Post by Auburn on Jun 17, 2017 14:31:23 GMT -5
While elements of narrativism were mentioned (i.e. storytelling) in relation to Pi, a much more thorough understanding of it has come into striking focus for me lately, as I discover more about the Pi function. The Pe+Pi duality can be metaphorically seen as the scout and the map.
In human use, a map isn't just a story-less and static object. A map shows the routes of things, interesting places, and how to get there. There are pathways involved in it and a sense of directionality. But that itself is actually not an appropriate metaphor because while a map is a 2D topological object, the world as fully conceived by the human (and Pi) mind is a 4D object with a time dimension, which also incurs the same would-be topological properties.
Pi can see "lessons" because it can see the unbroken chain/path, or narrative, involving elements in both physical and chronological spaces. Or the 'geographic' relationship of situations across time.
Now this narrative often carries no dogmatic message in it; the same way a novel or story is more than anything the telling of an experience. And these experiences, collectively, inform us about "what is life/reality." And as this is ultimately what we all are aimed at figuring out, this is Pi's solution.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zweilous recently asked me how we can know if Si is unconscious or conscious, and Collo the same about Ni. And I wanna elaborate on my answers to them here, given my present grasp on the subject.
Si: Fetishized
Lets start with Si as may exist in an infantile, lower function position. The first signs we might see of its growth is in it's ability to aide Ne's novel exploration by being a kind of "backpack" for the things Ne finds. Pokemon collecting, card collecting, rock collecting, Adam Savage's model building, trivia-banking information, etc. Nostalgia for Ne novelties and ideas.
Si: Subconscious
Operating subconsciously, Si becomes a co-author of the mind, or an important yet still subordinate agent. For example, in myself I see Si helping me catalog the hundreds of samples and celebs into appropriate categories. In conjunction with Ti, Si aides in forming taxonomies, and basically helps "hold" the structure of Ti's castle. But again, Si's own views or aspirations are not being pursued directly for their own sake.
Si: Conscious
The difference between a subconscious and conscious function is that a conscious function's desires can stand on their own, and the function has full agency in the psyche as a genuine "vector" moving towards the elements it's attracted to.
A fully conscious Si thinks in stories and narratives, and is driven by understanding the story that is this reality. Si will ignite an interest in topic such as geography, geology, botany, ecology, evolutionary biology, hiking... possibly history, etc. Much like Ni, it will want to see the "bigger picture" in which all these earthly factors fit. The global narrative. Being able to trace the antiquity of objects is just one side effect of this. It's not that Si is attracted to "old" things just for the sake of it. It's because old things have narrative, they have history and worldview value. A lamp is not just a lamp but a symbol of an object that permeated hundreds of houses back in the 1920s. It's a token of a time period. But more specifically, it is "the very lamp" that so-and-so touched and used. There's a direct contact with a specific (S) narrative. And this is the origin of the nostalgia. The more of these static (S) pieces are collected, the clearer the narrative becomes; the progression through time. Hence why Si is focused on finding specific artifacts of history (sediment layers, notes, etc) in an attempt to better grasp the somatic (S) story (Pi) of the world/universe.
"Lessons" are just an awareness of how some of these time-trails rise, fall, and re-arise over time. Si is prudent because it understands the progression of events. And as it so happens, understanding the progression of events helps you anticipate outcomes in similar future situations.
I don't think I ever viewed Si this way before, partly because my own Si's still subconscious and I tend to caricatureize it. And naturally some Si-leads don't really manifest these deeper aspects of Si, but the same goes for any function, as not every user follows through to the deepest layers. But we can see Si's larger functionality in those who do embody it fully. (i.e. Tolkien's entire exercise is an example of Si somatic narrative formation, wherein he created a rich and detailed alternative history of the world)
The understated nature of Pi
Many Pi-lead types (especially Pi-heavy Pi-leads) will appear less externally dynamic than other, perhaps also ambiguous, aimless or otherwise quite uneventful. There are several aspects to this. The first is their introverted nature, which is not seeking external expression. But the second is the lack of fixed (J) delineation.
So while Ji can more clearly spell out their internal world, insofar as a Pi type's world lacks language structuring, it will be altogether an amorphous experience personally felt about the world. The wisdom of such a Pi type is instead seen best in their life flow than in precisely what they say. They will live out what they know, more than they will articulate it.
As is always the case for introverted functions, it's more for the individual than for the world. So it matters less to a Pi-lead if their panoramic sight is clearly reflected in "form" to others, so long as their collection of knowledge serves to give them evolving understanding about the contours of the world we live in.
In human use, a map isn't just a story-less and static object. A map shows the routes of things, interesting places, and how to get there. There are pathways involved in it and a sense of directionality. But that itself is actually not an appropriate metaphor because while a map is a 2D topological object, the world as fully conceived by the human (and Pi) mind is a 4D object with a time dimension, which also incurs the same would-be topological properties.
Pi can see "lessons" because it can see the unbroken chain/path, or narrative, involving elements in both physical and chronological spaces. Or the 'geographic' relationship of situations across time.
Now this narrative often carries no dogmatic message in it; the same way a novel or story is more than anything the telling of an experience. And these experiences, collectively, inform us about "what is life/reality." And as this is ultimately what we all are aimed at figuring out, this is Pi's solution.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zweilous recently asked me how we can know if Si is unconscious or conscious, and Collo the same about Ni. And I wanna elaborate on my answers to them here, given my present grasp on the subject.
Si: Fetishized
Lets start with Si as may exist in an infantile, lower function position. The first signs we might see of its growth is in it's ability to aide Ne's novel exploration by being a kind of "backpack" for the things Ne finds. Pokemon collecting, card collecting, rock collecting, Adam Savage's model building, trivia-banking information, etc. Nostalgia for Ne novelties and ideas.
Si: Subconscious
Operating subconsciously, Si becomes a co-author of the mind, or an important yet still subordinate agent. For example, in myself I see Si helping me catalog the hundreds of samples and celebs into appropriate categories. In conjunction with Ti, Si aides in forming taxonomies, and basically helps "hold" the structure of Ti's castle. But again, Si's own views or aspirations are not being pursued directly for their own sake.
Si: Conscious
The difference between a subconscious and conscious function is that a conscious function's desires can stand on their own, and the function has full agency in the psyche as a genuine "vector" moving towards the elements it's attracted to.
A fully conscious Si thinks in stories and narratives, and is driven by understanding the story that is this reality. Si will ignite an interest in topic such as geography, geology, botany, ecology, evolutionary biology, hiking... possibly history, etc. Much like Ni, it will want to see the "bigger picture" in which all these earthly factors fit. The global narrative. Being able to trace the antiquity of objects is just one side effect of this. It's not that Si is attracted to "old" things just for the sake of it. It's because old things have narrative, they have history and worldview value. A lamp is not just a lamp but a symbol of an object that permeated hundreds of houses back in the 1920s. It's a token of a time period. But more specifically, it is "the very lamp" that so-and-so touched and used. There's a direct contact with a specific (S) narrative. And this is the origin of the nostalgia. The more of these static (S) pieces are collected, the clearer the narrative becomes; the progression through time. Hence why Si is focused on finding specific artifacts of history (sediment layers, notes, etc) in an attempt to better grasp the somatic (S) story (Pi) of the world/universe.
"Lessons" are just an awareness of how some of these time-trails rise, fall, and re-arise over time. Si is prudent because it understands the progression of events. And as it so happens, understanding the progression of events helps you anticipate outcomes in similar future situations.
I don't think I ever viewed Si this way before, partly because my own Si's still subconscious and I tend to caricatureize it. And naturally some Si-leads don't really manifest these deeper aspects of Si, but the same goes for any function, as not every user follows through to the deepest layers. But we can see Si's larger functionality in those who do embody it fully. (i.e. Tolkien's entire exercise is an example of Si somatic narrative formation, wherein he created a rich and detailed alternative history of the world)
The understated nature of Pi
Many Pi-lead types (especially Pi-heavy Pi-leads) will appear less externally dynamic than other, perhaps also ambiguous, aimless or otherwise quite uneventful. There are several aspects to this. The first is their introverted nature, which is not seeking external expression. But the second is the lack of fixed (J) delineation.
So while Ji can more clearly spell out their internal world, insofar as a Pi type's world lacks language structuring, it will be altogether an amorphous experience personally felt about the world. The wisdom of such a Pi type is instead seen best in their life flow than in precisely what they say. They will live out what they know, more than they will articulate it.
As is always the case for introverted functions, it's more for the individual than for the world. So it matters less to a Pi-lead if their panoramic sight is clearly reflected in "form" to others, so long as their collection of knowledge serves to give them evolving understanding about the contours of the world we live in.
)
. Not much sticks anymore. I noticed with the last bout of depression, it was during a very intense conflict period in my life from a relationship, and I could almost feel my hippocampus shrinking before my eyes. Even now, I can't remember a spec of what I used to...and my working memory has greatly been affected. I noticed when I was playing with my son, I can't even remember sometimes who won a game of pool minutes after it happens.