IM7 does not forecast price. It reads the emotional and structural state of the market — the asymmetries that tend to resolve in recognizable ways. Probabilities are framed; certainties are avoided.
Price is the residue of crowd behavior. Every read begins with what participants are doing — chasing, absorbing, hesitating, capitulating — and only then with what the chart appears to show.
Narratives are useful as data, not as truth. Story density tells us where consensus has crowded — and where surprise can only come from disappointment.
The discipline of waiting is more valuable than the talent of acting. Most issues argue for restraint until the structure earns the trade.
A composite read of sentiment, positioning, and the gap between confidence and conviction. Classified across an eight-state vocabulary (Fear, Capitulation, Quiet Bid, Compression, Greed, Forced Optimism, Exhaustion, Distribution).
Inputs · Sentiment surveys, derivatives skew, social density, on-chain flow asymmetry.
The depth of belief behind a position, measured by how participants behave on adverse moves. High conviction absorbs weakness; low conviction sells it.
Inputs · Realized vs implied vol, time-to-close on losing positions, repeat-buyer flow.
The speed and posture of marginal participation. Aggression measures emotion, not capital. Hesitant chase looks like strength but reads as fragility.
Inputs · Taker-side flow, perp basis acceleration, leverage delta into trend.
The saturation of a single thesis across attention. High density precedes the moment surprise can only disappoint.
Inputs · Mention concentration, headline overlap, attention dwell on a single thesis.
The distance between consensus exposure and the path of maximum pain. Positioning stress does not predict — it tells you which direction will hurt more.
Inputs · Funding posture, OI distribution, options skew, perp basis dispersion.
How sensitive price is to ordinary flow. Thin books magnify noise into apparent direction. Fragility is the volatility hidden inside calm tape.
Inputs · Book depth at the touch, slippage curves, market-maker withdrawal patterns.
Every read is interpretive. None is final.
The IM7 vocabulary — Quiet Bid, Forced Optimism, Emotional Compression — exists because the chart cannot say what the crowd is feeling. These terms are not forecasts. They are observations carried across issues, calibrated against archived behavior, and updated when the structure earns it.
Patience often feels wrong before it feels profitable. The methodology exists to make that patience defensible.