#also i would like to add that perception of introverts varies…

[ayejayque]

Personal development is the nucleus of your personality

All people are different. No two people are alike. Not even blood brothers. Each and every individual has a distinct way of behaving, reacting to emotions, observing things, and having an individualistic approach to life. You might be an extrovert, but your best friend, at the same time, could be an introvert. You want to socialize, but your friend likes to stay home to read his/her favorite book. It is no given rule that if you like to party around, your friend would also join in. This is where the roles of personality come in. Personality is formed by lifelong observations, experiences from growing days, and the household that you are a part of. I would like to add that personality is also how your mother raised you. Personality is the accumulation of memories and incidents in the lifespan of the person. Other contributors to one’s personality are the environmental factors around him, the family background, financial situation, genetic aspects, circumstances, and conditions. In simple words, how we behave and carry ourselves around in our daily lives is a reflection of our personality. As mentioned earlier, family, upbringing, social status, and other circumstances frame the personality of an individual. A person with a troubled childhood, or a broken home is like to be an introvert. He would not open up easily. There will always be hesitation on his part to open up his heart in front of someone. He would have some form of dear and inner demons to fight with. In comparison, a person with a trouble-free life is like to be an extrovert. He would never face any problems when interacting, socializing, and engaging with others around him. Being either an introvert or an extrovert is not a bad thing. It is just how it is. It is advised that a background check be done whenever there is a need. The possibility is, that in his childhood, he was discouraged and not allowed to go out and play with friends and mates. Such a person starts to believe that the home is his total world. He also fears for his safety when outside. This kind of mindset becomes the major catalyst in the formation of his personality. Personality has a deep influence on our thought process, our thought content, also our beliefs and values, and finally expectations. How we perceive others is a reflection of our personality. In easier words, personality is the qualities and characteristics of an individual. It is also our attitude towards others and how we treat them. The sum of characteristics that make one person different from all others is called personality. We are all unique because of our varying personalities. Personality gives us an identity. We become easy to identify in a crowd. Elements of personality The following elements shape the personality of an individual. - Heredity – These are factors that are determined as soon as one is born. A person’s complexion, physique, attractiveness, body type, weight, and facial features are dependent on his/her parents’ biological traits. - Environment – The environment during growing years plays a very important part in the determination of one’s personality. The exposure to the different cultures around us in our growing days and our family background plays a crucial role. - Situation – Circumstances are the curators of one’s personality. A financially independent person would behave in a different way as compared to someone who is cash-strapped. What is personality development? Personality development is the process of developing and upgrading one’s personality. Personality development gives a person confidence and self-esteem. How a person communicates is also part of his personality. His ideas are dependent on the perception of what he sees around him. People develop a confident attitude as a result of developing their personalities. Read the full article

[luckydragon10]

Kim and Isolation

There's a lot of rage at Kim going around right now (ep 11 of KinnPorsche). And I'm the kind of person who sees everyone swimming in one direction, and it makes me want to swim the other way.

So I started thinking about Kim and trying to get in his head. I put on my writer hat and examined him from a character perspective and a narrative perspective.

What I came up with is that Kim is isolated as fuck.

Isolation as an Overall Theme

Isolation is a common and useful narrative theme for love stories because it sets up a reversal — the change from isolation to togetherness.

In KinnPorsche, each of the six main characters in the pairings experiences isolation in some way, and to varying degrees.

Kinn experiences the isolation that comes with all the unique pressures that he faces as the heir to the mafia empire.

Porsche, normally very gregarious and social, experiences isolation in his early days as a bodyguard — even with Pete's initial support, he's largely on his own.

Vegas, like Kinn, is an heir and has a family situation that isolates him, and he has a warped perception of the world and people around him. (Macau may be the only exception for him, though we're missing a lot of background and development there.)

Pete experiences isolation paired with vulnerability in his captivity.

Porchay experiences isolation in his family situation, with a deadbeat uncle and a brother who ran off to join the circus mafia.

Kim experiences isolation in his home, in his work as a solo artist, and in his investigation.

Kim "No Man Is Island Except Me" Theerapanyakul

Of the characters, Kim is the only one whose isolation is self-imposed. He's a unique story element in that way.

He's also the only character for whom we've heard inner thoughts (ep 5), because:

We as the audience need to understand those thoughts.

There is no one with whom he would share them aloud.

Narratively, the writers/directors got stuck in a position where they needed to add the "inner thoughts voiceover" trope solely for him, and only in that one place, because of how dramatically isolated he is.

We don't have concrete facts about why he's making the choice to be so alone, but it's fair to guess he doesn't want the mafia life, he's fucked up about family stuff, and he wants the freedom of movement for his investigations. It's also a good bet that he's a natural (and possibly extreme) introvert.

Change to the Status Quo: Oh Shit, He's Cute

Along comes Porchay, bold as brass and always willing to say exactly what he really wants — aloud even. To other people. TO KIM.

Kim's reaction to the ball of sunshine?

Lights up like a fuckin' Christmas tree.

Yet if Porchay hadn't been Porsche's brother, the first time they met would have been the last. Kim, even as charmed as he was, would have gone about his life, solo as always.

Plot being plot, Kim reaches out to Porchay strictly for investigative purposes. And then the little sunshiny ball of fluff is creative, sweet, attentive, cute, and endearing... basically kryptonite for a guy as lonely as Kim.

Kim tries to end things multiple times along the way (attempting to leave early from that first session, ghosting) but ineffectively and inefficiently because being around Chay is intriguing and tempting.

Isolation as a Habit

The thing with long-term isolation is it gets to be habit-forming. Remember coming out of COVID? How it was suddenly weird or overwhelming or tiring to be around people again?

Kim's used to being alone, though we don't know how long ago he moved out. But then there's this aggressive ball of Kittisawat sunshine, and that's suddenly also strangely habit-forming. However, this new togetherness habit is conflicting with his old isolation habit. And of course there are other conflicts going on, such as the lying and the guilt, tsk tsk.

Even when he's with Chay, he's isolated to a degree because he can't be open and honest. It's a barrier.

We see Kim repeatedly struggling to process how he feels and failing to come to a conclusion.

Crisis Time: Isolation as Fall-Back and Self-Defense

Even before Porchay gets kidnapped, Kim is ready to leave a note and run.

He couldn't say "I love you" back to Chay for various reasons, one of which I believe is because he's uncertain how to love someone else. It's not something he's familiar with doing these days — he's not yet ready to let himself fall in love.

So when things get really ugly with the kidnapping and Big dying, he falls back to the pattern of isolation. It's familiar. It's practically an addiction. He knows how to live that way. To Kim, Isolation feels a lot safer than the vulnerability of giving a shit and loving someone.

I don't think Kim is necessarily trying to protect Chay by hurting him and shooing him away. (Chay is already connected to the mafia and living in the main tower, so that "protection" ship has essentially sailed.) In my opinion, it's a lot less noble than that. I think Kim is running because he feels guilty, uncertain, conflicted, and scared.

Next Up: The Rejection of Isolation

I'm not defending Kim. I'm not apologizing for him. Kim doesn't need me to defend or apologize for him. (He's a strong boy like that.) He's been selfish and self-centered, which are behaviors that come naturally when you're alone too much.

Narratively and for his character development, what Kim needs is the realization that isolation is no longer for him.

So, Kim? I see you. On a deep and personal level, I get it. Good luck.

[azenta]

Observations of Addictions Problems and Personality Types (1)

So, since four months I am working as an “Interventionist” at a therapeutic center for people stuck with dependencies (/addictions) such as alcoholism, drug addiction, gambling and cyber dependency. I was curious to observe if there was a recurrence of types among those stuck with addictions. Despite the fact I couldn’t type every client with total accuracy, I am still pretty confident of the general observations I made. So, not so surprisingly, there are observable patterns. They come as follow.

I have observed a majority of: 7 core/wing/fix and Sensors (Se>Si, but almost even). However, depending of the addiction, the “typical profile” change. I mean, that is to be expected. So, briefly, the profiles I observed look like this:

Alcoholism: The most varied profile. Two (2) categories can be observed.

(A) Isolated, anxious and borderline depressed alcoholic and (B) Social and/or impulsive alcoholic.

MBTI: (1) ISxJ followed by INxP; (2) xSxP

Enneagram: (A) Core 6 > 9, (B) Core 7 > 3 

Head: (A) 6 > 7 = 5; (B) 7 > 6 = 5

Gut: (A) 9 > 1 > 8; (B) 9 > 8 = 1

Heart: (A) 2 = 4 > 3; (B) 3 > 2 = 4

Variants: (A) Sp > Sx = So ; (B) So > Sx > Sp

Typical Profile: (A) ISxJ 6 core 692 Sp dom; 4 fix adds depressive traits and pessimism, 3 fix adds even more avoidance and denial defense mechanism, and 2 fix add almost assuredly an affection dependency; 

(B) xSxP 7 core 793 Sp blind; 2 fix brings overly but flighty friendliness and 4 fix to add +10 in Rule Breaker trait, and +20 if 8 fix instead of 9. 

Gambling: 

MBTI: ISxx

Enneagram: Core 7 > 9

Head: 7 > 6 = 5

Gut: 9 > 1 = 8

Heart: 3 > 2 = 4

Variants: So = Sx > Sp

Typical Profile: ISxP if 7 core (793) Sp blind, if xSxJ either 9 or 3 core. The variation of 379 is also common.

Drugs (Stimulants):

MBTI: Exxx

Enneagram: Core 7 > 8 > 3

Head: 7 >> 6 = 5 (rarely the two others tbh)

Gut: 8 > 9 = 1

Heart: 3 = 4 > 2

Variant: Sx > So > Sp

Typical Profile: Extrovert 7w8 (783 or 784) SX dom 

Note: A 4 core isn’t surprising either, especially if high Se coupled with Sp blindness (SX/so especially).

Drugs (Depressants):

MBTI: ISxP (haven’t seen many INxP yet, but they also fall into this category for the few that came).

Enneagram: Core 9 > 7

Gut: 9 > 8 > 1

Head: 7 > 6 = 5

Heart: 4 > 3 = 2

Variant: Sp > Sx > So

Typical Profile: ISxP 9w8 (974) SP/sx. (Really the most consistent profile).

Cyberdependency: This is the dependency that we still have the least, so my observations are still skewed.

MBTI: IxTx

Enneagram: 5 > 6 > 7

Head: 5 > 6 > 7. All of them aren’t surprising as a core.

Gut: 9 > 8 = 1

Heart: 4 = 3 > 2

Variant: Sp > Sx = So

Typical profile: IxTx 5w6 (59x) SP/sx. 4 fix makes them more edgy and 3 fix adds a lot of pretension.

Detailed Observations

Though, there is a lot of co-morbidity within those dependencies, and it is not that rare that Drug addicts (Stimulants and depressant) are also alcoholic. Though, the profile don’t change much. But it will more likely be a high Se user or Extrovert type if a Stimulant Drug addiction is mixed with alcoholism, and a 7w8 core or second fix is almost a guarantee too. If they are a Gambler on top of that, Sp blindness is almost assured, and Extroversion too. If it is a Depressant Drug addiction mixed with alcoholism, you get more an Introverted profile, likely Si/Ne user, and Sp dominance. They are also likely a 69x or 96x, 2 fix being the most probable heart fix. 

Seen the propensity of Sensors compared to Intuitives in the population, it makes it not really surprising, but seen the numbers of people that pass at my center, that propensity factor becomes risible. I have seen more than 100 people already and the proportion are different than what can be expected. High Se seems as much common as High Si, which matches the high propensity of 7 core/wing/fix presents and how it correlates to High Se more. 

So, High Se seems to be the most common, followed by High Si, then High Ne which are ironically not that common, without being rare. I have seen almost no High Ni, like maybe one ENFJ and one ENTJ. I am really not sure. But those two I suspect being ENxJs were addicted to Stimulants and alcohol. The ENFJ was a 3w2 (317) likely Sp blind, the ENTJ an 8w7 (83x) SP/sx.

There are as much Feelers than Thinkers that are dependents. None is less or more likely to recover, but the Feelers usually have a slight advantage as one of the main way to recover from that kind of problem is by regaining the ability to be connected to the emotional “world”, be it within and outward. But Thinkers are more consistent in their progress and maintenance of progress.

So, I would feel confident to affirm the Perception functions have a bigger impact on the likelihood for Addictions problems, Se being the main factor followed by Sensing as a whole. 

For the ennea types, the one big recurrence is incontestably 7 core, fix or wing. Not so surprisingly as the main pattern for those stuck with an addiction problem is the avoidance of emotions by distractions (with their substance of choice). A substance problem is a strategy in itself that aim to avoid something and also fulfill an emotional need, so 7 wins head on for the most common type and also head core or fix, followed by 6 for the head core triad, but just because it is that common to begin with, and followed by 9s in general.

It seems there is an equal amount of every heart core/ fix though. I wouldn’t be able to tell an order. They seem to be more often as a fix than as a core however. They are also in equal amount with the Gut triad. Head core is the most common due to 7s heavy predominance, but Heart triad is not that uncommon as a second fix. 9s is what makes for the commonality of Head triad as a second fix, otherwise, 1, 8, 3, 4 and 2 are all in similar propensity.

In the Gut triad, there are more 9s, but 8s weren’t that uncommon. As a fix, 9 is the most common followed evenly by 8 and 1. 1 as a fix is more common than as a core though, as it is pretty rare as a core. I could say I have seen one 1 or maybe 2, and that’s about it. As a second fix it is quite common.

1 core and 5 core are the two least common core. I think I met one of both for two different problems (the 5 core being for cyber dependency, unsurprisingly lmao). But the 1 fix is by far more common than a 5 fix for reasons already mentioned above. I believe 5 core is probably quite common if not the most common for cyber dependency. But this will need more time to get to see if it is truly the case. 

So, I will assert that types that provoke/ use detachment from the emotional center as a defense mechanism (3,7,9) increase the likelihood for Addictions problems. 

For the instincts, it strongly varies depending of the dependency, however Sp blindness is the most common stacks, SX/so a bit more than SO/sx. Sx blindness is not that common among that kind of clients (compared ironically to my coworkers who are mostly Sx blinds), but it is still more common than So blindness due to its “natural” propensity. The shut off effect of Sp however also cause those kind of problems, as isolation and loneliness are one of the main reasons that brings people to addictions.

Therefore, I’d conclude that the absence of Sp increases the likelihood for Addictions problems, and also the position of Sx (Sx/so > So/sx). Sp can also increases the likelihood but for particular addictions such as alcoholism and dependency to depressants.  

Other observations

The ennea types are the easiest to spot in a therapy context, since the fears are talked about in depth and we have to read each of our client’s at some point.

Sensors have problems to go in depth with their introspective reflections, especially if extroverted type. The older they are, and the healthier they get, the more they regain an ability to be in depth however. But it is a frequent problem and intervention we make toward our clients. Sometimes, for the very few intuitive we got, it was the other way around, they needed to be more grounded. Unless they were an ENxx, which make their reflection very flighty and poor since they are frequently looping or have poorly developed their introverted axis due to their addiction problem. I don’t think this is anything new as an observation, but I wanted to report it anyway. I’d need to extrapolate to make that observation more meaningful in any way.

Funnily, the 8s (wing and second fix included) are the easiest to spot. They are always the ones with “Healthy anger management” as a therapeutic goal. But they have a tendency to become protective of other, especially when they are recovering (tfw integration to 2). Since it is a therapeutic environment, they don’t become persecutors that often since this “role” can get one kicked out pretty quickly. So, Savior complex it is with an inflated ego as a combo.

7s (wing and second fix included) are also easy to spot, not only because they are a majority but rather due to their annoying Humor defense mechanism. They always end up having a nervous laugh or joking at inappropriate times when living a psychological malaise or when faced with someone’s unease. Like, it is the most frequent intervention we make that to recall them that humor means avoiding unease. Also, rule breaking. Really annoying and the first cause for those problems to be maintained and also to be more vulnerable to relapses.

2 cores or fixer are also easy to spot because they always get the “Must think of their needs and of themselves first” as a therapeutic goal. And we are always stuck to remind 2 cores or fixer to not forget themselves and stop playing the goddamn Saviors.

9s are the ones who never talk when in a group activity. They also bring up a calm presence. But they can’t name a single emotion. And just freeze when you ask them. They get healthier when they succeed to elaborate some goals by themselves and become motivated to achieve them ( i mean, that’s what integration to 3 means, I know, but it is fun to observe it and not just read it in a book).

4s are also noticeable because they always stand out one way or another. They also like to play the victim, so they attract all the little 2s and 8s that like to play the hero. 6s also like to play the victims. You just need to look in the group who gets all the attention over the most trivial situation and you exactly know that they are a 4 or 6. Sometimes 2s also become victims, of course. 9s are the extremely too neutral dude that freezes when shit happens. 7s didn’t notice, too boring, or “shit! An emotional engagement!!! Retreat!”. 1s come see us and complain about how unfair the situation is. And 8s also come to explode at some point. 3s are the most inconsistent in those situations. It depends the image it will create of them you know. And 5s are just not there, isolated somewhere with a book (i shit you not) or they either gets us and tell us what shit happened. 

Conclusion

So that’s it for the first gathering of observations I could make so far. I didn’t elaborate on why it is the way it is. I wanted to regroup my observations without too much theorizing. I could elaborate on that as a next post, and probably will. As other shareable observation, I could probably go on on how some defense mechanism plays out, without relating it exclusively to typology.

[fluidsf]

Resonant Visions 1

공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief): 무너지기 (Crumbling) (2018)

Album Cover by 신혜정

Reviewed format: Self-released Digital Album by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief)

Welcome to the first in a new series of reviews on this blog focused on connecting graphic design, illustration, photography of music releases with the music contained within as well as reviewing both the artwork and music I select based on my personal taste. With this series I aim to showcase both quality release artwork as well as its effect on the perception of the music. Today I have for you this album by South Korean artist 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) titled 무너지기 (Crumbling), this album was Self-released by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) in 2018. The download of this album features the Album Cover in good resolution as well as the 8 album tracks in 16-bit/44.1kHz CD quality audio, with total timing of 45 minutes. The Album Cover you can see above is by 신혜정 , I couldn't find any info on the artist online unfotunately with the name being very common in South Korea. The artwork has a very vintage kind of look to it, a grainy analogue photograph of a man fishing near the sea on a dark brown beach and with subdued blue sky conjurs up ideas of a retro sounding album of simple down to earth music. However the artist name and album title in multi-coloured silhouette like Korean characters in which the artist name is bended adds the element of Psychedelia to the vibe of the artwork, hinting at something subtly trippy inside. A really nicely minimal artwork design that puts the focus on the photograph but adds that spacey twist to the design with the character design. And indeed the album sounds quite like I imagined from looking closely to this cover, the music is K-folk with plenty of psychedelic elements in it, subdued vocals and a down to earth yet playful ambience to all the songs. Yet it's more experimental than I thought it'd be, so the character design's multi-colours do give away that there's in fact a lot of electronics and creative (lo-fi) effect experiments in the production of the songs and it's much trippier than I expected. So the album cover gives a good idea of the music but be ready to expect something quite different too.

Now onto the review of the actual songs on 무너지기 (Crumbling). The album's 8 tracks are mostly longer than an average folk song featuring expansive compositions in terms of vocal melodies and instrumental arrangements of the songs that often feature these curious and interesting psychedelic twists in their chord progressions as well as the aforementioned usage of synths, synth bass and sometimes electronic beats. This music has a very cinematic feel to it as well, with the story-telling through melodies and vocals (although I don't understand Korean unfortunately) combined with the many experimental details in the production as well as usage of a lot of shifting in the depth of the space the music is performed in, adding interesting acoustic effects to the music that put you as the listener inside the house (?) or room the music is performed in. First song 왜? (Why?) starts with some cool electronic filtered experimentation and then moves to the main part of the song. The male singer and female singer both sing in this warm tone over bright acoustic guitar. Apart from the musical content I especially like the lo-fi recording hiss and slightly fuzzy saturated sound the music on this album has, it gives it a great warm vintage sound (like the analogue photo on the cover) that still feels contemporary and authentic too however. On 왜? (Why?) the music moves from acoustic subtle parts to more intense synth layered fiery parts in which the vocals get accompanied by arpeggiated sharp high pitched synths and punchy compressed drums dancing around the room. A filter is also used to add interesting buildups in this piece created an ambience that subtly moves from bright to more subdued back again and the tuning of the synths is also different in the second half from the first which creates exciting new harmonies. The song feels pretty abstract in its melodies and rhythms too actually, this is catchy music but it's also more complex than your average folk song but if you keep vibing with this it definitely works. Then on 쇠사슬 (Ahhhh, These Chains!) we have a more acoustic oriented song which also features glockenspiel. The song moves in a waltz like tempo and features plenty of tinkling guitars through the stereo field, intense compressed drums punching through the mix pretty nicely as well as various synth elements creating a dense trippy atmosphere that is maybe a bit too maximalist to some people but I like this kind of excess, this is great. There's several great soloing on the acoustic guitar as well and a great instrumental outro part, really wild and fun Psychedelic Folk music. 감은 듯 (Gameun Deut) is a more conventional sounding K-folk song but it's definitely really fun with the dense sounding production almost drowning out the subtle male and female vocals but it works and the song feels full of joyful vibrant positive energy, the psychedelic harmonic twists and easy going Asian pop vocal melody styles feeling very pleasant and tasteful. The song also features a subdued musical / soundtrack like bridge part which sounds pretty old-school like from an old Korean drama film, very good. 곡선과 투과광 (Curve and Light) has a very cool funky sound to it with grooving drums, grinding (strings) bass and vibrant warm synths that also still sounds very Korean but with that pleasant hazy lo-fi filter over it and a quirky playful middle part which features only vocals and weird quirky synths as well as these cool mechanic clangs adding an unexpected Industrial element to the mix. This subtly moves to an intense second half with a half-step groove, flashing funky synths and jumpy electronic drums also featuring that nice Industrial clanging percussion. What is great about the vocals combined with the sometimes more fiery parts is that the male and female singer never really exaggerate their vocals but stay pretty calm singing them which adds a nice warm element of peace to the music, very nice. 함께 무너지기 (Crumbling Together) is the album's longest song at almost 10 minutes and it's exactly the right length. The songs moves into various directions melodically and arangement (and production) wise, the crumbling theme is put into music here through tinkling instruments, and the "broken" sound of the recording of the male vocals about two minutes into the song. This quite like a progressive Folk kind of song, subtly shifting progressing from ambience to more fully-fledged "crumbling" parts of tinkling and "falling" instrument clouds. Highlights in this song include the Middle Eastern strings at the start of the second half of the song as well as the sea field recordings added to the acoustic guitar and bell like instrument at the end, this sound directly feels like what the album cover looks like. 함께 무너지기 (Crumbling Together) feels like a great sweet subtle kind of story told through music moving into mysterious but also vibrant and rich directions but it all comes down to magical experiences in a calm place near the sea, peaceful living, that's what it feels like. 수호자 (Protector) is brighter and more explosive again, in a waltz like tempo the song features positive and "calmly excited" melodies and soothing vocals that then burst into explosive climaxes full of glistening synths, intense drums and bass as well as pleasant acoustic guitar as well. There are those sweet Middle Eastern strings here as well, this song feels quite a bit more Rock too, sweet piece. 흙 (Dirt) features some great trippy psychedelic melodies and synth twists and effects, male and female vocals and his this great kind of fairground twisted circus kind of vibe to it that the best of classic 60s psychedelic music has, very nice. It's very trippy and fun at times but also just as dynamic and varied in its progression and vocals as the other songs. Quite an experience. 무소식 (No Answer) continues the psychedelic theme from the previous song somewhat though with a less explosive sound, the song seems to continously build with a warm sweet atmosphere and some great synth and sound effects in the second half adding to the male and female vocals. The song does remind me a bit of MGMT in its sound actually, nice psychedelic folk kind of piece and a great closing song of this album, though at the end I wish there was more as it ends when you'd hoped it would continue, still a good song though.

무너지기 (Crumbling) by 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) is an excellent South Korean Psychedelic Folk / Folktronica album with a sweet mellow but also often vibrant cinematic kind of peaceful introverted ambience. The songs are really well written and vocal and instrumental performances are great as well as the excellent top-notch productions. This is a great warm cozy but also adventurous listen of an album also for listeners who don't understand the lyrics and 신혜정's Album Cover matches the music rather well and is good invitation to listen. Recommended music for people looking for Korean folk music in a more independent, psychedelic minded direction with less of a mainstream / pop sound to it but sounding more local / experimental. Also definitely recommended for anyone looking for great independent music from Asia, this is one of my favourite reviewed releases of 2019 too. Recommended album.

Digital Album is available from the 공중도둑 (Mid-Air Thief) Bandcamp page here: https://midairthief.bandcamp.com/album/crumbling

[introvertsrights]

Intuitive Introverts: Perception- Object recognition-Familiarity

This is just one of my "how would it be like if...?" works.

Considering the dominant functions, I tried to explain how each of them reacts when they are first introduced to an unfamiliar flower via story-like examples. 

I picked the rose flower as the thing external and portrayed it as something special. So, keep it that way while reading. 

None of those examples below are real events nor represent anyone.   

 Case: Imagine a world where roses have never been seen and discovered before.  Nobody knows what it is like. One day, a friend brings you some red roses telling you that those have been recently discovered and called "rose". So now, you know what it is called and how it looks like. 

INFP & INTP THE VISIONARY and THE SCIENTIST (THE INVENTORS)  

P: Perceiving. Sense perceptions.  

There is this phrase which I don’t remember where I heard of "A scientist experiments without anticipating results."  For those two, perception takes place first, and then the imagination process begins. 

There is some chance for both to grab it immediately and be prickled by its thorns, but I preferred not to add that scene.   

 INFP: (Fi) Smelling, seeing or touching the rose may remind them some sort of feeling regardless of having experienced before. It may also take them to a moment in the past, which may create either some relief or sadness.  Besides that, it can also remain a simple Deja-vu experience. All those emotions may lead them to philosophize and subsequently trigger their creativity. 

Example: 

Looks at it and says "It's red like blood". Some feeling occurs. Holds it first and then smells and goes "Oh! That feels like falling in love". Another feeling passes by. Then the thinking process begins. "Blood is life, and this smells like love. Does that mean, you feel lively when you fall in love? If you loved with your fullest potential wouldn't life become more lively and meaningful? Wouldn't you feel happy and content when you have love in your heart? Isn't it your heart that pumps blood to your body already?  So, that means love is life." (I wrote this focusing on how an INFP would verbalize their feelings. May sound weird. No offense.) 

This may evolve into a poem later on. Let's consider the poem is read in a public area, inspires hundreds, and evolves into a social movement or even revolution. Sounds utopic, but still probable. Examples may vary. As the thinking process goes by the result may be a piece of art, a story or even an invention. Perfume for instance.  

 INTP: (Ti) Same story. Someone brings them a bunch of red roses. They use their 5 senses to observe the rose like INFP, but instead of feeling they jump into questioning.   

Example: 

They may compare it to other flowers or an object and begin analyzing to see if they share any similarity. "Have I ever seen something like this before?" "Doesn’t it look like X?" Or no! "Y?" Questions about its scientific classification are likely to be asked. If not known, they will do some research. (object classification)

They may do various experiments on the flower. The shape of its petals may inspire them so much that it may lead them to come up with an idea, then the idea will turn into something bigger, such as an invention.  An INTP would like to know about every single detail about this new flower from its chemical composition to its architecture. Eureka moments are likely to happen.  

  INXJs: THE PSYCHICS (just kidding) THE FORESEERS 

Those who are able to think, visualize, theorize and foresee with less need of their 5 senses. 

INXJs: (Ni Dominant) (Days before the friend comes by.) Unaware of the discovery of the rose, they are reading a book where the lead character is eager to find the most interesting flower in the world. Then, they take a break and ask themselves "How would it look like if I found a unique flower?" (J: Judging) 

Let's say what they visualize is something rose-like. (In some cases, that may be almost identical to a rose.) The book itself or any other source may have an impact on the visualized unique flower. Besides appearance, the functionality and other traits of an interesting flower can be thought.   

Days after someone brings them roses stating that those have recently been discovered. Curious about their opinion the person asks "How do you like them?" 

Ni dominant: Shocked. However, they somehow keep a calm manner. 

"Oh! Those are really nice." Then questions begin to shower. Who discovered them? When/where were they discovered? How? How many people are aware of those new flowers so far? Do they have any benefits or harms for human kind? Has it been researched yet? And so on. (Judging) 

Inferior Se: Instead grasping the object they first ask questions. They also may not want to touch something they aren't familiar with. The assistance of senses is temporarily postponed –the sight may still be active. (visual perception)

However, they will eventually hold, smell or even try to taste it after making sure that it's safe. What they would do is most likely going insane and rushing to seek for answers of the questions above, and a series of additional questions will follow the process, futuristic ones I suppose. "Is this advantageous enough to serve a future goal for the human kind?" 

[oosteven-universe]

Mirka Andolfo’s Sweet Paprika #1

Mirka Andolfo’s Sweet Paprika #1 Image Comics 2021 Written & Illustrated by Mirka Andolfo Coloured by Simon Tessuto Lettered by Fabio Amelia    Paprika is a successful businesswoman, a New Yorker of Italian origin. Job and career consume her, forcing her to neglect her personal needs as well as her friends and family. Her heart is broken from a previous relationship and its consequences, and a rigid upbringing has made her a very introverted person. She wants a romantic relationship, but she doesn’t know what she’s doing. Not like Dill, a naïve and suave delivery boy with an angelic attitude, handsome, and always surrounded by beautiful women falling for him. He doesn’t have a worry in the world, and this makes Paprika very nervous. But he's the guy who could help her with her feelings (and with...sex).    I think this is a pretty solid, interesting and dare I say familiar story.  We all know someone, or are that person, who uses work as an excuse to avoid a social life or who just feels helpless when it comes to social situations.  I think Paprika is someone we can all relate to in some way shape or form and Mirka has created and brought to life this wonderful character.      I am thoroughly enjoying the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceedingly well.  The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well how they act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter do a marvellous job in portraying them as people.  The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages introducing us the characters, the story and the world they live in we find ourselves immersed in this world.    I really do like how we see this being structured and how the layers within the story emerge and grow.  The layers contain some great bits including the characterisation and the plot twists and devices that really allow us to get to know Paprika.  What all these do is add depth, dimension and complexity to the story in some beautiful ways.  How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is achieved exceedingly well.      The interiors here are deceptively charming in how she uses the angels and demons.  The linework is strong, clean and crisp and how we see the varying weights and techniques being utilised to create the detail work that we see is astonishingly well rendered.  I love that we see backgrounds utilised as we do, it makes me a happy camper, and how they enhance and expand the moments.  I also appreciate how they work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show such a masterful eye for storytelling.  The colour work is brilliantly rendered.  The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows such a great understanding of how colour works. ​    This is definitely a mature title as we see Paprika doing something that normally would be a sensitive issue and one that we don’t see a lot of women portrayed doing.  I like the idea here as well about how she grew up and what that environment led her to be like and how she’s just overall portrayed.  I can relate on some levels with her and already I’ve become interested and engaged in this story which is a testament to how well Mirka is able to tell this story.  With smart intelligent writing and sensational characterisation that’s wrapped up in these gorgeous interiors that will charm your panties off. 

[misscampbellclarington]

Out of Character Task

SOME WARM-UP QUESTIONS TO GET IN THE MOOD:

What is their character archetype? Do they have one? Do they fit into any stereotypical label? (If your character has specific thoughts about character archetypes, feel free to add that too.) I don’t know that Campbell fits into any archetype. I suppose if she did, it would be the ‘pretty girl who comes off as stuck up but is actually really nice’ archetype.

What or who would your character dress up as for Halloween? Generally, Campbell enjoys dressing up in costumes one might expect to find at a masquerade ball.

Who do they look up to? Do they have a hero? Campbell looks up to Riley, and he is her hero. She also admires and looks up to her paternal grandmother.

If they could call one person for help, who would it be? Riley. Every time.

What is their favorite fairytale? What fairytale do they hate? Do they believe in happy endings? Campbell’s favorite fairytale is Beauty and the Beast.

What is their perception of redemption? Campbell does believe people can redeem themselves, and she believes everyone makes mistakes. However, she does have the ‘Clarington Cold Streak’, and even she has limits. 

If your character could travel through time, where would they go? Campbell would go to 1940′s Paris.

What are they good at? Do they like being good at it? Is there anything they wish they were better at? She is good at dance, writing, singing, and school. Yes, she enjoys each of her activities. She wishes she were better at math. 

When did they last lie? What’s their view of lying? When did they last make a promise? Did they keep or break their last promise? Campbell doesn’t often flat-out lie, she more lies by omission. Though, she’s been primarily straightforward here, nothing is coming to mind. She does not tolerate dishonesty from others, and it is the quickest way to push her into punishing a Submissive. However, in certain scenarios, she does recognize that it is necessary. Before entering Dalton, she promised Riley she’d do her best to protect and shield him. Thus far, she’s doing pretty well. She feels guilty for not putting Riley under orders after Beau’s call out post, and feels as though she both could and should have done more. 

If your character could only save one thing from their burning house, what would it be? Oh, gosh. Probably her books. And/or her journal.

HOW THEY TALK AND PORTRAY THEMSELVES:

*This is going to be the best section to use when it comes to making your characters look, sound, and feel like different people instead of the same person with different faces. Remember that yes, some diction is the same across the board for a lot of people but we’re all individuals and choose to use even the currently trendy vocabulary in our own ways.

The first thing anyone is going to see is how your character talks. What makes them different from everyone else? How do you distinguish one of your characters talking versus another talking? Campbell, for the most part, is very prim and proper in her speech. She does not use a lot of contractions, her vocabulary is extensive, and she occasionally comes across as cold in her speech.

What words or phrases do they overuse? Do they have a catchphrase?  Is there anyone that they quote? She overuses “I am glad...”. She does not have a catchphrase, though she does like to throw in various literary references and quotes. 

Are they more optimistic or pessimistic? Are they introverted or extroverted? Although she attempts to be optimistic, she is truly forever the realist. Cam is definitely more introverted than most. 

Do they ever put on airs? Do they ever pretend to be something they are not? This includes pretending to be brave or pretending to be strict. (For example, many people play Sebastian Smythe as a character that is putting on a sex shark, suave, cold façade in order to fit in. Santana Lopez and Quinn Fabray could also be seen as putting on airs, sometimes, depending on where they are in their story arcs.) Campbell’s entire public life is shaped by her putting on airs. As a Clarington, she has been trained on how to act in public- never anything less than classy, with a healthy heap of perfection. In reality, Campbell is a bit of a mess.

How do they want to be seen by others? How do they see themselves? How are they seen by others? Cam wants to be seen as respectable, classy, and ‘powerful’, in a way. She sees herself as broken, and as a mess. Ultimately, I think she may be seen as a bitch, or intimidating. It’s the resting bitchface and the fact that she is very quiet and enjoys observing.

Strongest character trait? Weakest character trait? Strongest character trait is her resilience, and her ability to push through regardless of the chaos around her. Her weakest character trait is her fear of being alone, and the dark places that fear and those thoughts take her to. 

How do they react to praise? How do they react to criticism? Are they most likely to fight with their fists or their tongue? In all situations, Campbell does her best to keep her composure. She doesn’t really know what to do with praise, or how to respond. She doesn’t see herself as worthy of praise, and is a bit confused an taken aback when others praise her, or say good/nice things. Criticism fuels Campbell- she’s so used to getting it from her parents, and she uses it constructively, to add to her quest for perfection. She is far, far more likely to fight with her tongue. I don’t think she would even know what to do in a physical fight.

What are their political views? What will they stand up for? What do they consider an overrated virtue? Campbell generally maintains a position of independence in her political views. She does not associate herself fully with any party, though publicly she agrees with whatever stance her father takes. Campbell will stand up for just about any injustice, even if she must do so in small ways. Polite women, trained meet society’s view on what women should be, even as Dommes.

How do they treat Dominants? How do they treat submissives? Do they have any preconceived notions about poor people or rich people? Ultimately, Campbell attempts to treat everyone the same, though she is very well aware of the fact that this may be viewed as inappropriate. Publicly, she may treat Submissives slightly different, primarily in her actions, but she hates it. She tries not to have preconceived notions about anyone, although her upbringing does make this hard. Her first thoughts may always be judgement as that is what she has been taught, but she always reminds herself to reconsider and be kinder. She aims to connect with others, genuinely.

What bad habits do they have? Campbell’s bad habit is getting too focused on/caught up in her work and studies, and forgetting to take care of herself. 

CHARACTER INTERESTS, LIKES, AND DISLIKES:

What is their obsession? (Example: Rachel Berry is obsessed with Broadway, Quinn Fabray is obsessed with successful perfection, etc) Campbell is obsessed with perfection.

What is their guilty pleasure? (This doesn’t have to be embarrassing, even if by definition this is something they would hide.) Cam’s guilty pleasure is reality TV. 

What are their hobbies? (Remember that these can lead to club activities, which can lead to reasons to be active and make connections) Her hobbies are dance, singing, writing, and reading.

What are their idiosyncrasies? Cam chews her cheeks when she’s anxious, and always brings her hand to her mouth when she’s thinking.

What makes them laugh out loud? Random things- cute animals, funny children, and a variety of other things that would have to occur in the moment.

What are their pet peeves? Campbell cannot stand when people whine about results after putting in no effort. Dishonesty. And, people who do not rinse dishes before placing them into the sink.

Do they make snap judgements or take time to consider? She has been trained to make snap judgments, but she does correct herself and internally forces herself to take things slowly and make considerations.

What is their greatest fear? Ending up alone, never finding another Submissive, not being good enough, failure, and gnomes.

Are they indoorsy or outdoorsy? This varies by day. Generally indoorsy, though she does enjoy nature and occasionally likes to walk to spark inspiration for her writing.

What is the most offensive thing they’ve ever said? There have been far too many things to pick only one. 

FAMILY, LOVE, AND OTHER HUMAN CONNECTIONS:

Is their family big or small? Who does it consist of? How do they define family? Campbell’s family is average-sized, consisting of herself, her twin Riley, and their older brother Hunter, along with their parents. Extended family creates a larger network, but they still aren’t a big, huge family by any means. Campbell defines family as the people you want to be around if you had only 24 hours left to live.

Did they grow up rich or poor? Did they grow up nurtured or neglected? Although she grew up rich, and never lacked or wanted for anything materialistic, she was neglected emotionally and desperately wanted more love, acceptance, and interaction.

What were they like before their mark, right after they woke up marked, after they got used to their mark, and approaching time to go to the Academy? Did any of these D/s mark related moments change them as a person? Campbell did not really change once she got her mark. She had always been raised to be as she is, and being marked as a Domme did nothing to effect that. Prior to coming to the Academy, she became more quiet and withdrawn, due to her nerves about going into another Academy situation.

What advice would they give their younger self? She would truthfully tell her younger self not to care so damn much. To be free, to be a child, to begin learning young to have fun and most importantly learn to love herself.

What was their childhood ambition? Has that changed? Campbell wanted to be a professional performer, and yes those goals have somewhat changed. While deep down she would love to continue dancing and performing, she feels as though this is not realistic, and knows her family would look down upon the choice. Therefore, she is focusing on her writing.

How do they display affection? In a situation with someone she doesn’t know very well, she presents affection with her words. Praise. Doing her best to show that she cares. With someone she may know better, and can be a little bolder with, she may take someone’s hand, wrap an arm around their waist, or rest her head against them. 

What quality do they most value in a friend? Describe their ideal best friend a little bit. Campbell most values someone who ‘gets’ her. Someone easy to talk to, who doesn’t make her feel wrong for how she feels things. Her ideal best friend is someone she can hang out with, and be comfortable both talking all night, or just lounging and doing their own things, in each others’ presence. 

Who are their natural allies? Campbell gets along with people who are like-minded, people who carry themselves well and value image and Dominance.

Who are their surprising allies? Someone like Hunter Preston or Michael Guerin.

What do they think about love? Has your character ever been in love? Have they ever had their heart broken? Campbell does believe in love, but has determined she will probably never find it. Following the death of the Submissive she very nearly claimed, she closed herself off, afraid of being a terrible Domme and feeling like a failure, she convinced herself she wouldn’t get a second chance. She has, but not in the traditional way. Her heart broke the day Kallee died. 

DAILY LIFE AND USING IT FOR STARTERS/CONVOS:

*All of these can be used to help you decide what to write as a starter, how to connect with other people, and where you can find more connections. Remember that all Dom/mes have the right to make a submissive help them through their daily life! So if your Dom/me character has an answer down here that they could use help with (i.e. their morning routine, cooking meals, cleaning house, organizing, etc-- if your Dom/me character only has condiments in their fridge, for example, a sub could be a big help in getting them to go to the Dalton kitchens to get real food! And all characters are highly encouraged to interact based on clubs, classes, and daily life.)

What are their eating habits? Do they have any allergies? Campbell is a grazer- it is rare to see her eat a full meal. Perhaps a bite of something here, two bites of something there. She gets so wrapped up in her work, stress, and emotions that she often needs to be reminded to take a break and at least eat. She is allergic to cherries and tomatoes. 

Describe their dorm/suite. Are they minimalist or a clutter hoarder? Campbell’s room is pristine, and very organized. Everything is alphabetized, color coded, folded, and pressed. Everything has a place, and she can tell if something is even minimally askew. 

What do they keep in their fridge? Their bedside table? Their purse/bag? In her fridge, Campbell keeps bottled water, coconut milk, low fat vanilla yogurt, salad ingredients, and bagels/cream cheese. On her bedside table she keeps a wax warmer, her journal, and whatever book she is working on reading. In her purse, Cam keeps her daily planner, her cell phone, chapstick, lipstick, a powder compact, extra tampons, a small manicure set, a lighter, and a metal cigarette holder (she smokes 1-2 cigarettes a day).

What do they do first thing on a weekday morning? The first thing Campbell does on a weekday morning is shower. 

What do they do with their weekend? On the weekends, Campbell reads, dances, has movie marathons, and goes jogging.

Are they comfortable with technology? Yes, though she is no whiz. She knows enough to get by, and maybe a little extra.

What is their greatest extravagance? Campbell’s wardrobe.

What is their idea of perfect happiness? Being free. Being able to be herself, wholly. 

What is their view of ‘freedom’? The ability to do, say, wear, and act whatever and however she pleases. No longer being forced to constantly chase and meet the most unrealistic of expectations.

What clubs and classes are they in? What does their weekly schedule look like? What would they like to start doing? Maybe something they could use a little push to get into? Aside from her required courses, Campbell has chosen to take Government and Human Anatomy. She is on the dance team and in Key Club. She has room for one more extracurricular, and is heavily considering Book Club or Linguistics Club. Her weekly schedule is steady, and unchanging, as she enjoys order and is very particular about her time-tables. She attends classes, then goes to the library for two hours after they end, before considering seeking food. Barring club meetings and practices, she is back in her room by 7PM, where she takes the time to read, watch a movie, or entertain a Submissive. She would like to branch out a little more, and meet a few more people, though her introverted tendencies 

[zipgrowth]

If This Is the End of Average, What Comes Next?

Personalized learning—the notion that children’s educational experiences should be tailored to their interests and abilities—has a long history, but the digital age has brought new promise to the idea. Computers are cheaper and more powerful than ever, and learning algorithms are more sophisticated, promising better tuning of lessons to students’ passion and performance. Both the Gates Foundation and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative have committed significant resources to developing personalized learning.

Todd Rose, the director of the Mind, Brain, and Education program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, has emerged as a central intellectual figure behind the movement. In particular, his 2016 book, “The End of Average,” is seen as an important justification for and guide to the personalization of learning.

In Forbes, Tom Vander Ark said the book “poured gasoline on the personalized learning wildfire sweeping American education.” Education Week called it “a kind of bible for the personalized learning movement,” and EdSurge said the book “vaulted [Rose] in the public spotlight.”

The momentum of the personalized learning movement—and the centrality of “The End of Average” to it—prompted me to read the book, and I was left with serious concerns about how Rose puts together conclusions about psychological and neuroscientific studies to support his thesis.

If this is the end of average, what comes next?

Let’s start by clarifying what Rose argues against. He holds that our culture is obsessed with measuring and finding averages—averages of human ability and averages of the human body. Sometimes the average is held to be the ideal. Rose points to a World-War-II era statue of a woman based on the average measurements of thousands of women, and held up as an ideal of beauty.

At other times, the average is not the ideal, but the comparator. We don’t want to be of average intelligence, but are very concerned with how we compare to that bar. Are we above or below average? By how much?

Rose aims to upend our fascination with the average, and offers three principles as evidence that it is flawed.

The Jaggedness Principle

The jaggedness principle means that many of the attributes we care about are multi-faceted, not of a whole. For example, human ability is not one thing, so it doesn’t make sense to talk about someone as “smart” or “dumb.” That’s unidimensional. Someone might be very good with numbers, very bad with words, about average in using space, and gifted in using of visual imagery. Indeed, any teacher will have noticed that different students have different strengths and weaknesses of this sort.

Since the 1930s, psychologists have debated whether intelligence is best characterized as one thing or many. If “smart” were one thing, your ability to work with space and with numbers ought to be correlated because each is a component of smart. Much research has been done in the last 80 years testing that prediction. Most studies show that the measures of these abilities are correlated, but the correlation is not very big. Historically, some psychologists pointed to these results and said “see, ability is all of a piece—scores on all ability tests are related.” Others said “Look how small those correlations are. There are multiple abilities.” Rose falls in the latter camp, describing the correlations as “not particularly strong.” (p. 90)

But most psychologists stopped playing this game in the 1990s. The resolution came through the work of John Carroll, who developed a third model in which abilities form a hierarchy. We can think of abilities as separate, but nested in higher-order abilities. Hence, there is a general, all-purpose intelligence, and it influences other abilities, so they are correlated. But the abilities nested within general intelligence are independent, so the correlations are modest. Thus, Rose’s jaggedness principle is certainly not new to psychology, and it’s incomplete.

The Context Principle

The second of Rose’s principles holds that personality traits don’t exist, and there’s a similar problem with this claim: Rose describes a concept with limited predictive power as having none at all. The most commonly accepted theory holds that personality can be described by variation on five dimensions: Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Agreeableness. If I know where you fall on each of these dimensions, how much can I predict about your behavior?

Some, but not that much. For one thing, context matters. If you’re at a party where everyone knows one another but you know no one, that situation will have a sizable impact on your propensity to act extroverted, whatever your personality. For another thing (and as Rose emphasizes) these dimensions can vary within an individual, according to context—I may act extroverted in business situations, but introverted in social situations. So sure, if you add more information (context) to personality traits, you will be better at predicting what I do. But that doesn’t mean that traits alone are meaningless.

The difficult problem is not persuading people that abilities are jagged, but figuring out how to reliably identify those abilities, and how to help students capitalize on them.

Chapter 1 offers another example of Rose dismissing a concept with limited predictive power as having none at all. He cites a brain imaging experiment in which the location of brain activity associated with a particular task showed a lot of variation across individuals—so much variation that the average was deceptive; it’s like the man who put his feet in a freezer and head in an oven and was, on average, quite comfortable. The average brain described a state that no brain was in during the task.

Rose is, of course, right that this can be a hazard of averaging. But he goes much, much too far when he claims that “The guiding assumption of decades of neuroscience is unfounded.” (p. 22) Many cognitive functions are localized in the same place—roughly—in different brains. Damage to the occipital cortex results in predictable consequences to vision, for example. The brain damage caused by Parkinson’s Disease leads to predictable motor and cognitive deficits. Yes, there’s variation, especially as you try to make the predictions (either in the brain or in behavior) more fine-grained, but that doesn’t mean that averaging is meaningless.

The Pathways Principle

Rose’s third principle suggests that there are multiple ways to reach a goal like walking or reading, and that there is not a fixed set of stages through which each of us passes. I think he’s absolutely right about this, and I have written about the lack of support for stage theories of development.

What does Rose see as the implications of these three principles? If this is the end of average, what comes next?

There’s a chapter on recommendations for business, but I’ll focus on the higher education chapter. The recommendations are surprising in that they don’t connect to the principals from Part II. That is, you might expect Rose to write “the current system uses personality information, but I’ve just shown you that personality traits don’t exist, so that means we should do things as follows.” Direct ties to the three principles are absent.

Also surprising is that Rose begins the chapter by declaring a single purpose for higher education (in his view). That purpose is preparation for a career, and the declaration will bring some readers to a full stop, because it’s not the purpose many students envision: some people go to college because they are intellectually curious, for example, or to fulfill their vision of being an educated person, or to learn about themselves. What’s surprising is that a book devoted to individuality limits higher education to a single goal.

Rose’s recommendations follow from his vision of education’s purpose. He thinks students should earn credentials, not diplomas. In other words, a school would not certify that you’re “educated in computer science” but that you have specific knowledge and skills—that you can program games on handheld devices, for example. He think grades should be replaced by testaments of competency; the school affirms that you’ve mastered the skills and knowledge, period. Finally, Rose argues that students should have more flexibility in choosing their educational pathways.

These are interesting, bold proposals. There’s plenty of room for questions—for example, whether it’s really plausible that schools could coordinate to define a single criterion for a credential as Rose wants. But after all, Rose’s purpose here is not a detailed blueprint, but a vision that will spark conversation.

My concern lies not with the details, but with the fact that the recommendations are only loosely related to personalization. Other than the call for greater choice, the other ideas seek to change what college is for, not how it works, with the goal of making it more personal.

What’s perhaps most striking to me about “The End of Average” is any perception that educators need to be convinced regarding the book’s main thesis. Tuning educational experiences to individual children has been a goal for education researchers since the 1950s, at the least—“one size fits all” remains a common pejorative applied to educational practices, not an accolade. Educators don’t fail to personalize because it never occurred to them to do so. The obstacles are (1) cost in personnel, materials et al., (2) reluctance to greatly increase learning from screens, and most formidably; (3) lack of knowledge. To personalize effectively, you need to know which differences among children are meaningful and how to cater to them.

“The End of Average” doesn’t offer new evidence as to what those differences might be, or how to honor them. The difficult problem is not persuading people that abilities are jagged, but figuring out how to reliably identify those abilities, and how to help students capitalize on them to meet educational goals. Likewise, the challenge is not persuading people that personality interacts with context, but identifying which contexts matter for which children. And if there is more than one way to reach an educational goal (proficiency in algebra, for example) we need to know how to identify those different pathways, and how select a pathway for a given child. Rose answers these questions by his personal story—he figured out what works for him. But most children don’t, and adults can’t expect them to.

If This Is the End of Average, What Comes Next? published first on https://medium.com/@GetNewDLBusiness