Can anyone tell me what Ni is ? My INFJ (He is 100% INFJ) told me that most of the time he is in his head he either imagines things that will happen or things that are just imaginations.
He also has insights about people.But how can imagination be combined with insights?It is difficult finding the basic definition of Ni
So I'll give you my understanding of Ni though, because I'm an Ne dom like yourself, it may not be precisely what it is (calling all Ni doms for assistance
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But starting with my use of Ne, I see it as finding common relationships between objects, concepts, theories, etc., and seeing how things are connected and interrelated with one another. It's all intuition so it's not fact, but it takes that leap and amalgamates things into an understanding. You see beyond the physicality of an object and see it for its essence, its "truth" so to speak. Now, I back mine up with Fi so my version may be slightly different than yours. For example, I'm passionate for the arts, music, and design, so I often pull from those areas for inspiration and for an understanding for the bigger picture that is life, rather than using Ne in a more mechanical, objective use (as I imagine it may be for ENTPs) And, in relation to my Te use, I see those underlying relationships and then apply them to new situations where I see fit. This is all abstract and not based in reality though.
Ni though, realizes things as connected and interrelated, as Ne does, but keeps that system in place. Same inclination towards finding relationships, but maintaining the actual systems in place. To my understanding, this is the fundamental difference between the two, and how Ni is able to narrow things down to a point, whereas Ne tosses concepts around like a tossed salad. Ugh..ok, let's go with the "tossed salad" approach shall we? Ni sees the salad and all the pieces within the bowl, it's a salad with elements that come together to make that salad, sitting in the bowl. How are the elements related? Well it sees the underlying connections as making a whole, the concept of what a salad means to be. Ne takes that salad of elements, and throws out the bowl, so there is no longer anything restraining those elements to their original system of relationship. Think of the parts to a salad as all splayed out over a chopping board. Yes, they can all come together to make a salad, but the bowl, or system, is no longer relevant. They are now free flowing elements that have the opportunity to make new connections among one another since they are no longer bound to a system.
Is one better than the other? Absolutely not. To me, Ni is more "magical" since it seems to work more in the background collecting data and making more sense of the system it's analyzing as it's taking in new perspectives and ideas. Ne is fully in the light with me, and ya I make connections at a lightning pace, and in that sense, can seem "magical", but I know precisely how those connections are being formed as it's happening, there is no "magic" to the process, and I can usually control my Ne to a rather strong degree. All in my opinion of course. But the two are very similar in that they are both analyzing and seeking out relationships between things, or concepts for that matter. One just sees it as part of a "system" (Ni users being able to predict the future in that they understand a person's actions as a series of incidents and motives), and one that disregards the system entirely and creates new systems in which to place things. I really can't predict people's actions in the way an Ni dom user can, but the way I do it, which I can to a degree, is through my secondary Fi and my personal understanding of human nature and motives.