sociometry of urgency

[Adam Blatner]

Hi Bud, 
   Well, I'm certainly open to your pointing out a flaw in my thought---because I'd rather learn something than wallow in the illusion of being "right." The problem below is that your comments have their own inner content or integrity, but I don't see what they say about my observations, other than noting that some sociometric themes may be discerned in both. Please correct me or clarify.

   About your points, comments below

BW  today, earlier...  Actually Adam, I think there is quite a flaw in your overall thought when it comes to both politics and the choosing between groups known and unknown.  There is the issue of access.
       AB: I didn't think that my proposed points exhausted or fully described all of the dynamics operating in this complex situation. Rather, I was just noting one set of themes and some of their implications.

     The issue of access is a good theme in many ways. Worth thinking about.

  BW  This is largely determined by power and the control of communication venues coming from an accumulation of money and that accumulation has a history which is often difficult to ascertain for most folks and is often purposely hidden such as the incredible criminal aspects of Kennedy's family or the worst of the worst, the Federal Reserve. 
     While the Internet is having some impact on this, the sheer weight of the volume of information on the Internet makes the use of sociometry there even more important. Who is doing something with that? I.E getting the word out to the public about how to use sociometry in determining for themselves what and who to listen to and how their choices are so totally limited and influenced from the get go. 
       AB: this is an intriguing twist on the subject. AS you note, the internet does allow for a kind of quasi-sociometric process in that folks are free to choose to read this or that, or not read anything on the web. 
        Do you have any idea at all about how to address the question--- sociometry and internet and who is doing something with that?  -- and how to get the word out... 
        Well okay, here's a start: How would you suggest that sociometry can be helpful in determining what I would prefer to listen to... 
         ... or how does sociometry help me ses how my choices are limited? 
 I confess that I haven't a clue how to begin to address these questions.

BW continues: People are easily manipulated based on their fear and often other possible solutions for a certain crisis are eliminated through the response to that fear.  While FDR's words certainly resonate with nearly anyone who has heard of them, i.e. "We have nothing to fear but fear itself,"  the real impact of those words as well as a real understanding of just how that fear is generated are far from transparent as for example one false flag opperation after another throughout history probably including 9/11. Blessings, Bud   
       AB: Okay, there are some recent essays in Newsweek, I think, about fear... but what does this have to do with sociometry in any specific practical way? 



Adam Blatner <adam at blatner.com> wrote:
    Dear Ed,
    It's good that you bring up the theme of sociometry as part of sociatry.

    It occurred to me that sociometry is a key point in what I've been trying to say. For 
    example, if there are ten subgroups who are working towards a common cause (i.e., 
    sociotele is similar); we are likely to choose those subgroups whose psychetele or rapport 
    is most congenial (based on various criteria, some unconscious, some more related to 
    variables such as style, intensity, tone).
    So your bringing that up leads to the need for folks to pay attention not just to 
    the message they are trying to give, but to the audience and the nonrational dimensions of 
    preference and relationships. Moreno had this problem, as he at times alienated many who 
    were at first inclined to be his ally.
    What I'm getting at is a shift from what I grew up thinking: If one had a persuasive 
    argument, that should count for something. What I'm realizing is, especially as I've 
    observed politics over the last 50 plus years, is that image is almost everything, alas. 
    Image also includes voice tone, charisma, slogans, presentation, reputation, and even the 
    kinds of people with whom one associates.
    Well, we need to recognize that sociometry, then, is not only a sociological field, 
    but also a kind of depth psychology, and one that opens us to questions that most folks 
    would rather not bring into consciousness.
    What do you think of this angle? Warmly, Adam 
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