Saturday 25 December 2010

Loki

Loki is the father of Hel, the wolf Fenrir, and the world serpent Jörmungandr.

Loki is a shape shifter and in separate incidents he appears in the form of a salmon, mare, seal, a fly, and possibly an elderly woman.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki

Loki reads like an ENFP.



Seid or seiðr is an Old Norse term for a type of sorcery or witchcraft which was practiced by the pre-Christian Norse. Sometimes anglicized as "seidhr," "seidh," "seidr," "seithr," or "seith," the term is also used to refer to modern Neopagan reconstructions or emulations of the practice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sei%C3%B0r

Thursday 23 December 2010

Fear on the Low Road

Creating Fear
The process of creating fear takes place in the brain and is entirely unconscious. There are two paths involved in the fear response: The low road is quick and messy, while the high road takes more time and delivers a more precise interpretation of events. Both processes are happening simultaneously.

The idea behind the low road is "take no chances." If the front door to your home is suddenly knocking against the frame, it could be the wind. It could also be a burglar trying to get in. It's far less dangerous to assume it's a burglar and have it turn out to be the wind than to assume it's the wind and have it turn out to be a burglar. The low road shoots first and asks questions later.


http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/other-emotions/fear.htm

http://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/other-emotions/fear1.htm

The Map is not the Territory

The map is not the territory is the idea that the way we represent the world refers to reality, it isn't reality itself. We don't respond to reality. We respond to our internalized map of reality.

How we represent things are our interpretations. Interpretations may or may not be accurate.

If we have inadequate maps, we don't see all our choices. Re mapping is an important problem solving strategy. Our language reveals the maps and models we use to guide our behavior.

Words only have meaning in that they trigger sensory representations in a speaker or listener.

http://www.nlp-mentor.com/map-is-not-the-territory.html


Debatable argument

Estimated Frequencies of the 16 Types

Estimated Frequencies
of the Types in the United States Population

http://www.capt.org/mbti-assessment/estimated-frequencies.htm

Trance and Hypnotism in the Community

Ericksonian Hypnosis
Traditional hypnosis uses ritual inductions and direct suggestion. Ericksonian hypnosis on the other hand is conversational and natural. Many of his techniques are not what we might think "hypnotic" but create trance states (where we find unconscious resources and choices). Trance being a common altered state we access naturally many times a day.

http://www.nlp-mentor.com/milton-model.html

By using gross generalizations, deletions and distortions, you remove all specific content from the message. When a message has no specific content person must go inside to extract individual meaning from their unconscious minds. Artfully vague (vague with a purpose) language gives people the freedom to make their own meaning of words.

http://www.nlp-mentor.com/nlp-hypnosis.html

The Cards

The Cards

% of each type

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator

Clubs 45 Guards
Spades 23 Artisans
Diamonds 15 Rationals
Hearts 17 Idealists

Collaboration

Collaboration is a recursive process where two or more people or organizations work together to realise shared goals, (this is more than the intersection of common goals seen in co-operative ventures, but a deep, collective, determination to reach an identical objective) — for example, an intellectual endeavor that is creative in nature —by sharing knowledge, learning and building consensus. Most collaboration requires leadership, although the form of leadership can be social within a decentralized and egalitarian group. In particular, teams that work collaboratively can obtain greater resources, recognition and reward when facing competition for finite resources. Collaboration is also present in opposing goals exhibiting the notion of adversarial collaboration, though this is not a common case for using the word.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collaboration#Game_theory

[Late 19th century. < late Latin collaborat-, past participle of collaborare 'work together' < Latin labor 'toil']

http://uk.encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861787621/collaborate.html

Wednesday 22 December 2010

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Very interesting. I had not heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Dunning–Kruger effect is a cognitive bias in which unskilled people make poor decisions and reach erroneous conclusions, but their incompetence denies them the metacognitive ability to realize their mistakes. The unskilled therefore suffer from illusory superiority, rating their own ability as above average, much higher than it actually is, while the highly skilled underrate their abilities, suffering from illusory inferiority. This leads to the situation in which less competent people rate their own ability higher than more competent people. It also explains why actual competence may weaken self-confidence. Competent individuals falsely assume that others have an equivalent understanding.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

I am not sure that this statement will always stand up to critical analysis. Highly plausible and helpful; Judgement or Perception?

I think it is all a fallacy!

Sunday 12 December 2010

Retrograde Amnesia (Ency. Britannica)

Retrograde amnesia

Open Workspace Since retrograde amnesia relates to memory for events that took place when brain function was unimpaired, it clearly cannot be ascribed to failure of registration—with the exception, perhaps, of the very brief permanent amnesias following electroconvulsive shock or head injury. Retrograde amnesia otherwise would appear to be wholly due to a failure of retrieval, though this failure is evidently selective. That recent memories are generally harder to evoke than those more remote is usually explained on the basis of consolidation; i.e., progressive strengthening of memory traces with the passage of time. Yet, recency is not the only factor, and in some cases memory for a relatively recent event may still be preserved while that for one more remote is inaccessible. Much depends, too, on the method used to test retrieval; e.g., recognition may succeed when voluntary recall entirely fails. By and large, the availability of information in memory would seem to depend to a considerable extent on its relation to the person's current interests and preoccupations. When these are severely curtailed by an amnesic state, the links connecting present and past are severed, with a consequent failure of reproduction.

Retrograde Amnesia

Retrograde amnesia is caused by trauma that results in brain injury. Critical details of the physical changes in the brain that cause retrograde amnesia are still unknown. Retrograde amnesia is often temporally graded, meaning that remote memories are more easily accessible than events occurring just prior to the trauma (Ribot's Law).Events nearest in time to the event that caused memory loss may never be recovered.

A person who has suffered this injury will often feel as if the time (1–4 hours) before the injury were a dream. If someone informs the injured person of the events just before the trauma, he or she will most likely recollect some of the happenings.

The memory loss may just affect specific “classes” of memory. For instance, the victim, a concert pianist before, may still remember what a piano is after the onset of retrograde amnesia, but may forget how to play. The relearning rate for often used skills such as typing and math is typically faster than if the victim had never learned these skills before. While there is no cure for retrograde amnesia, “jogging” the victim’s memory by exposing the victim to significant articles from his or her past will speed the rate of recall.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Retrograde_amnesia

Movement and Coping Strategies (Karen Horney)

From her experiences as a psychiatrist, Horney named ten patterns of neurotic needs. These ten needs are based upon things which she thought all humans require to succeed in life. Horney distorted these needs somewhat to correspond with what she believed were individuals' neuroses. A neurotic person could theoretically exhibit all of these needs, though in practice much fewer than the ten here need to be present for a person to be considered a neurotic. The ten needs, as set out by Horney, (classified according to her so-called coping strategies) are as follows:[

Moving Toward People

1. The need for affection and approval; pleasing others and being liked by them.
2. The need for a partner; one whom they can love and who will solve all problems.

Moving Against People

3. The need for power; the ability to bend wills and achieve control over others—while most persons seek strength, the neurotic may be desperate for it.
4. The need to exploit others; to get the better of them. To become manipulative, fostering the belief that people are there simply to be used.
5. The need for social recognition; prestige and limelight.
6. The need for personal admiration; for both inner and outer qualities—to be valued.
7. The need for personal achievement; though virtually all persons wish to make achievements, as with No. 3, the neurotic may be desperate for achievement.

Moving Away from People

8. The need for self sufficiency and independence; while most desire some autonomy, the neurotic may simply wish to discard other individuals entirely.
9. The need for perfection; while many are driven to perfect their lives in the form of well being, the neurotic may display a fear of being slightly flawed.
10. Lastly, the need to restrict life practices to within narrow borders; to live as inconspicuous a life as possible.

Upon investigating the ten needs further, Horney found she was able to condense them into three broad categories:

Compliance

Needs one and two were assimilated into the "compliance" category. This category is seen as a process of "moving towards people", or self-effacement. Under Horney's theory children facing difficulties with parents often use this strategy. Fear of helplessness and abandonment occurs—phenomena Horney refers to as "basic anxiety". Those within the compliance category tend to exhibit a need for affection and approval on the part of their peers. They may also seek out a partner, somebody to confide in, fostering the belief that, in turn, all of life's problems would be solved by the new cohort. A lack of demands and a desire for inconspicuousness both occur in these individuals.

Aggression

Needs three through seven were assimilated into the "aggression" category, also called the "moving against people", or the "expansive" solution. Neurotic children or adults within this category often exhibit anger or basic hostility to those around them. That is, there is a need for power, a need for control and exploitation, and a maintenance of a facade of omnipotence. Manipulative qualities aside, under Horney's assertions the aggressive individual may also wish for social recognition, not necessarily in terms of limelight, but in terms of simply being known (perhaps feared) by subordinates and peers alike. In addition, the individual has needs for a degree of personal admiration by those within this person's social circle and, lastly, for raw personal achievement. These characteristics comprise the "aggressive" neurotic type. Aggressive types also tend to keep people away from them. On the other hand, they only care about their wants and needs. They would do whatever they can to be happy and wouldn't desist from hurting anyone.

Detachment

Needs eight through ten were assimilated into the "detachment" category, also called the "moving-away-from" or "resigning" solution or a detached personality. As neither aggression nor compliance solve parental indifference, Horney recognized that children might simply try to become self sufficient. The withdrawing neurotic may disregard others in a non-aggressive manner, regarding solitude and independence as the way forth. The stringent needs for perfection comprise another part of this category; those withdrawing may strive for perfection above all else, to the point where being flawed is utterly unacceptable. Everything the "detached" type does must be unassailable and refined. They suppress or deny all feelings towards others, particularly love and hate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Horney

Different Types of Stalkers

You can be stalked by a Bull Dyke or a Skylark, stalked by a Bird of a Paradise or a Hawk, even stalked by a Hamster, stalked by a Rat or a Cat, stalked by a Tiger or a Mongoose. Or (God forbid by a Camel) or a Black Unicorn. Or a Dire Wolf or a Turtle. An Alligator or a Snake?

What do your prefer?

Thursday 9 December 2010

Transhumanism

Transhumanism is an international intellectual and cultural movement supporting the use of science and technology to improve human mental and physical characteristics and capacities. The movement regards aspects of the human condition, such as disability, suffering, disease, aging, and involuntary death as unnecessary and undesirable. Transhumanists look to biotechnologies and other emerging technologies for these purposes. Dangers, as well as benefits, are also of concern to the transhumanist movement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transhumanism

Tuesday 7 December 2010

Coping Strategies

1 Coping strategies
1.1 Moving With
1.2 Moving Toward
1.3 Moving Against
1.4 Moving Away



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coping_strategies

Saturday 4 December 2010

Oedipus Complex in the Twenty-First Century

In their book Homicide, evolutionary psychologists Martin Daly and Margo Wilson argue that there are few testable predictions that can be derived from the theory of an Oedipus Complex, and they found no evidence for the existence of an Oedipus Complex in humans. They do find evidence of conflict between parents and offspring, but this is not conflict over possession of the opposite sex biological parent, i.e. it is not Oedipal conflict.

The Oedipus Complex in the Twenty-First Century

"A large number of people these days believe that Freud's Oedipus complex is defunct...'disproven', or simply found unnecessary sometime in the last century". In a postmodern understanding, however, "the Oedipus complex isn't really like that. It's more a way of explaining how human beings are socialised...learning to deal with disappointment". The key element to be learnt is that "You have to stop trying to be everything for your primary carer and get on with being something for the rest of the world"

Comment:


I am not a Freudian but I am a Greek

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex

I do not hold with Freud's views on this subject. This means I think it is overstated adolescent fantasies and all very childish.

Andy (Perseus)

Monday 29 November 2010

Who will guard the guards themselves?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes? is a Latin phrase from the Roman poet Juvenal, which is literally translated as "Who will guard the guards themselves?" Also sometimes rendered as "Who watches the watchmen?", the phrase has other idiomatic translations and adaptations such as "Who will guard the guards?".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quis_custodiet_ipsos_custodes%3F

In the Perseus System the Guards (Administrators) and Protectors (Teachers and Counsellors) are different. And the Priests and Managers will also be different.

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Nation

nation

[< Anglo-Norman nacion, nacioun, naciun, nation, natiun, etc., and Middle French nacion, nation (early 12th cent. in Old French in plural as naciuns denoting gentiles; late 12th cent. in senses ‘birth’, ‘a people united by common language and culture’, and ‘family, lineage’; early 13th cent. in sense ‘descendants’, early 14th cent. in sense ‘innate character’; late 14th cent. in sense ‘the native population of a town’; late 15th cent. denoting a division of the university of Paris; 1505 in the passage translated in quot. 15231 at sense 7b in sense ‘native population of a town’; 1668 in French in sense ‘species of animal’; 1765 in sense ‘territorial division of the Maltese Order’) < classical Latin ntin-, nti birth, race, nation, class of person, in post-classical Latin also (in plural, nationes) denoting gentiles (Vetus Latina: the Vulgate has gens), (in singular) the animal kingdom (Vulgate), Irish clan (1336, 1566 in Irish sources), division of university students (mid 13th cent. with reference to the university of Paris, a1350 with reference to the university of Oxford, 15th cent. with reference to Scottish universities) < nt-, past participial stem of nsc to be born (see NASCENT adj.) + -i -ION suffix1.
Compare Italian nazione (1294), Spanish nación (1444), Portuguese naçao (1691; 14th cent. in forms naçõ, nasçião), and also German Nation (14th cent.).]

I. A people or group of peoples; a political state.

1. a. A large aggregate of communities and individuals united by factors such as common descent, language, culture, history, or occupation of the same territory, so as to form a distinct people. Now also: such a people forming a political state; a political state. (In early use also in pl.: a country.)

OED

nation

Ambiguity in usage
In the strict sense, terms such as "nation," "ethnos," and "people" (as in "the Danish people") denote a group of human beings. The concepts of nation and nationality have much in common with ethnic group and ethnicity, but have a more political connotation, since they imply the possibility of a nation-state.

Country denominates a geographical territory,[3] whereas state expresses a legitimized administrative and decision-making institution. Confusingly, the terms national and international are used as technical terms applying to states. International law, for instance, applies to relations between states, and occasionally between states on the one side, and individuals or legal persons on the other. Likewise, the United Nations represents selected sovereign states, while nations that are free, per se, are not admitted as members.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation

A Sovereign state is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, independence from other states and powers, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states.It is also normally understood to be a state which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognised by other sovereign states, unrecognised states will often find it hard to exercise full treaty-making powers and engage in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states.

Alternative

al·ter·na·tive   /ɔlˈtɜrnətɪv, æl-/ Show Spelled
[awl-tur-nuh-tiv, al-] Show IPA

–noun
1. a choice limited to one of two or more possibilities, as of things, propositions, or courses of action, the selection of which precludes any other possibility: You have the alternative of riding or walking.
2. one of the things, propositions, or courses of action that can be chosen: The alternative to riding is walking.
3. a possible or remaining course or choice: There was no alternative but to walk.
–adjective
4. affording a choice of two or more things, propositions, or courses of action.
5. (of two things, propositions, or courses) mutually exclusive so that if one is chosen the other must be rejected: The alternative possibilities are neutrality and war.
6. employing or following nontraditional or unconventional ideas, methods, etc.; existing outside the establishment: an alternative newspaper; alternative lifestyles.
7. Logic . (of a proposition) asserting two or more choices, at least one of which is true.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/alternative


alternate

[ad. L. alternãti-us pa. pple. of alternã-re to do one thing after the other; f. altern-us ever the other, every second; f. alter the other of two, the second.]

alternative

[ad. med.L. alternãtîvus, f. L. alternãt- ppl. stem of alternãre: see ALTERNATE a. and -IVE.]

alter

[a. 14th c. Fr. altére-r (Pr. or It. alterar) ad. med.L. alter-re, f. alter other.]

native n

[< post-classical Latin nativus a person born in bondage (frequently in British sources from the late 12th cent.), a person born in a specified place (late 14th cent. in a British source), use as noun of classical Latin ntvus NATIVE adj. In later use sometimes directly from the Latin adjective. Compare Middle French, French natif (mid 16th cent.), Italian nativo (16th cent.), both in sense 3a.]

native adj

[< Middle French, French natif belonging to the origin of an object (late 14th cent.), born in a particular place (early 15th cent.), (of metal) occurring naturally (1762; early 12th cent. in Old French (in a Franco-Occitan context) in form natiz in sense ‘originating (from a place)’) and its etymon classical Latin ntvus having a birth or origin (see note), innate, natural, naturally occurring, (of words) used with their natural meaning, in post-classical Latin also born in a particular place (9th cent.; late 12th cent. in a British source), that is the place of a person's birth (from the second half of the 11th cent. in British sources), holding a certain position by right of birth (late 11th cent. in a British source), born in bondage, and spoken in a person's place of birth (both from 12th cent. in British sources), < nt-, past participial stem of nsc to be born (see NASCENT adj.) + -vus -IVE suffix. Compare NAIVE adj.
Compare Old Occitan, Occitan nadiu (c1200; also in Occitan as natiu), Spanish nativo (1424), Italian nativo (1532; early 14th cent. as natio), Portuguese nativo (16th cent.), Catalan natiu (1805; 1120 as nadiu).
In sense 8 after classical Latin ntvus in Cicero De Natura Deorum 1. 10. 25.]

OED


alternative

1580s, "offering one or the other of two," from M.L. alternativus, from L. alternatus, pp. of alternare (see alternate). Sense of "the other of two which may be chosen" is recorded from 1838. Adj. use, "purporting to be a superior choice to what is in general use" was current by 1970 (earliest ref. is to the media); e.g. alternative energy (1975).
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=alternative&searchmode=none

alternative

< Medieval Latin alternativus < Latin alternare (“to do by turns”), past participle alternatus; see alternate.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/alternative

Alternative culture
From Wikipedia,

Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative obscurity, but cultural studies uses this common basis of obscurity to classify them as alternative cultures, or, taken as a whole, the alternative culture. Compare with the more politically charged term, counterculture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alternative_culture

Sunday 21 November 2010

De-escalation and interpersonal/communication skills

De-escalation and interpersonal/communication skills

Staff employ communication and de-escalation skills to manage aggression and prevent violence from escalating as far as possible.

http://pso.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/pso1600/Sec%201.3%20Descalation.htm

Dialogue from the Owler

The Crackpots

Murder by Poison followed by Suicide

Many people psychiatry as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? The murders changed all that. Revealed psychiatry is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives the Psi Cops unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it teaches their disciples to others label people by nasty disorders. Let's now stop being so damned respectful to those bastards!

Thursday 18 November 2010

For Whom the Bell Tolls

John Donne (1572-1631), Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions, Meditation XVII: Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris:

"Perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance I may think myself so much better than I am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and I know not that.

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/for-whom-the-bell-tolls.html

Workplace Bullying Gossip: What Can You Do?

Workplace Bullying Gossip: What Can You Do?

Gossip. We've all heard about it. We've all 'done it'. We've all been on the receiving end of it too. No one is immune. Yes, some are addicted to it and use it as a means of connecting with others. Bullies thrive on the usage of gossip. It takes a true leader to not participate in gossip. Furthermore, it takes a true leader to stop it. So now what?



They say if you really want to know what people think about you, go to the washroom at work and wait to hear what others say! Well, even if you've never done that or won't do that, know that gossip is happening everywhere. The question is, do you have a personal policy with regard to not spreading gossip? Do you have an organizational policy? What can you do if you are on the receiving end? What is gossip anyway?



What is Gossip?
Gossip can be explained as: Rumor or discussion of a personal or sensational tone.



Why Do People Gossip?
Gossip is a way of avoiding responsibility for one's feelings, and it can be used by someone with a lower self-image as a way to connect with others and feel better about oneself, but at the expense of another.




Gossip acts as an external substitute to filling one's own needs without having to face anything that is going on inside such as rejection, fear, etc. Know this: it is hard to truly connect with others when you are disconnected from yourself. This won't change until you are willing to practice staying mindful with your own feelings and take responsibility for them rather than avoiding them with gossip. Bullies choose gossip as a tactic many times. Why? It's so much easier than facing their own lack. People gossip out of lack.



Why Does a Bully Use Gossip?
Gossip fits well into the bully's plan. The bully can stretch or bend the truth or make up a lie about a target and not confront the target directly. Remember, gossip is indirect, passive behavior that the target is not usually included in directly. The bully uses gossip, the most powerful form of control in an organization, in order to discredit an individual. If the target is discredited, the bully gets a 'rush' to feel their addiction of needing power over.




Why Do People Enjoy Hearing Gossip?
Gossip is almost always something personal toward the target where the target is being presented as 'less than'. When we hear of someone as 'less than', we do not have to do the work to be more ourselves. Competitiveness is king in this equation. Anyone addicted to competitiveness and envy will surely have to discipline themselves to not gossip.





So, What's The Answer?
Decide to stop participating in gossip.
When you hear gossip, resist the temptation to contribute.
Advanced leadership: confront the person gossiping by changing the subject if someone seems to be a good person and just got off track.
Advanced leadership: confront the person gossiping by talking to them after privately if you feel they could 'hear you' and not become defensive.
Advanced leadership: confront the person within the group publically right away to help the target save face if the person gossiping is really running the target down.
If gossip is a problem in your organization, share with your manager that you'd like to see a policy in place to ward off gossip. Remember, a policy about anything must be clear as to what it is and what the consequences are if it happens.
If you are a target and you find out after the fact, continue to log your issues and have a collective case to go to a higher authority. Resist the need to defend yourself right away. Plan your move.
Remember, the truth rises to the top. Most people hearing gossip don't usually feel good about the person gossiping even though you can be under the illusion they are 'getting along so well'.
Become the change you want to see in the world, says Gandhi and stay positive by your example.
Become more and more rooted into who you are and why you are here. Great leaders who have had to fend off gossip often say 'the vision leads the leader' even though there may be muddy waters...and there are muddy waters for us all.

Here's to a week of support, kindness, gentleness, patience and hope.

Valerie Cade, CSP is a Workplace Bullying Expert, Speaker and Author of "Bully Free at Work: What You Can Do To Stop Workplace Bullying Now!" which has been distributed in over 100 countries worldwide. For consulting on workplace bullying prevention and respectful workplace implementation, go to http://www.bullyfreeatwork.com.

You have permission to use the above article in your newsletter, publication or email system. We ask you not to edit the content and that you leave the links and resource box intact. © Bully Free at Work.

Monday 15 November 2010

Jobsite: Profiling Theory

The Theory Bit
You're probably wondering where this all came from. Well, it started from within the company: 2005 saw us celebrate our 10th birthday, and like all great milestone ages in your life it gets you thinking. We realised how much we've changed as a company and how much we have changed as individuals over the last 10 years. We realised that different people want different things from their work life, will need different management and will be attracted by completely different things. We also realised if the individual doesn't match the company culture - it is a lose-lose situation for both parties.

http://www.jobsite.co.uk/home/questionnaire_theory.html

Friday 12 November 2010

Toady

toady (td)
n. pl. toad·ies
A person who flatters or defers to others for self-serving reasons; a sycophant.
tr. & intr.v. toad·ied, toad·y·ing, toad·ies
To be a toady to or behave like a toady. See Synonyms at fawn1.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

[From toad.]
Word History: The earliest recorded sense (around 1690) of toady is "a little or young toad," but this has nothing to do with the modern usage of the word. The modern sense has rather to do with the practice of certain quacks or charlatans who claimed that they could draw out poisons. Toads were thought to be poisonous, so these charlatans would have an attendant eat or pretend to eat a toad and then claim to extract the poison from the attendant. Since eating a toad is an unpleasant job, these attendants came to epitomize the type of person who would do anything for a superior, and toadeater (first recorded 1629) became the name for a flattering, fawning parasite. Toadeater and the verb derived from it, toadeat, influenced the sense of the noun and verb toad and the noun toady, so that both nouns could mean "sycophant" and the verb toady could mean "to act like a toady to someone."

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/toadying

Saturday 6 November 2010

Wind Troll

Ysätters-Kajsa was a wind-troll, not a dark and gloomy troll, but a happy and playful one. What she liked most, was a real gale ....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ys%C3%A4tters-Kajsa

Friday 5 November 2010

Grammar: Art & Science

Grammar

[ad. OF. gramaire (F. grammaire), an irregular semipopular adoption (for the form of which cf. OF. mire repr. L. medicum, artimaire repr. L. artem magicam or mathematicam) of L. grammatica, ad. Gr. (scil. art), fem. of adj., of or pertaining to letters or literature, f. letters, literature, pl. of letter, written mark, f. root of to write. Cf. Pr. gramaira (prob. from Fr.). Old Fr. had also a learned adoption of the L. word, gramatique, parallel with Sp. gramática, Pg., It. grammatica, G. grammatik, Welsh gramadeg.

In classical Gr. and L. the word denoted the methodical study of literature (= ‘philology’ in the widest modern sense, including textual and æsthetic criticism, investigation of literary history and antiquities, explanation of allusions, etc., besides the study of the Greek and Latin languages. Post-classically, grammatica came to be restricted to the linguistic portion of this discipline, and eventually to ‘grammar’ in the mod. sense. In the Middle Ages, grammatica and its Rom. forms chiefly meant the knowledge or study of Latin, and were hence often used as synonymous with learning in general, the knowledge peculiar to the learned class. As this was popularly supposed to include magic and astrology, the OF. gramaire was sometimes used as a name for these occult sciences. In these applications it still survives in certain corrupt forms, F. grimoire, Eng. GLAMOUR, GRAMARYE.]

1. a. That department of the study of a language which deals with its inflexional forms or other means of indicating the relations of words in the sentence, and with the rules for employing these in accordance with established usage; usually including also the department which deals with the phonetic system of the language and the principles of its representation in writing. Often preceded by an adj. designating the language referred to, as in Latin, English, French grammar.
In early Eng. use grammar meant only Latin grammar, as Latin was the only language that was taught grammatically. In the 16th c. there are some traces of a perception that the word might have an extended application to other languages (cf. quot. 1530 under GRAMMATICAL 1); but it was not before the 17th c. that it became so completely a generic term that there was any need to speak explicitly of ‘Latin grammar’. Ben Jonson's book, written c1600, was app. the first to treat of ‘English grammar’ under that name.
As above defined, grammar is a body of statements of facta ‘science’; but a large portion of it may be viewed as consisting of rules for practice, and so as forming an ‘art’. The old-fashioned definition of grammar as ‘the art of speaking and writing a language correctly’ is from the modern point of view in one respect too narrow, because it applies only to a portion of this branch of study; in another respect, it is too wide, and was so even from the older point of view, because many questions of ‘correctness’ in language were recognized as outside the province of grammar: e.g. the use of a word in a wrong sense, or a bad pronunciation or spelling, would not have been called a grammatical mistake. At the same time, it was and is customary, on grounds of convenience, for books professedly treating of grammar to include more or less information on points not strictly belonging to the subject.
Until a not very distant date, Grammar was divided by Eng. writers (following the precedent of Latin grammarians) into Orthography, Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody, to which Orthoëpy was added by some authors. All these terms (except Syntax) were used more or less inaccurately (see the several words). The division now usual is that into Phonology, treating of the sounds used in the language, Accidence, of the inflexional forms or equivalent combinations, and Syntax, of the structure of sentences; the branch of grammar dealing with the functions of the alphabetic letters is usually treated along with the phonology.

1398

Glamour

glamour
n.
1. An air of compelling charm, romance, and excitement, especially when delusively alluring.
2. Archaic A magic spell; enchantment.

-------------------------------------------
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/glamour

[Scots, magic spell, alteration of grammar (from the association of learning with magic).]
Usage Note: Many words, such as honor, vapor, and labor, are usually spelled with an -or ending in American English but with an -our ending in British English. The preferred spelling of glamour, however, is -our, making it an exception to the usual American practice. The adjective is more often spelled glamorous in both American and British usage.

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/glamour

1. Magic, enchantment, spell; esp. in the phrase to cast the glamour over one (see quot. 1721).

?17.. Johnny Faa in Ritson Sc. Songs (1794) II. 177 As soon as they saw her well far'd face, They coost the glamer o'er her. 1720 RAMSAY Rise & Fall Stocks 152 Like Belzie when he nicks a witch, He..Casts o'er her een his cheating glamour. 1721 Gloss. to Poems s.v., When devils, wizards or jugglers deceive the sight, they are said to cast glamour o'er the eyes of the spectator. 1789 BURNS Capt. Grose's Peregrin. iv, Ye gipsy-gang that deal in glamor, And you deep read in hell's black grammar, Warlocks and witches. 1830 SCOTT Demonol. iii, This species of Witchcraft is well known in Scotland as the glamour, or deceptio visus, and was supposed to be a special attribute of the race of Gipsies. 1859 TENNYSON Enid 743 That maiden in the tale, Whom Gwydion made by glamour out of flowers. 1860 READE Cloister & H. I. 98 He knows father and daughter both. They cast their glamour on him. 1894 D. C. MURRAY Making of Novelist 199 The man had a glamour for me and drew me with the attraction of a magnet.
2. a. A magical or fictitious beauty attaching to any person or object; a delusive or alluring charm.

1840 HOOD Kilmansegg, Fancy Ball xxxvi, For to paint that scene of glamour It would need the Great Enchanter's charm. 1863 OUIDA Held in Bondage 97, I know how quickly the glamour fades in the test of constant intercourse. 1874 GREEN Short Hist. v. §1. 213 A sudden burst of military glory threw its glamour over the age of Cressy and Poitiers.
b. Charm; attractiveness; physical allure, esp. feminine beauty; freq. attrib. (see sense 3). colloq. (orig. U.S.).

OED

Wednesday 3 November 2010

Value of Diamonds

The value of the Emperor's diamond, like that of most other diamonds, depends heavily on the perception of the buyer. If it is accepted as a unique gem and a crown jewel, it could be auctioned off for a million dollars. If, on the other hand, it is seen as a piece of industrial boart, it will be sold for $140 and used as grinding powder. It is, as Jolis observed, "a two-tier market."

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/diamond/chap20.htm

Most jewelers would prefer not make a customer an offer that not only might be deemed insulting but would also undercut the widely-held notion that diamonds hold their value.

"We usually can't pay more than 60 percent of the current wholesale price," Jack Braud, the president of Empire Diamonds, explained. "In most cases, we have to pay less since the setting has to be discarded and we have to leave a margin for error in our evaluation [especially if the diamond is mounted in a setting]." Empire removes the diamonds from their settings, which are sold as scrap, and resells them to wholesalers. Because of the steep markup on diamonds between the wholesale and retail levels, individuals who buy retail and, ;n effect, sell wholesale often suffer enormous losses on the transaction. For example, Braud estimated that a half-carat diamond ring that might cost $2,000 at a retail jewelry store could only be sold for $600 at Empire.

Personality Types and their Career Choices

Personality Types and their Career Choices

The relevance of the MBTI for career planning has been questioned, with reservations about the relevance of type to job performance or satisfaction, and concerns about the potential misuse of the instrument in labeling individuals. In her original research, Isabel Myers found that the proportion of different personality types varied by choice of career or course of study.[1]:40-51[14] However, some other researchers examining the proportions of each type within varying professions report that the proportion of MBTI types within each occupation is close to that within a random sample of the population.

Studies suggest that the MBTI is not a useful predictor of job performance. In 1991 three scholars at the University of Western Ontario analyzed the results of 97 independent studies that evaluated the effectiveness of personality tests in predicting job success and job satisfaction ("Personnel Psychology," winter 1991). The results of the nationwide study found that the MBTI was not an effective tool in predicting individual performance or satisfaction in a corporate setting: "The validity coefficient for personality tests in predicting job success was found to average 0.29 (on a scale of 0 to 1). The corresponding average validity for the MBTI, however, was a weak 0.12. In fact, each study that examined the MBTI found its validity to be below acceptable levels of statistical significance." [44] As noted above under Precepts and ethics, the MBTI measures preference, not ability. The use of the MBTI as a predictor of job success is expressly discouraged in the Manual.It is not designed for this purpose.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator#Skepticism

Extract cut from the Wicker Man

Postman: It's for his nibs - postmarked Summerisle. Got a bit of skirt over there, has he?

McTaggart: What him? The only woman he's interested in is the Virgin Mary.

Postman: Oh? I thought he was going steady with Mary Bannock?

McTaggart: Steady's the word. In two years he hasn't so much as tickled her fancy. He's keeping himself pure for the wedding day!

(They laugh. Outside, Howie is just arriving for work)

http://www.steve-p.org/wm/diffs.htm

Sunday 31 October 2010

Cross-quarter Days

Cross-quarter Days

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-quarter_day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celtic_calendar

Heath Etymology

http://keithbriggs.info/heath.html

Wheel of the Year

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wheel_of_the_Year.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_of_the_Year

Knights of the Round Table

The table is round and this gives no one member of those invited to the table any advantage. But you have to be a Knight and this means a stakeholder (stick your stake in the ground), which means property, and are representatives of the commoners allowed around the table?

The game is Capitalist Poker and your stake is represented by the amount of resources (represented by money tokens) that you can call on to play, representing castles and armed retainers, agricultural land and serfs (possessions) and possibly benefactors (from over the sea).

But the hands are dealt by God (whoever he may be) and who is going to take the Pot? Now being a commoner my stake is low and although my cards are high what card is going to appear in the river? Will the benefactor invest when the wrong card means Death?

Dark clouds of the Revolution are in the sky, Thunder and Lightning, the new game is Chess and the armies are gathering. This is to be expected when the commoners are not allowed at the Round Table. The gate is locked and the paid Guards are watching.

Thursday 28 October 2010

Our Way of Life

In introducing the inherited spirituality of his people, T.P. Tawhai, a Maori writer, said that “the purpose of religious activity here is to do violence with impunity”. He explains that rather than reaching for redemption and salvation, or conveying messages of praise and thanksgiving, religious activity “seeks permission and offers placation”.

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-faith-column/2007/03/eat-world-life-problem-others

Our Religions: Are they the Religions of Humanity Itself

Wherever you find indigenous peoples who have not swallowed (under force) the bitter pill of civilization, you find animism.

…there once was a religion that could plausibly be called the religion of humanity. It was humanity’s first religion and its only universal religion, found wherever humans were found, in place for tens of thousands of years. Christian missionaries encountered it wherever they went, and piously set about destroying it. By now it has been all but stamped out either by missionary efforts or more simply by exterminating its adherents. I certainly take no pride in its discovery, since it’s been in plain sight to us for hundreds of years.

Of course it isn’t accounted a “real” religion, since it isn’t one of ours. It’s just a sort of half-baked “pre-religion.” How could it be anything else, since it emerged long before God decided humans were worth talking to? It wasn’t revealed by any accredited prophet, has no dogma, no evident theology or doctrine, no liturgy, and produces no interesting heresies or schisms. Worst of all, as far as I know, no one has ever killed for it or died for it–and what sort of religion is that? Considering all this, it’s actually quite remarkable that we even have a name for it.

The religion I’m talking about is, of course, animism.

Daniel Quinn
Our Religions: Are they the Religions of Humanity Itself?

http://wilderix.wordpress.com/2007/06/08/animism-baptism/

Saturday 23 October 2010

Agnosticism

agnostic | anstk | n. & a. M19. [f. A-10 + GNOSTIC.] A n. A person who holds the view that nothing can be known of the existence of God or of anything beyond material phenomena. Also, a person who is uncertain or non-committal about a particular thing. M19. B adj. Of or pertaining to agnostics or agnosticism. L19.
Coined by T. H. Huxley (OED); but occurs earlier in a letter of 1859 from Isabel Arundell.
agnostical a. L19. agnostically adv. L19. agnosticism | -sz()m | n. the doctrine or tenets of agnostics, an agnostic attitude L19.

cf. Nihilism on
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absurdism

Demographic research services normally list agnostics in the same category as atheists and/or non-religious people.[4] Some sources use agnostic in the sense of noncommittal.[5] Agnosticism often overlaps with other belief systems. Agnostic theists identify themselves both as agnostics and as followers of particular religions, viewing agnosticism as a framework for thinking about the nature of belief and their relation to revealed truths. Some nonreligious people, such as author Philip Pullman, identify as both agnostic and atheist.[6]
Thomas Henry Huxley defined the term:
Agnosticism is not a creed but a method, the essence of which lies in the vigorous application of a single principle... Positively the principle may be expressed as in matters of intellect, do not pretend conclusions are certain that are not demonstrated or demonstrable.

Etymology
Agnostic (Greek: ἀ- a-, without + γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) was used by Thomas Henry Huxley in a speech at a meeting of the Metaphysical Society in 1876[7] to describe his philosophy which rejects all claims of spiritual or mystical knowledge. Early Christian church leaders used the Greek word gnosis (knowledge) to describe "spiritual knowledge." Agnosticism is not to be confused with religious views opposing the ancient religious movement of Gnosticism in particular; Huxley used the term in a broader, more abstract sense.[8] Huxley identified agnosticism not as a creed but rather as a method of skeptical, evidence-based inquiry.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnosticism
Nihilism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Nihilism (pronounced /ˈnaɪ.əlɪzəm/ or /ˈniː.əlɪzəm/; from the Latin nihil, nothing) is the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more meaningful aspects of life. Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the form of existential nihilism which argues that life[1] is without objective meaning, purpose, or intrinsic value. Moral nihilists assert that morality does not inherently exist, and that any established moral values are abstractly contrived. Nihilism can also take epistemological, metaphysical or ontological forms, meaning respectively that, in some aspect, knowledge is not possible or that contrary to our belief, some aspect of reality does not exist as such.
The term nihilism is sometimes used in association with anomie to explain the general mood of despair at a perceived pointlessness of existence that one may develop upon realizing there are no necessary norms, rules, or laws.[2] Movements such as Futurism and deconstruction,[3] among others, have been identified by commentators as "nihilistic" at various times in various contexts.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism

Thursday 21 October 2010

Gnosticism

Gnosticism (Greek: γνῶσις gnōsis, knowledge) refers to diverse, syncretistic religious movements in antiquity consisting of various belief systems generally united in the teaching that the material cosmos was created ...

The gnōsis referred to in the term is a form of mystic, revealed, esoteric knowledge through which the spiritual elements of humanity are reminded of their true origins within the superior Godhead, being thus permitted to escape materiality.[5] Consequently, within the sects of gnosticism only the pneumatics or psychics obtain gnōsis; the hylic or Somatics, though human, being incapable of perceiving the higher reality, are unlikely to attain the gnōsis deemed by gnostic movements as necessary for salvation.[6][7] Jesus of Nazareth is identified by some Gnostic sects as an embodiment of the supreme being who became incarnate to bring gnōsis to the earth.[8] In others (e.g. the Notzrim and Mandaeans) he is considered a mšiha kdaba or "false messiah" who perverted the teachings entrusted to him by John the Baptist.[9] Still other traditions identify Mani and Seth, third son of Adam and Eve, as salvific figures.[10]

Whereas Gnosticism has been considered by scholars to originate as a branch of Christianity, alternate theories have proposed traces of Gnostic systems existed some centuries before the Christian Era, thus predating the birth of Jesus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnosticism

Epiphany to the Magi

e·piph·a·ny (-pf-n)
n. pl. e·piph·a·nies
1. Epiphany
a. A Christian feast celebrating the manifestation of the divine nature of Jesus to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi.
b. January 6, on which this feast is traditionally observed.
2. A revelatory manifestation of a divine being.
3.
a. A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something.
b. A comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization: "I experienced an epiphany, a spiritual flash that would change the way I viewed myself" (Frank Maier).

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/epiphany

JC (the Nazz) was a Skylark (INFJ*) and the Magi (ENTJ*) rode on sneering Camels (ESFJ variant) from a different camp.

Intuition is not the whole world.
(* unsure, these could be complex shape-shifters)



Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, Greek mágos "magian"/Magician was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek goēs(γόης), the older word for a practitioner of magic, to include astrology, alchemy and other forms of esoteric knowledge. This association was in turn the product of the Hellenistic fascination for (Pseudo-)Zoroaster, who was perceived by the Greeks to be the "Chaldean" "founder" of the Magi and "inventor" of both astrology and magic. Among the skeptical thinkers of the period, the term 'magian' acquired a negative connotation and was associated with tricksters and conjurers. This pejorative meaning survives in the words "magic" and "magician".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magi

Monday 18 October 2010

The Special One

The Special One (for dialogue)

S: Special (believes he or she is special and unique)
P: Preoccupied with fantasies (of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love)
E: Entitlement
C: Conceited (grandiose sense of self-importance)
I: Interpersonal exploitation
A: Arrogant (haughty)
L: Lacks empathy


http://www.personalityresearch.org/pd.html

Friday 15 October 2010

Universal Morality

Universal Morality

One of the main theses in Lewis's apologia is that there is a common morality known throughout humanity. In the first five chapters of Mere Christianity Lewis discusses the idea that people have a standard of behaviour to which they expect other people to adhere. This standard has been called Universal Morality or Natural Law. Lewis claims that people all over the earth know what this law is and when they break it. He goes on to claim that there must be someone or something behind such a universal set of principles. (Lindskoog 2001b, p. 144)

These then are the two points that I wanted to make. First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way. They know the Law of Nature; they break it. These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in. (Lewis 1952, p. 21)

Lewis also portrays Universal Morality in his works of fiction. In The Chronicles of Narnia he describes Universal Morality as the "Deep magic" which everyone knew. (Lindskoog 2001b, p. 146)

In the second chapter of Mere Christianity Lewis recognizes that "many people find it difficult to understand what this Law of Human Nature [...] is". And he responds first to the idea "that the Moral Law is simply our herd instinct" and second to the idea "that the Moral Law is simply a social convention". In responding to the second idea Lewis notes that people often complain that one set of moral ideas is better than another, but that this actually argues for there existing some "Real Morality" to which they are comparing other moralities. Finally he notes that sometimes differences in moral codes are exaggerated by people who confuse differences in beliefs about morality with differences in beliefs about facts:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

Moral universalism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Universal morality)
Jump to: navigation, search
Moral universalism (also called moral objectivism or universal morality) is the meta-ethical position that some system of ethics, or a universal ethic, applies universally, that is, for "all similarly situated individuals"[1], regardless of culture, race, sex, religion, nationality, sexuality, or other distinguishing feature. Moral universalism is opposed to moral nihilism and moral relativism. However, not all forms of moral universalism are absolutist, nor are they necessarily value monist; many forms of universalism, such as utilitarianism, are non-absolutist, and some forms, such as that of Isaiah Berlin, may be value pluralist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_morality

Wednesday 13 October 2010

Social Democratic

SOCIAL DEMOCRATISM

Social Democratism is a moderate form of Socialism.

The Social Democratic current came into being by a break within the Socialist movement in the early 20th century. One reformist group of Socialists rejected the idea of a Socialist revolution, and instead tried to achieve the Socialist ideals through Democratic means.

Social Democrats are in favor of a highly regulated Capitalist market economy, but with a strong and large government [Moderate Interdependence].

Social Democracy is often considered the most commonly embraced political ideology in the world.

http://www.moral-politics.com/xpolitics.aspx?menu=Political_Ideologies&action=Draw&choice=PoliticalIdeologies.Social_Democratism

Moral Matrix: Political Ideology




















A Political Ideology is a sub-section of a Political System typically mapping to the specific beliefs of a group or to a theory.

Because certain ideologies are complex and include multiple factions, they can easily span multiple Political Variations. Ideologies can also overlap.

While some of the ideologies listed here are well known and hardly disputed (i.e. Social-Democracy), others are often the subject of intense discussions (e.g. Trotskyism).

Where a clear ideology name was not established, we came up with our own or picked the term that we thought best represented the zone on the Moral Matrix.

Click on the Matrix to learn more.


http://www.moral-politics.com/xPolitics.aspx?menu=Political_Ideologies&action=Draw&choice=PoliticalIdeologies.All



Moral Matrix

OVERVIEW

This test is a morality-based political test. It finds your political position not by asking you what you think about political issues but by defining your Personal Moral System.

Political opinions are shaped by your moral values. Once we map your personal moral system, we can accurately tell you what your stance is on any political issue.

Note that moral values is not the same as 'traditional values'. Moral values can be of any political flavor. Everyone has moral values.


PERSEUS'S SCORE

Your scored -3 on Moral Order and 1 on Moral Rules.























The following categories best match your score (multiple responses are possible):

System: Socialism
Ideology: Social Democratism
Party: Democratic Party
Presidents: Jimmy Carter
04' Election: John Kerry
08' Election: Barrack Obama



Of the 639,098 respondents (11,539 on Facebook):

11% are close to you.
50% are more conservative.
8% are more liberal.
15% are more socialist.
14% are more authoritarian.

http://www.moral-politics.com/xpolitics.aspx?menu=Home&action=Test&choice=Long

Tuesday 12 October 2010

Slithering in the grass down by the Lake .....

According to Dr. Hare and Dr. Babiak, psychopaths are always on the lookout for individuals to scam or swindle. The psychopathic approach includes three phases: the assessment phase, the manipulation phase and the abandonment phase. "Some psychopaths are opportunistic, aggressive predators who wil take advantage of almost anyone they meet, while others are more patient, waiting for the perfect, innocent victim to cross their path.

http://toogoodtobereal.blogspot.com/2006/06/beware-techniques-of-sociopath.html

This is a work of the Guardians.

Tuesday 5 October 2010

"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?"

"Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel?" is a quotation – sometimes misquoted with "on" in place of "upon" – from Alexander Pope's "Epistle to Dr Arbuthnot" of January 1735. The line has entered common use and has become associated with more recent figures.

It can be taken as referring to putting massive effort into achieving something minor or unimportant, and alludes to "breaking on the wheel", a form of torture in which victims had their long bones broken by an iron bar while tied to a Catherine wheel

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_breaks_a_butterfly_upon_a_wheel%3F

In Finnish teilata, "to execute by the wheel", refers to forceful and violent critique or rejection of performance, ideas or innovations. In Norwegian, the verb radbrekke is generally applied to art and language, and refers to use thereof which is seen as despoiling tradition and courtesy, with connotations of willful ignorance and/or malice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel

The Boxer

boxer | bks | n.1 rare. M16. [f. BOX v.1 + -ER1.] A person who puts things in boxes.
boxer | bks | n.2 L17. [f. BOX v.2 + -ER1.]

1 A person who boxes; a pugilist. L17.
2 Hist. (B-.) [Repr. Chin. yi he quan lit. 'righteous harmonious fists'.] A member of a Chinese nationalist secret society responsible for a rising in 1900. E20.
3 A dog of a smooth-coated square-built breed of the bulldog type, originating in Germany. E20.
Comb.: boxer shorts: men's loose shorts or underpants

box | bks | n.1 OE. [L buxus f. Gk puxos.]
1 More fully box tree. A small evergreen tree or shrub of the genus Buxus (family Buxaceae);

box | bks | n.2 LOE. [Prob. f. late L buxis, -id- var. of L PYXIS box of boxwood.]
1 A case or receptacle, usu. rectangular or cylindrical and with a lid, of wood, metal, card, etc. (Freq. w. function, type, etc., specified or understood contextually.) LOE
-------------------------------------------
Excerpted from The Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia
Developed by The Learning Company, Inc. Copyright (c) 1997 TLC Properties Inc.


1742 FIELDING J. Andrews III. ix, A stout fellow and an expert boxer. 1875 JOWETT Plato (ed. 2) I. 154 As if I had received a blow from the expert hand of a boxer.
OED

Monday 4 October 2010

Strain Theory (Sociology)

Strain theory (sociology)


In criminology, the strain theory states that social structures within society may encourage citizens to commit crime.

Structural: this refers to the processes at the societal level which filter down and affect how the individual perceives his or her needs, i.e. if particular social structures are inherently inadequate or there is inadequate regulation, this may change the individual's perceptions as to means and opportunities;

or

Individual: this refers to the frictions and pains experienced by an individual as he or she looks for ways to satisfy his or her needs, i.e. if the goals of a society become significant to an individual, actually achieving them may become more important than the means adopted

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strain_theory_(sociology)

Tuesday 28 September 2010

Political Compass 2010 UK





Outside the circle is outside of the law

http://www.politicalcompass.org/

Sunday 26 September 2010

Grant's Phases of Development

Let's take a look at Grant's phases of development, using the INFJ Personality Type as an example:

From age 0 - 6 years
At this early age, we use all four of the functions in an indiscriminate fashion. We "try on" the different functions for size, determining which ones work best for us. The little INFJ has not yet emerged as any particular personality type, although his parents may notice trends in behavior which appear to have the characteristics of one or more types.

From 6 - 12 years
During this phase, our dominant function begins to develop and assert itself. Our young INFJ begins to appear dreamy and introspective - he begins to prefer to use his iNtuition to take in information, and he chooses to do this alone (Introverted). The dominant function of "Introverted iNtuition" begins to show itself as the prevailing aspect of his personality.

From 12 - 20 years
The auxiliary function asserts itself as a powerful support to the dominant function. Since all recent studies point towards the importance of a well-developed team of dominant AND auxiliary functions, this is an important time of "self-identification". Research suggests that people without a strong auxiliary function to complement their dominant function have real problems.

In our INFJ example, we see the auxiliary Feeling function come to the front during this phase as a support to the dominant iNtuitive function. Since the INFJ's dominant function is an Information Gathering function, the auxilary function must be a Decision Making one. Without a Decision Making process, we would flounder about and never get anything done! As the auxilary Feeling process comes forth, the INFJ begins to develop the ability to make decisions based on his personal value system. This auxiliary decision making process will be Extraverted, since the dominant function is Introverted. Since the decision making function is Extraverted, our subject now emerges as a "Judger", rather than a "Perceiver". Our INFJ Personality Type is now pretty firmly set in place, and we know the dominance ordering of the four functions.

From 20 - 35 years
We begin to use our tertiary function more frequently and with better success. Our INFJ begins to use his Introverted Thinking function. He continues to make judgments with his Extreverted Feeling auxiliary function, but he also begins to make judgments based on logic and reason, which he works through in his own mind, rather than discussing it with others.

From 35 - 50 years
We pay attention to our fourth, inferior function. We feel a need to develop it and use it more effectively. Our INFJ begins to use his Extraverted Sensing function. He becomes more aware of his surroundings and begins to take in information from others in a more literal, practical sense. He continues to rely on his dominant Introverted iNtuitive function to take in information, but he is more able to use his Extraverted Sensing function than he has been before in his life. Some researchers have attested that the appearance of our inferior functions at this phase of life may be responsible for what we commonly call the "mid-life crisis".

From 50 onwards
From this age until our deaths, we have accessibility to all four functions. However, we use them in a more disciplined, differentiated manner than when we were very young. Our basic Personality Type continues to assert itself, but we are able to call upon all four functions when needed.

http://personalitycafe.com/myers-briggs-forum/1037-how-personality-types-develop.html

Friday 24 September 2010

Induction

The classic philosophical treatment of the problem of induction was given by the Scottish philosopher David Hume. Hume highlighted the fact that our everyday functioning depends on drawing uncertain conclusions from our relatively limited experiences rather than on deductively valid arguments. For example, we believe that bread will nourish us because it has done so in the past, despite no guarantee that it will do so. However, Hume argued that it is impossible to justify inductive reasoning. Inductive reasoning certainly cannot be justified deductively, and so our only option is to justify it inductively. However, to justify induction inductively is circular. Therefore, it is impossible to justify induction.
However, Hume immediately argued that even were induction proved unreliable, we would have to rely on it. So he took a middle road. Rather than approach everything with severe skepticism, Hume advocated a practical skepticism based on common sense, where the inevitability of induction is accepted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inductive_reasoning

Wednesday 15 September 2010

More Dialogue

The Media has been turned off:

and

She (who must be obeyed) said. Stop messing about with the photographs (= picture book) and go out and get the shopping!

Saturday 11 September 2010

1991 scientific view of the MBTI

The 1991 scientific view of the MBTI.

In 1991 the National Academy of Sciences review committee concluded at the time there was "not sufficient, well-designed research to justify the use of the MBTI in career counseling programs". However, this study also based its measurement of validity on "criterion-related validity (i.e., does the MBTI predict specific outcomes related to interpersonal relations or career success/job performance?)." The ethical guidelines of the MBTI assessment stress that the MBTI type "does not imply excellence, competence, or natural ability, only what is preferred."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myers-Briggs_Type_Indicator#Validity

My observations is that is a close correlation between types and happiness (or otherwise) in careers.

My circumstantial observations would also equate F & T with IQ tests ability. Under 100 and you are F.

Cold Reading

Cold reading is a series of techniques used by mentalists, illusionists, fortune tellers, psychics, mediums and other con artists to determine or express details about another person, often in order to convince them that the reader knows much more about a subject than they actually do. Without prior knowledge of a person, a practiced cold reader can still quickly obtain a great deal of information about the subject by analyzing the person's body language, age, clothing or fashion, hairstyle, gender, sexual orientation, religion, race or ethnicity, level of education, manner of speech, place of origin, etc. Cold readers commonly employ high probability guesses about the subject, quickly picking up on signals from their subjects as to whether their guesses are in the right direction or not, and then emphasizing and reinforcing any chance connections the subjects acknowledge while quickly moving on from missed guesses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_reading

Wednesday 8 September 2010

How the Bully Works ...

How the Bully Works ...

You are continually criticized and made to feel "wrong". Even when you believe you have a good idea, a proper solution to a problem, a suggestion or comment, it is not met with curiosity or interest. Rather, it is met with dismissal, put-downs or a total lack of acknowledgment.

You are undermined or even shouted out, particularly when others are around to witness, or you are put down verbally to others behind your back by the bully. You are treated differently than others. For example, other employees hand in work late or miss deadlines, but when you do that, you're called on the carpet. In fact, even when you are on time, you are still criticized for something and not acknowledged for anything you've done well.

Offensive language is directed at you.

When you need information, it is denied to you, although others have access to it.



The bully sets goals you can't possibly meet - or changes them, or wants the work accomplished sooner than originally communicated. All of these are ways of keeping you off balance. When you try keeping up, you find it impossible to meet the changing time-lines, and you are left feeling like it was your fault to start with.
You're expected to do more work and work more hours than others, usually without extra compensation. It's understood - tacitly or overtly - that you face dismissal if you don't comply.
You don't receive credit for your work; in fact, your work may be represented as having been accomplished by someone else, most often the bully.
You're the target of sexually demeaning comments.
You don't have a clear job description that covers what to do and when to do it. When you ask for clarity, you are told 'duties as assigned' is part of your job. Job descriptions set out your responsibilities. Without one, a bully can "pile on" the tasks.
Recognizing a workplace bully and understanding their behavior as real and destructive to you is like putting on a pair of eyeglasses to correct your vision. Suddenly the whole world looks different. You can see clearly and can make decisions based on facts, not excuses. Now that's the first step to claiming back your power!

Valerie Cade, CSP is a Workplace Bullying Expert, Speaker and Author of "Bully Free at Work: What You Can Do To Stop Workplace Bullying Now"! which has been distributed in over 100 countries worldwide. Contact Valerie to speak for your organization to inspire and create a respectful workplace, to educate your people about workplace bullying and to implement proven workplace bullying strategies that work.

You have permission to use the above article in your newsletter, publication or email system. We ask you not to edit the content and that you leave the links and resource box intact. © Bully Free at Work. All rights reserved.


Did You Know?

Are you hoping others at work would 'understand this workplace bullying information' like you do? Here's a tip: Feel free to print these weekly tips out and post on your bulletin board at work. Or pass along/email the opportunity to your boss for everyone at work to receive the FREE 5-day eCourse by sending them this link to sign up: Click here to receive your FREE 5-day "Bully Free at Work" eCourse
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Monday 6 September 2010

If you are being Stalked, call the Police

According to Leicester University, which has conducted extensive research, three-quarters of victims will suffer up to 100 incidents from their stalker before they contact the police.

Alexis Bowater, chief executive of the Network for Surviving Stalking, said it was important people who thought they were being stalked had someone to turn to.

“Of course the first point of contact if you think you’re being stalked should be the police.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/features/8129100.Stalkers__don___t_suffer_alone___/?ref=mr

http://www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/Stalking.html

Political Stalker

The political stalker intends to accomplish a political agenda, also using threats and intimidation to force his/her target to refrain and/or become involved in some particular activity, regardless of the victim’s consent.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalking

Thursday 2 September 2010

Changelings (Morph-shifters)

Changelings (Morph-shifters)
Some people are much more complex than others.

Originally thought to be an ISFJ. This is wrong because of my lack of experience and she was clearly an INFP Panda type. However, in an earlier part of her life, she had been an INTJ Owl. She still retained this part of her personality.

I have found I can morph-shift but not to me opposite ESFJ and I would have difficulty moving to ESTJ or ESFP, but the move from INTP to INFP would not be that difficult and perhaps even to ENFP for short periods (like public speaking).

Barnum Effect

The Forer effect (also called the Barnum Effect after P.T. Barnum's observation that "we've got something for everyone") is the observation that individuals will give high accuracy ratings to descriptions of their personality that supposedly are tailored specifically for them, but are in fact vague and general enough to apply to a wide range of people. This effect can provide a partial explanation for the widespread acceptance of some beliefs and practices, such as astrology, fortune telling, and some types of personality tests.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forer_effect

Saturday 28 August 2010

Boo Boys are out of the Closet

Love-triangle; what to do?!
Let's say you had a friend, who had a female friend, who had a boyfriend. The female friend and her boyfriend have been together for a little over two years now, but your friend is really close with the female friend. Actually, it seems like your friend has a much deeper connection with your female friend--they confide in each other, and have much more personal trust in each other. They're on the same wavelength, and can always argue with one another (constructively). They unintentionally push each other to grow mentally and emotionally. They understand each other on a level that doesn't require verbal communication, and both can respond well to each other's needs. Simply put--they don't feel the slightest bit of loneliness when they're around each other.

Your friend knows he can be a better companion for his female friend. What should he do?..

A. Brush off his intuitions and feelings; forget the obvious and move on to other opportunities; give up
B. Be a home-wrecker and fight for her monogamous companionship for a potentially lifelong commitment
C. Stay close and let be what may be; wait




I won't wait for anything but you.

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Is the friend you? And where is the triangle?
Best way is to come out and say it.
I have spoken.




You will die in seven days. Weekend days count.

Always knows what to say to the ladies:
Quote:
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So exactly how hairy are you?

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Final Fantasy 7 dictates you should have one of you killed by an evil psychopath




(Formerly Graice =P)

"If this is all a dream, don't wake me up" - Cloud

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Let's say that you're in the friend zone already. Let's also say that what you wrote doesn't indicate the slightest bit of sexual / romantic attraction on her part.

Is it "had a boyfriend" or "has a boyfriend." Your verb conjugation is confusing. From what follows it seems that "has a boyfriend" is what you meant.

If it's "had," and there's a lot more you're not telling us, then maybe. I've had a "friends to lovers" opportunity before, but usually there's a reason you're in the friend zone to begin with. My status with her changed only after I changed.

If it's "has," then wait it out while growing as a person and making a life. Personally I'd find any excuse to self-improve and if the prospect of getting this girl to feel attraction to you helps you become a better person then I'd use it.




The essence of the independent mind lies not in what it thinks, but how it thinks.
-Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian

I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: "O Lord make my enemies ridiculous." And God granted it.
-Voltaire

I'm as bad as the worst, but, thank god, I'm as good as the best
-Walt Whitman


Boo Boys are out of the Closet
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caelum
Let's say you had a friend, who had a female friend, who had a boyfriend. The female friend and her boyfriend have been together for a little over two years now, but your friend is really close with the female friend. Actually, it seems like your friend has a much deeper connection with your female friend--they confide in each other, and have much more personal trust in each other. They're on the same wavelength, and can always argue with one another (constructively). They unintentionally push each other to grow mentally and emotionally. They understand each other on a level that doesn't require verbal communication, and both can respond well to each other's needs. Simply put--they don't feel the slightest bit of loneliness when they're around each other.

Your friend knows he can be a better companion for his female friend. What should he do?..

A. Brush off his intuitions and feelings; forget the obvious and move on to other opportunities; give up
B. Be a home-wrecker and fight for her monogamous companionship for a potentially lifelong commitment
C. Stay close and let be what may be; wait


In the western world you should iNtuitively know that polyandry is politically unacceptable, so it is best to keep quiet. You can a wait forever. This issue mucks up the Perseus System matches. The Guards SJ will not like it cause they have a monogamous monotheist rule book. The NTJs will not like the third party either because they know the political climate. Polyandry is unacceptable in almost all political and religious systems. Polygyny tends to be illegal or unacceptable but not in all societies. These practices are called Taboo. Famous people and politicians are not allowed to break taboos.

Friday 27 August 2010

Our Rights

Our Rights


1. I have the right to express my feelings

2. I have the right to express my opinions and beliefs.

3. I have the right to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ for myself

4. I have the right to change my mind

5. I have the right to say ‘I don’t understand’.

6. I have the right to simply to be myself without having to act for other people’s benefit

7. I have the right to decline responsibility for other people’s problems

8. I have the right to make reasonable requests of others

9. I have the right to set my own priorities

10. I have the right to be listened to, and taken seriously

11. I have the right to make mistakes and feel comfortable about admitting to them

12. I have the right to be illogical in making decisions

13. I have the right to say, ‘I don’t care’

14. I have the right to be miserable or cheerful

Any other rights that you can think of ???

Thursday 26 August 2010

Homosexual Love

The Perseus System does not really accept homosexual love (not just sex) in its remit (restricted world view) but I am now expanding the types allocation to allocate their attitudes.


ENFJ: Close family ties mean that it is probably accepted because of a lack of opportunity for the normal mating behaviour. 5% of the total population.

ENFP: OK for novelty and surprises and when they are in danger, but they will revert to normal except when blackmailed. 5% of the total population.

ENTJ: Rejects the possibility as feasible. Not impossible though given exceptional circumstances. 5% of the total population.

ENTP: Non-conformist and innovative, but this does not mean that homosexuality is acceptable. It isn't. 5% of the total population.

ESFJ: They like personal contact, but homosexual contacts are eschewed, except perhaps a brief encounter, less than a one night stand. 13% of the total population.

ESFP: Very sociable and may not take notice of gender differences, but I still think that it is unlikely. 13% of the total population.

ESTJ: Not love but a power bullying relationship is possible. With this lot, I sometimes whether they are capable of love at all, but always with the opposite sex. 13% of the total population

ESTP: I expect this lot could, but they love themselves most of all. 13% of the total population.

INFJ: Complex personality and I do not really understand this lot. For the sake of harmony they may engage in a liason, but a homosexual love is impossible. 1% of the total population.

INFP: They could easily sacrifice themselves to homosexual love in conventional theory, but I think it is impossible for these type. 1% of the total population.

INTJ: Could be crackpooted enough to try on drugs, but otherwise nigh impossible. 1% of the total population.

INTP: Could be deluded into attempting a wrong liaison of any kind because of lack of personal contact, but I would say it was impossible. 1% of the total population.

ISFJ: Too conservative to even try, but they might like it for a bit if they get trapped. 6% of the total population.

ISFP: Not big on commitment, but very much on the cards for these types. They will revert to normal if the opportunity arises. 5% of the total population.

ISTJ: These lot could be savage homosexual lovers. But not if it was illegal. 6% of the total population.

ISTP: My guess is that this lot could adapt to what whatever they want and could be homosexual as a second choice. 5% of the total population.

First draft. Opinions appreciated.

Monday 23 August 2010

Hubris Revisited (Black Riders)

Individuals who come to study abroad with no intention of actually working hard in their studies. Live off the wealth of their parents which they squander daily on alcohol and shopping. Smoking is a necessity, especially in front of the school library. Will only befriend you with an ulterior motive. Never one to be trusted or taken seriously. Don't have much respect for anyone but themselves and believe that money can solve everything. Males who already completed military service are the worst. Their pride eats away their brain and believes that violence and force is the only solution to all problems. Known to cheat excessively in groups on exams even under the watchful eye of university professors. Known to beat women and will demand respect from people younger than they are. Will often hide behind their religion to look innocent. "Christianity" is often a mask to hide their thoughts and is also a way to get women.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=korean%20military

(Hazel) The Water Diviner

The Water Diviner

BY DANNIE ABSE

I should have built, plain brick on brick,
a water tower. The sun flies on
arid wastes, barren hells too warm
and me with a hazel stick!

http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=178133

Saturday 21 August 2010

Scrambled Eggs

Milk drinking and eggs can make me uncomfortable and could be an aphrodisiac in the right circumstances. In the storybook, Lilith drinks Guinness.

Another storyline: they have closed the chocolate factory and are manufacturing cocaine.

Monday 16 August 2010

Stereotype

A stereotype is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings. Stereotypes are standardized and simplified conceptions of groups based on some prior assumptions.

Sociologists believe that mental categorizing (or labelling) is necessary and inescapable. One perspective on how to understand stereotyping process is through the categories or ingroups and outgroups. Ingroups are viewed as normal and superior, and are generally the group that one associates with or aspires to join. An outgroup is simply all the other groups. They are seen as lesser or inferior than the in groups.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype



stereotype | ster()tLp, str()- | n. & a. L18. [Fr. stereotype adj., f. as STEREO- + TYPE n.] A n. 1 Hist. A method of replicating a relief printing surface (as a page of type or a wood-engraving) by taking a cast using a mould orig. of papier-mache or plaster, later of rubber, plastic, etc. L18. 2 A stereotype plate. E19. 3 a A thing continued or constantly repeated without change, esp. a phrase, formula, etc.; stereotyped diction or usage. E19. b A preconceived, standardized, and oversimplified impression of the characteristics which typify a person, situation, etc., often shared by all members of a society or certain social groups; an attitude based on such a preconception. Also, a person or thing appearing to conform closely to such a standardized impression. E20. c Zool. A stereotyped action or series of actions performed by an animal. M20.

-------------------------------------------

cf.

prototype | prttLp | n. Also (earlier) in Gk form -typon. L16. [Fr., or late L prototypus f. Gk prototupos, (neut. -on): see PROTO-, -TYPE.] 1 The first or primary type of something; the original of which a copy, imitation, representation, derivative, or improved form exists or is made; a pattern, a model, an archetype. L16. b spec. That of which a model is a copy on a reduced scale. E20. 2 Electronics. A basic filter network with specified cut-off frequencies, from which other networks may be derived to obtain sharper cut-offs, constancy of characteristic impedance with frequency, etc. Freq. attrib. E20. 3 A trial model or preliminary version of a vehicle, machine, etc. M20.

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from The Oxford Interactive Encyclopedia
Developed by The Learning Company, Inc. Copyright (c) 1997 TLC Properties Inc.

Friday 6 August 2010

Heartease

And Heart-ease. Or is it Hear-tease?

The Shrinking Violet

Page 37

A (Police) Constable, if he has served for a few years, knows more about his town than anyone else and on all levels. He knows that Mrs Geldman is sleeping with the schoolteacher and how often.

Sweet Thursday by John Steinbeck.

Wednesday 4 August 2010

High Water (Baptism or drowning in the Sea of Souls)

Well, George Henry Lewes told the Englishman, the Italian and the Jew
“You can’t open your mind, boys
To every conceivable point of view”
They got Charles Darwin trapped out there on Highway Five
Judge says to the High Sheriff,
“I want him dead or alive
Either one, I don’t care”
High water everywhere

http://www.metrolyrics.com/highwater-for-charlie-patton-lyrics-bob-dylan.html

I would go down to Rosedale
but, they tell me there's water there
Now, the water now, mama,
done took Charley's town
Well, they tell me the water,
done took Charley's town


For Charlie Patton
http://www.lyricstime.com/charley-patton-high-water-everywhere-part-1-lyrics.html

Saturday 31 July 2010

Dark Side of Leadership

1. Excitable: moody, easily annoyed, hard to please, and emotionally volatile

2. Skeptical: distrustful, cynical, sensitive to criticism, and focused on the negative

3. Cautious: unassertive, resistant to change, risk-averse, and slow to make decisions

4. Reserved: aloof, indifferent to the feelings of others, and uncommunicative

5. Leisurely: overtly cooperative, but privately irritable, stubborn, and uncooperative

6. Bold: overly self-confident, arrogant, with inflated feelings of self-worth

7. Mischievous: charming, risk-taking, limit-testing and excitement-seeking

8. Colorful: dramatic, attention-seeking, interruptive, and poor listening skills

9. Imaginative: creative, but thinking and acting in unusual or eccentric ways

10. Diligent: meticulous, precise, hard to please, and tends to micromanage

11. Dutiful: eager to please and reluctant to act independently or against popular opinion

http://hrpeople.monster.com/news/articles/513-the-dark-side-of-leadership?page=2

Wednesday 28 July 2010

Hare and Turtle

It was a Hare-brained (ISFJ) idea and the Turtle (ENTP) did not play along with it.

Tuesday 27 July 2010

Self Review

"The truth is that at any moment, someone, somewhere, could be making a face about you. But it's the reviews you give yourself that matter" Carrie Bradshaw (Sex and the City)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Bradshaw

Saturday 24 July 2010

Temporary Like Achilles

Feeling like Achilles. In a bad way. I woke up with an excruciating pain in my Achilles Tendon. I have had this before and I could not walk on my left foot.

I want to go back to sleep and wake up with the pain gone.

And I was going to cut the hedge today.

Kneeling 'neath your ceiling
Yes, I guess I'll be here for a while
I'm trying' to read your portrait, but
I'm helpless, like a rich man's child
How come you send someone out to have me barred ?
You know I want your lovin'
Honey, why are you so hard ?


http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/Temporary-Like-Achilles-lyrics-Bob-Dylan/0A7290F0427316FC482569690029A0D8

Wednesday 21 July 2010

Interactionism

In sociology, interactionism is a theoretical perspective that derives social processes (such as conflict, cooperation, identity formation) from human interaction. It is the study of individuals and how they act within society. Interactionist theory has grown in the latter half of the twentieth century and has become one of the dominant sociological perspectives in the world today.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactionism

Interactions

Interactionism is micro-sociological and believes that meaning is produced through the interactions of individuals.
The social interaction is a face-to-face process consisting of actions, reactions, and mutual adaptation between two or more individuals. The interaction includes all language (including body language) and mannerisms. The goal of the social interaction is to communicate with others. If the interaction is in danger of ending before one intends it to, it can be conserved by conforming to the others' expectations, by ignoring certain incidents or by solving apparent problems. Erving Goffman underlines the importance of control in the interaction. One must attempt to control the others' behaviour during the interaction, in order to attain the information one is seeking and in order to control the perception of one's own image. Important concepts in the field of interactionism include the "social role" and Goffman's "presentation of self".

Big Five Personality Questionnaire

Big Five Personality Questionnaire
More Options
Post Results to News Feed
Trait 0255075100 Raw Percentage
Openness
100%
Conscientiousness
58%
Extraversion
46%
Agreeableness
25%
Neuroticism
71%
Last updated: 21 July 2010 (Update Now)

Answered 30/336 questions (Answer More) (Answer Comprehensive Test)

Trait Explanations
In order to interpret your raw trait scores, they were compared to the first 350,000 people to complete the full MyPersonality Big Five questionnaire. This allows the way that you described yourself to be put in the context of how other people respond to the questionnaire. You should remember that there are no fundamentally good or bad personalities, as each trait description has potential advantages and disadvantages. To help you reflect on these, you have also been given some questions which ask you to consider the implications of your trait descriptions. Other people viewing your personality profile will not be able to see these.

Openness
This trait refers to the extent to which you prefer novelty versus convention. Approximately 98% of respondents have a lower openness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is far more intellectually curious and sensitive to beauty than most. You might say that your beliefs are individualistic and frequently drift towards the unconventional, and that you enjoy your imagination and the exciting places it takes you!

Reflective question: What place do you think that tradition has in society (if any)?

Conscientiousness
This trait refers to the extent to which you prefer an organised, or a flexible, approach in life. Approximately 40% of respondents have a lower conscientiousness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is spontaneous and fun, and that you like to do unexpected things that make life that bit more interesting. You might say that you aren't completely unreliable, but you've been known to slip up on occasion.

Reflective question: How do you go about tackling a new task?

Extraversion
This trait refers to the extent to which you enjoy company, and seek excitement and stimulation. Approximately 21% of respondents have a lower extraversion raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who prefers low-key social occasions, with a few close friends. You might say that it's not that you are afraid of large parties; they're just not that fun for you.

Reflective question: How do you like to spend your spare time?

Agreeableness
This trait refers to the way you express your opinions and manage relationships. Approximately 0.4% of respondents have a lower agreeableness raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who is willing to make difficult decisions when necessary, and will point out when something is wrong no matter what other people might feel. Your responses suggest that you would say that you can be tough and uncompromising.

Reflective question: When others are experiencing problems, what do you do?

Neuroticism (Emotional stability)
This trait refers to the way you cope with, and respond to, life's demands. Approximately 97% of respondents have a lower neuroticism raw percentage than yours. From the way you answered the questions, you seem to describe yourself as someone who tends to be more self-conscious than many. Based on your responses, you come across as someone who can find it hard to not get caught up by anxious or stressful situations. You might say that you are in touch with your own feelings.

Reflective question: When do you not feel in control of your emotions?

Jungian Typology Estimate
More Options
Post Results to News Feed
Research has found that the Big Five personality traits are significantly related to Jungian Typology (e.g. the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). This is a popular alternative personality framework regularly used for personal development, in which Types are used rather than Traits. Based on your Big Five trait scores, your estimated Type is shown below (if you have already taken a Jungian Typology test and got a different result, this can be changed from the More Options section).

INTP
Introverted iNtuitive Thinking Perceiving
INTPs are quiet, thoughtful, analytical individuals who don't mind spending long periods of time on their own, working through problems and forming solutions. INTPs tend to be less at ease in social situations and the 'caring professions,' although they enjoy the company of those who share their interests. They also tend to be impatient with the bureaucracy, rigid hierarchies, and politics prevalent in many professions, preferring to work informally with others as equals. INTPs' extraverted intuition often gives them a quick wit, especially with language, and they can defuse the tension in gatherings by comical observations and references. They can be charming, even in their quiet reserve, and are sometimes surprised by the high esteem in which their friends and colleagues hold them.

Personality Matches
More Options
myPersonality has found that the Big Five traits are related to various life behaviours and choices.

Please bear in mind that these are very specific matches. Few tests will even try to give such specific information, so cut us some slack if it is not perfect for you! :-)

Match:
Based solely on your personality trait scores, the top three closest college major matches for your personality (out of 60 majors and "undecided") are:

(Click to view your full ranked list and reason why major matches your personality)


#1 Graphic Design

#2 Biochemistry

#3 English Literature