Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
Just so no one forgets how ambitious this here blog here is, consider this: while I recognize the benefit of writing posts more frequently, I don’t always have a theme. Which is in contrast to the first years when I wrote a post every day. The value and utility of the insights afforded by our little personality theory should not be underestimated. That being said, I had to laugh (soundlessly and to myself*) when I thought, “What can I write that will make a difference in the Reader’s day today?”
With no further ado, lets consider the following: ‘we live in a world of echoes.’
No! Wait! Don’t go! It’s not going be all secret meaning, mysterious utterances. This is a Doctrine post. Ain’t nothin mysterious about it.
…much.
The only article of faith necessary to enjoying the benefits of the Wakefield Doctrine is to allow that we, all of us, live, to a certain extent in a reality that is personal. As distinguished from the everyday reality that binds us (totally, in all senses of that word) to everyone else. This personal reality is the difference between the outside and the inside, experientially-speaking.
Example: you and I stand on the sidewalk across from a restaurant, could be a Four Star eatery, or Donovan Dining Hall at Rhode Island College. We both stare at the building as streams of pedestrians/students, on their way to work/class, flow past us like a river of possibilities. What we both see is the same. What we experience is not. This second is the realm of personal reality. It is as real as anything to us, you just can’t prove it. Hence the need for faith.
If you are willing to take the chance** then the Wakefield Doctrine says,
We’re all born with the potential to experience the world in one of three characteristic ways: as would the Outsider, the Predator or the Herd Member. At an early age we settle into one of these and it becomes our reality. Being very young, our primary efforts are to find ways to interact, resist, cooperate and otherwise negotiate with the world and its people that surrounds us. Our ‘personality types’ are simply a label for the most appropriate style, based on the nature of the world we encounter.
- the Outsider(clarks) realize immediately that they are not only different, they are not included in the world shared by everyone around them. They learn to blend in to the background, the better to observe those who apparently know something that they do not. This curiosity is not idle, it is critical. If the clark missed a lesson that others obviously learned, then either they were excluded or they were unforgivably absent. Neither is something they want to advertise and both are reasons to devote most of their lives to learning whatever they don’t already know. clarks think.
- the Predator(scotts) start moving as soon as the lights come on because, in the world of the predator, it is all about eating or being eaten. They notice everything in the world around them that is important and necessary. If it moves away, chase it. If it moves towards you, run or stand and fight. The world is full of life and conflict, which kinda are one of the same. To live is to be in motion. scotts act.
- the Herd Member(rogers) feel at home, even among strangers because the world is complete. What it is is all that it is. They have the feeling that while there are many things to be learned in life, there is a Right Way to do things. They see the world and feel a part of it. Even the bad things are connected, and, provided they are allowed the time and resources, they will learn the Right Way to do things and show others what they have learned. It’s important, because in a Herd, there is no center. However, there are always others surrounding them. The only Good is to influence as many in the Herd as possible. rogers feel.
That is about all we have time for today.
…that echo thing? You know what it warns against.
Remember, the Wakefield Doctrine is not an answer, it is one more perspective on the world and the people in it. The more that we can appreciate how the other person is experiencing the world, the more effectively we can relate ourselves to the world around us.
* being a clark, of course, laughter is subject to the old westernized koan ‘If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear, does it make a sound?”
** and if there’s anything in life requires us to risk having to pay the highest of prices, i.e. being wrong about reality, it’s the fact that only through perspective are we able to see beyond our limitations.
About clarkscottroger
First, (FRIST), I love your reference to koans. Yup. I love the idea of meditating on them. Second, the part where you said, “clarks were unforgivably absent” – I take this to also mean they could have been “present,” but their minds were not. That is, there are MANY times when I’m supposed to be listening to a conversation and…my mind just goes somewhere else. I nod and pretend to be listening, I even acknowledge people as they’re speaking, but I won’t remember a damned thing they said when they reference it later. I don’t mean to do that, but my mind will simply tune everything out to the exclusion of EVERYTHING except the thought occupying my mind at that moment. It has gotten me in trouble. I admit it openly. lol
Oh, and the critical curiosity thing. Oh yeah. John and I BOTH have observed this in ourselves. We’ll sit at home and analyze, critique and sum up all the people around us, most of whom are rogers. It is not meant in a condescending way, but as a way to understand people and their actions. It is not without criticism of others – mostly when we do not understand someone’s actions – but we both are aware and working on just taking everything as it is (cultivating our inner rogers).
In any case, there’s lots of good food for thought here.
It was a fun post… in the sense of trying to find that rhythm of post writing. Where words are not simply building blocks of information but the structure of an idea that then allows us to see other things, (hiding in the rafters and a corner of the basement)… lol
Can’t wait to hear about the trip.
PS – is it still a clap if you clap with one hand? <– another fun koan
I will say, with no small pride that, once, last year I was sitting on the deck on a windy August day and a tree fell somewhere nearby and I jumped up and said, “I heard that!”
lol
The Doctrine is an excellent tool – it reminds me to consider how a situation manifests for another person, ie a scott or roger. If I know how a person relates themselves to the world, I will know how to better (and hopefully successfully!) interact with that person. Ex. I long since learned when interacting with scotts to keep sentences short, don’t get bogged down on minutia or god forbid, get abstract (in newer dictionaries the word “abstract” is annotated with ” = clarks” lol)
scotts are about brevity, the bottom line. You can emote and be loud with scotts. Where clarks will acknowledge rules and quietly subvert them, scotts will flat out say “Fudge that!” (that’s not what they really say, lol)
Well, those are my lunchtime thought. Good post!
And the practice makes the tools easier to use and more likely to be used and therefore more readily available.