Form of Thinking
The four distinct small groups within a category and their psychological implications for personality diagnostics.
Category's Small Groups
Causal-Deterministic
Description
Sticky thought loops with self-reinforcing momentum. Fragmented baseline attention that locks into repetitive dwelling cycles. Slow to build, hard to stop once engaged.
Analogy: Like an eddy in a river - water circling in the same spot, returning to the same pattern over and over.
Strengths
Deep immersion, sustained endurance, thorough processing, patient accumulation of understanding.
Tradeoffs
Gets stuck in loops, difficult to redirect, fragmented when not engaged, slow to initiate.
Learning Style
Classical sequential instruction with positive reinforcement. Step-by-step with encouragement and support.
Holographic-Fractal
Description
Flash recognition that penetrates directly to core structure. Immediate positioning without deliberative steps. Automatic intuitive grasp of essence.
Analogy: Like an X-ray - instantly sees through to the underlying structure in a single exposure.
Strengths
Immediate clarity, efficient recognition, cuts through confusion, grasps core quickly.
Tradeoffs
May skip important process, rigid once positioned, impatient with deliberation, misses granular detail.
Learning Style
Learning through contrast and reversal. Immediately seeing 'what if it were the opposite' to understand boundaries and principles.
Vortical-Synergetic
Description
Diffuse attention that disperses easily across immediate stimuli. Spontaneous adaptation to present environment. Flows flexibly without sustained focus or deep penetration.
Analogy: Like a surfer riding waves — reading and responding to immediate conditions, adjusting moment-to-moment without overthinking.
Strengths
Adapts quickly, learns experientially, resilient to change, comfortable with uncertainty.
Tradeoffs
Scattered focus, lacks depth, easily diverted, struggles with sustained analysis or long-term planning.
Learning Style
Trial-and-error experimentation. Jump in and learn hands-on through direct experience, adjusting on the fly.
Dialectical-Algorithmic
Description
Precision scanning that detects fine distinctions and deviations. Hyper-vigilant parsing for flaws and threats. Gets stuck on negatives and potential problems.
Analogy: Like a security scanner on high alert - continuously detecting anomalies and running threat assessments.
Strengths
Catches errors others miss, thorough evaluation, quality assurance, anticipates problems.
Tradeoffs
Gets trapped in analysis, fixates on negatives, risk-paralyzed, difficulty with satisfaction or completion.
Learning Style
Scenario simulation and 'what if' analysis. Running through possibilities and evaluating likelihoods/risks before acting.