MBTI and the Sensing/Intuition Preference Pair

Some additional information on the Sensing/Intuition (S/N) preference pair, as I explained to a friend on-line:

Sensing preference focuses on individual facts and what they are. It is all about the details and the practical realities. It prefers information and tasks that are organized and presented in an orderly, sequential format. The Sensing preference relies on the five senses.

Intuitive preference, on the other hand, focuses on what the facts mean rather than whey they are. It pays more attention to connections and implications between the facts than to facts and details alone. It prefers information that is introduced with a "big picture" overview.

If we were talking photography, Sensing would see a macro shot first then may slowly zoom out to take in the bigger picture; and Intuition would see the wide-angle shot first and may slowly zoom in to see the close-up.

Another fascinating thought is that our preferences can be influenced by various factors. We have innate preferences (nature), but the way we experience, develop, use and express those preferences are influenced by our culture, family, education, etc. (nurture). It takes both to make up the complete picture of who we are, and trying to find our true type can be very confusing. The purpose of the MBTI is to find out what that "nature" part of our personality is. I think it can have a significant effect on how we deal with the world and also how we look at ourselves.