The card above is from here, and is only tangentially related to the post below.-----------
I've noticed a certain kind of people who are really rare. They:
1: are multi-creative.
2: are intelligent.
3: think a lot.
4: have perceptions others usually don't.
5: need a lot of time alone; the bulk of the time every day.
6: don't sleep well, at least at this point in history.
7: have a strong drive for production and communication, and if it fails they often get depressed.
8: they may seem lazy because of this, or because they think a lot.
9: have problems getting along with others because others don't get them.
10: are interested in abstract ideas.
I know several of them. Do you know any? Are you one? What are they? What could we call them?
22 comments:
Good one!, I think I am one, actually, no, I KNOW I am one.
As a title or nickname, I am used to the word "loner", the identification with the wolf has been brought to my attention more than once....
You are right , it is a lonely path to follow, I can get into sheep's clothes but not for long. It seems that I am always trying to find meaning and purpose, hence the need to think beyond what the "collective hunch" calls for...
As for a name or decription, I would stick with wolf, it is a good one.
Thanks for your thoughts, stay well,
cb
Re the gapingvoid card: In Conformist vs. Independent, the opposite to sheep is goat, not wolf. Goat symbolizes self-direction — sometimes to the point of stubborness.
This is why "God's Children" are associated to sheep (followers are useful to church) while satanists are associated with the symbol of a goat (independent thinkers are problematic).
In the context of sheep, wolf represents predatorship. This association is therefore that of Predator vs. Prey. But that's not what the gapingvoid.com card was about.
There is an expression "lonely wolf", but as wolves are fundamentally herd animals, this expression refers either to an aspect of being a wolf (perhaps leaving one's herd temporarily for a predatoric mission), or to a specific 'weird' individual wolf who chooses to live outside a herd.
I'm not sure that those of us who feel you have just described us really need or want a name. There are more of us than one would imagine. It is privacy that allows us to thrive. Let's keep it that way.
TTL:
(I still think "Through The Lens metering" when I see your sig.)
All good points.
The card still worked for me. Perhaps because of the faulty "lone wolf" idea.
I am amazed that Christians are not deeply offended by the "shepherd" metaphor. Perhaps it was introduced originally to weed out all those who where *not* sheep?
Call them INTJ and INTP.
It is interesting to consider it a disorder.
Interesting, because parts of it is indeed highly irritating to the person, and to others. It is not easy loving people and also being irritated by them for instance. So it is easy to see it as a disorder whic can be fixed, so we all can be good citizens in an orderly society.
... But on the other hand, if you look at most of the great leaders, scientists, artists, and philosophers in history...
I wrote earlier, "I'm not sure that those of us who feel you have just described us really need or want a name. There are more of us than one would imagine. It is privacy that allows us to thrive. Let's keep it that way." Now I'm offended. ADHD?
Jezz!
The reason most Christians aren't offended is because they are sheep. They are on the may to the slaughter house. Just ask any Muslim.
A Rush Baby
The reason Christians are not offended is because they see sheep as a positive and favourable symbol. They have been conditioned to believe that subserviency and following blindly will earn them something of value later.
Pretty much every hierarchical social system lives from some form of this blind-subserviency-is-good belief system. The strongest such systems are ones in which the reward you are promised for your obedience is abstract. Because of the abstractness, no one can prove that the merchandise (reward) is faulty. Hence the system keeps on thriving century after century.
Apart from the church, another example of this is the national army. If you die your are glorified, for "you die for your country". You even get a flag put on your coffin. Now, that's surely worth risking your life, isn't it?
Whatever you do, think for yourself!
You just never tire of admiring yourself, do you?
"Those people who think they are perfect are very annoying - to those of us that are!"
Perhaps you are beginning to see that you are not so unique as you sometimes imagine.
"You are like a showflake - totally unique - just like everybody else."
At one time I began to think that I was pretty smart and destined for great success, of some kind or other (like everyone else in their 20's). I was near or at the top of my class or group in significant ways. I have since learned that brains or creativity, or any other asset is just that - one asset. It is people who can marshall their resources and INFLUENCE OTHERS who have the power to become what they WILL (not want).
Your success is not the product of brilliance or talent - There is some not insignificant skill and taste, but mostly you've been lucky that very few have taken-up your market.
I am sorry to hear that you did not achieve the success you deserved.
The trick is not to become bitter.
Describes me I think. Hard to say from being me how multi creative I am though. I know I can be creative in many areas, but it can be hard to find people who don't think I'm just the strangest person for having some of my ideas that I have.
Can get very depressed when things don't work out.
Need a ton of alone time. Many times because I can't think easily if someone else is near or because I need to think something through. That's one of the reasons I stay up late at night when everyone else except the cat is asleep.
I don't like the sheep thing too much as a description. I don't like being a wolf, as such, either though.
Sheep seem so unintelligent. So much into following whatever they are told blindly.
Wolves prey on the sheep. I don't like that a lot either.
I'd prefer something in between. A sheep that thinks intelligently who leads the other sheep to a place where they can learn to be sheep that think intelligently. Kill the wolves that prey on the sheep under my protection.
TLS
Yes, I am one. We are called "Scanners" - after the term used by author Barbara Sher in her books. My favorite book by her is "Refuse To Choose." You can get more info here: http://www.barbarasher.com
Just looking at Barb's site now... interesting, thanks.
Wisdom is sorrow
They who know the most
Must mourn the deepest
Byron
A neat idea; personally I'm more comfortable with the sheep / goats contrast. My cat says that wolves are just the neighbourhood dog's country cousins. She's got a point.
Wolf, goat, or sheep, let's all never forget that every ordinary person is extraordinary in their own way.
And a lot of us Christians are trying hard to separate Christ's message from 2,000 years of people with big sticks and small minds telling the rest of us how to think and act.
Let's try cheetah instead... or perhaps simply, gifted.
Isn't it fascinating that talking about being a good athlete is generally considered acceptable, but talking about being good intellectually can be considered elitist?
I am not interested in putting anyone down. But I am very interested in understanding my emotional experiences, which are directly tied to how society responds to my mind and learning ability and creativity. "Gifted" gives me a word to find others who've had experiences similar to my own, and thus, to research and understand myself.
"Isn't it fascinating that talking about being a good athlete is generally considered acceptable, but talking about being good intellectually can be considered elitist?"
Yes, food for thought.
Perhaps people don't think they can change their mind.
Or perhaps they are overwhelmed by something as nebulous as intellect, as opposed to the very measurable sports. ("350 home runs! What a man!")
Actually, the wolf is seldom a loner by choice. Still, this may be precisely the reason for the expression. The lone wolf didn't fit in the format of the pack, and yet its survival on its own proves it's not a misfit of nature. Just different from the others.
The "sheep" cliché, evoking the mindless herd, is ferocious but often deserved. Way too often, "straight-minded people" force this choice, consciously or not : be just like them, or become a scorned outcast, a "black sheep", presumably even a wolf lurking in the herd. It's not a necessary choice, it's just imposed by the narrow-minded. Orwell's Animal Farm won't fall out of fashion any time soon.
You'll probably have guessed it at this point, I relate to this post's description. The pressure to forcibly fit in the mold "for my own good", and the undeserved reputation for laziness. Actually, I love doing things when I don't NEED a good rest ("resting? pshah!"). Just not always the things social pressure would "wish" me to. This totally destroyed the lives of more than one of my relatives. I came to a very simple and sensible conclusion : if at least SOMEBODY will irrevokably be dissatisfied, if not everybody, I'd rather try and be the one happy with MY life. At the very least, I like the person that I have become. It's extremely important to be in harmony with yourself.
What I'm telling here about self-centered "Me" is also my advice to others. If there's one thing that is your exclusive and sacred property, it is your own life and destiny. As long as you don't directly HARM that of others, and you're a mature adult, it's nobody's damn business who or what you become. If God gave you this freedom, men have no business denying it to you. (And if He didn't, I want to hear it from Him IN PERSON, not via some self-promoted voices-hearing spokesman.)
A few examples from here in Lebanon : you are free to change your religion (officially...), but having one is mandatory by law, to put on your ID card. You may state that you're an atheist (which is a form of belief), but you may not just say you have no opinion. Religion is synonymous to political belonging, so you "have to pick your side". Another example : being homosexual is also against the law. If you are between consenting gay adults, the police may break into the privacy of your house and arrest you for whatever you were doing there. They don't have anything more vital to do for protecting public safety in Lebanon, no siree... I'm neither unreligious nor gay, but it makes me despise this grotesquely backward country. Which many of the "elites" have already left forever (gee, I wonder why?)...
I love wolves, not because they are strong, or beautiful, but because they are a symbol of freedom. In their own way, so are cats. A cat may become your friend, but never your servant like a dog. It's easier to tame a lion or a tiger to do tricks than a cat. The smallest of felines is also the proudest... and yet so loving when he chooses to! "Bastet is doing us a great honor."
Since one stupid neighbor started feeding our dog, that idiot's become unfaithful and completely disobedient. Ungrateful son of a dog. Imagine my shame, in the Middle-East out of all places, having an infidel dog! :-(
Speaking of which, thank you TTL for the comment : "the opposite to sheep is goat, not wolf." It needs no further commenting. (And coming from me, that's really saying something!)
"it's semantics, really, how deviant is deviant?"
Another "nuff said" I loved. We are humans, not Lego bricks. 6 billion unique entities, no two identical. Not even twins. It has been proven. Identical twins are NEVER identical, because there's much more to a person than genes.
"By the gods"? Say, Jeroen Stout, have you been spending too much time playing Kratos in God of War on PS2? ;-)
(Hint : the correct answer should be "You can never spend too much time on an awesome ass-kicking game like GoW!")
Although Kratos doesn't dislike 'the common man'. No more than he dislikes ants. He's so above them, he doesn't notice'em any more. The side effects of being a slayer of gods...
"I think it is equally ridiculous to label every so-called abnormality a disorder."
Well, Twilight, you'll have to admit that everything outside the "norm" is nearly always considered/decreed as "disorderly".
"Neatness : the sure sign of a sick mind." (Sigmund Freud)
Those who label us with acronyms are themselves OCDs : Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders. A.k.a. "the orderliness disorder"!
Also, you'll agree that unecessary boundaries are rarely proposed, and most often imposed. :-(
Eolake,
I for one always found the "shepherd" metaphor somewhat demeaning, ever since I was seven. Before that, I had the good fortune not to have met catechism. :-)
"But on the other hand, if you look at most of the great leaders, scientists, artists, and philosophers in history..."
Well, make up your mind, ES! You want to be great, or you want to be like the others? You can't be average AND a being of exception, it goes against the Gaussian [e^-x²] curve, even in an imaginary referential. Or something like that... ;-)
"The reason most Christians aren't offended is because they are sheep. They are on the way to the slaughter house. Just ask any Muslim."
Now, that is a very mean thing to say. Rather true, but mean. Add "fundamentalist" after Muslim, and you'll be spot-on. :-(
"Christians [...] have been conditioned to believe that subserviency and following blindly will earn them something of value later."
Well, it earns something of immediate value to all those who are followed by them! Power.
After shep and goats, let's mention a type of bovine I like : mavericks. It is said there's at least one in every herd. (But I don't mind some healthy competition! Right, Adam?) :-D
"The strongest such systems are ones in which the reward you are promised for your obedience is abstract."
This is precisely why Communism fell flat on its nose in less than 80 years, while the Chuch has been standing proud and stiff for 2006 years - and counting-. The failure of Communism was just too easy to verify. Amateurs! This is why God will always win, bwahahahaha!
Mr TTL, care to help defend the freedom of your country in a beautiful sunny place named Iraq? Just sign here, and let the officers and G.W.Bush do the thinking for you. Okay, just the officers then...
"Your success is not the product of brilliance or talent"
I beg to differ. I think social success is the consequence of a particular aptitude. Just look at politicians : they obviously have a talent for herding a certain species of sheep while pretending to merely follow them from behind. The better to push them... Part of this aptitude/talent you could call Charisma. (Or, in the Muslim world, "a loud voice in a big mouth"...)
" it can be hard to find people who don't think I'm just the strangest person for having some of my ideas that I have."
Considering you're questioning yourself, it seems you're clearly not a psychotic "strange thinker", just a "strange thinker". Schizophrens are incapable of self-criticism. My conclusion is : you're outside the norm, but not abnormal. So, keep the faith, and believe that you are capable of succeeding in some way that'll fulfill you. Because usually, if you keep hoping and trying, it happens. "We are not alone." And you know I'm not talking about tin foil hats. ;-) One of the qualities of "our kind" is that we know the right reasons for solidarity.
Having said that, if your depressed mood seems to become bona fide depression, do seek professional help. It can happen to anybody, believe me, I know.
"That's one of the reasons I stay up late at night when everyone else except the cat is asleep."
Anonymous, if you're a hetero girl, will you marry me? Looks like we are kin souls! ;-)
Of course, it would sound even nicer if my name was Pascal Lee. Then you'd become "Mrs Anonymous Lee"...
Oh, and don't diss the wolves too quickly. Man is biologically a meat eater too, after all. And with their young, wolves are kind as sheep. The truth is, both sheep and wolves are true to their nature. But we humans have the choice, we can decide of our nature.
I like your cat's thinking. Of course, many cats also consider that humans are warm-blooded furniture. ;-)
"Cats are poetry in motion;
Dogs are gibberish in neutral" -- (Garfield)
Joel,
"The world is a comedy to he who thinks,
and a tragedy to he who knows." (Beaumarchais, I think.)
Skywind,
It is all the more interesting, considering very few illegal substances can claim to improve intelligence. (None actually, if you're healthy.) Unlike athletic skills...
Not only do I believe that each of us is gifted in one or several ways, but I have confirmed this from experience. Sometimes, I have to forcibly remind myself that what I so naturally and easily understand is much less obvious to the majority of people. That doesn't make me *superior*, it is just a circumstance where MY gift applies. It could just as well be juggling or rope-walking. And knowing the others have to be gifted in other domains, I can despise no-one on the grounds of abilities. Even presumed "hopeless" people like autists can display at least one gift in which they'll be far more talented than any "normal" person could ever dream. The up-side of having a different brain...
I have a two year old nephew living with me. He confirms to me, every day, that a little child's intelligence should never be under-estimated. I'd never dare telling him fibs. Everybody has qualities. Just remember that when you meet somebody whose qualities don't include understanding towards your difference. Remember two things then : you're not as worthless as they think, and they're not necessarily worthless either just because they judge you. I know, easier said than done...
Oh, and Eolake? If you like food for thought, try fish. It's very rich in phosphorus, great for the brain. ;-)
"You may state that you're an atheist (which is a form of belief), but you may not just say you have no opinion."
Ha, that's the funniest thing I've ever heard!!
Just for *one* thing, it totally locks everybody into their current belief, because they can't pass through the state of doubt...
"You can't be average AND a being of exception"
Of course not. Who aspires to be average?
... Well, I guess about half of everybody does. Or should do. Guess which half. :)
But funny enough it seems to be that half which is the most convinced of its own superiority.
The thing about not sleeping well? That is weird. Is there something to this? I have always had a strange sleep pattern. People often treat me as though I am lazy and irresponsible, for the fact that I need eleven hours a night.
Well, not exactly. I need to wake up with the sunrise, and THEN get about 2 and a half hours of "dead zone" sleep after that. If I don't get my post-sunrise bit, then I might as well not have gone to bed at all.
I've always been like that. I'm 40 now. Is there something to this?
Hey there,
I came across your blog site in search of some resources on Innovation and saw that you have Linked to one of my favorite articles from Gaping Void. However the page is no more available and hence it motivated me to write a new and updated article.
Hope you would like it :)
Here’s the link for your reference – The Challenged Millennial
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