Out of all of all the Cognitive Functions, Intuition, namely Introverted Intuition, is the most mystical and misunderstood of them all. Each MBTI type has Introverted Intuition (Ni) to some varying degree, but a rather small percentage of the population has Ni as their Hero Function. The INTJ and the INFJ are the two MBTI types share Ni as their Superior Function, depending on what source you read, these two types are also the rarest. According to this study, (Click here) around 1.5% of the population scored as INFJ and 2.1% as INTJ. Seeing that the MBTI test has at least a 40-50% inaccuracy rate, I would conclude that these figures are actually quite lower. Why are Ni dominant types so rare, and why do we function so differently from the rest of the population? How Ni works is a mystery in itself, but throughout history, individuals who are Ni dominant have made some of the greatest impact in society and led lasting change.





In his writings, Carl Jung had straight-forward definitions for what, at the time he called Cognitive Senses, but even Jung had trouble elaborating on what Intuition really is. “ It is that psychological function which transmits perceptions in an unconscious way. Everything, whether outer or inner objects or in their associations, can be the object of this perception. Intuition has this peculiar quality: it is neither sensation, nor feeling, nor intellectual conclusion, although it may appear in any of these forms.” (Jung ch. 8) John Beebe, along with many others, concluded that Jung was Introverted Intuition dominant. “In contrast to the type designation of introverted thinking given Jung by many Jungians, including occasionally Jung himself, I myself read Jung as an introverted intuitive type, with extraverted thinking his auxiliary function.” (Beebe pg. 203) Reading the works on Jung, you can see how he dreamed up these theories with his Ni, and made them into what we presently know as Analytical Psychology. While individuals with Ni in their Hero function are vastly outnumbered, Sensors in general dominant Intuitives number-wise.





With the population of Sensors surpassing Intuitives by a 7:3 ratio, it is no wonder how Intuition is misunderstood. Much of Jung’s work consists of a series of dichotomies, one including the dichotomy of Sensation vs. Intuition. Jung concluded that the dichotomy of Sensation vs. Intuition was Irrational, whereas Thinking vs. Feeling as Rational. Jung’s explanation of this theory is that we rationalize what we think and how we feel, but how we perceive what we see, hear, feel, taste, etc. is in fact, irrational. To answer the question why Ni users are so misunderstood, is simply that we are outnumbered. I myself have a hard time imagining how a Sensation dominant type perceives the world. Someone who has high sensation generally perceives what’s in their immediate surroundings by using their senses, then uses their Rational Functions to make a Judgement. In contrast an Intuitive perceives what’s around them, generating possibilities, then using their Rational Functions, they are able to manifest what’s probable into reality.