Elements and Categories

Todd’s comment about categories has kicked me to consider the categories on this site, which I’m not very happy with. They’re pedestrian, and also inconsistent. On the one hand, some of them refer to subject (Politics & Corporate), while others refer to execution (Observation & Rant).

Categorising things is always a problem and I’ve been thinking I might just steal a category system from someone else. I was looking at Aristotle‘s Virtues, but while there are lots of them they’re a bit dull. I also took a look at the Greek, Indian and Chinese elements which have the advantage of being part of an overall system (so for instance the Chinese virtue of benevolence corresponds to the element of wood, a blue/green colour and a goatish smell). These systems have thousands of years of practice in squeezing every aspect of human nature into their categories, but thinking about applying them to my blog only reinforces what a ridiculous idea they are in the first place. It might be entertaining but it’s of no use to anyone. Also, five categories isn’t really enough.

Star signs? Freudianism? Marxist class theory? What other dubious classification systems can you think of?

The Chinese elements, I might make a go of, though. From definitions here, here are my suggestions…

• Water:
  Solitude, privacy, introspection, philosophy, mystery, truth, honesty, anxiety, nervousness, insecurity. (Images: Black, Night, Winter)
  A hell of a lot of my personal entries fall into this category. Introspection, I can do.
• Wood:
  Leadership, assertiveness, creativity, planning, decision-making, competitiveness, conflict, anger, frustration. (Images: Green, Morning, Spring)
  Rants, at least those about real things rather than general “fuck the world” raging. Items about my plans for the future?
• Fire:
  Self-expression, emotional extremes, empathy, extrovert, attention-seeking, sociable, talkative. (Images: Red, Mid-day, Midsummer)
  The more extreme whining, raging and chatty stuff. Jokes and stupid pictures. Talking about my social experiences, which happens occasionally.
• Earth:
  Caring, supportive, nourishing, family-oriented, stability, grounding, “mother hen”, worrier. (Images: Yellow, Afternoon, Late summer)
  I think the “earth” category might be a bit empty, given that stability’s not exactly something I know much about. Still, if I ever go back to growing herbs… Perhaps the “worrier” thing might extend to concerned posts about the environment, or society.
• Metal:
  Precise, meticulous, logical, analytical, moderation, self-control, morality, tendency to pessimism (Images: White, Evening, Autumn)
  Geek posts, news and societal analysis, I suppose. Informational stuff.

Yeah, I can see that working, I’ll give it a try. I think I’ll still keep a “penguins” category though.