Learning & Function Development

Si is good for:

• learning incrementally by always relating new knowledge to previously learned knowledge
• learning with the appropriate method by relying on tried-and-true procedures that have proven to be effective through past experience (either your own or others')
• forming good study habits because of practicing and routinizing them
• reaching greater levels of expertise because of the willingness to practice and painstakingly adjust/correct every detail that is impeding progress

Too much Si (over Ne):

• difficulty with integrating new ideas that are too far removed from your previous learning
• trouble with adapting to new learning environments
• difficulty with improvising or learning in unstructured environments where rules are not clearly defined
• difficulty with seeing the bigger picture and connecting ideas that don't have obvious connections
• difficulty brainstorming or coming up with new and viable ideas for progress
• difficulty finding the best possible method of doing something

Offset excessive Si with Ne:

• You should take more time to explore new ideas/possibilities even if you cannot see the immediate practical benefits of doing so
• Think about whether what you have learned in one subject can be creatively connected to or applied in other fields
• Think about the different ways in which an idea or concept can be applied in all manner of real life situations
• Think about how an idea can be developed into something better
• Think about whether a solution is really as effective as it could be
• Think about whether there is a more creative solution to a problem
• Think about whether there is more that can be learned
• If you cannot seem to expand your thinking, try to come up with more questions as you learn, or discuss ideas with people who help you open up your perspective
• When approaching a new idea or subject, think about why someone would study it: Have you really understood where the interest lies?
• Learning knowledge for a concrete reason like an exam is important, but true wisdom comes from being able to apply knowledge in different ways

Not enough Si:

People with low or underdeveloped Si often find it difficult to do detail-oriented work that requires precision with regard to following methods and procedures accurately. As a result, you will have a hard time accumulating detailed knowledge incrementally or improving your skills efficiently.

• Therefore, you should develop strategies/procedures to learn more sequentially: break up knowledge or materials into linear steps/modules and then follow them properly and patiently instead of jumping around in an unfocused manner
• Practice, practice, practice: learn from your mistakes and correct the details in order to foster gradual long term improvement. Learn to enjoy the process of building confidence through mastering details instead of dismissing details as boring or unnecessary

Ne is good for:

• seeing the potential in ideas/subjects for enhancing personal knowledge/interest, making progress in learning, creating positive change, or solving problems
• being very open to new ideas about how to apply knowledge in different settings
• developing a very broad knowledge base
• being creative in connecting existing ideas/details into new possibilities
• enjoying the process of discovering or exploring new possibilities

Too much Ne (over Si):

• overlooking/dismissing important rules or details that are critical for success
• trouble sticking with a subject long enough to reach high level expertise
• too easily distracted by new ideas to develop any of them to their full potential
• difficulty prioritizing what to learn and when
• difficulty following the best method or procedure for learning
• difficulty sequencing ideas carefully to form a coherent structure for the information (messy learning style)
• difficulty absorbing knowledge properly because of stopping the learning process when you only have the "gist" of something, which leads to trouble remembering important information
• difficulty forming good study habits because of undervaluing the necessity of maintaining regular habits and good physical health
• difficulty learning in environments that require extended focus and strict adherence to procedures

Offset excessive Ne with Si:

• You should develop strategies for learning methodically so that you can continue to learn even after the initial excitement has worn off. It is important to approach learning in an organized way if you want to make the best use of your time
• When you get interested in an idea or subject, the first step should be to understand the structure of the knowledge. For instance, look at the table of contents or the headers in a book/article so that you are clear about the order in which the information should ideally be learned
• Good writers organize material very deliberately in a way that facilitates efficient absorption of knowledge, so heed their system as a first step in learning
• You can also use the structure of the information to remind yourself that you have not learned enough. You might sometimes feel satisfied if you have understood the gist of the information and then stop learning. However, the gist is never enough because it fools you into thinking that you know something when you have only understood it intellectually and superficially
• The devil is always in the details
• Use the appropriate learning method or structure to break up learning into straightforward steps, creating linear benchmarks or checkpoints to reach in succession

Not enough Ne:

People with low or underdeveloped Ne often find it difficult to take an interest in subjects that they consider too foreign, abstract, or theoretical and this can severely limit their breadth of knowledge. Having a broad knowledge base is necessary for being resourceful or creative because it gives you a wide variety of resources to draw from when you need to solve a problem or think of a new idea.

• Therefore, when you encounter ideas or subjects that you initially judge as "impractical" or "useless" or "crazy", you should instead try to open up your mind to learn more. If someone else can devote their lives to studying the subject, there must surely be some value in it even though you have not seen it yet yourself
• Treat ideas as tangible objects and you will begin to see that, even if they do not have any practical application at the moment, they can potentially be useful in the future with the right development or under the right circumstances

Se is good for:

• learning quickly by using hands-on, first-hand, or participatory strategies
• observing and replicating skills accurately through imitation
• enhancing and reinforcing "muscle" memory of tasks through practice
• making fast and smart corrections through trial-and-error
• improvising and adapting well to changing conditions
• fostering enjoyment of facing challenges
• learning how to apply concepts in real-life situations
• using experimentation or practical applications to refine theory towards greater accuracy

Too much Se (over Ni):

• easily bored when there are no opportunities for active learning and participation
• easily give up in the face of difficult challenges or conditions that require perseverance and sustained long term effort
• difficulty improving skills while working alone through reflection or rote learning
• difficulty making good progress if not getting enough tangible feedback
• difficulty delaying gratification for achieving long term goals
• difficulty reaching mastery once you are proficient enough to achieve immediate goals
• difficulty learning in environments that require extended focus and long periods of physical inactivity

Offset excessive Se with Ni:

• Find alternative strategies to keep yourself engaged when ideal learning conditions do not exist: participate more in class, form study groups, choose courses/instructors that include a variety of learning methods
• Be creative in making opportunities to engage with the knowledge more interactively rather than waiting for opportunities to drop in your lap
• Sometimes, when you have achieved acceptable competence ("good enough"), you may feel that it is okay to stop learning, which means that you will never reach a deeper understanding
• Greater depth of knowledge increases your competence and performance dramatically
• If you confine yourself to learning knowledge that only has immediate or observable benefits, you will be missing out on opportunities to improve yourself
• Learn for the sake of learning itself or personal growth
• Take a more reflective approach to learning by pondering questions longer and digging more deeply into topics

Not enough Se:

People with low or underdeveloped Se often fail to see the value of interactive learning, usually preferring to observe or speculate from a distance rather than to fully participate and actively replicate, thereby missing out on good opportunities to reinforce knowledge and memory.

• Just because you seem to understand a concept intellectually the moment you hear it, doesn't mean you will remember it well or know how to "do" it, so put out greater effort to make use of ideas and concepts in practical or real-life settings
• Application also makes the learning process more interesting because you may discover all kinds of new details, extensions, or extrapolations you would not have otherwise considered

Ni is good for:

• seeing the bigger picture in terms of knowing the implications of what you're learning
• connected/unified learning that brings together many details into a meaningful whole
• synthesizing or reconciling different/opposing viewpoints
• quickly grasping the main point and the underlying meaning of words, ideas, concepts, or theories
• creation or extrapolation of new meaning from old knowledge
• willingness to patiently unravel and understand complexity
• appreciation of the unknown and filling in gaps in knowledge
• enjoyment of learning as a means to pursue personal growth

Too much Ni (over Se):

• neglecting important facts and details due to unrealistic expectations
• difficulty integrating factual details that do not fit subjective beliefs
• difficulty visualizing anything but what one already expects to happen
• overthinking or convoluted thinking patterns
• tunnel vision in terms of assigning too much importance to one particular idea or concept
• overconfident or stubborn in thinking there is only "one true way" of understanding something
• unwilling to examine/challenge (unconscious) assumptions that are impeding the learning process
• difficulty learning in environments where conditions change too quickly to predict what will happen

Offset excessive Ni with Se:

• Develop strategies that help you understand and integrate factual details better
• Be more open to accepting detailed feedback about how ideas can be adjusted to be more efficient, effective, practical, or realistic
• Value the details: think of the bigger picture not as an end goal but rather as a skeleton that requires facts and details to make up the meat of your knowledge
• Consciously link details in an orderly way, e.g., sequentially or logically, or use visual aids
• Apply ideas. Understanding the gist or main point alone is never enough because things often fall apart if you haven't considered the details carefully enough when applying knowledge

Not enough Ni:

People with low or underdeveloped Ni often find it difficult to appreciate highly abstract, theoretical, or complex subject matter.

• Thus, the first thing you should do when learning is to understand the bigger picture in order to see the importance of the knowledge rather than focusing too much on the immediate usefulness of it
• When you learn something new, think about how that knowledge can be used or applied in a variety of different contexts or settings
• Open yourself up to seeing things from different angles in order to foster patience for creative thinking
• Pay more attention to your hunches and develop them into something tangible

Ti is good for:

• dissecting or breaking down ideas to get a better understanding of basic principles
• picking apart how things work and understanding how to manipulate the variables of a system to achieve better results
• refining knowledge towards greater precision
• building up the necessary skills or accumulating the proper knowledge for undertaking a task or adapting to a new situation
• understanding cause and effect as accurately as possible
• analyzing for flaws and errors
• coming up with elegant or well-tailored solutions

Too much Ti (over Fe):

• overconfident in thinking that your solution/idea will make sense to everyone
• tunnel vision in drilling too far into little details at the expense of the bigger picture
• being too reductive in identifying simple causes for complex phenomena
• difficulty putting ideas back together into a coherent system once you've picked them apart
• not recognizing gaps in your own knowledge because of not getting enough external feedback
• not recognizing the poor quality of your ideas because of not properly testing them in the external world
• too focused on flaws and problems to appreciate the process of learning
• difficulty learning in environments that are very interactive or require complex teamwork

Offset excessive Ti with Fe:

• Avoid confusing facts and values, i.e., do not assume that "what is" is equal to "what should be"
• Be careful when trying to extrapolate from those facts into areas that are outside of your expertise
• It is important to always leave room for doubt or skepticism because one person cannot know all of the variables of a situation
• Seek out feedback and use it to improve your mental models, especially if you are trying to apply old knowledge in new situations
• Experiment and test ideas vigorously so that you have proper proof that the ideas are good

Not enough Ti:

People with low or underdeveloped Ti often have poor thinking skills. They find it difficult to parse and evaluate information, draw fine distinctions, and identify the difference between facts and values.

• Thus, improve your critical reasoning skills
• Use writing/verbalizing as a way to expose your ideas to the light. This forces you to lay out what's actually in your mind
• Whenever possible, go the extra mile to solicit critical feedback on your ideas and theories

Te is good for:

• grasping the standards that must be met in order to achieve a goal
• finding and applying the most efficient path to a goal
• cutting to the chase; getting down to brass tacks
• breaking down a goal or the learning process into clear linear steps
• organizing and planning out the stages required to reach a goal
• identifying and solving problems quickly and effectively
• determination and persistence in meeting challenges
• enjoyment of successfully removing obstacles/barriers
• leading and systematizing human movement to achieve goals

Too much Te (over Fi):

• categorical thinking that can't handle nuance
• learning only for superficial external rewards
• placing too much emphasis on external benchmarks of success
• taking shortcuts that impede further/in-depth learning
• tendency to justify the wrong method to achieve the desired result
• too focused on results to enjoy the journey
• mental laziness in only doing the bare minimum to reach standards
• difficulty learning in unstructured or chaotic environments

Offset excessive Te with Fi:

• When you work too much for external gains/rewards, you start to lose sight of why you are learning in the first place. Where is your personal passion?
• Be less focused on results and focus instead on how learning enriches your personal growth
• When you focus entirely on results, you will end up ignoring all kinds of important information
• Results-oriented and excessively streamlined learning can be detrimental in your personal life because it causes you to jump to conclusions too quickly
• When you want to apply old knowledge to new situations, take more time to make careful and detailed comparisons

Not enough Te:

People with low or underdeveloped Te tend to have difficulty learning in an organized way because they find it hard to: pinpoint the most important information, plan and structure actions, and persist when learning becomes difficult or technically complex.

• Organize your thoughts by improving your critical thinking skills
• Organize your actions by learning how to plan and manage time better
• Organize your life by setting achievable goals and taking linear steps towards them
• Organize your personal growth by tackling each of your flaws/weaknesses one by one

Fi is good for:

• fostering personal interest, passion, or motivation in learning
• expressing yourself and your values through your work
• taking healthy pride in what you produce
• producing work that has a positive impact on the world in terms of benefiting people's well-being or helping them to be more open to healthy self-expression
• being highly devoted to what you love to do

Too much Fi (over Te):

• difficulty learning things that you are uninterested in or dislike
• fluctuating motivation makes it difficult to persist toward long term goals
• getting easily bogged down as you reach higher levels of learning that require more effort or practice
• rationalizing poor results away by claiming that you don't care or that "the system" is stacked against you
• tendency to inflate problems because of excessive worry/anxiety
• avoiding difficult problems or complex issues because of low self-esteem
• feeling unqualified to express a coherent opinion
• difficulty with logical analysis
• difficulty understanding why certain rules and standards must be followed
• difficulty learning in environments that do not allow enough space and acceptance for personal expression

Offset excessive Fi with Te:

• Strategy, strategy, strategy. The one question that you should always default to when you hit any obstacle is: "What's my strategy?"
• Find strategies to improve motivation like: do projects with others, have others remind you of what is important, schedule better so you don't get overwhelmed
• There are many ways to solve a problem, therefore, avoid sinking into hopelessness and, instead, brainstorm and test out different strategies
• Don't repeat bad strategies. Instead of beating yourself up when you fail, take it as a chance to learn from your mistakes
• If possible, build confidence by applying your knowledge and skills in scenarios where you can be helpful to others

Not enough Fi:

People with low or underdeveloped Fi tend to have difficulty with understanding personal factors that influence learning.

• When you are learning, do not merely learn for the sake of some empty goal that society or the system tells you is important. You should also think about whether the learning has some personal importance or significance to you
• Think about how to harness personal passion and self-expression to support learning
• Apply your knowledge in interesting ways: Do creative activities to reinvigorate your interest in subjects that have become too humdrum or routine

Fe is good for:

• broad understanding by considering a wide variety of viewpoints
• learning quickly through sharing and exchanging ideas efficiently
• building up a powerful knowledge base quickly through combining good ideas from multiple minds
• using feedback to quickly weed out bad ideas
• learning subjects that are related to human experience
• learning in environments that make heavy use of teamwork, consensus building, or people skills
• learning information related to resolving people/social problems
• helping, encouraging, and improving morale/motivation

Too much Fe (over Ti):

• too easily swayed by outside opinions, to the point of being a flipflopper
• lack of confidence in expressing own opinions or difficulty forming firm judgments
• difficulty learning on your own without enough outside feedback
• work too much for external rewards and neglect intrinsic motivation or personal development
• difficulty parsing complex or purely technical concepts
• difficulty spotting contradictions/flaws in own thinking without help
• difficulty with subjects that do not relate back to human experience
• difficulty learning in environments that are too competitive or critical

Offset excessive Fe with Ti:

• Be more patient when you are dealing with technical or complicated information. Take time to break down ideas carefully
• Don't take information at face value, rather, develop the habit of questioning what you are learning
• Develop your analytical and critical thinking skills so that you know how to evaluate ideas for truth/falsity by yourself
• Examine how you handle criticism because you should be able to welcome critical analysis of your ideas
• Sometimes it might seem like technical information is too dry or boring but it is necessary to learn

Not enough Fe:

People with low or underdeveloped Fe tend to have difficulty trusting outside opinions or asking for help in learning.

• Be more willing to consider different perspectives on the topic
• Try to look at all sides of a topic before drawing conclusions
• Acknowledge that "objectivity" is an extremely high bar. Oftentimes, ideas cannot be divorced from people's personal experience