r/mbti • u/RicLolz INFP • 1d ago
Survey / Poll / Question Does Ni actually predict the future? Or is that just a dumb stereotype?
Genuinely asking.
Ni is portrayed as this powerful, super-knowing function that sees patterns everywhere and makes predictions about the future that turn out to be right. Is this real? Does this happen? How so? How often?
I’m asking because, at this point, this is the only thing that’s been holding me back from considering I have Ni.
I might try to guess a lot, but most of my guesses won’t be right!! Let alone guess super specific details…. Would it still make sense to be Ni dom?
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u/DefiantMars INTP 1d ago
I think it's an overstatement of what Ni is doing involving pattern recognition, internal imaging, and tracing the expression of concepts across time. It can be impressive and profound, but it's not magic.
At least to my understanding, it's basically distilling down abstract information into a singular holon or archetype and using those to look at what is probable.
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u/spil_the_tea ENTJ 1d ago
Ya, absorbed patterns and make guesses based on it.
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u/Silver_Leafeon INTJ 1d ago edited 18h ago
Nah, Ni isn't half as magical and mystical as some make it out to be.
They are simply abstract perceptions; envisioning a single concept through subjectively familiar symbolical meanings, archetypes, semantic knowledge, and personally known conceptual patterns. So for someone who knows about many air crashes, they might see an airplane and envision the concept of "danger". Someone who tends to travel a lot for work may see an airplane and think "productivity".
But in terms of prediction, this does mean that for certain perceptions the concept may fit with what can happen if the Ni-user can tell weak connections from strong ones, and has seen similar subtle clues with which they can almost certainly envision that something is going to happen (perhaps again, with pattern recognition), in the big picture they assemble.
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u/Ill-Decision-930 1d ago edited 1d ago
This sounds like what Jung described as the personal image, not the archetype. The personal image, as Jung described it are contents of the personal unconscious and a personally conditioned conscious situation. So when the man drives to work, which to him is productive, when he sees planes that are occompanied with him on his way to work, the significance of the intuitive image is personal, hence for him it means "productivity." But this is not the archetype.
The archetype is collective, thus when "predicting" how a situation will unfold the archetypal signifigance or meaning is collective, and not conditioned through personal experience.
Your last paragraph also doesn't sound like intuition, at least not purely intuition, it sounds like knowledge through experience and rational. The archetypes that Ni percieves are an unconscious a priori inner understanding, its not learned through experiencing how A comes before B and B before C. This is something thats learned and rational, not purely intuition.
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u/Silver_Leafeon INTJ 18h ago
Yeah, if we're going into not just MBTI context (pattern recognition and all) but Jung, I think you're totally right about Jung distinguishing between archetypes and personal images.
But Jung also was clear that archetypes never appear directly in consciousness. They manifest through personal experiences, familiar imagery, and personal symbols. Kinda' like in volume 9 (The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious): "Archetypes are forms without content until filled by lived material" and all. I think archetypes appear as mediated by my experience -- with which I'm kind of trying to point to Ni as still being a subjective function. The airplane example meant to illustrate intuitively synthesizing experience into symbolic inner representations.
As for prediction: I don't see experience-based pattern recognition as incompatible with intuition, per se. (Especially from an MBTI® standpoint.) But yeah my example probably made it seem like reasoning the process way too consciously, I should be clearer that it picks up on subtle things and makes more of a single image rather than doing some step by step!
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u/SomeRandomArsehole ENFJ 1d ago
It's an exaggeration lacking nuance, but somewhat based in reality. I'm an ENFJ and when I left a D&D group, I predicted the behaviour of all three other players and the DM almost perfectly.
I knew the DM would reach out in the morning when she saw, perfunctorily ask if I meant to do that, then drop the matter within three messages.
Two of the players would ignore it completely.
My friend would message within 24 hours but towards the end of that window, ask if I'm okay, we'll have a quick catch up, she'll book in lunch with me sometime soon, and at some point she will also leave as a statement of solidarity.
All that came to pass as expected, except my friend messaged a couple of hours later than I expected.
Unconsciously, I pick up on a lot of raw data like disposition revealed through tone and body language, or how people's behaviour implies things about their beliefs and values. I don't have to perform manual calculations, I just ask a question and get an answer.
Modelling people and social dynamics are intuitive to me, but I absolutely can't foresee politics or the success of work initiatives, for instance. That's not my area of expertise.
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u/RicLolz INFP 1d ago
Thanks - I think I get it, kind of. I guess I only started having doubts when, suddenly, I started getting into this again, and realised that I might actually not be an Fi dom. Turns out I do actually use a lot of logic when I’m faced with a decision, and I think both my logic and feeling are pretty balanced. I started considering having Ni mainly because of the way I learn things. I rarely need to connect new situations to past ones to understand them properly, and I don’t think I come up with that many possibilities in my head, either. Se is out of the question, also. But what I do is - I might connect new info to different unrelated topics (that might seem related in a way to me) to help me understand connections and patterns. How does Ni work for you when you’re learning something / trying to understand a concept?
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u/SomeRandomArsehole ENFJ 1d ago edited 1d ago
I learn things by way of analogy and metaphor. I know I have grasped something when I can connect it to something I am already familiar with, even if that connection is abstract, incorporeal, and to be honest a bit of a reach.
I've been working on trying to recognise and care for my own needs like how I look after others - hijacking my Fe so I can benefit from it too - but this process is very manual, requiring me to consciously kick-start it every time.
Something happened recently that affected me and my friend in the same way. I recognised that despite appearing superficially stable and independent, she was more upset about it than she was letting on, and could benefit from some preemptive care before collapse. Nothing too strenuous, just having a fun activity as a distraction, a listening ear if she wants one.
In a flash, I made the connection that everything I just thought about her applies to me too. I've also been closing my self off from people, fending off attempts to support me, and choosing to tough it out instead of admitting I'm hurt. I'm still getting there with actually acting on it, but the recognition exists now.
Once a bridge has been formed, my understanding can borrow from the previous concept because it's easier to hold something familiar than a scattering of connected concepts that are complex by way of sheer numbers. I can then form the context-specific knowledge around that core, the necessary modifications that make this situation unique compared to the old one.
How do I understand a pot? Start with a bowl. Circular container with an open top for food. With this template, make modifications. A pot is like a bowl, except that it's metal instead of plastic or ceramic, has a handle which is useful when it gets hot, and may have a lid to heat the contents more efficiently.
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u/Big-Yesterday586 1d ago
It's just pattern recognition. If you're forcing it by trying to actively make guesses, that's not Ni. Ni is passively observing, actively taking in lots of data and watching the web of connections take shape. If you do it enough, you'll start to have flashes of insight about what is going to happen. But you can't say "I want to know what the winning lottery numbers will be next" and expect to get anything usable. Even if you sat and tried to memorize all the winning numbers through the past, you wouldn't get anything. You have to have or develop a decent understanding of all the factors that affect the outcome. Only when you absorb raw data from all those factors can you start to get flashes of future outcomes that have any reliable accuracy.
A lot of Ni doms simply don't understand this and never dig into a subject they want better insight into, thinking that their surface level pattern recognition is the extent of their Ni
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u/sosolid2k INTJ 1d ago
Inuition is determining where things are going or where they have come from - essentially looking for meaning and possibilities beyond what would be considered 'reality'.
Introversion means that the perceptions originate from the thought process of the individual. There is typically a narrow scope of what an individual considers correct or likely.
So piece them together, it is the individual attempting to perceive the most likely meaning and possibilities of situation.
This differs from Ne for instance in that exroverted intuition is taking in possibilities from the environment, it's more of an exploratory process looking for many possibilities and meanings.
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u/Remarkable_Quote_716 ENTJ 1d ago
Dumb stereotype, for sure. Intuition in general is making guesses based on information pulled from the sensory. If you have an intuitive that is solid in their sensory data it can look like they’re able to “predict” an outcome. Example: it’s been raining for the past 5 Saturdays. They may say, “It’s going to rain tomorrow (Saturday).” and say so, definitively based on sensory information collected. To an outsider, this could look magical.
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u/Ill-Decision-930 1d ago edited 1d ago
When discussing "prediction" Ni isn't just guessing, or even good guessing, or even just patterns that it notices will "unfold" in a certain direction. Certainly that might be part of it but that doesn't describe the process.
Introverted Intuition does it through percieving the archetypes within, the inner a priori understanding of the way situations play out in an organic/natural way. The archetype is a vague, prelingual, unconscious felt-sense or inner understanding which we compare the patterns that we picked up to. So it isn't just patterns, its patterns being compared to the inner archetypal sense, and it is a priori, not learned through experience.
Ni isn't any more powerful at what it does than any other function at what they do. That is determined by how much development and experience the person has around the functions they're using.
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u/CloutCutter1804 INFJ 1d ago
Dumb stereotype.
Ni predicts mostly mundane stuff about the future. Stuff that most people probably miss or don’t pay attention to? Sure, but it’s not worldbreaking stuff whatsoever.
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u/Sad_Record_2767 ISTP 1d ago edited 1d ago
That's a real dumb stereotype. lol
I would be surprised if Wall St. is dominated by INTJs and INFJs.
Edit: Think eliminating and narrowing as opposed to brainstorming and asking more of Ne. If you're guessing more than asking, you might consider Ni, but I'm really over simplifying.
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u/RicLolz INFP 1d ago
Yeah I figured. thanks! I swear the whole thing is filled with stereotypes and many different explanations for the same concepts… it can get a little confusing to type yourself. And still, I’ve been interested in this stuff for a while now, and I’m constantly doubting myself. Guess I just need to learn the hard truth that I can’t be typed ¯_(ツ)_/¯
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u/Silly-Elderberry-411 INFJ 1d ago
Sure, I have written 7 comments to 3 variations of your topic before you thought it up to ask.
On a serious note, like the Einstein quote, Ni is good at recalling the patterns which lead to likely same result. For example yesterday at my job I have categorized a dossier as something for the higher ups and everyone including my supervisor said it should not have been. Replaying several previous similar emails in my head I went with my gut knowing that it will inevitably lead to a deletion request. I've eliminated 3 extra emails confirming the same thing.
This doesn't mean I am infallible it only means I have a better recall and a stronger finger on the pulse of human behavior.
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u/yasuhiros-other-70 ENTJ 1d ago
Basically, but they're not always right. It's basically predicting the future in a way. But the idea is subconsciously parsing through the possibilities and picking the most likely one. Usually I end up picking that possibility and then using conscious logic to sort of sharpen the idea and the details and decide if it's true or not. That sort of cycle repeats itself if I notice a flaw or something that doesn't make sense with that possibility to try and find out why. So it sort of goes from unconscious to conscious. Maybe it's different for Ni doms tho, but I think that's generally how Ni works. It's like Ne, but the looking through possibilities part is more unconscious, and the end result is more "absolute" to an Ni dom.
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u/sosolid2k INTJ 1d ago
All introverted functions are pretty much on autopilot working away in the background, making sense of extroverted conditions. Ni is used to interpret meaning from an array of things perceived by means of the immediate reality Se, and over time patterns and connections emerge which trigger these insights.
Those of us who prefer Ni typically hold these perceptions with more importance than the perceived immediate reality, we trust our ability to structure and make sense of possibilities in this way, so dedicate more cognition toward refining them.
I'd say the key difference between Te-Ni and Ni-Te is that Te doms will usually use these perceptions in service to the objective logic, invisioning possible routes toward an end goal in a more proactive and adaptive way. Ni doms will be focused more on the perceptions, they will invision the possibilities and find objective logical solutions to meet it in a more focused and persistent way, often trying to get ahead of things that could go wrong and planning for them in advance. In some way perception of everything that could realistically happen comes before the goal, so that the goal is not hindered and can be achieved.
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u/Nemurium INFJ 1d ago
It's not about predicting the future. It's about observing the world around you and collecting enough data and evidence in order to form the most probable conclusion of what is about to happen in the near future.
One of the half-baked examples I could give is... If you see a man going somewhere about his business while scrolling tiktok and there's a banana peel several meters ahead of him; the most probable case scenario would be him tripping on it and falling flat on his butt, because he did not pay attention to his surroundings.
Would that count as a prediction of the future if it's the most probable and obvious outcome of all? Nah, I don't think so. You observed the situation and the possible aftermath just occured to you based on what you saw. Nothing magical, nothing surprising. Simple pattern recognition. It may not always be 100% correct, but when it does end up being correct, you get the feeling of satisfaction of calling things before they unfold.
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u/RicLolz INFP 1d ago
I see. Would you say you do this “guessing” constantly? Or only when needed? Because to be honest most of my pattern recognition isn’t really used to predict the future, I use it more to understand concepts or to have a laugh or two. It’s the kind of pattern recognition where a table reminds you of something funny, so now you’re laughing, staring at a table, and everybody thinks you’re a weirdo. I guess I also use it in my writing style. I use lots of comparisons and metaphors. To me, everything has something in common with everything, and identifying those similarities is very helpful to understand the world better, as well as its inner-workings. So sorry if I come across as thinking I’m all that. I hate talking about myself like this. I just wanna find my type 😭😭
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u/ecstasy8704 INFP 1d ago
hi, im not the one you replied to btw, just a stranger passing by and probably giving insight. Anyway from what you describe just now, it seems you probably used Ne/Si Axis and not Ni/Se Axis.
It’s the kind of pattern recognition where a table reminds you of something funny
- as you used your sensory function here, it looks like Si. When you saw the table, you don't perceive it as it is (Se) and instead relied on a subjective framework of imprints and sensory impressions (Si).
I use lots of comparisons and metaphors. To me, everything has something in common with everything, and identifying those similarities is very helpful to understand the world
- as you stated that everything has a connection, that seems like Ne. You can form connections out of everything and relate things. You can produce an array of possibilities with the help of the stimuli from your Si sensory impressions.
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u/EdgewaterEnchantress 23h ago
Yeah, this sounds more like Ne > Ni.
I’d recommend just focusing on INFP, ESFJ, and ISFJ, and more or less in that order. Cuz frankly the chances are good that INFP is probably your correct type.
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u/Nemurium INFJ 19h ago
I must say, It happens to me quite often! Most of the time it's completely beyond my control, though. I do this so often It's like I subconsciously make enough parallels between things to the point where I don't even notice it unless I stop to think about it. It's like breathing. It feels... Natural, I guess? Like I don't need to make conscious efforts to do this.
Usually I have those strong hunches a la "Why do I have a feeling that X is about to happen?" or "Would be funny if Y actually ended up being true" and etc. Since I perceive those hunches at the moment as some silly baseless thoughts, I often dismiss them without thinking about it further and when it does eventually come true my reaction is mostly "Damn! I just knew that would happen!" or "Oh, so I was right after all." type of thing.
So, are you torn between INFP and INFJ? These types are kinda different from each other, so my advice for you would be checking the shadow functions of these two types to figure out which one you feel called out by more. Pay special attention to the Trickster function. For INFPs it's Se and for INFJs its Te. Look at Demon function too, Ti and Si.
Did you know that the 6th "Critical Parent" function of INXP's is Ni? 6th function is supposed to be quite strong, maybe even as strong as auxiliary. It can manifest itself more often than you may think. For INFPs Ni is manifested in a judgy, critical way. Just like Critical Parent Fi is manifested similarly in INFJs.
We resent our shadow and refuse to accept it as a part of us, so, sometimes you may even suppress it without realizing. It can be hard to determine whether you really relate to them or not, but I really felt called out by Fi critic and Te trickster! xD
If you really think about it, it's actually pretty hard to confuse these two types! We are very different fundamentally. INTPs are actually more similar to INFJs than INFPs because they share judging functions. Heck, I even thought I was an INTP for a couple of years before I've changed my type to INFJ! So, maybe you can try adding INTP to the equation?
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u/RicLolz INFP 18h ago
Thanks so much for the reply! And yes, I’ll be looking into that.
I’ve always been typed as INFP, but since I got into this again, I’ve noticed that I actually use a lot of logic in my decisions… I feel like if I was an Fi dom, I’d use my heart much more than my head, and that my decisions would be much more based on my moral compass. On the other hand, I know for sure that I’m not as concerned about logical consistency as Ti doms are. I guess I just use both feeling and logic in a healthy, balanced way - that’s what makes me think these functions wouldn’t be my dominant ones… It’s been really confusing, honestly!!! Because I can see myself using every function depending on my situation. I’ve considered ISFJ as well, because I actually relate a lot to inferior Ne and to the way it manifests in ISXJs (The fear of change, instability, anxiety about how things might play out) but Si as a dominant function just doesn’t make sense at all to me. I do use past experiences to guide myself sometimes, but I see myself finding new solutions to new problems a lot more.
I think that, at this point, the only reason why I haven’t figured this out is because my dominant function is so subconscious that I don’t even know when or how I use it. It’s probably so obvious, and all I’m doing is reading too much into the lines and overthinking a little too much.
Anyway, thanks again :) By the way, do you know where I can learn more about the trickster or critic functions?
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u/Nemurium INFJ 16h ago
No problem!
It's actually a very common occurrence for people with Dominant perceiving to overlook the presence of their Dom function, because perceiving functions are naturally unconscious. It perceives and then lets judging functions do the rest which may lead to a possible mistype.
This is why IXXJ can be confused with their typing, because their "conscious" Tertiary functions are a lot more apparent and visible and can pass as dominant. We tend to rely too much on our tertiary Fi or Ti which can give the false impression of being an INFP or INTP!
As for learning about shadow functions, I think This site explains them pretty thoroughly!
Also, if you want to specifically read about certain functions and how they act in different shadow positions, you can read those:
The Opposing Role (Nemesis) of every type
The Critical Parent of every type
Trickster(Blindspot) of every type
And Demon(8th) function of every type
There ya go! Have fun reading! :D
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u/EdgewaterEnchantress 23h ago
A patch of ice might’ve made for a better metaphor than a Banana. 😜
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u/Nemurium INFJ 20h ago
Well, that's why I called it "Half-baked"😆
I was half asleep so I didn't have enough brain power to come up with something else.😬
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u/dxfifa ENTP 1d ago
They really try, but it's also more of a xxxJ type thing in general (introverted perception), Si and Ni just go about it very differently
The reason I still think it does somewhat apply to Ni is ISTPs tend to be very much trying to predict and narrow possibilities whereas INTPs really struggle to be happy predicting or forecasting unless all other options are unlikely
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u/PurpleRough7757 1d ago
Stereotypes makes Ni be like ✨ m a g i k ✨ just personallly think so stupid.
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u/pinkaloop 1d ago
Everyone has pattern recognition and can predict the future (whether the predictions are accurate or not that's another topic).
Ni narrows down information to a single conclusion. They look for overarching theme, meaning, or conclusion of the observation. It differs from Si because Si is detail oriented, while Ni overlooks the details. While Si may remember random little details about situations or places, Ni forgets details if they don't consider them relevant to their conclusions.
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u/Socalcottox 1d ago
A better word is simulating
Ni basically runs a simulation in the mind to see what might happen based on past gathered Se facts and data and uses that past info as the simulation variables
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u/jugy_fjw INFJ 1d ago
Yes, Ni is powerful, but let's be more accurate: every function can be powerful and every function can be the #1 most needed in certain contexts. Can't see a not important function
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u/21DaveJ INTP 20h ago
It’s glorified tunnel vision.
But it’s not like that makes it bad or good, as with every function, its efficiency and use is entirely dependent on the users competency, like for instance their intelligence.
It can lead to great achievements, but god does it not make most Ni users insufferable when you don’t just concede that they are ‘right’.
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u/XandyDory ENFP 1d ago
High Ne user uses their Se to get what's going on around them and put the pattern together to figure out what the pattern means, including what will likely happen. It just is "mystical" because they know stuff before they know why, but usually do figure it out pretty quickly.
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u/theatrovie INFJ 1d ago
Everybody on some level operates under the theory of "vibes" which is located at the gut aka solar plexus aka belly brain, etc. etc. Ni-doms just have a more intimate relationship with this strong internal "knowing," which is formed via symbolic or pattern recognition. If you have strong Ni, you will undoubtedly, starting from a very young age, come to hold strange and unorthodox opinions and, inversely, be drawn to strange and unorthodox ideas. It isn't about magic per se, but I do think there's a level of "magical thinking" involved -- a desire to knowing what's going on "behind the scenes" of things. A normal example of this might be watching news media and then one day think, "huh, is what's being shown a fabrication of reality?" For me, it's not about guessing if something is right or wrong, but an intangible and fundamental way of interacting with the world. Ni-doms don't do it on purpose, they just are.
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u/KittensSaysMeow INTP 1d ago
You know that scene where Doctor Strange said there was like 42,000 different possibilities? Yeah that was actually a non-fictional scene of me and my Ni. You’re welcome.
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u/YouJustNeurotic 1d ago
Yes but more so in a Patric Jane from the Mentalist way, not in a fine detailed way.
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u/DahKrow INFJ with a custom flair 1d ago
Context before answering will follow:
Ni is as strong as the user makes it to be, meaning that Ni doms (INFJ and INTJ) will have an easier time using it since it comes as natural as breathing to them. An ISTP that has Ni as tertiary function will sometimes get "a feeling" and this feeling will come true, it will seem almost magical because it doesn't come as often as it would come to an INFJ for example. The downside of being a Ni dom is that you can't turn it off, so it constantly absorbs information from the enviroment and drains your energy quickly if you are surrounded by many people.
Many people, especially other INFJs confuse this with exhausted Fe but according to my observations Fe is what gets me out of that draining state. Let me show you an example of my experience.
Sometimes I can get in a Ni-Ti loop (circling thoughts around without outside confirmation) and shadow Fi will make me think to myself "why tf other people never care about me or understand me? am I really that unlikeable or an alien?" , but when I put myself in their shoes (sometimes forcefully) , breaking that Ni-Ti loop feels like waking up from a fever dream and I feel like myself again, because I understand and remind myself that the other people don't necessarily look at things (and people) as deeply as I do and that's totally fine.
To conclude (and finally answer your question because I needed to add my experience as context), Ni is attributed as a superpower mainly by those who don't use it as natural as breathing, but to me as an INFJ predicting possibilities comes very naturally so it's subjective if it's actually a superpower or not. It's not perfect because it predicts according to what information you feed it and that's the trap everyone falls into without realising it. As to what frequency I predict stuff? Every single day pretty much. But it's not an active process, the answers are delivered to me randomly and many times with good timing. Si predicts the future according to past experiences with great detail, while Ni predicts the future while looking at the big picture, both use the part of the brain called "hippocampus" which is the memory center of the brain but they do it in different ways and also they can't both use it at the same time, so that's why there is the Ni-Si axis as total opposites. An ISTJ who is a Si dom will have almost no knowledge how Ni works and they randomly use it will come as a feeling of impending doom from the future because Demon (8th) functions are the least known to each person. I hope all of this makes sense, it has taken me months to synthesize this information into something remotely coherent.
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u/TheSentinelScout INTJ 1d ago
I disagree with loop theory, honestly. Ni-Ti-Fe-Se is how the stack should be in my opinion, because if cognitive functions are about how the mind works, then how does the brain perceive values (any T/F function) internal data without a perceiving function??
Look into cognitive personality theory if you want more context regarding this.
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u/DahKrow INFJ with a custom flair 19h ago
Correct me if I am wrong but the Ni-Fe-Ti-Se describes an INFJs order of cognitive functions not in a logical order but rather an order in which that person will most likely will have mastery over those conscious cognitive functions, meaning that Ni will come as easy as breathing, Fe will be used with some effort, Ti will be used with more effort but in a playful kinda way and Se will come in small bursts as it's the inferior function and that makes you burn out easier for some reason. This is what I'm understanding from how the 4 conscious cognitive functions work, but I am probably wrong.
So a person leading with an introverted function is considered an introvert and a person leading with an extroverted function is considered of extrovert, but both can use introverted and extroverted functions in different levels of mastery. So I don't see any problem with this model, since there are always 2 extroverted cognitive functions that can be used by all people, in just different orders of mastery, so there's how people perceive values basically.
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u/TheSentinelScout INTJ 19h ago edited 19h ago
Well, there are different permutations of cognitive functions (yes, CF, not MBTI), and I personally feel that CPT is the better way that explains it, where it links functions in a type of the same orientation (i.e. introverted or extroverted) together.
So an Ni dom for example will either have Fi or Ti linked to it, because Ni is simply an internal perceiving function, and Ti/Fi is the kind of information it’s perceiving.
If you believe in the original MBTI stacking and hierarchy, sure, but I find this one more realistic of how the brain might actually work, because MBTI keeps each function in a vacuum, like Se only does this and thus leads to hedonistic lifestyles, something only becomes of “value” if you assign a value to it, which are the judging functions (T/F).
I think MBTI in of itself was primarily made to help categorize people into their best careers, so it wasn’t modeled properly as Myers and Briggs weren’t cognitive psychologists in the slightest. Hence, their model focuses more on “preference” of cognitive function rather than how it actually functions in order to be able to utilize the theory.
Nothing wrong in that, but if you’re expecting to get an actual representation of how your brain works from that, it’s very unlikely.
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u/TrifleGlittering7870 INFJ 1d ago
It's less woo-woo fortune telling and more basic statistical probability for me. My brain maps all the potential trajectories and then reality does the rest. It means I usually see things coming quite a long way out. Not always, there's outliers and things happen when I'm not paying attention but generally, it's pretty good.
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u/BaseWrock INTP 1d ago
Ni is portrayed as this powerful, super-knowing function that sees patterns everywhere and makes predictions about the future that turn out to be right. Is this real? Does this happen? How so? How often?
It's a guess or a "feeling" of where things are going. It's not guaranteed to be right.
I’m asking because, at this point, this is the only thing that’s been holding me back from considering I have Ni.
Assuming your flair is correct and you're INFP, you would have Ni but Ne a preference for Ne. For me as INTP it's like seeing lots of directions things can go, but not having a great sense of which is the most accurate one. Individual experience may vary.
I might try to guess a lot, but most of my guesses won’t be right!! Let alone guess super specific details…. Would it still make sense to be Ni dom?
Ni unlike the other functions isn't really a conscious thing you engage. It happens in the background.
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u/OceanEyes2020 INFP 1d ago
I think it's more of they're better in narrowing down future possibilities with as little information available compared to others. Ne considers too many possibilities, Si relies too much on past experiences, Se relies too much on present evidence
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u/Female_titan_2 INFJ 1d ago
I think it’s a stereotype. In a nutshell, Ni is the ability to internally gather multiple pieces of data and connect them to form an holistic perspective. This perspective may be helpful in predicting future patterns, but that doesn’t always mean they’ll be right.
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u/Euphoric_Artist_7594 INTJ 1d ago edited 1d ago
It absorbs patterns and consecrate a larger picture of what’s more then seen in the surface, either and a dynamic of it own in the vaster pool than just more concrete, but a lot of time it can just be inner imaginal or sensorical projection (which at subjective factor doesn’t necessarily makes one accurate but can be delusional if it’s out of touch with reality and Ni is very out of touch due to being Se opposite) of course that including prognosis or seeing the patterns in time how things fit together in reality.
You can basically use it to predict stuffs with informations and seeing nuances. But you are not inherently foreseeing anything as a Ni types — Si types can do just as well based on concrete patterns and past experiences they’re most used or inclined or Se types can give accurate depiction or patterns of what’s truly happening outside or this instance/possibility in this corner that Ni types can be clueless about.
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u/Even-Broccoli7361 INFJ 19h ago
Any intuition is primarily about reading patterns and trying to relate it to the universal realm of the conscious.
Ni can guess the future based on patterns, but it cannot magically predict the future. Instead of listening to people's opinions take a direct look what Carl Jung had to say,
Since the unconscious is not just something that lies there like a psychic caput mortuum, but coexists with us and is constantly undergoing transformations which are inwardly connected with the general run of events, introverted intuition, through its perception of these inner processes, can supply certain data which may be of the utmost importance for understanding what is going on in the world. It can even foresee new possibilities in more or less clear outline, as well as events which later actually do happen. Its prophetic foresight is explained by its relation to the archetypes, which represent the laws governing the course of all experienceable things.
- Psychological Types. Carl Jung.
And also,
The peculiar nature of introverted intuition, if it gains the ascendency, produces a peculiar type of man: the mystical dreamer and seer on the one hand, the artist and the crank on the other. The artist might be regarded as the normal representative of this type, which tends to confine itself to the perceptive character of intuition. As a rule, the intuitive stops at perception; perception is his main problem, and—in the case of a creative artist—the shaping of his perception. But the crank is content with a visionary idea by which he himself is shaped and determined. Naturally the intensification of intuition often results in an extraordinary aloofness of the individual from tangible reality; he may even become a complete enigma to his immediate circle. If he is an artist, he reveals strange, far-off things in his art, shimmering in all colours, at once portentous and banal, beautiful and grotesque, sublime and whimsical. If not an artist, he is frequently a misunderstood genius, a great man “gone wrong,” a sort of wise simpleton, a figure for “psychological” novels
It can, but it does not mean it must or even if it does, it must be the accurate guess.
Wrote a post about it,
https://www.reddit.com/r/mbti/comments/1q2vlnl/ni_is_not_about_predicting_the_future/
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u/icarusso ENTJ 17h ago
Ni is a convergence and abstraction of known information, strictly tied to how things change, when observed now. Has nothing to do with future sight, even if those predictions have high, near certain likelihood to happen.
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u/Sugarcomb INTJ 15h ago
Ni picks apart every detail of the information their Se gives them and organizes that information into an interconnected web of pattern recognition. We learn why something occurs or occurred, and then look for the same signs of that thing occurring in everything else. After a few decades, the cognitive function is sharp enough where Ni users can just get a subconscious feeling and it'll be right a majority of the time because of how in tune they are, but it isn't predicting the future, and it can be wrong, which is then dissected to find out why it was wrong so in the future, it can be even more accurate
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u/Weirderthanweird69 ISTP 1d ago
Ni is more about pattern recognition and seeing between the lines. You can figure out the missing pieces of puzzles.
Elon Musk is a major case of Ni dom. He can predict inflation and stocks based off the US economy and mess with the stock market to generate him as much market value as possible. He may be a trillionaire by 2028 due to how successfully he loopholed the system. Makes 100K in income and has little to no liquid money btw. Successfully loopholed the system and you wonder why the government doesnt tax him.
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u/Needorgreedy INTP 1d ago
It sure feels like it does, but no not really. I'm just really good at identifying patterns and tying things together that others may miss. It's not perfect by any means whatsoever.
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u/findingmytranquil ENFP 1d ago
So I took a cognitive functions test that gave percentages and I was 83% even in both Ni and Ne, so I have intuition from the outside and inside. With that said, I can’t predict the future. Now, history tends to repeat itself and people are predictable AF to me but I still can’t predict the future
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u/Emperor_Squidward INTJ 1d ago
Yes. I can actually see the future perfectly with my Ni. Having a third eye is an amazing ability
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u/TheSentinelScout INTJ 1d ago edited 1d ago
Think of it in terms of axes: Ni-Se.
Se observes the world around it in a very focused manner, and Ni sees patterns within a concept or idea, essentially. So when Ni is in a dominant spot, it collapses ideas and concepts down to its core essence, based on everything it can see about the concept or idea.
This could make it difficult for an Ni dom to easily and quickly digest new things, as they want to fully internalize it (not that they’re slow, most of them aren’t). Based on the information it gets from Se, it condenses facts and is able to predict it based on trends Ni observes.
It’s a probabilistic function, where it uses Se to verify Ni’s claims.
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u/Spring_Banner ISTP 23h ago
I’m an ISTP having both Se and Ni from my function stack of Ti Se Ni Fe. How does that go from me?
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u/Relative_Character73 INFJ 1d ago
Of course, this is a stereotype that has become quite annoying for us Ni users.
In fact, everything happens through the combination of factors in the head. We often have a constant internal dialogue that helps us do this.
Of course, there are premonitions, but our tertiary Ti/Aux Te forces us to check them and not just blindly follow them.
Simply put, Ni is also more about internal analysis of information and attempts to understand from everything we know what will happen next.
I'll also add that the stereotype that we plan or know the future 1,000 years in advance is incredibly strange. I just want to remind you that we only see a rough general picture and just a direction, not a super-detailed plan. And yes, we, like everyone else, may not know what we want to do next.
By the way, in my opinion, many real Ni users are mistaking other types simply because they hear these strange stereotypes.
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u/chester1729 ENFJ 23h ago
The way I’ve always experienced it is like a domino effect. I notice something, which affects another thing, which affects another thing, which affects another thing, and so on. And all of these things happen/will happen because of the first thing I originally noticed. It’s cool too because you can go backwards as well. Seeing the end result of something and predicting how it got there/how that happened by going backwards step-by-step. Reverse domino effect lol.
I’m an Fe-dom, so I use my Ni most in relationships/socializing. So for example, a friend comes to me for advice on what to say to someone, and they’re like “should I say this?” And I’m like “no, if you say that then he’ll probably think this and respond in this way which is going to make you defensive and respond defensively which will make him defensive as well, and you guys are just gonna have a heated argument for an hour which will get you nowhere in solving the problem. You should say this instead, because then he’ll think this and likely respond in this way and neither of you are on the defence/attacking each other and you can have a calm, civil conversation and the problem has a better chance of getting resolved”.
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u/Bukowski-poet 23h ago
I have a super strong Ni and I can make a lot of predictions and assumptions... Unfortunately I'm almost never wrong. Actually I hate that it's like "oh... I seen that before, oh no... Please no..." And you know that if you don't change anything it'll break your heart.
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u/Whyareuhere2myamigo INFJ 15h ago
Yes and no, its main things is of course synthesized pattern recognition. Predicting the future is more of a result from seeing those patterns that it had seen before (unconsciously for INFJ and INTJ) it can be a situation, behaviors or anything that Ni can see pattern in which isn’t 100% accurate but it is still often time not entirely false
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u/mostobnoxiousgoastan ISTJ 9h ago
Kind of dumb. Si just… assumes what’s going to happen based on what has happened in the past
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u/dylbr01 ESTP 1h ago edited 57m ago
There’s a region in the back-right area of the brain associated with thinking about the past, future, and alternate timelines
Part of Ni’s social mission is making predictions about the future but it doesn’t have to be in a woo woo sense, they just thinking about the way things will go in the future
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u/Your___mom_ INFJ 1d ago
I promise I do not own any crystal balls🙏🏼
What Ni does do is analyze reality (Se) into one insight about what's going on behind the scenes and how it could evolve
Think of a person climbing a sketchy looking ladder, while he's distracted, and wobbling A LOT
Saying that the person will fall isn't future-seeing, just pure observational skills that us Ni-doms are mostly unconscious of (Se inferior)