The Tool song "46&2" is about gaining Ni.

[r.a]

"My shadow's

Shedding skin and
I've been picking
Scabs again.
I'm down
Digging through
My old muscles
Looking for a clue.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own confused
And insecure delusions
For a piece to cross me over
Or a word to guide me in.
I wanna feel the changes coming down.
I wanna know what I've been hiding in

My shadow.
Change is coming through my shadow.
My shadow's shedding skin
I've been picking
My scabs again.

I've been crawling on my belly
Clearing out what could've been.
I've been wallowing in my own chaotic
And insecure delusions.

I wanna feel the change consume me,
Feel the outside turning in.
I wanna feel the metamorphosis and
Cleansing I've endured within

My shadow
Change is coming.
Now is my time.
Listen to my muscle memory.
Contemplate what I've been clinging to.
Forty-six and two ahead of me.

I choose to live and to
Grow, take and give and to
Move, learn and love and to
Cry, kill and die and to
Be paranoid and to
Lie, hate and fear and to
Do what it takes to move through.

I choose to live and to
Lie, kill and give and to
Die, learn and love and to
Do what it takes to step through.

See my shadow changing,
Stretching up and over me.
Soften this old armor.
Hoping I can clear the way
By stepping through my shadow,
Coming out the other side.
Step into the shadow.
Forty six and two are just ahead of me."


My Ni is exploding right now. I just grasped the fundamental theorem of online poker and Ne is going nuts with the implications.


EDIT: Holy crap so is "Lateralus."

Black then white are all i see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see.
as below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn beyond the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition, missing opportunities and I must
Feed my will to feel my moment drawing way outside the lines.

Black then white are all i see in my infancy.
red and yellow then came to be, reaching out to me.
lets me see there is so much more and
beckons me to look thru to these infinite possibilities.
as below, so above and beyond, I imagine
drawn outside the lines of reason.
Push the envelope. Watch it bend.

over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Withering my intuition leaving opportunities behind.
Feed my will to feel this moment urging me to cross the line.
Reaching out to embrace the random.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come.

I embrace my desire to
I embrace my desire to
feel the rhythm, to feel connected enough to step aside and weep like a widow
to feel inspired to fathom the power, to witness the beauty,
to bathe in the fountain,
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral
to swing on the spiral of our divinity and still be a human.

With my feet upon the ground I move myeslf between the sounds and open wide to suck it in.
I feel it move across my skin.
I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.
Spiral out. Keep going.

46&2 is about DNA

 

[simulatedworld]

46&2 is about DNA

Read the thread, brah.

Yes that's the literal reference.

MJK is obviously writing about a few concepts that run just a little bit deeper than that as well.

 

[Nocapszy]

As far as 46+2, though--I said Ni because he's critiquing his own mistakes/seeking self-betterment through expansion of perspectives.

that's actually the disposition and habit of a Ti type.
Ni, simply finds the perspectives. it doesn't desire or aspire. using Ni means only to notice the abstract, in an introverted [most commonly synonymous with esoteric, in this context] way.

This seems to be a running theme with him...what would you say the song is about?

i say the same as nozflubber.
i don't see in those lyrics that he's actually trying to correct a mistake. the song is more perceptive than necessarily action inducing like a Thinking ideal would.

i'm trying to agree with you, but it's really hard.
even if he is a student of jung, i strongly doubt that this lyric is a statement about accruing something which cannot be possessed.
as a matter of fact, i think that because he's a student of jung, and any serious pupil would know that.

you stay classy

 

[simulatedworld]

that's actually the disposition and habit of a Ti type.
Ni, simply finds the perspectives. it doesn't desire or aspire. using Ni means only to notice the abstract, in an introverted [most commonly synonymous with esoteric, in this context] way.

i say the same as nozflubber.
i don't see in those lyrics that he's actually trying to correct a mistake. the song is more perceptive than necessarily action inducing like a Thinking ideal would.

i'm trying to agree with you, but it's really hard.
even if he is a student of jung, i strongly doubt that this lyric is a statement about accruing something which cannot be possessed.
as a matter of fact, i think that because he's a student of jung, and any serious pupil would know that.

you stay classy

He took the term "shadow" directly from Jung; he's literally writing about understanding weaker functions. Really, look it up.

Sorry, I tend to use overuse the term "correcting mistakes" because I play too much god damn poker and the lingo pervades my speech. You're right that it's more perceptive; it's just a sudden realization, not a plan of action or a categorization into a systematic framework just yet. This song is the perception process itself.

Now that I think about it only slightly less high than I was at the time that I wrote it, though, "Lateralus" seems more like the Judgment process taking effect. That one's probably more Ti.

Can you explain the statement about Jung/that which cannot be possessed? I honestly don't understand the connection yet.

 

[jixmixfix]

INTJ with same subtype as Bruno, the heretic mystic. Deep Ni-Fi connection there. A highly individualistic type of mindset.

EDIT TO ADD: I see the lyrics in 46 & 2 here (I'd probably never actually listen to this type of music) as being profoundly deep with layered meaning. It's about the corrupting action of the corruprting world on the individual human self/soul/persona...whatever name you want to give it, no matter how we strive with our individual thoughts, feelings, insights and actions in our earthly life--- just all that we strive for and are in our lives--- death and decay await us all in the end.

Nozflubber is correct in that he's using the symbolism of DNA and it's decay. I see it as a Ni-Fi statement about the individual and the corruption of physical life. There are deeper issues of DNA being the code to our individuality here in this world and yet it is also the timekeeper to how long we get to hang onto it before we return to primordial soup. There's also issues about our shadows, human duality, duality of life and death, growth and decay.

Maynard isn't a "J" in my opinion he seems more INTP, i've never seen an INTJ dress in high heels and paint themselves being half naked on stage. lol

 

[jixmixfix]

so wrong, yet again. 46 & 2 is a reference to the # of chromosomes in a human (23 pairs and 1 gender pair), and the song is about the corruption of the human form and it grows and decays in this world. But hey, don't let me stop you on your mission, son!

The song is about evolving not being corrupted, ex "shedding skin" which is your previous self detaching from your present self.

 

[Nocapszy]

functions are just the letters we use as protocol for referencing a specific cognitive action.
Ne isn't palpable, nor can it be "gained" or built up. you can practice it... i suppose, but you're not gaining it, all you're doing is getting better at perceiving the abstract object.

i'm not sure if you mean to increase frequency of use by saying "gaining Ni" or whether by that you mean flexing the muscle that produces introverted abstract perceptions.
but after having read the lyrics one time i think i'd know pretty well what it's about.

 

[Nocapszy]

anyway, if he's an IN_J type, shadow has no relevance to Ni for him.

 

[luminous beam]

♥ tool

 

[r.a]

Read the thread, brah.

Yes that's the literal reference.

MJK is obviously writing about a few concepts that run just a little bit deeper than that as well.

sorry im not very deep

 

[simulatedworld]

functions are just the letters we use as protocol for referencing a specific cognitive action.
Ne isn't palpable, nor can it be "gained" or built up. you can practice it... i suppose, but you're not gaining it, all you're doing is getting better at perceiving the abstract object.

i'm not sure if you mean to increase frequency of use by saying "gaining Ni" or whether by that you mean flexing the muscle that produces introverted abstract perceptions.

I meant more just flexing the muscles/working on exercising it better.

but after having read the lyrics one time i think i'd know pretty well what it's about.

Of course.

anyway, if he's an IN_J type, shadow has no relevance to Ni for him.

I thought about that too, but I might be wrong about his type. Which function is the "shadow" anyway? He might just be referring to weaker functions in general, but I do know that the term "shadow" is lifted directly from Jung, whether or not MJK used it correctly.

At this point I'm leaning more toward INTP, based on what's been said here...like someone who is not a natural Ni user making some new realizations and watching his old worldview crumble, and being totally amazed by it.

 

[luminous beam]

sorry im not very deep

Finger deep within the borderline.
Show me that you love me and that we belong together
Relax, turn around and take my hand.

 

[mszoe]

ditto. Great artists create pieces that are universally accessible and open to personal interpretation (message) while still delivering meaning at the superficial level (amazing sounds). My INFJ response: "everyone's right, cuz everyone's got their own experience w Tool/Maynard/APC".

Such a haters thread, I'm not going to bother giving a response to all the individual posts. I will just generally say that Maynard James Keenan is an intelligent man. He knows what he writes about, and he knows how to write it. If things are interpretable multiple ways, it's probably because he wants it that way.

Adding to that I must say that forty six & 2, and lateralus are two of my all time favorite Tool songs.

 

[heart]

Maynard isn't a "J" in my opinion he seems more INTP, i've never seen an INTJ dress in high heels and paint themselves being half naked on stage. lol

I really no longer care about the Tool issue. But I have to say, why assume a J wouldn't do this? What fun is having an external standard if you can't rebel against it and what does it matter to rebel against the external standard if you don't worship it? Why waste the energy? High heels are a pain.

 

[jixmixfix]

I really no longer care about the Tool issue. But I have to say, why assume a J wouldn't do this? What fun is having an external standard if you can't rebel against it and what does it matter to rebel against the external standard if you don't worship it? Why waste the energy? High heels are a pain.

I know alot of INTJs and the last thing they want is to embarrass themselves, also from my experience most of them are very left brained. Maynard is defiantly more artsy, and sometimes in his earlier interviews he strikes me as a feeler (used to work at a pet shop). If you listen to his songs he goes on about questioning authority, over thinking and analyzing. He seems to be in his head alot.

 

[Athenian200]

Okay, I've got two final attempts. If these aren't examples of impersonal Ni, nothing is:

A handful of nothing is all that I need
It contains plus and minus everything
The odd combinations are what make up
The world that you see before you
In one hand I hold what people call good
The rest I hold in the other
But these are just symbols to the perfected minds
Of which we are but mere reflections
I was born to synthesize
Energize and catalyze
I was born to synthesize
Like waves on still water the forms reappear
Quickly erasing the ones before
But forms like these are born only to die
But the life in them lives forever
Pyramids, spheres, and obelisks
Are the patterns of all creation
But the red polygons only desire
Is to get to the blue triangle
I was born to synthesize
Visions rise before your eyes
I was born to synthesize
The orbits of consciousness spin round and round
Apparently they go nowhere
But the odd combinations are leading you on
To your home which is in the center
You were born to synthesize
Aint no jive - its no surprise
You were born to synthesize

Like a grain of sand
Swallowed by the desert
Like a drop of rain
That falls from darkened clouds

I am overwhelmed
I stand here awed and humbled
At the feet of giants
Whose shadows stretch for miles

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless
Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

Like a century
That passes in a day's time
Like an endless loop
That shudders to a stop

The world redefined
An existence without boundries
I am overcome
I am lost within it's scale

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless
Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

Like a drop of rain
Swallowed by the desert
Like a grain of sand
That sinks beneath the waves

Even the greatest peak
Will one day wear to nothing
Even the deepest sea
Will one day dry to dust

Staggering and infinite
And full of ageless grace
The universe seemed limitless
Without any time
Without any place
Staggering and infinite
The beauty of it all
I feel insignificant
Never have I ever felt so small

 

[Nocapszy]

I thought about that too, but I might be wrong about his type.

again emphasizing that i don't really pay much attention to this band, just like i didn't pay much attention to the thread, he seems like an ES_P who wants to be IN_J artist.
that is to say, he's an ES_P who's got a comprehensive perception of the constituents of an intellectual/abstract/weird-ass artist [most of these: the real innovators in art are frequently IN_J] and deliberately presents himself in this way.
also ISTP seems like a possibility. the various esoteric diligences he practices indicate Ti [or maybe even Fi] dominant.

he seems like Sully Erna to me.
a total phony. talented guy, but just completely fake.

if this is the case, the one or more theories on shadow functions would help this song make sense.

otherwise, i have to assume he's speaking about everyone else in the first person, and that he puts the public on S_P.

which is retarded.
it's S_J.

Which function is the "shadow" anyway?

i have yet to get a consistent answer on this.

i'd like to reiterate once again that i don't believe in shadow functions.
the more people talk about shadow functions, the more they sound like voodoo preachers.

He might just be referring to weaker functions in general, but I do know that the term "shadow" is lifted directly from Jung, whether or not MJK used it correctly.

i doubt he did.
most of these famous people don't know what they're talking about, and if these tool tours are as rigorous as they sound, i can't see that he'd have time to study typology in depth. shit... i've spent the better part of 2 years thinking about it and i'm not even done with it.

and that's not to mention the other bands he's in, and the winemakeing [weirdo...] he does. he's got too full a schedule to pick up a book.
i'd believe that he stumbled across a typology webpage on yahoo-answers though.

At this point I'm leaning more toward INTP, based on what's been said here...like someone who is not a natural Ni user making some new realizations and watching his old worldview crumble, and being totally amazed by it.

maybe.

or maybe he's just another full of shit hollywood dick.

pardon my jade.

 

[Nocapszy]

incidentally, i'll be moving to the same town Herbert lives in, and would volunteer to do some field research for the sake of clarification in this thread.

i've been thinking about getting into the PI business anyway.

 

[Soar337]

again emphasizing that i don't really pay much attention to this band, just like i didn't pay much attention to the thread, he seems like an ES_P who wants to be IN_J artist.
that is to say, he's an ES_P who's got a comprehensive perception of the constituents of an intellectual/abstract/weird-ass artist [most of these: the real innovators in art are frequently IN_J] and deliberately presents himself in this way.
also ISTP seems like a possibility. the various esoteric diligences he practices indicate Ti [or maybe even Fi] dominant.

he seems like Sully Erna to me.
a total phony. talented guy, but just completely fake.

if this is the case, the one or more theories on shadow functions would help this song make sense.

otherwise, i have to assume he's speaking about everyone else in the first person, and that he puts the public on S_P.

which is retarded.
it's S_J.
i have yet to get a consistent answer on this.

i'd like to reiterate once again that i don't believe in shadow functions.
the more people talk about shadow functions, the more they sound like voodoo preachers.
i doubt he did.
most of these famous people don't know what they're talking about, and if these tool tours are as rigorous as they sound, i can't see that he'd have time to study typology in depth. shit... i've spent the better part of 2 years thinking about it and i'm not even done with it.

and that's not to mention the other bands he's in, and the winemakeing [weirdo...] he does. he's got too full a schedule to pick up a book.
i'd believe that he stumbled across a typology webpage on yahoo-answers though.
maybe.

or maybe he's just another full of shit hollywood dick.

pardon my jade.

Umm. I hope you're not being serious. Maynard Jame's Keenan is NOT a fake. And neither is he an ESP. That's the most absurd thing I've ever heard. (No offence to ESP's)

He's either an INTP, INFJ or INTJ. I really don't know how you can make a statement like that based on the lyrics to one song.

 

[LEGERdeMAIN]

Yeah Maynard is definitely INJ.

P.S. Have you heard all that shit about how 46 and two refers to the human race getting two extra chromosomes? So random.

Yeah, if you're in to the newer occult "guru's" then look up Drunvalo Melchizedek for the 46&2. Mckenna had some similar ideas about human evolution, too.

I suspect Maynard has pulled ideas for lyrics from Crowley, Korzybski, etc, etc.

Apparently he's well read.