Rorschach ink blots are used to identify and understand the personality of a person. In essence, the test is simple enough: you have an ink blot, that forms a pattern of some kind, and you see what you want to see. The theory is that what you want to see says a lot about who you are.
(Note: This is, of course, over-simplified. There’s actually a lot more to it, and there is a specific set of blots that is used. Apparently, I’m hoping that a little knowledge is *not* a dangerous thing 
)
It makes sense, I suppose. Your sub-conscious perceives the pattern and your brain processes it in a particular way; in a way that is familiar to how you think, and in doing so, reveal how you work, without really intending to. There’s a logical simplicity to it that appeals to me.
The thing is, with these tests, it’s not so much what exactly you say, so much as what you’re implying. That implication is inevitably judged by the tester -and therein lies the rub. The subjectivity of it gives rise to a lot of controversy about how effective the tests are.
Everything is subjective; there is no such thing as an “objective opinion”.
…
Growing older causes so many issues.
It used to be so nice to be young – one could carry a nice, happy, reckless, devil-may-care attitude and get away with it. Your confidence was nigh unshakeable. There was no question of falling and hurting yourself; you were infallible (the pun was completely incidental, I swear.). Suddenly, you grow up, and, just as suddenly, you start worrying about consequences, and what-ifs.
It’s not a nice feeling.
But the worst is, you realise that who you are, the individuality of “you”, is not very important anymore. There aren’t really any “special” people. We’re all similar, and our differences are rarely appreciated. Suddenly, it matters to fit into a pattern, to “fit in”. The recklessness of youth may be fodder for many a conversation over coffee, but it doesn’t work like it used to. It’s frowned upon, along with everything else you used to do without thinking. You need to be one of ‘them’ to get along; you need to be one of ‘them’ to be liked; you need to be one of ‘them’ to be loved.
…
Have you ever noticed how much harder it gets to meet new people you get along with, after a certain age?
I wouldn’t say it’s hard to meet people, especially now, with the internet bringing everybody closer together, whether they like it or not. It’s just harder to find that crowd, that group, that person, even, who you can just hang out with, and connect with. Why is that? Especially considering the fact that those people do exist, and you’ve probably met them already, and some of them are also your best friends. Why is it so hard to find others like that? In fact, I think it’s harder to find close friends than to find lovers; at least when you’re looking for a partner, you’re willing to invest so much more time and effort. When you’re just looking for a friendly face, and someone to hang out with, the will to invest much time is just *that* much weaker.
…
I recently had a discussion with my mother about graphic novels. She felt I made too much hype about novels with “questionable content”. Eh? Beg your pardon? What “questionable content”? Apparently, my mother felt that “graphic novels” referred to novels of, um, a “graphic nature”.
(That is, heavy on the sex and violence.)
(No, she doesn’t really have the highest opinion of me.)
(No, that was not what I “really meant”.)
See, that’s what I like about semantics – there’s *always* a good laugh in there, if you’re patient enough.
Social transparency, #1
I wonder if society could really handle absolute transparency. In every regard, in every situation. Not just knowledge of the work behind-the-scene, but also knowledge of what everybody was really thinking. What would happen if we ceased to be fake? Refrained from acting on a need to be “acceptable”? Desisted from putting up the facades that are such an integral part of our lifestyle now? Would society be able to take it?
This effectively sprung from my complaint that offices are a farce; everyone pretends to care and to actually give a damn where the brand is going and what the company is doing, and really, almost nobody ever cares. Seriously. In any work-place, the prime objective has always been to put the company first – to think of what we can do to make it better, to push ourselves to new limits to make the company succeed. We work endless hours, with little hope of a satisfying reward. We sweat and toil, we break our backs, we scale new heights, all with the over-riding aim of “brand development” or “company success”.
Why?
Honestly. I haven’t met over a handful of people who truly believed in their company and would be willing to sacrifice everything for the nameless faces in the boardroom. At every job, your boss will always expect you to come up with ideas, will always expect you to think of the brand and the company, will always expect you to stay in office as long as possible, with only the company’s benefit in mind. And yet, how many of these people can honestly say they would *not* shift companies to a rival or to other fields on *any* given condition? Isn’t that what true loyalty is? Sticking with something, no matter what? Why should I be expected to give up all my free time to work more hours for a company, with no reward? How do I benefit? Sure, maybe a year later, I’ll get an increment. But is that enough? In the end, aren’t all our services really up for the highest bidder? For many, the deciding factor is money; but for a few others, it may be something else – better environment, better superiors, better equipment, etc. The point is, we all have a price.
Keeping that in mind, why are we expected to be *willing* to do all these things? One of my seniors here recently wanted to know why my colleague had left. His contention was that he didn’t have a family or any relatives visiting – why, then, is he in such a hurry? How stupid is *that*! Why on Earth would anyone stick around in the office, “just because”? He doesn’t have any work left, and so, what, instead of going home to some kind of life, he’s expected to just sit here and *wait*? And I used to get that at my old job, too. What the f*ck?
(Ironically enough, I got the same treatment the other day. Just because I’m a bachelor living on his own, for some reason, I’m expected to adopt the office as a second home. The shitheads.)
…. to be continued.