The Past Affects Every Type

Personality theory enthusiasts, even the experienced ones, have this tendency to get lost in weeds. We over analyze everything, attempting to attribute every action or thought to one of the eight functions. In doing so, we essentially drown in a vast sea of function theory, and begin to lose sight of some basic facts, which is possibly why so many people scoff at personality theory altogether.

Introverted Sensing (Si) has been overly associated with the past. I mean, I get it. Si use has strong ties to the past. However, that doesn’t mean that every past recollection, or every moment of nostalgia is Si. Think about this realistically for a second. Is it only the Si users that reminisce? Can only an Si user want revenge for some past injustice? Do only Si users get burnt by a betrayal? Logically, we know this is not true. Yet, everyone wants to use all of this as Si evidence.

Are the Se users always doing new ground breaking things, and never repeating anything from their past? Is it impossible for them to develop a preconceived notion based on what they’ve already experienced in the past? Do you think anyone is completely exempt from bias? Think rationally. If you think about where bias even comes, you’ll realize that it’s always based in the past: some lesson someone internalized, or a specific subset of experiences that drove them to one conclusion. Every type overlays reality with their ‘biases’ to some degree. For instance, if you have a bad experience at a restaurant, you’re not likely to return to it, whether or not you’re an Si user. Inversely, if you know a restaurant is good, you’re likely to return to it at some point no matter what your type. Are Se users more likely to explore other restaurants? Sure. But that doesn’t mean they won’t occasionally return to the known and well established good ones. Let’s be realistic. Of course, this obviously extends to life decisions. Deep down everyone is a creature of habit, to some degree. One can’t be in a permanent state of doing new things. Ne-Si users, Si-Ne users, Ni-Se users, and Se-Ni users will all, to some extent, use the past as a template for their future. After all, we only know what we know, right? (Or inversely, we don’t know what we don’t know.)

So, let’s talk about association to one’s past starting with Si. I’ve explained in many articles that Si is the internal storage of sensory data, resulting in a keen, detailed connection to one’s past. Essentially, this means Si users relive and recall their past in a detailed way. This is why high Si users are so avoidant of repeating certain things, or so determined to repeat things a certain way. When the past says don’t do it, they can remember all the many reasons why it shouldn’t be repeated on an intimate, personal level. They prefer to stick with the tried and true so as not to risk storing away more painful or uncomfortable memories (which they will later remember in great detail). They want to rely on their experience, and use it to protect them. Of course, the lower Si users will be much more open to new experiences, but they should still relate to the basic memory premise.

Now let’s talk Ni. Does it seem realistic that Ni users can never get a painful memory burned into their brain? Of course not! Ni users can have tragic pasts, and (-gasp-) Ni users can even learn from their past experiences. In fact, without personal experience, Ni use would not likely be very accurate. Ni users don’t start out just “magically” knowing things. They exercise their Ni over time, drawing in information in the form of patterns and impressions as they observe and experience life.  Ni users, like Si users, even have the potential to cling to certain objects for nostalgia reasons or for memory’s sake. Honestly, it’s not the Si users, but the feelers that are most nostalgic or sentimental of us all. (Check this: Sentimentality: Just an Si Tendency?) As a lower Ni user, I hold on to certain things because they will revive those happy memories in my mind. Otherwise, my memory is crap.

So, what will an Ni user’s relationship with the past be like? Ni past recollection is definitely different than Si recollection. I’ve previously compared it to a blurred photo, but perhaps that’s not giving it much justice. It’s like that old saying… “can’t see the forest for the trees”, only for the Ni user it’s the reverse. Ni users remember the event as whole. The implications, the impression, the result, what it meant… Ni is basically really quick pattern recognition. While Si users are comparing individual details, Ni users are comparing templates, rather than sifting through all of the excess information that originally created the template. Of course, if they apply the wrong template, they’ll end up just as wrong as the Si user who is connecting details out of context. 

I’m going to switch over to an Ne vs Ni comparison for the sake of further explaining Ni and the past. Ne is known for being paranoid. Their what-ifs (most of which initially spur from some kind of concrete Si data point) can easily turn into a million possible negative scenarios, resulting in them worried about a bunch of impractical and unrealistic scenarios. Sure, many of the data points will have occurred in the past… perhaps not their personal past, but someone’s past or history in general; and they have stored these details away as for future reference, which they can now misapply to their current situation. This is the bad Ne use that is typically associated with the lower Ne users (Si doms and auxs). However, high Ne users are just as prone to doing it as inferior users. The only guarantee high Ne users have is that they’ll use their Ne much more frequently… While frequent use will usually result in frequent good use, experience has shown me that that is, unfortunately, not always the case…. (Note: I’m not trying to specifically pick on the Ne users here. I apply this principle across the board, to every personality/function)

Ni fears are slightly different. While any person may occasionally fall into a bout of mild paranoia, Ni as a whole tends to focus on one negative outcome rather than many. So this means that if something happens in the Ni user’s past that is bad enough to leave some kind of scar, that is what they will fear. They will fear more than anything else that that one event will rear it’s ugly head in their life at some point again in their future. They will dread the possible repeat of that one event. If you’re an anime fan (since I know many of this blog’s followers are), think Nico Robin from One Piece. The buster call. She would do absolutely anything to prevent it from happening again, and initially yielded to every demand without putting up any kind of a fight.

This bridges into an application of the Ni tunnel vision stereotype. An Ni user who has suffered a significant enough event will take the template formed from that event and keep a constant lookout for it in the future. If an Ni user has determined that a repeat of said event is likely or inevitable, they may see it behind every corner, and avoid any situation that may provoke a similar event. Starting to sound kind of like an Si user? Yes, a bit. We’re all human after all. All of the 16 types share some of the same basic behaviors. One’s type is more determined by the inner workings of their mind, and the motives behind their actions.

Unfortunately, because of the nature of introverted functions, it can be difficult to accurately identify them on sight, which has lead to people just simplifying Ni down to future oriented and Si down to past oriented. However, that over simplification is grossly inaccurate, since Si dominants are some of the most meticulous planners you will ever meet… as a result of their relationship with their past. 🙂 Bottom line, if at all possible, try to look for how someone is relating to their past, and you may be able to find some clues about which function pair they are using.