Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
in keeping with this being Friday ( the ‘what-the-hell’ day of the workweek) and still Note Pad Week, lets have a video and a reprint from March 1 2012
oh yeah! the sign up sheet for the vid chat is up… the Wakefield Doctrine presents Lizzi (‘the Manchester Minx‘) and Michelle (‘the Singapore Siren’) ‘s Friday Night vidchat…. 8:00 pm EDST on google hangouts…look for a link in ‘the Facebook’ on Lizzi’s page…. tell everyone you know lets see what happens when we try to get more than 10 people into the virtual house!! (might be fun, ya know?)
(also, 7:30 is the Secret Advanced Doctrine Discussion Hour! Jen-ay… zoe and I expect you to be there!) (tell everyone that you don’t know to join us!)
You know the ease with which some of us ‘get’ the core concept of the Wakefield Doctrine, there is an equal ease in missing the point of this thing of ours. We are fond of saying that the first people who come to this blog are among the ‘best and brightest’ that the blogosphere has to offer. They see the incredible insights that this Doctrine affords them, the ridiculously effective tools that allow you to understand why people behave the way that they do…not to mention the fun we (the Progenitors and DownSprings and FOTDs have, what with hats and Drives and videos and all). And yet, sometimes people struggle with the (underlying) principles of the Doctrine which in turn makes it more difficult for them to acquire the full understanding of this thing, limiting their ability to contribute to the ongoing process.
When this happens, we blame ourselves. We accept that, while all efforts are made to be simple and clear in the different Pages illustrating the different personality types and offering examples (of these types) that can be seen in the public culture, sometimes it is not enough! So as Malcolm said, ‘We want to talk right down to earth in a language that everybody here can easily understand‘.
The Wakefield Doctrine is not a theory, the Wakefield Doctrine is a label for a perspective. This perspective is one by which we look at the behavior of another person and make the assumption that (their) behavior makes perfect sense and is entirely appropriate in some reality.
The Wakefield Doctrine suggests that all people live their lives not only in the ‘common reality’ that we all share, but in an individual reality that is the context in which they act and react, feel and make assumptions to base their behavior.
The Wakefield Doctrine maintains that there are three individual realities (or ‘worldviews’) that have characteristics that can be associated with the three personality types: the worldview of ‘the outsider’, the worldview of ‘the predator’ and the worldview of ‘the herd member’.
The Wakefield Doctrine tells us that ‘personality’ is not a collection of traits, a list of typical behaviors or even a self-reported series of likes and dislikes all charted out on a multi-axis diagram, rather personality is simply the repeated reactions and strategies that all people develop in order to get through life as best they can.
The Wakefield Doctrine takes the critical step of saying, ‘hey, if we dropped you at a very early childhood age into the world of the clark, you would grow up a clark‘,
The Wakefield Doctrine takes the bold step of saying, ‘take a child of less than 4 years of age and drop them into the predator/prey worldview of a scott to grow up in and I will tell which person at a PGA championship will yell, “get in the hole!!!” ‘
The Wakefield Doctrine says, ‘what other explanation accounts for grown men wearing authentic period-fabric Army uniforms of the Civil War era and spending entire weekends practicing formations!!!??!”The Wakefield Doctrine says to all of us the following:
- all of us are predominately one of the three types and yet we retain the capability to act as the other two
- the trick to using the Doctrine is simple, don’t try to make sense of what people are doing until you infer the worldview that they are doing it in
- if you are not sure if a person is a clark, scott or roger, eliminate the most obvious (i.e. the girl with the sequins on her face and the mini skirt over the jeans? probably safe to scratch off ‘scott’
- practice on yourself, you can’t get this thing wrong! If you want to tell everyone that you are a scott, everyone will be polite and nod and say sure as you put on your beret and get your pipe and slippers and sit down to read ‘Genealogy Quarterly’
- it is the world that you are living in, not the things that you do that make you a clark or a scott or a roger
- finally, ‘the Doctrine is for you, not for them‘
Alright. You have your weekend assignment: go out into your respective worlds and convince one person to visit us here at the Doctrine (I’ll be available for ‘loss-of-a-good-friend-as-a-result-of-excessively-challenging-ideas counseling).
About clarkscottroger
(I’ll be available for ‘loss-of-a-good-friend-as-a-result-of-excessively-challenging-ideas counseling). Do you have any idea how much credibility I have lost at work already over this thing? frist btw…
zoe
aww (gender inappropropriate approbation ) what a nice thing to say!
lol
oh, and, yes FRIST!
I try, Clark… I try.
Oh I DO get a kick out of you Clark. If I can’t get people to come to MY blog, how praytell would I get them to come to yours??
What I like most about the doctrine is the part about “reactions” and how people were raised. I cannot put any faith into the notion that anyone is the way they are because of how/when/where they were born. So much had happened to me since then, I’m not even the same person. I used to speak gibberish, cry all the time and I wet myself so often I wore diapers. Now you want to put me in a category with other babies?
People come to your blog :p
oh my god it is naked cake day tomorrow::::::::::::::::::::::fallout here
tripping over everything! the big 50!
The BIG 5-0, and also our first birthday, my Jny! WHOOOT! It’s gonna be AWEESOMEEE
I am freaking out here!!! AGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Why are you freaking out?
because i forgot and now I have to really throw myself into your celebration as it means a lot to me!!! I am duh!!!
Joy! Joy! I need to tell you something! You need to visit this here blog! Clark told me to say that! OK? my job is done here for now. I think I got it, clark!
By the way, I will be here if I can as you know. I an beginning to realized that my computer blacks out regularly during out vid chats because the battery just conks out. This is slightly disturbing as I don’t have access to another computer–as If my kid would lend me the one he built!!!
one thing: are you telling me now that I could be born a baby and become formed into a roger or something if raised by rogers at an early age? now that is confusing to me.
thanks!
“are you telling me now that I could be born a baby and become formed into a roger or something if raised by rogers at an early age?”
no, no I’m not telling you that. What I am telling you (and anyone else that has these words on their monitor) is way worse (or better) depends.
The makeup of the family does not seem to correlate with worldviews of the children. We do not know, at this point, how we (all) end up in whatever worldview it is that becomes our predominant worldview. No direct correlation.
The worse part? If you grow up and develop in the worldview of a scott, you will be (by Doctrine standards) a scott. But the thing that we don’t talk enough about here, is that these worldviews are real. It is not just my choice to mumble and slouch, be overly kind and creative, these are all best strategies for dealing with the world as I experience it.
A roger acquires their ‘style’, what others might call ‘personality traits’ in response to the world they live in, what you see a roger do is the best personality characteristics for successful living in the world as they experience it.
The worldviews we describe (the Outsider, the Predator, the Herd Member) are real realities. (on the personal level), but it is one of the trickier concepts of the Wakefield Doctrine to contend with, but totally essential to get the most out of this here personality theory here.
yes, that is what I thought. I misread what you wrote and needed to clear it up! thanks!
that is of course you make it through the Bardo ( the place between death and the afterlife) to reincarnation anyway… I wouldnt worry about it… I hear the Bardo is pretty tough stuff….
omg the bardo! I need to draw that!
awesome! I need to draw that!
ps did you see Lizzi’s 50th post? best post, so sweet
Best seen at 330 am apparently…although too lovely to cure what ails my sleep!!!
here: this will help you sleep.I hope!!! I told Jim “And she has one of those tall fans on a stand!” and all Jim wanted to know is, “was it oscillating?
!!! :)
mine is so old at the operation broke last year but I sent him a little gift via email
how to find the way to Jim’s heart! He loves email and gifts!!! xoxox
I am covered in powdered sugar and have nothing pertinent to say to this except that I WILL BE at the videochat, and it just struck me as an AMAZING idea that we should eat our TToT cakes at it.
I have nothing pertinent to say though *sticks sequins on face*
without colons dont eat cake and I gave mine away to Skip’s groomer yesterday! Sorry… Can I pretend and make yummy noises or something?
all this and she makes yummy noises too???
You can eat Kristi’s – I think she made it especially for you.
And anyway, you just have to say ‘schnookered’ and all is forgiven.
***sounds of crumbling paper****
Oddly I do feel a bit schnookered after that….urp….uh…sorry…pardon me.