Ne, or extroverted intuition, focuses on the possibilities of the world around it. It sees what could in the present situation it is analyzing. Ni, or introverted intuition, focuses on the possibilities of all the information it has internalized. It uses its store of information to predict what will happen in the future. "I wonder what would happen if...." is a common thought to cross the the minds of both an Ne and Ni user. Because Ne is focused on the present and Ni is focused on the future, Ne will be prone to brainstorming and Ni will be prone to forecasting.
Ne's enjoyment of the present and dislike of the future causes it to generate a long list of ideas rather than make a single well thought out one. It operates based upon the ideas that come into it. If an Ne user were to have this run through their mind," I wonder if making my shoes and gloves really sticky would allow me to climb up the side of a building," and they genuinely wanted to know if it could work, they would not be satisfied thinking about why it would not work, but would want to do everything in their power to make it happen. Thinking about the potential problems such as,"There currently is not a strong enough adhesive that could dry quickly enough to support my weight, and if there was one, it would not be able to move my hands or feet to allow me to continue climbing," is not the natural mind set of an Ne user. The Ne simply wants to enjoy its ideas and not worry about the problems or practical implications.
The main plot surrounding the show Jimmy Neutron, a young INTP, was Jimmy having to save his town from the unforeseen problems his inventions produced. He was an Ne experimenter who did not think of the consequences of his actions.
Ni is the Yin that completes Ne's Yang because it focuses on its knowledge and wisdom to create a forecast of future events. Ni will take what it knows and imagine the conclusion its information gives. Ni users like to think about getting college degrees, and the future careers they will grant. If they have a Lincoln town car, they will imagine using it to create a limousine service for teenagers going to school dances. When presenting an idea to an Ni user it may feel like they are cruelly shredding your ideas to pieces, but just like the disciplinary parent they believe they are doing it for your own good because they would hate to see you do something they could see going no where. Ni users that are full of accurate knowledge will make accurate forecasts.
While Ni users have the natural skill of prediction, the accuracy of there predictions depends upon the accuracy of the knowledge they have received. Ben Bernanke, an INTJ, as a follower of Keynesian economics, could not predict the housing bubble. If he had predicted the housing bubble he would be using information he did not believe. INTJs are open minded to ideas that fit into their view of the world, but closed off to anything that does not fit into their field of vision
To be well rounded individuals, Ne users cannot focus solely on the ideas of the moment, and Ni cannot focus solely upon their independent views of the world and future. Ne users will benefit from learning to think through their ideas, and Ni users will benefit from learning to see the validity of possibilities they did not envision themselves. So, whether you use Ne or Ni you will have strengths and weaknesses to overcome.
Below is a video of Bernanke denying the existence of a bubble several times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QpD64GUoXw
