Why can't they be normal like me?

Top Line (bottom line first): We assume that other people think/process information/make decisions like we do.  We couldn't be more wrong.

Years ago, in a attempt to understand someone's crazy behavior, I went on a quest to learn about why people do the things they do. On it I discovered the 4 temperaments, as described by Keirsey in his book "Please Understand Me II". Information about these is available on the internet.  The important point is this:

We assume we know why other people act like they do.  We don't.
We assume other people think like us.  They don't.
We assume we can change them. We can't.

For example:

• Some people make their decisions based on data, and some make their decisions based on personal values (facts be damned, this is important to me).
• Some people think linearly (a...b...c...d...) and some think 3-dimensionally (a...b...jump to m... back to k... over to z).

And those are just two variables.

One of the most important things I have learned is that when I'm talking to people, it helps if I know what temperament they are.  It's like having a map.  With that information, I know better where they are coming from and how to translate what they are saying into what they mean.

During this time of Arab Spring - when people moving toward freedom are butting up against people resisting that movement - it would help if those seeking freedom knew about temperaments so they could better understand the whys and wherefores of the resistance that probably baffles them.

I mean, seriously, why would normal people not want freedom... right?

Follow the electrons!

When I was in college I totally bombed Organic Chemistry. I thought it was a disaster - but instead it opened up a world of understanding of humans and life and why people do the things they do - from Mother Teresa to Mohammar Gadaffi.

Being a left-brained creature, O-Chem and its slap-dash recipes for this-and-that molecules seemed arbitrary and quixotic to me. My brain cried "Anarchy!"  I failed the first test of my life.

But as it happened, some years later I had to take a test that contained a substantial amount of O-Chem, and understanding it was no longer optional.  So I got a book and dug in and tried to UNDERSTAND my nemesis.  It was my first exercise in taking data and turning it around to see if I could uncover the method behind the madness.  And I did it!  I found the key to O-Chem...

Follow the electrons!

It turns out, all the stuff I was so baffled by before were distractions.  I focused on the flashy details and "personalities" of the chemistry, not the "principles" underlying it.  I discovered all the razzle-dazzle was ruled by those electrons and what they wanted.

It was an epiphany.

A multi-purpose epiphany... because "follow the electrons" applies to a lot of things.

• If you want to know what your government is going to do... follow the electrons.   
• If you want to know if the news is more fact or more fiction... follow the electrons.  
• If you want to know why people act the way they do... follow the electrons.  

The electrons can be Power, Money, Greed, Control and more - but they all have something in common.

Just as electrons in the real world carry a negative charge, so do "electrons" in human interactions.  And the negative charge is Fear.  Fear of Not Getting or Fear of Losing what you need/want.

So if you wish to understand the human world around you - keep that question in the front of your mind: "What is the fear?"  If you get a grasp on that, you're halfway there.

And just as a footnote: I got the high score on the O-Chem test.  I thought that was my reward, but it was really just a carrot so I would keep on the path.  And it turned out, I never used O-Chem again.