# Ne vs Ni- Predicting the Future



## sitodocambia (Nov 14, 2011)

I've noticed that my ENFP sister does a really good job of figuring out how movies, books, and TV-show episodes are probably going to end, oftentimes even quicker than I do. Also, my best friend, who either has ESFP or ENTP preferences (it's a long story how I came to that conclusion), is just as good as my sister at those things. He loves predicting how the Grammy and Oscar awards will turn out (and is right more often than not).

I was wondering if predicting future events, trends, and consequences is a characteristic of Ne as well as Ni, or if it's only a characteristic of Ni.

Does anyone have any answers?


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## saffron (Jan 30, 2011)

I don't have an answer to that, but I'm good at predicting outcomes in films, shows, etc... as well. That's why unpredictability is a huge factor in why I like something. I don't want to see everything coming, I want to be surprised.


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## pretyhowtown (May 1, 2010)

That's interesting. I know two people who have that ability and I would say they have a preference for Ni over Ne. Neither has been tested, though.


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## The King Of Dreams (Aug 18, 2010)

ENFJs and INFJs have a insane ability to predict outcomes. They INFJ is Ni doms and the ENFJ is Ni aux.


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## Wallcat (Apr 18, 2012)

Sometimes I predict what's coming next while watching something, because it just seems so obvious. Experience with similar situations in other media just seems to suggest so. I think it's just logical.

...I can't be the only one who browses TV Tropes, can I?


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## Dark Romantic (Dec 27, 2011)

Yes, it's because once you can read into the hidden meanings of a situation, extrapolate all the given possibilities, and reason out the most logical one, it's very easy to know what's going to happen next. It's Ne-Ti that does the predicting, Ne just shows us the hidden reality and the options.



Wallcat said:


> Sometimes I predict what's coming next while watching something, because it just seems so obvious. Experience with similar situations in other media just seems to suggest so. I think it's just logical.
> 
> ...I can't be the only one who browses TV Tropes, can I?


No, you're not. I had to stop going there for months before I could properly enjoy a movie without seeing a million tropes in it.


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## saffron (Jan 30, 2011)

I don't think Ne just looks for the hidden meaning. It first picks up the pattern of the formula and most shows are formulaic. If there's potential for hidden meaning then it's more engaged, if not then it some judging function comes in and calls it (i.e. it's one those where this happens then this and she says this the end. Boring.)

In real life there's more potential for variables and that's where Ne falls short since it's most interested in the less explored and maybe less likely options. I'd say Ni usually wins here.


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## Stephen (Jan 17, 2011)

I'm very good at knowing how stories of any kind will turn out. For the most part, everything has already been done. I will admit that I was totally caught off guard by the ending of The Sixth Sense, but I felt like an idiot for not seeing it coming. It was obvious after the fact. 

Confirmed Ne and Ni doms I've known are far more confident in their ability to predict the future than they actually are. I've been told that ENFPs are great at knowing what someone is feeling, but my experience personally has been the opposite. They rapidly jump to conclusions on meaning and intent and are usually wrong. The Ni doms I've been closest to were INFJs, and while they were sensitive, I wouldn't say their ability to predict things was better than my own. 

Ne looks at things and wonders what's unsaid, and can fill in the blanks with these to reach a conclusion. Ni looks at things and snaps an impression, then runs with it internally, constructing a web of potential implications. Se would take a very realistic view and notice subtleties that lead to what would seem an obvious conclusion to the user. Si would focus on the context, like Ni, but would have more of a focus on what's there than what isn't. In all of these is an ability to predict based on personal experience. Without this, we couldn't survive as a species.


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## NeedsNewNameNow (Dec 1, 2009)

sitodocambia said:


> I've noticed that my ENFP sister does a really good job of figuring out how movies, books, and TV-show episodes are probably going to end, oftentimes even quicker than I do. Also, my best friend, who either has ESFP or ENTP preferences (it's a long story how I came to that conclusion), is just as good as my sister at those things. He loves predicting how the Grammy and Oscar awards will turn out (and is right more often than not).
> 
> I was wondering if predicting future events, trends, and consequences is a characteristic of Ne as well as Ni, or if it's only a characteristic of Ni.
> 
> Does anyone have any answers?


I don't know, since Ne has more breadth than depth. It always sounds like Ni would be the better of the two at figuring this stuff out.

But I am good at figuring out plots and awards too. Even if I know very little about the movie or artist up for the award.. It's kinda like I know how the voters think, and know what traits they find desirable and what has those traits is the safe bet to win. it usually isn't strictly a question of merit. I'm probably right 90% of the time.


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## NeedsNewNameNow (Dec 1, 2009)

saffron said:


> I don't think Ne just looks for the hidden meaning. It first picks up the pattern of the formula and most shows are formulaic. If there's potential for hidden meaning then it's more engaged, if not then it some judging function comes in and calls it (i.e. it's one those where this happens then this and she says this the end. Boring.)


I think it's this exactly.. Ne isn't scanning for hidden meaning, that's Ni turf. But it does quickly deduce the formula at work.


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## sitodocambia (Nov 14, 2011)

Me too. Knowing the ending takes half the fun out of watching the movie (or whatever it is).


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## Arrow (Mar 2, 2012)

sitodocambia said:


> Me too. Knowing the ending takes half the fun out of watching the movie (or whatever it is).


I kind of disagree. A lot of the time I am more interested in how something happened, rather then what happened. I like the context of things.


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## possiBri (Jan 4, 2011)

This was something that I've wondered for a while, and I definitely chalk it up to strong Ne (at least for me). Here's the thread I started a while ago in case anybody is interested: http://personalitycafe.com/entp-forum-visionaries/61855-ne-si-psychic.html



Arrow said:


> I kind of disagree. A lot of the time I am more interested in how something happened, rather then what happened. I like the context of things.[/QUOT
> 
> I completely agree with this, which is why I think I like figuring out what's going to happen. It's like a puzzle, and I'm racing the director to the finish.


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## sitodocambia (Nov 14, 2011)

So, I guess it seems the consensus is that an Ne user would understand where the plot was going if they saw something similar to it before and thus understood the framework of the that type of story. Ni would just find the inner meaning and pattern of what was being said and what was done in order to predict the outcome. Is that what we're saying?


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## Arrow (Mar 2, 2012)

I don't know if this is necessarily Ne. Usually I find that I can imagine what a person is going to say and what a person is going to do before they do it but that is usually because I can read people pretty well.

For instance in conversation when a person is talking about a particular subject I grasp his meaning more then his actual words and then when he is struggling for a word I can place the exact what he will likely use more often then not because I am aware of his temperament and word usage. But I think that just comes from experience. That's because I have engaged with him before and I can sort out where his head space is. Also I can usually tell when a test is coming, when assessments are and when there is a kind of 'surprise' that's going to happen in the classroom. But that is just kind of being aware. I guess that can be Ne. I don't think it's necessarily a super power though. If you hit enough buttons eventually you are going to be right I suppose.


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## NeedsNewNameNow (Dec 1, 2009)

sitodocambia said:


> So, I guess it seems the consensus is that an Ne user would understand where the plot was going if they saw something similar to it before and thus understood the framework of the that type of story. Ni would just find the inner meaning and pattern of what was being said and what was done in order to predict the outcome. Is that what we're saying?


I don't know. I'm not sure how Ni works in these situations.
It's hard for me to believe that Ne+Si gives me any special powers for plot prediction because most plots just seem so obvious.
Or maybe that's why the entertainment industry can make tons of money recycling the same plot formula over and over, because the average person can't sense it?


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## sitodocambia (Nov 14, 2011)

I understand where you're coming from....For me it's about half and half. The process is just as exciting as the ending, but I feel like I lose something by knowing the ending.


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## sitodocambia (Nov 14, 2011)

I wouldn't say that Ni gives me any special powers. It doesn't seem very special to me when I use it, but that's because I use it all the time. That's how the cognitive functions work. What's obvious to you isn't always obvious to me.


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## saffron (Jan 30, 2011)

Stephen said:


> I'm very good at knowing how stories of any kind will turn out. For the most part, everything has already been done. I will admit that I was totally caught off guard by the ending of The Sixth Sense, but I felt like an idiot for not seeing it coming. It was obvious after the fact.
> 
> Confirmed Ne and Ni doms I've known are far more confident in their ability to predict the future than they actually are. I've been told that ENFPs are great at knowing what someone is feeling, but my experience personally has been the opposite. They rapidly jump to conclusions on meaning and intent and are usually wrong. The Ni doms I've been closest to were INFJs, and while they were sensitive, I wouldn't say their ability to predict things was better than my own.
> 
> Ne looks at things and wonders what's unsaid, and can fill in the blanks with these to reach a conclusion. Ni looks at things and snaps an impression, then runs with it internally, constructing a web of potential implications. Se would take a very realistic view and notice subtleties that lead to what would seem an obvious conclusion to the user. Si would focus on the context, like Ni, but would have more of a focus on what's there than what isn't. In all of these is an ability to predict based on personal experience. Without this, we couldn't survive as a species.


I knew you were going to say that.


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## Chipps (Jun 1, 2011)

I'm much better at reading peoples true motives and recognizing that what they say isn't what they meant and can usually pull something out of my hat and apply it to them, how they think, how they'll react, or what they really meant. Especially if they think the some "complex" person who just _can't_ be understood by others. Ick. I hate those kinds of people. Give me 30 mins of observing their behavior and I can come up with something will destroy whatever facade they think theyve put up. Im also good at reading vibes, body languages, eyes, and character. I can meet someone and not like them and sometimes other friends will say "You haven't even gotten to know them", but Im thinking "I know everything I _need_ to know." Then they get screwed over, or end up not liking the person in the end, they wonder how I knew first. I don't, I just did. Thats the only way I can explain it.

But Im also good at predicting movies, and shows. Lol. I love ruining it for other people. Especially the people that are obsessed with it not being spoiled for them. Though, oddly enough I like shitty chick flicks that are all the same. I wonder how that works.


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