Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

“The LORD said to him, If anyone kills Cain, Cain shall be avenged seven times. So the LORD put a mark on Cain, so that no one would kill him at sight. Cain then left the LORD’s presence and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.” (Genesis 4:15-16)

“But I’m a superstitious man. And if some unlucky accident should befall him – If he should get shot in the head by a police officer, or if he should hang himself in his jail cell – or if he’s struck by a bolt of lightning, then I’m going to blame some of the people in this room, and that I do not forgive. But, that aside, let me say that I swear, on the souls of my grandchildren, that I will not be the one to break the peace we’ve made here today.”

— Vito Corleone

Seeing how today is Tuesday¹. Lets talk about predominant worldviews.

The Wakefield Doctrine is based on the notion that we, all of us, experience reality as a personal affair. Nothing too extreme, no fair claiming super powers in your reality, (that for some reason is not demonstrable to anyone else, at least for the moment), just the obvious: when you stand at the bus stop in the morning, no matter how true it is that the physical destination is the same for all the other kids, that yellow monstrosity is carrying you to a place that they will not quite experience².

The Wakefield Doctrine maintains that all people are born with the potential to experience the world in one of three ways. We call these distinct realities, predominant worldviews³.  Now, here’s where the Doctrine steps away from the majority of ‘personality theories’. The traits, characteristic behavior and idiosyncrasies I exhibit are not due to childhood drama, trauma, left out on the porch, pampered by the family retainer or exalted by both parents. They (the style of my interaction with the world) are the best strategies I could come by as a child learning to negotiate my surroundings (both physical and social), given the character of the world that I was experiencing. This, poor posture, tendency to mumble, desire to avoid the spotlight is the style most suited to survival in the kind of world in which I grew up.

What kinds of worlds are we talking about? Glad you asked! We all find ourselfs, way young, in a world of one of three characters:

1. the world of the Outsider. clarks: the person who is inclined not to be in the spotlight, works hard, avoids credit, too intelligent for their own good and wicked creative (in a wtf sort of way) best friends of a scott, persistent friend of a roger.
2. the reality of the Predator. scotts: don’t let that word, ‘Predator’ distract you, instead think…. Tasmanian devil, but friendly (most of the time), fiercely loyal friend, high-cost enemy, they (both male and female) put the Capital ‘S’ in Sexy
3. the life of the Herd Member. rogers: next time you’re flying at thirty-five thousand feet, thank the rogers in the world for their stubborn insistence that the world (at least for them, and, fortunately the machines they build) is quantifiable and reliable, rogers are the reason there is a Bible (as a bunch of words, not to be confused with whatever inspired it).

Thats all the time we have today.

…the Biblical reference? That is both the power of the Wakefield Doctrine and the fun of the process (when one embraces said theory of personality). The phrase stuck in my mind for a critical few seconds this morning. Now the Bible is like the biggest cardboard box of blogpost ideas in the universe. I mean, its got everything and…and! almost always there be clarks, scotts and rogers. Them what wrote the Book, they be all about using three inter-dependent/complimentary/reinforcing qualities.

So why am I suggesting that the Land of Nod is referencing clarks? Stay tuned!

1) In the realm of workdays, sometimes referred to as Tuesday the Meek; weekday favored by clarks

2)  with the exception of the other clarks who are hidden in the clumps of pre-adolescent social chaos, like rabbits in a field of tall grass, there if for no other reason than its the best place to hide.

3)  no, no special reason other than its kinda cool sounding, if not entirely Hoyle Approved use of language⁴

4) thanks to Q. Tarantino for that line. In fact the whole Divine Intervention scene at the end of Pulp Fiction is worth clicking on the blue linked words. (Warning! Occasional f-word but, surprisingly, no violence)