Jan 19, 2020
Just gonna throw it out there that autism positivity is inherently Green. Proud to identify with both. 💚
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Just gonna throw it out there that autism positivity is inherently Green. Proud to identify with both. 💚
MTG and Theory of Basic Value
DESCRIPTION OF THE MODEL
The Theory of Basic Value divides values into 10 different categories: Self-Direction, Stimulation, Hedonism, Achievement, Power, Security, Conformity, Tradition, Benevolence, and Universalism. These values are meant to represent the range of the most basic near universal values. Opposing values can conflict with one another and value does not mean the person has the traits associated with those values. Originally the maker of the Model wanted to included Spiritualism as a value which I will bring up later. However, He decided not to as he did not find it near Universal. A person can value two things that oppose each other.
The model does not perfectly translate into MTG but it does highlight important conflicts between colors. For instance it would have been much neater if all of each color had two values exclusively. This is not the case.
Even if you disagree with everything I have said, please check out the Theory of Basic Value. Since MTG is a game about characters who fundamentally disagree with each other in some important way they will have different values. Considering this is an attempt to capture human values it is interesting to try and make the colors more human. Hardly needs to be said, but, people of the same color differ so I am at giving an idea of the general value the color will have. One Black character could value Achievement more than power while another the reverse. But it does not make sense that a Black (mono) character values say conformity as that would be ridiculous.
Self-Direction (Black)
Defining goal of Self-Direction is,
“Defining goal: independent thought and action--choosing, creating, exploring”
Self-Direction is associated with,
“creativity, freedom, choosing own goals, curious, independent, self-respect, intelligent, privacy”
Stimulation (Red)
Defining goal of Stimulation is,
“excitement, novelty, and challenge in life.”
Stimulation is associated with,
“a varied life, an exciting life, daring”
Hedonism (Black)
Defining goal of Hedonism is,
“pleasure or sensuous gratification for oneself”
Hedonism is associated with,
“pleasure, enjoying life, self-indulgent”
Achievement (Blue)
Defining goal of Achievement is,
“personal success through demonstrating competence according to social standards.”
Achievement is associated with,
“ambitious, successful, capable, influential, intelligent, self-respect, social recognition”
Power (Black and White)
Defining goal of Power is,
“social status and prestige, control or dominance over people and resources.”
Power is associated with,
“authority, wealth, social power, preserving my public image, social recognition”
Security (White)
Defining goal of Security is,
“safety, harmony, and stability of society, of relationships, and of self.”
Security is associated with
“social order, family security, national security, clean, reciprocation of favors, healthy, moderate, sense of belonging”
Conformity (White)
Defining goal of Conformity is,
“restraint of actions, inclinations, and impulses likely to upset or harm others and violate social expectations or norms”
Conformity is associated with,
“obedient, self-discipline, politeness, honoring parents and elders, loyal, responsible”
Tradition (Green)
Defining goal of Tradition is,
“respect, commitment, and acceptance of the customs and ideas that one's culture or religion provides”
Tradition is associated with,
“respect for tradition, humble, devout, accepting my portion in life, moderate, spiritual life”
Benevolence (Green)
Defining goal of Benevolence is,
“preserving and enhancing the welfare of those with whom one is in frequent personal contact (the ‘in-group’).”
Benevolence is associated with,
“helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life”
Universalism (Green)
Defining goal of Universalism is,
“understanding, appreciation, tolerance, and protection for the welfare of all people and for nature”
Universalism is associated with,
“broadminded, social justice, equality, world at peace, world of beauty, unity with nature, wisdom, protecting the environment, inner harmony, a spiritual life”
Clarifications
“Both power and achievement values focus on social esteem. However, achievement values (e.g., ambitious) emphasize the active demonstration of successful performance in concrete interaction, whereas power values (e.g., authority, wealth) emphasize the attainment or preservation of a dominant position within the more general social system.”
“Tradition and conformity values are especially close motivationally; they share the goal of subordinating the self to socially imposed expectations. They differ primarily in the objects to which one subordinates the self. Conformity entails subordination to persons with whom one frequently interacts—parents, teachers, and bosses. Tradition entails subordination to more abstract objects—religious and cultural customs and ideas. As a corollary, conformity values exhort responsiveness to current, possibly changing expectations. Tradition vaes demand responsiveness to immutable expectations from the past”
“Benevolence and conformity values both promote cooperative and supportive social relations. However, benevolence values provide an internalized motivational base for such behavior. In contrast, conformity values promote cooperation in order to avoid negative outcomes for self. Both values may motivate the same helpful act, separately or together.”
Butting Heads, Value Conflict
The author explains that valuing one thing conflicts with valuing another for some but not all of the values. I have included what I thought would conflict outside of what the author has said.
Achievement conflicts with Benevolence (Blue vs. Green)
When you are trying to become successful it means you are not doing things for others.
SPOILER WARNING For Shameless
If anyone has seen the show Shameless, this reminds me of Fiona's character ark. Fiona starts as the most Benevolent character on the show devoting almost all of her time to her siblings. However, as the show progresses she wants to Achieve more for herself but this means ignoring her role as caretaker.
END OF SPOILERS
Stimulation conflicts with Tradition and Security (Red vs. White)
If you want change then you do not value what already is. Additionally, people who live daring lives are more likely to die because they live dangerously, If you sky dive it is unlikely that you value security as much as stimulation.
Self-Direction conflicts with Conformity and Tradition (Black vs. White and Green)
If you want to choose what you do and think then you oppose doing what others want you to do and think. If you conform to tradition then you are not acting and thinking for yourself.
Universalism conflicts with Power (Green vs. Black)
If you want power over others it is unlikely that you view them as equals.
Spirituality conflicts with Hedonism (Green vs. Black)
You may have noticed that all of the values have conflicts expect Hedonism. I think this is because of the exclusion of Spirituality which would likely conflict with Hedonism.
Values as a Continuum
The author explains that the values feed into one another and act as more of a continuum. This reminds me of how the color pie has allies whose values are closely associated.
The author shows how the values are similar to the values next to it
“a)power and achievement--social superiority and esteem;
b) achievement and hedonism--self-centered satisfaction;
c) hedonism and stimulation--a desire for affectively pleasant arousal;
d) stimulation and self-direction--intrinsic interest in novelty and mastery;
e) self-direction and universalism--reliance upon one's own judgment and comfort with the diversity of existence;
f) universalism and benevolence--enhancement of others and transcendence of selfish interests;
g) benevolence and tradition--devotion to one's in-group;
h) benevolence and conformity--normative behavior that promotes close relationships;
i) conformity and tradition--subordination of self in favor of socially imposed expectations;
j) tradition and security--preserving existing social arrangements that give certainty to life;
k) conformity and security--protection of order and harmony in relations;
l) security and power--avoiding or overcoming threats by controlling relationships and resources. ”
The two images below show how the values relate to one another.
Self-Enhancement and Openness to change cover all of the Grixis values and Conservation and Self-Transcendence cover Selesnya values.
Categories
Values on the left are Anxiety-based and stem from wanting to control uncertainty in life.
“Pursuit of values on the left in Figure 2 serves to cope with anxiety due to uncertainty in the social and physical world. These are self-protective values. People seek to avoid conflict (conformity) and to maintain the current order (tradition, security) or actively to control threat (power).
Values on the right pay less attention to the uncertainty in life.
“Values on the right (hedonism, stimulation, self-direction, universalism, benevolence) express anxiety-free motivations. These are growth or self-expansive values.”
Before even going into each of the different 10 values, we should expect that Black will have values in the personal value section while White should have values in the Social focus section.
ORDER OF VALUE
The order in which a color places a high importance on a value with colors on the left valuing it the most and colors on the right valuing it the least (Values it more than any color.... Values it least out of all the colors).
Self-Determination
Black, Red/Blue, Green/White
I may be mistaken, but I see this in two main parts. Freedom of thought and freedom of action. The distinction between freedom of thought and of action is nicely explained in the following quote.
“You know, there are two good things in life, freedom of thought and freedom of action. In France you get freedom of action: you can do what you like and nobody bothers, but you must think like everybody else. In Germany you must do what everybody else does, but you may think as you choose.”
- W. Somerset Maugham
Self-Direction is mostly Black as it values both freedom of thought and freedom of action equally. I am even more convinced of this when I look at Black's enemies, Green and White, who would be the ones who least valued self-direction. While both Blue and Red would certainly highly value self-direction, Blue would focus more on freedom of thought while Red would focus more on freedom of action. Additionally, Self-Determination is a personal focus value. Grixis would be the most focused on self-determination with Selesnya the one least valuing self-determination.
Stimulation
Red, Black, Green, Blue, White
Stimulation seems very Red and very not White. Wanting a daring and exciting life while also valuing novelty could not be more Red. Since, this is a Red White fight it makes sense that Green would be in the middle as it is allies of both colors. Black values stimulation but not as much as Red and Blue does not value stimulation but not as much as White.
Hedonism
Black, Red, Blue/Green, White
Hedonism is the trigger word for Rakdos and it makes sense that Black and Red would value feeling good. However, Stimulation much more closely describes what Red is seeking and not necessarily Hedonism. Black is the one more likely to be abusing drugs while Red is more likely to be cliff jumping. As the color of restraint, White no doubt values Hedonism the least of all the colors. Blue is likely indifferent to Hedonism. Green is the color of spirituality and thus likely anti-hedonism. However, Green has a highly animistic side which would value feeling good. Unsure of Blue’s Placement.
Achievement
Blue, Black/White, Red, Green
Achievement is competence according to social standards. While Black may feel like the achievement color Black does not value social standards. Black is ambitious but it acts according to it’s own standards and not societies. While White values social standards more than anyone it is not as ambitious as Blue who literally wants perfection. Additionally looking at the words associated with Achievement shows words that would show up in Black or White but not both together (ambitious, successful, capable, influential, intelligent, self-respect, social recognition). Esper would most value achievement so I could see the argument for having them all value achievement equally. While Red does not value Achievement Green opposes valuing achievement.
Power
White/Black, Red/Blue, Green
While Power it the key word for Black, the two trigger words I saw in the words associated with power are authority and wealth. Authority is White while wealth is Black. Too many of the words associated with Power are White for power to be only Black (authority, wealth, social power, preserving my public image, social recognition).It is important to remember that power includeds wanting social status and prestige which are very White values. Green is about accepting your lack of power and thus most opposes it. Red/Blue are indifferent as far as I can tell.
Security
White, Blue, Green, Black, Red
It is no surprise that Red values security the least. Red is the most reckless color and will often endanger itself. I associate security with control decks as control is all about protecting yourself against threats. The Azorious colors are the most controlling colors but White values security more than Blue. Just looking at the words associated with security points pretty strongly to White (social order, family security, national security, clean, reciprocation of favors, healthy, moderate, sense of belonging).
Conformity
White, Green, Blue/Red, Black
Everything in conformity strongly points to White(obedient, self-discipline, politeness, honoring parents and elders, loyal, responsible). Black values Self-Determination which directly opposes Conformity, Black does not care what others want Black to do. Green is someone who values community and thus likely values conformity the next most. As discussed earlier, Blue and Red value thinking and acting for yourself respectively and thus do not particularly value conformity.
Tradition
Green, White, Red, Blue/ Black
It may be questionable that I put Green ahead of White. However, the values associated with tradition include; respect for tradition, humble, devout, accepting my portion in life, moderate, spiritual life. These seem more Green than White. Humble, accepting, respect for tradition, and moderate are all more associated with Green than White while devout and spiritual could easily apply to both. I imagine Red does not really care about tradition unless it in someway restricts freedom. Blue wants progress which tradition opposes and Black is not humble or devout and does not want to accept it’s portion in life. I could see the argument that Black is more opposed to Tradition than Blue. However, Progress is a core component of Blue which clearly opposes Tradition.
Benevolence
Green, White/Red, Blue, Black
Benevolence has words associated with it that are most associated with Green (helpful, honest, forgiving, responsible, loyal, true friendship, mature love, sense of belonging, meaning in life, a spiritual life). While these are also highly associated with White (helpful, Honest, sense of belonging) more of them are associated with Green. I put red as equally valuing Benevolence since it values true friendship and mature love. Black and Blue do not associate with any of these values and oppose them. Since Blue values achievement it does not value Benevolence as they oppose each other and Blue is also deceitful while also being emotionally detached from people. Black does not value a sense of belonging, meaning in life, loyalty, helpful, honest, or a spiritual life (understatement of the year). I could see the argument for putting Black and Blue together but I think Black opposes Benevolence more.
Universalism
Green, White, Red/Blue, Black
Universalism has words associated with it that are most associated with Green (unity with nature, wisdom, protecting the environment, inner harmony, and a spiritual life). White values social justice, equality, world at peace while Green values. Red and Blue do not value Universalism while Black has values that oppose Universalism.
White
Most valued: Conformity, Security, Power
Values: Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Achievement
Least valued: Hedonism, Stimulation, Self-Determination
Blue
Most valued: Achievement
Values: Security, Self-Determination
Least valued: Tradition
Black
Most valued: Power, Hedonism, Self-Determination
Values: Stimulation, Achievement
Least valued: Universalism, Benevolence, Tradition, Conformity
Red
Most valued: Stimulation
Values: Benevolence, Hedonism, Self-Determination
Least valued: Security
Green
Most valued: Benevolence, Universalism, Tradition
Values:Conformity
Least valued: Power, Achievement, Self-Determination
Big Five Traits associated with Values
It is also interesting to note that a study found how values (Theory of Basic Values) relates to traits(Big Five). The relation of Big Five Traits and colors has been explored by many people and I will link a good one to look at the bottom of the page. I have only included traits which are significantly (.15 or greater) associated or dissociated with value for a full list look at the link at bottom of page.
Self-Direction (Black also Blue and Red)
Associated with: Openness to Experience(.52), Extroversion (.17)
Power (Black and White)
Associated with: Extroversion (.31)
Dissociated with: Agreeableness (.-.42)
Achievement (Blue also Black and White)
Associated with: Extroversion (.31), Conscientiousness (.17)
Dissociated with: Agreeableness (-.24)
Hedonism (Black also Red)
Associated with: Extroversion (.20)
Dissociated with: Conscientiousness (-.19)
Stimulation (Red also Black)
Associated with: Openness to Experience (.36), Extroversion (.36)
Dissociated with: Conscientiousness (-.16)
Universalism (Green also White)
Associated with:Openness to Experience (.33), Agreeableness(.39)
Benevolence (Green also White and Red
Associated with: Agreeableness (.61)
Conformity (White also Green)
Associated with: Agreeableness (.26), Conscientiousness (.27)
Dissociated with: Openness to experience (-.27), Extroversion(-.17)
Tradition (Green also White)
Associated with: Agreeableness(.22)
Dissociated with: Openness to Experience(-.31), Extroversion (-.17)
Security (White also Blue)
Associated with: Conscientiousness (.37)
Dissociated with: Openness to experience (-.24)
Final Thoughts
Please let me know what you think. It is entirely possible I misattributed colors to values please let me know where and why(make sure you understand each of the values description as some sound like something when they are something else)! I did not explain how the values as a continuum relate to the colors please feel free to. Additionally I could not make sense of the anxiety-based vs. anxiety-free values in terms of a color dichotomy again, please give your opinion on what it might be.
Please keep thoughts and discussion on the Color Pie Reddit page.
Links
Theory of Basic Value- https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1116&context=orpc
Link between Big Five and Theory of Basic Value-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24963077
Big Five of Colors and Words associated with colors-https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/KbaJsfBtdpGv7EKbC/the-mtg-color-wheel
I don't think you've touched on this recently, but with Battle for Zendikar forward, have we entered into a new stage of design (Sixth Stage)? The story overlap fuller with the design mechanics?
I believe I had Sixth Stage start with Khans of Tarkir.
MTG Color Pie List of Sources (ongoing)
Preface
Execellent posts f you want to understand MTG Color Pie .
Start Here
https://www.lesserwrong.com/posts/KbaJsfBtdpGv7EKbC/the-mtg-color-wheel - A post combining the history of how the color pie has been thought of, most concise work I have seen on MTG color pie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ReIn6rU_fQ&list=PLGsoeNcK9QA8IRNfjhaIKoSAtXWp1D3bJ - playlist on the color pie by themanasource. Excellent introduction and easy to listen to. themanasource seems to really understand Blue.
General
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/5d8uf1/collection_of_magic_articles_on_colors_and_combos/ - Contains a metric ton of MTG color pie articles (I haven’t read them all). Lots of posts by Maro
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/6qyusk/life_goals_by_color/ - My post on MTG color life goals.
http://podbay.fm/show/580709168 - Podcast by Maro explaining various things in magic. Anything with one of the mtg colors or Color Pie in the title is good for understand mtg color pie, but similar to his written posts.
sarpadianempiresvol-viii - Touches on about every possible thing the Color Pie could be related to. Great at relating the Color Pie to other things.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/7gdvtl/sarpadians_color_analysis_collection/ - Contains all of the color pie analysis by sarpadianempiresvol-viii.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/7cmk6n/sarpadians_alignment_analysis/ - Contains all of the posts by sarpadianempiresvol-viii on alignment of MTG colors.
http://sarpadianempiresvol-viii.tumblr.com/post/111565575121/color-pie-friday-16-shades-of-you - sarpadianempiresvol-viii on Meyers Briggs of MTG
DoctorClock- In-depth an ambitious attempt to understand and properly define Color Pie philosophy.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/4bzs3g/crowdsourcing_the_meaning_of_the_colors_with/- DoctorClock on meaning of color pie using Maro’s words.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/4br1ez/philosophy_and_mtg_how_enemy_colors_combine/- Philosophy of MTG color pie.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/46uqjp/philosophy_and_mtg_color_canon_and_interpretation/ - Philosophy of MTG color pie.
eternallyconfused99 - Creative and interesting thought on how to combine colors.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/685pjk/an_example_of_4color_worlds/ - Example of 4 color world.
https://www.reddit.com/r/colorpie/comments/5gxmdk/5color_identity_my_thoughts/ - What it could mean to have 5 colors in a character.
Black-Red dual philosophy
Black-Red
Parasitism Amorality | Chaos Emotion
Goal: Omnipotence + Freedom = Independence
Essential Aspect: Amorality + Chaos = Selfishness above all else + Spontaneous Action = Anarchy
Method: Selfishness + Action = Selfish Action
Strength: Shameless + Forceful = Enthusiasm
Weakness: Paranoid + Short-sighted = Panic
Goal
Black-Red wants to live in a totally selfish, present moment, without qualification or constraint. In colorful terms, its life is to see the world as its oyster. To Omnipotence, this is familiar. Black decides what it wants to take from this life, up to the limits of what must be sacrificed to snatch it. The goal Freedom is about subjectivity. Feelings, tastes, motives, attitudes, and so on, make up the subjective experience of self. Not in so many words, but this bundle of self-expression is what Red defends in the whole, inviolate package termed "I". "I" am an original, and Independence lifts both censure and weakness from the trail "I" blaze through the world. There is no cause more personal. Omnipotence serves Black its material desires without mediation. Freedom is self-acceptance on par with Green's – it is the choice to let motives just be. These goals align. Omnipotence breaks moral boundaries. Freedom breaks mental boundaries. Black-Red does whatever it pleases, and chases whatever its heart commands. It is the "independent variable," entirely separate from the judgment or acceptance of others.
Essential Aspect
To reach such total Independence by degrees, Black-Red's bearing is toward Anarchy. Black-Red will follow no law, rite, or command that would delimit its freedom to exercise its wishes. It casts aside rules like rotten food. Rules, says Black-Red, only control people without controlling any payoff for them. They're "a bad joke", just the artifacts of "schemers trying to control their little worlds."(1) Black-Red is not a schemer. Chaos abandons preconception and calculation, replaced by spontaneity, chance, and even creation. Amorality is about letting go of eternity. Amorality is to not be fooled by things like words and promises and tender feelings of kinship, or that anything is ever "there" except what is "then". Instead, Anarchy rejects the always-unearned, always yet-to-be-discharged eternity in anything immaterial: in a belief, a promise, a trust, or an expectation. *Now*, or never. Unencumbered from that mess, Black-Red can keep up with life's curve-balls, and enjoy something along the way. The manner of total lawlessness is, of course, to "just. . . do things."
(1)[The Dark Knight, 2008]
Method
Black-Red is your every self-serving motive, unleashed; your every whim, indulged; and your every opinion, enacted. The means are completely obvious. Act selfishly! Feed those demons! Seize power and revel in the indulgences afforded you. Act for the exercise of your own independent power, which is the sole criterion of good to yourself. Do not ponder, do not refrain, just do what you want. Felicity waits on the other side of commitment.
Strength + commentary
This color's greatest ability is the momentum behind Enthusiasm. This is intense effusion of itself, a pouring forth, to whatever is its occupation. It holds nothing back. As a motivated individualist, Black-Red does whatever the situation calls for, in immediate terms. It has no policies to impede it, no host of constituents to consult. What Black-Red chooses, it does full-throttle. Everything is summoned to achieve it. In leisure, this is passion and exuberance. In war, this is rapaciousness and bloodlust. Black-Red never distresses itself trying to be consistent, either.
That's the other thing about Black-Red: it can pivot on a dime. It is its own master, free to reinvent itself every instant. Starting from zero is as easy as any other day, when all of life is labelled 'risk'. Don't mistake its momentum, for inertia.
Weakness
Black-Red's weakness is the state of Panic which its focus on desire permits. Paranoid and Short-sighted, Black-Red acts on the most pessimistic interpretation of the situation, as it appears to it presently. It is always just there, in the moment, burdened by all its needs, only haphazardly making provisions for itself. Panic takes its toll. Beyond just acting alone, Black-Red acts without any light of principle to guide it, or any concept of tendency or reliability in the world standing apart from individual actions, to make a decision. It repudiates such things, as more of the "rules" that its Anarchy rejects. Panic, is the shuddering in the floorboards of Black-Red's mind, the immovable background noise to everything else. Black-Red lives life for the highest rewards, at the very highest of risks, and is so easily the cause of its own ruin.
Blue-Red color pair
Blue-Red
Logic Technology | Chaos Impulse
Goal: Omniscience + Freedom = Infinite Expression Essential Aspect: Logic + Impulse = Intellectual Theory + Emotional Action = Self-Invention Method: Technology + Chaos = Intellectual Application + Spontaneous Action = Experimentation Strength: Intelligent + Forceful = Genius Weakness: Inactive + Short-sighted = Self-absorbed
Goal
Blue-Red wants an enriched contact with reality, an unbound Being. It wants to act upon and be acted upon by "this", this existence, whatever it is; it wants to have that immediacy and intimacy, and never look back. It wishes to drive all ever onward to Action, and Intellectualize new perspectives in the infinite, open future. Blue aspires to be transformed through Knowledge, to attain the 'vista of the universe' where every possibility connects to all others. Red by comparison is easily underestimated, so bear with me here. The metaphor for Red is a voice. Individuality is a sense that wants contact with the world. All volition, all action, is a voice pressing itself against the world, affecting it, acquainting it, styling it. It is the statement, not to have the effect or outcome, but to express: 'I exist'. By touching the world in Expression, we at once unite to the world, yet define our uniqueness. In this light, Red's Action is the siding with oneself, to make not a design come true, but to make an emotion real. In short, to Be. Freedom is an idealisation of this 'contact', whereby the individual is delivered through their emotion. Take away all the trifles between the indivisible emotion and its expression, and that is Red's Freedom. So, to champion Blue is to see the paths through which everything moves. To epitomize Red is to express everything that you are. Thus, Blue-Red's ideal is seeing outward and inward, that fluency in thought and feeling. Its aim is to live and swim in fathoming it all, to see everything expressing their aims; in the ideal, to touch the Infinite, and truly express, simply put, your self - not as static completion, but a continual responding with the untold future. The Knowledge and Freedom to bring you into your own, fully awake.
Essential Aspect
Self-Invention or Self-creation are the central aspect to Blue-Red, and it isn't a common concept. An inventor is simply a career. The poetry to this dual is that free thinking can be a way to transform oneself: to enact, and become, and to contemplate the wonders of the Real. Romanticism and Lockeanism both apply to the topic, but there is a paradox. To self-create, something must come from beyond you, beyond the initial, to be a new creation. Blue's Logic. Yet something within must operate actively, not receptively, if the golem you make is from your Self. Red's Impulse. So how is personal change possible? The answer is to see self-creation as a step to fullness of Being. Logic is the meaning-hierarchy that sorts experience into thought, in Time and category and causation. Intellectual Theory sorts things into goals, norms, and true and false. Via theory, Blue sees into and through the contact with reality to the Other's deeper Being, mirroring it exactly. Impulse is the meaning-making that consanguinizes events and subjectivity, not dismissing the coincidence of anything, not fighting to ignore anything. Emotional Action presses perspectives together and unleashes the irreducible in things, to directly bare what they mean to each other; to meet and react. In emotion, Red denudes the raw moment (with the Other), living it fully. Thus we have a communication, violently active and turbulent at the surface, but collecting from that energy the residue for reflecting and understanding; the residue to paint a changed self.
Method + commentary
There are a pair of problems in naive formulations of Blue and of Red, clearing up the which will be expedient here. The standard line for Red is generally of a philosophy that draws action from an internal 'something', but all too often the treatment is opaque about that interiority. The emotional core is taken as a simple, that just arrives with the individual, who may express it or repress it in the moment. Any changes in feeling or attitude or drive, as a result of one's world and successes and failures, are all erased in this singularity, "Red's feelings". Moving to Blue, we have the color best at transformation, surely put. Yet, to Blue, being some particular thing is a mystery, once you question why ultimately to remain as it. People can be fundamentally changed (since existence precedes essence), so that leaves the question of whose judgment decides which essence is better? A fundamentally changeable self cannot ground the reasoning for that judgment. So, how does Red express an inner reality without interiority or conception? How does Blue intelligibly conceive of transformation without arbitrarily or circularly prioritizing a frame? The clarity, the directness, and the priority, are all resolved by foregrounding the New.
The Intellectual Theory and Emotional Action, denuding the moment, and internalizing it, relating the irreducible motion in things to get at reality: this is a way of meeting the New. What is given above is not some mental style for reviewing the same ol' same ol'; it is the summoning of your awareness to the march of Time, and your fundamental position as a thing that does things. Blue-Red makes things happen. That is, it adds. It appends to the story. Everything is as fresh as an infant to a new moment, equalized. Everything each moment is cast into the question "what does this mean to you?" So, each color's paradox is the answer to the other. Blue looks inside by acting with something – the untutored motive – that, yes, it does not see all of. Blue chips away at this frontier by making itself reveal itself. Red finds the terms and intelligibility of its emotions in the actual way that it causes the moment to be lived, with the world turned one way and not another at that crossroads, of the reaction. The transmutation of the act, IS the meaning. Blue-Red's Experimentation is a self-exploration as it is a self-Invention. As so perfectly nailed on the card Nivix Guildmage, "the only action worth taking is one with an unknown outcome." Yet, "make things happen", now I can say, as a slogan, misses by obscuring that other piece of the process, which is that you will be guided by what it is you WANT to experience. That is an indispensable ingredient. This philosophy is not reception, it is interaction. In experimentation is the real acknowledgment of the Other/the World, as an untold and open thing. The New. To Experiment is to reflect this on yourself as a real thing, too. Two things must be accomplished to Experiment, easily fused mistakenly into one. There is the step of going in without an assumption of what you will find. To be doing it to look, eyes open. And there is the subtly distinct step of going in truly open to experiencing what will happen. To not close yourself off from your subjectivity, your deep feeling, your Self. Stated in the affirmative, the aim is to hold space with 'the brilliant Infinite', deliberately and authentically. No one can step into the same river twice, because everything, large and small, is changed by action. Blue-Red enters every moment to do that alchemy. Deliberately and authentically, in Knowledge and Freedom, fully awake.
Strength
Unfailingly, Blue-Red bears one strength. It is seemingly a trait advantage, free bonus with its world-view, but not so. I write of the trait of Genius. A genius is not genius because of powerful recall, or horsepower to outthink any who could compare. A genius is one who can reshape reality. I speak of real, non-magical life, I remind you, but the metaphor of the genius is the genie, and there's good reason to blur the idea of their magic power. The Genius is someone seen to change narratives—the stories that make reality real to our experience—so adeptly and so piercingly and so facile that it is as if they were on another plane of that reality in the first place. You know it by how it is to find them. To watch them be is "like being shaken out of a dream."(1) Somehow the way they live in wonder, can shock one out of their learned blindness, their waking sleep, and bring true reality into focus. Blue-Red is this way, its entire character that of experiencing through Experiment. Not a bit of Blue-Red lives in any other occupation. It is that Forcefulness, in their Intellectual mode, that makes up its Genius. Trust Green-Blue to learn an answer, but never bet against Blue-Red's ability to imagine its way out of any box, any double-bind, any conundrum; to assert its way through scorn and detractors, doubt and ridicule; to relight the fire of pure inspiration in contact with the chaotic unknown. (1)[Senna Diaz, "Dark Science #102" https://dresdencodak.com/2020/12/07/dark-science-102-exclusive-interview/]
Weakness
As we discuss Blue-Red's weakness, note, though its Self-Invention is a self-concerned project, Blue-Red isn't about getting in anyone's way. Villain or otherwise, it is self-absorbed all the same. A word I began in this spot is 'delusion', but this misses. As I come upon the last stretch of this series, it comes clear that Mark Rosewater was right: the great weakness is often "your greatest strength pushed too far". Not a lack of grounding is Blue-Red's issue; instead Blue-Red is unmoored from mutuality of perspective. Delusion put aside for a moment, Self-Absorption weakens Blue-Red in two other ways. One, somewhat of the loutish connotation applies, which we will abbreviate. Two, it is the lack of systemizing. As Blue-Red strives, the totality of Expression brings out conflicts in the known. If the meaning two ideas have for each other is contradiction, Intellect's penchant for pickiness, with Red's sincerity, gives you "the proud competition of ideas," i.e., a difficult person. That brings out meaning, but also noise. And loudness. Chaotic though it may be, Blue-Red converses with you to argue indeed. There's a lack of 'system' here however. The temperament is not one to catalogue its experience for others, to export it or codify it. Blue's critique of itself and all else is never at rest. Red cannot put down roots, it doesn't build. In brief, Blue-Red doesn't relate through a reference frame of any constancy, only itself. Thereby it may be, in Self-Absorption, that Blue-Red slips to delusion, but it is not endemic foolishness in the dual. A virtuoso of relating to the Other, this dual contacts reality as well as anyone, but to be a conduit of the meanings it finds, to take responsibility as a source of knowledge that flows out of that moment… that goes beyond a calling based mainly in its own relationship to the things. To be sure? In Green-White, I anticipated Blue-Red, and said Green-White's weakness is that it lives giving up a world seen as so changeable, *capable though it may have been* to do it. You can build with Earth because it doesn't move. The elemental Air in this equation, Blue-Red gives up how to live seeing a thing as constant. There is a great casualty to that abandonment. The casualty is the being-at-home of your world. This 'homed-ness', this sentiment of the very capacity to belong, comes from things "having their place". Blue-Red has forsworn a 'place'. No more than a puff of air has a home, can Blue-Red belong anywhere. The Ever-changer, Blue-Red, aspires to -be- with the brilliant Infinite, but, on pain of delusion, it can never give it "home". It dwells in its experience alone.
White Full Art
Together the soldiers were like a golden blade, cutting down their enemies and scarring the darkness. - Honor of the Pure
Together the soldiers were like a golden blade, cutting down their enemies and scarring the darkness. - Condemn
"I will uphold the law, and no manner of foe will stop me." - Knight Glory
After the Battle of Liet Field, the white sun crested above Taj-Nar, bringing hope to all who survived the carnage. - White Sun Zenith
"Your superstitions and mumblings are useless chaff before my righteousness." - Grand Abolisher
"Oathbreaker, I cast you out!" - Banisher Priest
"Monsters will no longer find safety under the mists of Morkrut!" —Bruna, Light of Alabaster - Righteous Blow
"Fear holds no place in faith's battle plan." - Ordic, Master Tactician
"One faith, but many hands in victory." - Goldnight Commander
Let's Talk About the Color Pie
NOTE: This is an older post from my other blog. Just wanted to bring it over so that the masses can see it.
Well, it's spoiler season and as most of you know, we hear a lot of critiques on whether cards were designed correctly for their colors. This ultimately comes down to the infamous MTG color pie.