Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine ( the theory that, while very challenging to understand, is sort of self-selecting for the kind of intellect that makes the effort worthwhile! )
Seeing how we have a number of new Readers and even some new FOTDs1 a little backstory on the presence and prominence of holidays, vis-à-vis the Wakefield Doctrine, might be in order. Holidays are fricken huge with us. Any questions?2
First up: Halloween!
I was thinking about making this a Quiz and offering a prize for the correct answer. But when I thought about Halloween (and) the visuals flooded my mind, I realized there could be no question which of the three personality types of the Wakefield Doctrine ‘own this day’… even if you are here for the first time… if you are a total new Reader (as in “ Well, I have read about 177 words about the Wakefield Doctrine, why do you ask?” ), you will get this one right!
As a matter of fact! I am so sure that, with a simple description of the Doctrine, you will know the correct answer, we will give you a free Wakefield DocTee! All ya gotta do is write a Comment and tell us your answer. (some restrictions may apply3). Ready?
The Wakefield Doctrine maintains that what people call ‘personality types’ are the normal, appropriate, and entirely healthy strategies that a person will develop in their effort to get through life. What we do differently from the other systems of personality types is maintain that there are three characteristic worldviews (the personal reality that you wake up to each morning4) and our three personality types are the natural outcome from living in these realities:
- the world of the Outsider, ever apart, never quite fitting in and most important (to living in this reality), this personality type, the clark will think, “I am here and the world is out there..damn, I better figure this one out before anyone notices“
- the life of the Predator, active totally full of life, always on the move, this personality type, the scott will say, “Hey, screw all them head games! life’s too short! I don’t care if you don’t like me…as long as you don’t ignore me! Did I say, Hey! yet?”
- the environment of the Herd member, always ‘a part of’, very sure of how things should be, this personality type, the roger feels that, “whats to worry about? if you are following the rules then you will be taken care of, no one suffers in life…unless they brought it on themselves… you know, breaking the rules…not living the right way!“
…where everyone gets permission to be someone/something else, the successful participant in this Holiday is the person who hears, “Wow! I’m shocked and amazed! I would never have guessed that was you”
1) people like Cari and Michelle and Emily and totally people like Cyndi…(Cyndi actually has us on her website’s blogroll, can I get a “damn!”!)
2) better than answering questions, go read some of the previous holiday-centric Posts like “J’accuse!…”
3) sorry, DownSprings and Progenitors not eligible.
4) we mean the personal nature of the reality that you experience, that everyone experiences, nothing too metaphysical or weird or nothing, but it is critical to getting a benefit from the Wakefield Doctrine that you appreciate that we do mean ‘reality’, as in real, not something like a choice in how you feel about it, or a preference that you make about the nature of the cultural institutions in your life or even a bias towards one view of cause and effect over the other…. no we mean that the world is one of predator and prey to the scott and the nature of the world and everything in it is about a clark being the outsider…
About clarkscottroger
Junk food and costumes…what more does a roger require?
I specifically remember being exhilarated by the notion of being free of parental restraints, however briefly.
I should think that scotts would be all over that, even more so.
Not sure where the clarks fall in that regard.
Was about to say Roger too. Yes. I love holidays and festivals precisely because of the traditions. Your blog is helping me to understand myself better!
@ Michelle Thank you! You are on target with the focal point of “holidays and festivals precisely because of the traditions.” you are seeing one of the core elements in the rogerian worldview ( i.e. the personal reality that produces the personality type that we call rogers )!
Good to hear from you again. You are proving the assumption stated elsewhere that this blog is, at least for now, self-selecting for people with a certain… flexible intelligence, the capacity to take an idea (such as personal realities) and try them out, cool.
psst…….make believe, pretend to be someone/something else? LOL Come on you guys – look at the “real” clues! Who of the 3 are most comfortable “being someone else”?!
I too am a Roger on this one and thanks for letting us think a bit outside the box this morning!!
@Janine
“…thinking outside of the box” an interesting choice of words as (of the three personality types) the rogers are the ones most inclined to ‘maintain boxes’! That is to say, the rogerian worldview is that the world (life/reality/everything) is quantifiable and follows predictable and understandable Rules…if only one is able to understand it. This explains the genetic inclination to neatness… such that if you have a child who builds model cars and they insist on reading the instructions completed before a single part is removed from the box and when the model is completed (without resorting to using a soldering gun) all the spare parts are returned to the box and the instructions are returned to the box… you have a roger!
This ability (no, make that ‘this love of’) to focus on the details makes for safe air travel (as most engineers are rogers) but can get annoying when you go out to the garage to get a rake for a quick session with fallen leaves only to find the rake (and every other tool) attached to a pegboard, outlines and labeled!
Good to hear from you Janine
Regards, you fellow rogers!
” Box” is a term often used in this neighborhood to refer to a choice based on perspective. It can refer to a general lifestyle, a particular pasttime, a set of beliefs…almost anything.
In order to make an informed choice based on a perspective, one needs a view from both in and out of ” the box” in question. This has little to do with the ” mainteneance” ( one’s acceptance of the choice ) of the box once it has been chosen.
Beautiful kids, BTW…
Hmm… “…where everyone gets permission to be someone/something else, the successful participant in this Holiday is the person who hears, “Wow! I’m shocked and amazed! I would never have guessed that was you”
I’m going with roger, too. Here’s why:
– I believe that everyone knows a scott when they see a scott. Costumes don’t help, because they can’t hide their personality behind a costume.
– I don’t think that a clark has the courage to really go outside the box when it comes to costumes and participation. (I’m generalizing, of course.)
– I think a roger wants to “take part” in Halloween’s traditions and social norms and relishes the opportunity to get to be “special”/different.
Great post! I always like to think in the mornings!
@Cari lol yeah them scotts! the most surefire characteristic is in the eyes.
Once you think to look for it, there is no mistaking the eyes of the scottian personality (type). (btw clarks are a close second when it comes to using the appearance of the eyes to provide you a clue to their personality type. Like everything else about clarks, it’s more subtle, ‘you see it, then you don’t see it, then you do…’ it is the ‘inward looking thing’ that clarks do that is so distinctive. During this past week, I used a music video of the song, ‘Foggy Mountain Breakdown’ as performed by a number of outstanding musicians. One of the guitar players is Albert Lee. If you watch the video again, I am willing to bet that even if you don’t know what Albert Lee looks like, you will guess right! Not only the look in his eyes, but the look on his face, so clarklike.)
But, back to the eyes of the scott… if clarks are always ‘looking inward’ (and they are) then scotts are always looking outward, better to say they are watching. The Doctrine uses the behavioral paradigmn of the predator for this personality type. Find yourself a scott (or find one on TV or the movies) and look at the way they are ‘never not paying attention to their surroundings’ Hell! watch a Nature show and compare a lion (or any of the big cats) to say, a wildebeest. Even in those ‘lion napping in the noonday sun scenes that these shows love so much, no one will think that the mother lion, dozing with the cubs under a bush, is not totally prepared to attack if a threat arrives.
The eyes of the scott, male or female…. totally cool.
I beg to differ…
No holiday is mandatory. I avoid as many as my family will tolerate.
Most excellent conversation! All 3 personal “realities’ / worldviews represented:)
I think Halloween is perhaps the one holiday in which each of us, clark, scott and roger, can lay equal claim.
The comments thus far resonates to the “study hall” call, Saturday Night Call In style, held this past Tuesday. One of the questions that arose (but not discussed thoroughly enough) was: is it possible for a person to fully experience the world of one of the other 2? Can I, a clarklike female, truly “know” the world of a roger or a scott? I certainly have experienced both the reality of a scott and roger but not for long. It simply is not my predominant and therefore my “knowing” about those places/that worldview seems to me to have it’s limitations. Halloween for sure, with it’s tradition and whatnot, seems to have something for everyone:)
Still……the expression of the holiday by a clark, a scott and a roger……
A big thanks to the new women showing up on the block: Michelle, Janine, Cari, Cyndi!
@Molly – you realize you will have to explain WHY it is that clarks often would prefer avoiding holidays. LOL
Ya know…it’s a holiday for the extroverts – the scotts, especially. But I would have to add that clarks can get into this holiday as well. See, the clarks being the “outsiders,” they can actually play whatever role they please. If they want to be the elusive Dracula, well, then so be it. hehe.
The rogers, well, the rogers will get into this because everybody does it, so they wouldn’t THINK of not participating. So, actually, I’m not sure.
I, for one, will not be dressing up…I’ll be BLOGGING. LOLOL.
@Cyndi
true dat on the attraction to clarks for the opportunity to play a role, including the role of a vampire, though, as a child I was inclined to go with ‘ghost’ (simple costume, pretty complete disguise, this being back in the day when we would simply make the parental unit let us use an old sheet to put eye holes in).
very on target with the rogerian view (of the ‘holiday’) who out there does not remember the moment in school next day when the ‘who got the most/best candy’ contest began… and the answer is our little friends from the herd! lol
I think I need (in response to my own rogerian aspect*) to start to you refer to you (and Michelle and Cari and Janine) guys as the DocG2 ‘Doctrine Generation 2’
…no, then again, I don’t think I should do that lol
* yeah, we all have a rogerian aspect and a scottian and a clarklike aspect aiyee!
Mandatory implies that if you don’t do this, you will find your life very difficult, and in that manner, the only days written on the calendar that truly *need* to be observed are the time changes… and half the time I am two or three days late on that — or use to be.
As to why clarks would rather not participate… I’m sure it varies from person to person, but the basic reason would be a lack of emotional attachment to the ‘celebration’ or an acute awareness of how little the revelry actually adds to life.
Why spend days preparing for something that is over in a matter of hours or promotes competition — especially of material things? Why not put that energy into something lasting that will produce fond memories?