Monday, December 28, 2009

What this Theory of the Frames buisness?

This is still a work in progress, but basically, here are some of the elements:

1) If there is a universal Truth, we mortal humans can't comprehend it. We, therefore, deal with "small t" truths. These truths depend on contexts.


2) If you change the context, sometimes you change the truth. The act of choosing a context is what I call "framing" it. This usage is stolen from the way cinematographers talk about "framing" a shot.

3) We naturally (automatically) frame things, but not always to our best advantage. There are various approaches like positive self-affirmations or visualizations or the Law of Attractions that seek to teach a person how to always frame themselves positively.

4) The way we frame ourselves and the way other people frame us is not always the same. There is a co-constructed middle ground. This is often a battleground, and it should be monitored.

5) If the the way you frame yourself and the way other people frame you are too dissimilar, conflict arises. Under enough stress, a frame can burst. This is often a painful process. It sometimes leads to a period of personal growth.

6) It is possible to learn to re-frame situations before a crisis, and there are benefits for doing so.

7) Some frames are easier to maintain then others. A frame without support is easily burst. Support comes from factual proof (I am rich because I have a million dollars) or from social proof (I am rich because I hang around other rich people and they treat me like an equal).

8) It is important to learn to support (and maybe even undercut) other people's frames.

1 comment:

  1. Looks like you've really started to think this through. It should be interesting to follow the development of your theory. I can see you writing a book about this someday and becoming rich and famous. You could make the above 8 points 8 of the chapters in your book. :)

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