Are you too observant? | INFJ Forum

Are you too observant?

Saru Inc

Saru Inc

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Well.... are you?


I am. I'm way too observant, and it can actually lead to feelings of self guilt, I'm just naturally curious... For example, just by sitting in the break room, and when I leave work I know about where 90% of the people live, their relationships, favorite food, shows, music, and.... sex positions...


But then I get really awkward when someone asks "hey where does Jessica live?" and since no one knows, I chime in with "indian river plantation next to that crappy mcdonalds" "umm do you even know Jessica?" "no... :| " WORD WEIRD.


So it's like... blargh. Though a lot fo times I just feel like an extrovert and try to make everyone interact, most of the time I'm content eating my food in the corner and listening to all of the conversations... I don't see it as being nosy, I just like to keep tabs on everything....

So to end that "anecdote," as @Melkor would put it, are you nosy? By nature, or purposefully? Are you proud of your observant nature, or ashamed?

I for one am both proud, and ashamed. I noticed stuff no one else does, but then I feel guilty when I know the inner workings of said relationship between two people, when I don't even really know either party.
 
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It depends...

I don't observe people so much, because on one hand I hate being observed and it seems hypocritical, and on the other hand people can be se boring.

Of course...I'm into Typology, call myself an INTP and am currently on an INFJ forum, so I'd be lying if I said that there are no humans that fascinate me.

I'm more like the guy who goes 'Hrm, did you ever notice that extra motion sensor in the canteen? It's placed so unevenly compared to the others, and notice it doesn't flash red? I bet it's a camera' or 'This bit of floor is a slightly brighter shade of beige...'

Then goes on to be utterly surprised when a girl goes 'Hey, you know s/he was checking you out and trying to flirt with you?'

I am sometimes extremely unobservant when it comes to social interaction, but I'm told that I have a deep understanding of motives and personal constructs that might make me an ENTP.
 
I won't say i'm observant about everything but i do notice things about people's reactions and responses to other people and situations, and it's interesting, especially when i choose to be quiet and take it all in. It's scary what you can learn and notice because of the invisibility that a quiet demeanor allows in a social setting.
 
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I'm too observant for my own good. I sometimes wish that I don't know so many things about other people and their lives. And for some reason information about other people no matter how irrelevant they are to me, sticks to my brain and resist any form of mental deleting I try to do. I don't say that being observant is entirely a curse, but it can be at times.

I can be nosy, but in general I have a problem with filtering information, so many things I just suck in without even wanting to do so. I'm neither proud nor ashamed, I'm used to it, but people around me seem to think that I should be proud of it, like that is some kind of accomplishment or a strange ability.
 
Ugh yes I remember almost everything about everyone. I also immediately notice who's shady and/or a pervert.
 
I am very observant also. I sometimes find myself getting irritated with people who don't notice things as quickly as I do but then I have to remember that I am a sort of freak of nature in that way compared to a lot of the people I live around. I think that when people wouldn't notice "obvious" things I would just assume they were being lazy or not really caring to actually try and notice. Now I realize that is just not how their brain immediately works. Not much gets by me at all.

Also, I hear you on knowing things about people you barely know, that you probably shouldn't know. This makes me extra sensitive to if I am talking about anyone nearby when I am around a group of people, even if they are in the other room, because I never know if there is someone like me out there who would notice everything that I say and might take something the wrong way. I don't mind people hearing me in general though, in fact I think part of me usually hopes someone IS paying attention to save me the trouble of having to tell them about myself...hahaha. I think I would honestly be kind of flattered of someone came up to me and started talking to me and already knew some basic things about me they picked up through observation, since I know that when I pay extra attention it is almost always just because I like someone and wish to know more about them. I'd probably assume it was the same for them.
 
The problem with this thread is that the ego drenched members of this forum are very unlikely to admit to being unobservant.

Also, I have a question, how can one know if they're unobservant?

How exactly does one know they're missing things?

Surely they would miss it?
 
Melkor said:
The problem with this thread is that the ego drenched members of this forum are very unlikely to admit to being unobservant.

Also, I have a question, how can one know if they're unobservant?

How exactly does one know they're missing things?

Surely they would miss it?
Click to expand...


"hey dude there's a typo in your essay"

oh really? I didn't notice.

Times 1000000
 
Melkor said:
Also, I have a question, how can one know if they're unobservant?

How exactly does one know they're missing things?

Surely they would miss it?
Click to expand...

This is why, even though I consider myself to be a very observant person, I am always wondering and pondering over things. Because I KNOW I miss certain things, and with as much as I do notice, I equally wonder what else I wasn't getting. I'm mostly observant of the "big picture", and some of the minor details can pass right by me (unless we are talking about random facts about people, as in the OP, even then I don't know the whole story, only bits and pieces of what I absorbed).

There are also plenty of times I am too engrossed in my own thoughts to observe much of anything at all around me. :p
 
Melkor said:
The problem with this thread is that the ego drenched members of this forum are very unlikely to admit to being unobservant.

Also, I have a question, how can one know if they're unobservant?

How exactly does one know they're missing things?

Surely they would miss it?
Click to expand...


^INTP rabble rouser
 
Can't be too observant IMO :p If that makes me nosy, then yes, I'm nosy.
 
I think at times I can be too observant. I pay attention when people are talking to me, and I have a great memory, so I remember pretty much everything of importance that people tell me.

but that does mean I can quote bits of old information at people when talking to them again, and sometimes that annoys them, because I'm very good at knowing when people are saying something untrue or contridictory, and I always feel the need to point it out.

it also annoys me, because I just can't understand why people can't remeber stuff. My poor fiance gets that a lot, because I get annoyed when people aren't as up to speed as I am.
 
observant? no. curious? yes.
 
I can be at times.

I always remember what my friend was wearing the last time I saw them, down to the socks.
I even remember how they styled their hair. I remember exactky what said friend(s) looked like ten years ago.

I remember birthdays of people that I haven't seen in almost 10 years.

I am also very aware of the body langauage of people, their slightest shift towards/away from me, the slight raise of the brow or tilt of the chin.

I also have my friends' handwriting memorized and I can tell what mood they were in when they write a note to me.

(This of course is not done completely intentionally)
 
I know what color of underwear you're all wearing right now.
 
Sure, but I can only remember information about people if I make some kind of connection to something else. For example, when I was on a mission trip in Mississippi, I took a mental note of almost every song that played during our drives to and from the work site. Everyone I was with probably couldn't name most of them, and undoubtedly none of them really cared, but since I related them to the atmosphere of the moment in which it took place, and future applications of knowing which song played when, who liked which song, which songs we enjoyed singing along to etc. I was able to remember them, as opposed to if I had been focused solely on living the moment in which the song took place, or even if I just made an objective mental note of what the song was called and who it was by.
I guess I'm observant in a very intuitive way. If it means something to me or someone I care about (whether I know them well or not), I can store away all sorts of correlating information for future use, whether it being something to bring up in conversation, or just something interesting to note for not really any reason at all. It usually helps to understand or imagine people better; their motives, what makes them tick, what their life must be like (i.e., their address, family members, kinds of clothes they wear, creative tastes etc.).
 
I used to be extremely observant, and would be aware of details that eluded others. Unfortunately, people found it strange when I did express it and I didn't always want to be as aware as I was, so I began to not pay as much attention. I think now I'm moderately observant and aware.
 
Soulful said:
I used to be extremely observant, and would be aware of details that eluded others. Unfortunately, people found it strange when I did express it and I didn't always want to be as aware as I was, so I began to not pay as much attention. I think now I'm moderately observant and aware.
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Yea... that's kind of me, but I.... I... eh. idk.
 
Too observent with the external world? No. I am observent enough, I could use a little more actually.

Too observent with myself / the internal world? Oh yeah. I put my own thoughts under such a powerful microscope that they get burned and scarred from all the focus.
 
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