oh, beautiful blue eyes, perfect fit. It sounds phenomenal if you ask me." Some of them remember colors of your shirt two weeks ago. I'm like wow!
I have seen one who repainted house according to her vision and filled inside of the house with wall paintings. That's certainly out of the ordinary, of course.