Psychology | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 93 Psychology | the Wakefield Doctrine - Part 93

Tuesday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

August 1, 2023 By

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

Alright!

Who said, “Hey! Can you please find and post an old post today? We’d really like something from the era, more technical than readable and one where the focus is on ‘the other two’*.

Can you do that for us**?

Yes. Yes we can.

Guess what?

We’re outa time. (Yeah, all of us tipped out of true vertical by the application of aviary plumage.)

Be sure to return tomorrow. Same URL Same IP address and we’ll have a post from August 5, 2014

 

* a Doctrine phrase that refers to the ‘remaining worldviews’, after (an) individual’s predominant worldview is accounted for. This concept is important as it allows a deeper understanding of seemingly contradictory behaviors. Example: as Readers of this Sunday’s TToT post know, we went to see Lyle Lovett and his Large Band on Saturday. Lyle is, (imo and for instructional purposes only1, a clark with a secondary scottian aspect and a significant rogerian tertiary.

Well, had a New Reader been sitting next to us at the concert, they might’ve commented, (aloud as they probably wouldn’t have a keyboard…)

…Wait! What the hell!! omg!

We just ran into a fact-of-life as we typed that last semi-jokey characterization of a person recognizing the clarklike demeanor of Lyle.

Damn (* cont’d) we just came face-to-face with the reality of the passage of time. Specifically, when this blog started in June 2009 cell phones were available and used. Not, however, to the degree of pervasive-to-the-point-of-supplanting-traditional-modes-of-communication. (Semi case-in-point: our seats at the concert were 2nd row center mezzanine. A totally clear view of the ‘floor seats’. People without cell phones were the exception. A sea of TV-blue-glowing rectangles.)

So my joke was anachronistic. Out of date in a critical detail. So what.

We’ll tell you what.

We value comments from Readers who have recently joined us. This ‘recently’ is very relative, of course. We’re using it to compare those who started reading when the intended RePrint was new (2014) and those who have found us, say, in the last two, three years. Our mind goes to Mimi, Nick and them.

While they totally get the principles of our little personality theory, so much so that, more often than not their Comments generate new posts and Doctrine discussions. But on occasion there is something, more likely than not a reference to one particular stage or another of how we describe the Wakefield Doctrine, that they will say, what is (fill in the blank). Denise and Cynthia and Phyllis will not wait for me to write an update and just state: ‘You know, you haven’t reminded us that ‘the Wakefield Doctrine is gender, age and culture neutral’ in, like an age.”

The thing is, I don’t always stay mindful of the new (and newer) Readers.

Probably a classic mistake, i.e. forgetting that every Reader has not been here since the beginning.

And that’s the ‘learning moment’ for me this morning.

The joke about the concert-goer not having a keyboard with them implies that my ‘story premise’? / ‘narrative assumption’? or whatever the cool, Greco-Roman term in rhetoric that identifies this effect of the passage of time for a writer. Might as well start a post with “And Nick doffed his stovepipe hat as he handed Mimi down from the landau.

But, bottom line: thanks for the opportunity to remember what I occasionally  forget.

The Wakefield Doctrine, as an additional perspective on the world around us and the people who make it up, is meant to be used and enjoyed today. Whatever our circumstances may be, there is an opportunity to see the people around us as clarks, scotts and rogers. We do that and maybe, just maybe, we won’t find ourselfs saying, “What the heck! I really thought I knew them better than that.”

 

  1. one of the first ‘rules’ here was to the effect that one person cannot tell another person what their predominant worldview was, at least not with any force or authority. We do, however, for instructional purposes and practice (and fun among whatever group has gathered), try to figure out if a stranger is a clark or a scott or a roger. Good clean fun, ya know? But, in no way binding upon anyone.

** your hypothetical Readers! well, duh!

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Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- “The RePrints must go on! …again, or is that implied by the ‘Re’?”

July 31, 2023 By

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

Today we have one of the earliest of the Last-Days-of-Summer* posts.

Busy weekend, this past couple of days. As you’d know if you read our TToT yesterday, we attended a concert. Lyle Lovett and his Large Band. Most excellent event. But that bit of diversion (last concert being in, like 2006) threatens to throw off our recent post-writing rhythm.

So, this post. (To any new Readers** the answer is: ‘Nope! Don’t have a problem going back and reading early posts.***)

how early? First-full-year writing, yo.    (for the record? Seeing the illustration I used… brought a smile, twenty-two three(!!) years later.

We know why you are reluctant to Comment

August 31, 2010

Welacome to the aWakefielda Docttrina (dis is da tearey of die clark and da scotts and dem rogers der). This is the place you can really get something really useful from the internet experience. Really. My Doctrine, she gonna make you so a happy that you, you’re gonna wanna say, where she been all my life, eh? Its twue, its weally twue.*Charismatic

When you  “get” this “Doctrine” you “will” finally understandwhy “everyone” acts like they “do”. What confused you about, these so-called “family members” and spouses (nyahh sp ow seses), all them who have been tormenting you while you try to understand what they want and give that to them. BUT! do they like WHAT you do for them? HUH? DO they? wait! wait! I can answer that question!! Call on me! Me!  The answer to your question is:
“No, no they do not”   (Thank you, thank you I studied so hard for this moment. I want to thank the Progenitor scott and the Progenitor roger and all the DownSprings, thank you! thank you! thank you!)

Welll… (as a leading scott would be heard to say, just before totally firing some poor college student who was only working at the timeshare resort for the summer, in the hopes of making some money for school). Little did they realise what they were getting themselves into… In fact, have I ever mentioned that I survived and even flourished in the totally insane, twisted-personality realm of timeshare sales? And that that was only because of my understanding of the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)? Well, I did! Remind me sometime to tell y’all about it. It’s about half interesting.)

Anyway, I think I getting back to writing about what the current thinking at the Wakefield Doctrine is, vis ‘a vis getting Readers to Comment and participate and generally get us all famous and shit. Quick background, we know people are visiting and reading the Doctrine and we know that some people come back and read on a fairly regular basis. We also know that (other than Progenitors and DownSprings) there has not been a lot of participation from these putative Readers. So, what gives?
One opinion, offered by Friend of the Doctrine Mel, is that Commenting on a blog like this is kinda intimidating. Intimidating!?! What the hell is that supposed to mean??!! Wft we ask real, real nice for people to write a Comment, we even offer to give them a frickin, free, frickin hat (for their damn frickin heads)! How intimidating is that? Hey!! I asked you a goddamn question! How-Intimidating-Is-That??!!!

So, maybe there is some possibility that people might feel that they are expected to answer in a way that might be judged. But we do not mean that. When I say, “there are no stupid questions, there are just your questions”, I mean that in a kind and supportive way. We have all been where you are, and we truly invite  a reasoned and constructive response to our Posts, do you think you can manage to muster** a little initiative and write something? If we were all rogers here, we would come right out and ask you to Comment in a way that would sound like you would be the one missing out, if you did not Comment. But then, we are not all rogers here. Are we?

While that might be the reason (for the lack of participation) I have recently come to the conclusion that we have simply failed in conveying the basic concept of the Wakefield Doctrine to you Readers. When I think about how we got to this point (of the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers) I realise that most of the time has been spent ‘in person’ with people and saying things like, ‘look at that person, watch how they react, they are such clarks or scotts or rogers’. Even more basic than that, the beginning of spreading the word involved people who knew the Progenitors directly, so it was so easy to say, ‘you know how roger always does that’, or ‘now watch how mad scott gets when I…’ It was very easy to convey the elements of this theory of clarks, scotts and rogers, the (future) Wakefield Doctrine.

It is just that, after the immediate circle of friends learned this thing of ours, they were telling people they knew about clarks, scotts and rogers. It became apparent (or at least seemed apparent) that people liked it and were inclined to share it with others and the Doctrine was simply enough to spread that way. And so the Wakefield Doctrine blog came into existence. But the gap, the ‘one wayedness’ of writing a blog is a difficult hurdle to overcome. Combined with what we might charitably call rudimentary writing skills, we need to find a way to communicate the fun, the positive benefits, the value of the Wakefield Doctrine in such a way, that after reading this, people will say, “Yeah I know what those people mean!”

As you see, we have the Raison-ettes writing and contributing in the hopes of providing as much of the sense of the Doctrine as is possible. Maybe the only answer is to take it on the road. Rent halls in large cities and train people directly to carry the message of the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers out to the world.
Sort of like Fight Club.***

*    Stolen from Blazing Saddles, one of the top three funniest movies of all time
**  A ‘muster’ is an assembling of military troops for inspection. This expression, dating from 1575, first referred to passing such a review successfully (Wiktionary)
*** But without the fighting****
**** And without being Brad Pitt*****
*****Hell, without being Edward Norton

 

*aka ‘so, did the weather person mention the chance of snow?

** New to this blog or, even better, new to writing a blog

*** which is more surprising, given that we’re clarks. Heck, clarks abhor scrutiny to the point that, for us, the idea of holding up early efforts in developing any skill is…well, abhorrent. But the Doctrine is, again, demonstrating it’s remarkable benefits, at least here, in the most personal of terms. We can read those posts and smile, seeing a certain writing style showing here and there. (Overlay your own metamorphosis …errr.  metaphor HERE). lol

The effect of the principles of this here personality theory here is amply demonstrated. At least to me. And I’m not just the curator of the Wakefield Doctrine, I’m an adherent!

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TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine-

July 30, 2023 By

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

This is the Wakefield Doctrine’s contribution to the Ten Things of Thankful (TToT) bloghop.

1) Una

2) Phyllis

3) the Wakefield Doctrine

4) Six Sentence Story

5) recently-developing tertiary rogerian aspect (See Grat 7 below)1

6) ever-so-rare concert attendance: Lyle Lovett and his Large Band (closed the show with the first of the music)

7) excerpt from the first chapter of ‘The Case of the Missing Fig Leaf’ Posted on 

“For a private investigator who divides his day between lunch with members of the underworld at a strip club and seeing clients in an office two doors down from a pawn shop, you come across very much at home here,” Dr. Leanne Thunberg, despite being a head shorter than my six feet, lead me across Harvard Yard, without once turning to make sure I followed.

I’d met Leanne last year, on a missing persons assignment and, despite her being the chair of the Department of Advanced Anthropology and Cultural Semiotics, we clicked; she had a Noomi Rapace thing going on and we all know that any self-respecting cobra falls in love with the mongoose, if only for a brief moment.

She’d emailed me an invitation to come to Cambridge, saying only she had a problem best served by talking to a private investigator; I stopped by her office and, with a smile, she informed me she had reservations at a new restaurant, ‘Craigie on Main’ that she was certain I would enjoy; Leanne had a way of making promises that carried the undertone of a dare.

The restaurant was everything she promised and, accepting her suggestion we have a drink at her home in West Cambridge, I found myself wondering who, among the founders of most established religions, was shrewd enough to insist that the devil was a man.

“Are you familiar with the story of Adam’s first wife?”

The whisper of silk drowned out all other thought and, not for the first time, I was amazed at how such an expensive fabric can be so costly; in the dark it sounded like both the cry of love and whisper of danger; I gave up all hope to steer the night, at least until dawn.

8) something, something

9) still Summer (ish)

10) Secret Rule 1.3

  1. clearly, not my first TToT

Music

*

*

*

 

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Six Sentence Story -the Wakefield Doctrine- [a Rue DeNite Six]

July 27, 2023 By

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

This is the Doctrine’s contribution to the Six Sentence Story bloghop

Hosted by Denise

We last saw Rocco and Rue, they were having lunch overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The evening ahead consisted of Rue having dinner with Cyrus St. Loreto and Rocco trying not to worry about his charge.

Prompt word:

GRID

The amber fluid, warmed to the perfect viscosity, began it’s cascade over the lip of the carafe. A single, stray beam of a Miami-dawn, released into the dark hotel room by a random gust of the air conditioner under the window, coinciding with a change in angle too subtle to be detected by the naked eye, created the briefest of flashes; like a slow-motion funnel cloud, the syrup touched and filled the center half-cuboid depression of the golden-brown grid.

“I take it things went well last night,” Rocco steepled his hands like a schoolboy at his first High Mass and, raising his left eyebrow for good measure, waited for Rue to respond.

Satisfied her careful flooding of the waffles was past the point of no return, she looked up at her bodyguard; the secondary effect of her change in posture was to cause the collars of her silk dressing gown, held open by gravity and mischievousness, to regain their proper, modesty-enhancing function,

“My job was to have dinner with our mutual boss’s proposed business partner, the original predatory-businessman and come out of it alive and…. unscathed.”

Without further preamble, the dancer known as Rue DeNite attacked the pile of waffles with the hotel’s sterling silver flatware and the glee of a ten-year-old girl on the first day of Summer.

“And,” looking over the rim of her coffee mug, “for the record, I scathe those who and when I choose, not because whatever man or woman feels entitled because of wealth, power or hotness.”

 

 

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Wednesday -the Wakefield Doctrine-

July 26, 2023 By

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

Why do clarks always (seem) to hedge-their-bets/hold-back/not-embrace-the-present/pay-the-price-but-leave-their-purchase-at-the-fufilment-center*.

The answer is at the heart of why clarks (and scotts/rogers with way too much secondary clarklike aspects) enjoy the Wakefield Doctrine.

The answer** lies in understanding the predominant worldview of the Outsider, aka clarks.

[Ran out of time. Need to work on Six. And go to work. Comments are always fun.]

* an actual word for the place you go (or used to go, pre-internet) in any sizable department store to gather up your purchase and toddle off home with a new portable entertainment center or Three-Speed SunBeam mixer

** we trust some of you have started waving your hands in the air like Prince and shouting ‘There are no Answers in the Doctrine!!’ ‘There are only additional perspectives… and, well ok, if you must, a few Rhetorical Questions, such as:

  • they say that clarks abhor being the center-of-attention, but will not tolerate being ignored
  • if they’re so curious, why don’t more clarks look into their tendency to procrastinate, at least on things that involve others
  • …what do you mean, ‘That last bullet point makes no sense?!’
  • of course it does… but, this post notwithstanding, the attitude remains: offer the tools to self-understanding yourself and let the Reader decide how to proceed
  • …no, we don’t think that this approach to what is, purportedly, at-least-in-part, a self-improvement system is a wee-bit on the laissez–faire
  • sure, and it might seem to some to be the equivalent to the Captain of the Titanic directing his crew to slide notes under the cabin doors of all the passengers informing them that ‘Skiing, rock-climbing and competitive Ice-Water-Swimming has been added to the ship’s athletic program…
  • no, we’re not goings to keep this up
  • yes, there is a coherent answer:
  • clarks, as Outsiders, tend to avoid accepting (things/people-who-seem-to-want-more/events that represent the culmination of a deliberate effort) because then others would be in a position to know us
  • …. we have to spell everything out?!?! ‘Know us without an allowance for a ‘makeup effort’ There is always something of a mystery about clarks and we are good with that because if everything is stated and we don’t measure up (to whatever standard) what’re we gonna do then?

*

 

(yeah, like Prince wasn’t no clark1)

  1. similar to Hendrix in the contrast between stage persona and… personal (at least in interviews and such). Even more (than Hendrix) in the contrast with lyrics and music…
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