Member Questionnaire 1 (Taldoria)
What is beauty? What is love? Beauty is a collection of stimuli that evoke pleasing feelings relative to a specific context. For example, the element of a slow tempo in a piece such as Satie's Gymnopédie No. 1 alters the emotional feeling received by the listener. Whereas, that element would not be so pleasing in a bebop setting.
Considering the fact that I've never been in a relationship with anybody, I will run the risk of sounding naive or ignorant, however I would say that love is a desire to almost be one with another individual--to know how they feel and think and operate on at least a general level.
What are your most important values? Freedom of expression, intellectual honesty, privacy, good health, and fair representation.
Do you have any sort of spiritual/religious beliefs, and why do you hold (or don't) those beliefs in the first place? I am an agnostic atheist, yet my understanding of religion is rather meager and I have only touched on the topic superficially while in conversation. I could not truly explain why I don't have faith in religion, but something just feels "off" about it.
Opinion on war and militaries? What is power to you? I dislike the idea of war in general. I believe that it is selling the human race short in regards to our abilities to make peace and come to compromises. Power is control over other people, over industries, and the ability to affect change in economies, societies, etc.
What have you had long conversations about? What are your interests? Why? I don't converse much, but the long conversations I've had were mostly touching on theoretical subjects such as philosophy, economics, politics, biology, and physics; and, for flavor, I intersperse bits of humor such as word play, irony, and general playfulness or puerile remarks.
I am interested in philosophy, pure maths, psychology, biology (mostly for health issues), literature, and music. I have a predilection for philosophy and math because I want to find the truths of the universe. Only recently have I become interested in these topics, but they predominate most of my thinking. I am interested in psychology due to the fact that I have never been much of a people person and my social skills are greatly lacking, and I figured that psychology would provide me an understanding of how people work, what their motives are, and so on. I like literature because I find it ties in well with philosophical thought, especially themes that predominate certain movements such as the superfluous man in 19th century Russian literature. I am interested in music because I find that music provides a great escape from reality for me so that I can focus on my thoughts. Furthermore, certain melodies please me greatly, and I feel great when I am able to articulate my own emotions into pleasing melodies. I'll explain why I'm interested in biology in the next section.
Interested in health/medicine as a conversation topic? Are you focused on your body? I am interested in health specifically because I have a condition (hypothyroidism) that hampers my ability to think and function on a level that is conducive to my goals and interests (pursuing a college education and finding a possible mate to eventually marry and so on). I became interested in health in 2012 when I realized that being overweight in college would make it hard for me to socialize with others and find a girlfriend. Yes, I'm selfish
However, as a topic, not so much due to the fact that I hold unorthodox views of the human body and the theoretical models I have in my mind.
I am focused on my body, and I try to interpret the signals it gives me, but I'm not a great interpreter. I have followed through with diets in the past, but I succumb to cravings. I cannot for the life of me stick with a medicine routine either, even if it's just 1 or 2 pills once a day.
I despise chores--and any manual labor for that manner. I am constantly criticized for my lack of awareness of what mundane tasks need to be completed for basic upkeep of my apartment.
Books or films you liked? Recently read/watched or otherwise. Examples welcome. Although I don't really read many novels or longer works of fiction, I really liked "Crime and Punishment" by Fyodor Dostoevsky, "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, "A Hero of Our Time" by Mikhail Lermontov. I have read assorted bits of Plato's works, part of Immanuel Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason", and numerous topics of philosophical and economic/sociological interest on the internet. I am not one to watch films, but the few that I have liked were either action or comedy films.
What has made you cry? What has made you smile? Why? I don't cry often, but the few things that have made me cry--warning: somewhat morbid--were anxiety attacks where I would imagine gruesome deaths for my family members over and over again--I couldn't control myself. Things that have made me come close to crying were watching close friends or those who I have built strong emotional bonds with experience extreme hardships that were /wrongly/ caused by other people.
What makes me smile is off the wall humor, sarcasm, word play, potty humor, and overall "childish" jokes. I can't really explain the why, but I just know that the goofiness of it all is quite pleasing.
Where do you feel: at one with the environment/a sense of belonging? At home, especially being alone.
What have people seen as your weaknesses? What do you dislike about yourself? Inability to express my attraction to the opposite sex, which also is something I dislike about myself; not knowing when to stop being goofy, once again this bothers me as well when there are seriously negative repercussions; lack of desire to get outside, and exercise; lack of desire to take care of hygiene; and inability to express value judgments, in other words, a sort of neutrality when exploring events and situations.
In addition to what I have mentioned hitherto, I dislike the fact that I have a difficult time getting close to people emotionally. I also dislike my lack of initiative and drive to complete and pick up projects from where I left off.
What have people seen as your strengths? What do you like about yourself? People typically say that my intellect is a great asset, I am in concurrence. Furthermore, people say that my humor, when tame, is uplifting and joyous.
I like my ability to understand complex and theoretical topics such as Socionics. Moreover, I like my curiosity and ability to see issues from various sides given specific contexts.
In what areas of your life would you like help? I would like help in being able to express my attraction to other people, as I am wary of expressing my opinions and feelings about others for fear of being rejected or being told that what I am feeling is wrong. Additionally, I would like to receive help in managing and dealing with everyday tasks such as housework and paying bills because I have a difficult time focusing my energy on such tasks. Lastly, I would like help in the area of getting out and socializing or even partaking in what nature has to offer such as hiking, swimming in the ocean, etc.
Ever feel stuck in a rut? If yes, describe the causes and your reaction to it. Yes, I do feel stuck in a rut when I am unable to attain new information that allows me to change perspectives. In addition to this, a standard 9-5 job during the week also is extremely tiresome and depressing as it doesn't allow me to experience or assimilate new experiences and information.
What qualities do you most like and dislike in other people? What types do you get along with? I like people who are laid back and not uptight or defensive when discussing topics, especially controversial ones, as I feel that it limits the scope of understanding. Furthermore, I like people who are straightforward in expressing how they feel so that there is no confusion in discussion, especially when it comes to emotions considering that I am not great at processing them. I can't really say which types I get along with the best.
How do you feel about romance/sex? What qualities do you want in a partner? I've never had sex, and rarely have I gone on dates, so I can't say much. However, I can say that the one time that I was interested in a girl, I pursued her until she showed interest in me, and, suddenly, I lost all interest in her and felt almost sober afterwards. I would really like a partner that would take initiative in the relationship and show me the ropes of how to express my feelings for that person. Furthermore, I would want that person to be able to help take care of menial tasks and get me to experience some earthly things such as exercising and going out.
If you were to raise a child, what would be your main concerns, what measures would you take, and why? My main concern would be its health and mental state, and second to that would be how intelligent and academically inclined it is. I have often thought about attempting to home school a child if I did have one so that I could ensure it had what I would see as a proper academic upbringing. I would do this so that my child was able to ensure that it had a successful academic career and hopefully it would be able to affect change in the world through academia. Of course, if it were to be interested in other avenues of life, I would still be happy, but at the very least I would want it to be competent in some academic affairs.
A friend makes a claim that clashes with your current beliefs. What is your inward and outward reaction? Inward, I want to correct this person or at least make them understand what they are saying and how I see it. Outward, I try to understand their position. However, there are times where I feel a bit feisty and I am quick to shoot down their idea and point out every little flaw I can see, and then I will assert my position and why it is better. There are times, though, where I will engage in the Socratic dialogue with my friend/interlocuter, yet that is quite rare.
Describe your relationship to society. How do you see people as a whole? What do you consider a prevalent social problem? Name one. I feel like an outsider considering the fact that I am not into partying, getting out and experiencing what life has to offer in the way of sensory stimulation. As a whole, I see people as quick to make judgments and dogmatic in their thinking; often, I will question what people see as common sense when they bring up the phrase "common sense." Furthermore, I see people as too unwilling to help understand and solve societal problems. The most prevalent societal problem I see is a lack of understanding of the model of the human body, that is, how it operates, sustains itself, supports metabolic processes; I even believe some biologists are off, as well, however the topic is quite theoretical and too much to get into on this questionnaire.
How do you choose your friends and how do you behave around them? I choose friends who are, for lack of a better term, aware, and what I mean by this is that they either have the ability to reason coherently and cogently or they are academically-inclined. Topics popular among my age group such as anime, parties, and films are not really part of my interests, so I find these topics boring. I also like, though, when people are able to exchange in banter and sarcasm because I have a feeling that they somewhat understand me and are able to pick up on the sort of "emotional vibration" I am exuding.
How do you behave around strangers? Simply put, I am completely reserved, quiet, and shy.
Member Questionnaire (Taldoria)
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Originally Posted by Sienna
