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[Fe] If your life were a city, would it be inhabitable?

SillySapienne

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If my life were a city would it be inhabitable?

My life as a city, hmm.

There are so many ways to approach this theoretical question.

So, I will answer it this way, (taken from my boyfriend), if my soul were a city it would be...

A beautiful place, geographically speaking, and highly diverse, there would be people from all walks of life, doing what they love.

The city would be citizen-focused.

It would be relatively small, no more than a thousand people.

It would have a political infrastructure like a liberal arts school.

People would be encouraged to find themselves, their true callings, and do that which they *want* to do.

Education would be paramount, art as well.

Kids would play, and learn.

Questions and questing would be encouraged by the adults.

Critical thinking would be mandatory at all levels of teaching.

Eventually, all people would learn to be autodidacts.

They would think for themselves.

Happy citizens make for a lovely city.

I'm not talking about a utopian society, hahaha, or am I.

Every person in their right place.

No undue, or unneeded force.

^That was off the cuff and took me about a minute to write, modifications might come later.

:cheers:
 

Zarathustra

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:horor:

The city you describe depicts my perfect hell, (excluding the one day of the month break of debauchery)

"I would say that my city would be dangerous"

"There would be all kinds of rapid movement taking place, the citizens would be highly critical and ready to snap at you if you are not working efficiently and doing your part to make the system/city better..."

"Everyone would constantly be busy"

:sick:

^This city reflects the inner you, should I be scared? :cry:

And, I didn't know you were an ESTJ. :p

When you're running/doing/chugging full speed all the time you never have time to just be.

You lose yourself in the hustle and bustle.

And, when the silence of peace descends on you, you won't know what to do with yourself, because you are scared, scared of who you are, scared of why you do the things you do, why you've been doing, doing, doing all the things you do, for what? why?

Well, to squelch that fear people in your "dangerous city" will either drink themselves into oblivion so they won't have to ask themselves these questions, or fear the silence/free time, and opt to work on the one day of "rest" that they have.

This response is complete nonsense...

All you have done is shown: 1) your discriminatory nature against Te, and 2) your lack of understanding of where Ni and Fi are tacit in my description.

With regards to the first: you have underdeveloped Te. For an INTJ, my tertiary (Fi) is far more developed, by comparison, than your tertiary (Te). What you should really be doing, rather than simply discriminating against Te, is considering how it could better be applied in your own life, as, if it were, you might be better at accomplishing your goals... The entire theory of typology (and don't go simply denying the theory now, cuz we've had enough conversations about this, and, whatever you say, you do accept that there seems to be a large degree of truth to it -- you don't get to just take it in piecemeal, and reject it when it goes against you) is rested on the fact that the latter functions support the former: that the auxiliary supports the dominant, and the tertiary supports both the dominant and auxiliary, and that the specific functions that fill in each of those spaces are meant to balance out the "blind spots" of the one(s) that proceed(s) it: as such, tertiary Te for an ENFP is supposed to balance out the fickleness and subjectivity of his or her Ne and Fi, by driving them to actually stay more focused and get things accomplished. It's a truly beautiful thing to imagine a female ENFP who has well-developed Te to complement her Ne and Fi (i.e., an ENFP who has her shit together)...

With regards to the second: the plans, goals, and values towards which the city is striving come from a combination of Ni, Te, and Fi thinking. Te, being the extraverted Judging function, in the auxiliary position, would clearly be the most visible. But you have made the erroneous assumption that, simply because it is the most visible, it is the only function present (aside from the obvious ode to Se at the end [i.e., the three days of partying when the full moon is out {and yes, I realize I did not delineate how many days the party would last (frankly, I was surprised when I went back and reread my post that I hadn't), but, that is the amount of days I had in mind}]). The truth, on the other hand, is that Ni possibilities and Fi values underlie all action towards which the citizens are working. Te is simply the function that drives the action to accomplish these possibilities and values, and, as the extraverted judging function of the three, is far and away the most apparent. That doesn't mean the others don't exist -- to the contrary, they underlie everything.

And, lastly, your belief that the city described would be inherently depressing, lacking of self-reflection, and any other garbage you wrote, is an indicator of how extremely discriminatory you are against other modes of thought which you clearly do not understand. It also shows that not only do you not understand them, but you don't even realize that you don't, and you don't realize that your own lack of understanding of them leads you to discriminate against them.

It's all very apparent, and very unbecoming of you...

I told you, baby: if you enter into this circle, I'm not holding back...

:hug:
 

SillySapienne

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This response is complete nonsense...

All you have done is shown: 1) your discriminatory nature against Te, and 2) your lack of understanding of where Ni and Fi are tacit in my description.

With regards to the first: you have underdeveloped Te. For an INTJ, my tertiary (Fi) is far more developed, by comparison, than your tertiary (Te). What you should really be doing, rather than simply discriminating against it, is considering how the Te expressed in my post could better be applied to your own life, as, if it were, you might be better at accomplishing your goals. The entire theory of typology (and don't go simply denying the theory now, cuz we've had enough conversations about this, and, whatever you say, you do accept that there seems to be a large degree of truth to it -- you don't get to just take it in piecemeal, and reject it when it goes against you) is rested on the fact that the latter functions support the former: that the auxiliary supports the dominant, and the tertiary supports both the dominant and auxiliary, and that the specific functions that fill in each of those spaces are meant to balance out the "blind spots" of the one(s) that proceed(s) it: as such, tertiary Te for an ENFP is supposed to balance out the fickleness of his or her Ne and Fi, by driving them to actually stay more focused and get things accomplished. I can't imagine how beautiful an ENFP who has well-developed Te to go along with her Ne and Fi would be...

With regards to the second: the plans, goals, and values towards which the city is striving come from a combination of Ni, Te, and Fi thinking. Te, being the extraverted Judging function, in the auxiliary position, would clearly be the most visible. But you have simply made the erroneous assumption that, because it is the most visible, it is the only function present (aside from the obvious ode to Se at the end [i.e., the three days of partying when the full moon is out {and yes, I realize I did not delineate how many days the party would last (frankly, I was surprised when I went back and reread my post that I hadn't), but, that is the amount of days I had in mind}]). The truth, on the other hand, is that Ni possibilities and Fi values underlie all action towards which the citizens are working. Te is simply the function that drives the action to accomplish these possibilities and values.

And, lastly, your belief that the city described would be inherently depressing, lacking of self-reflection, and any other garbage you wrote, is an indicator of how extremely discriminatory you are against other modes of thought which you clearly do not understand.

My response is complete nonsense.

Now I understand, first hand, at least in this forum context, how when someone doesn't agree with you, they are not only wrong, but stupid.

For you are always right, oh wise sage.

I noticed the Se in your city, the Se and the Te, but you are smoking CRACK if you honestly believe that your city as described here, in your words

Anyway, I really like myself, but I would say that my city would be dangerous.

Not in the sense that you would be worried about evildoers, or anything of that sort, but it would just be intense.

There would be all kinds of rapid movement taking place, the citizens would be highly critical and ready to snap at you if you are not working efficiently and doing your part to make the system/city better...

Everyone would constantly be busy, but then, every once in a while (about once a month -- maybe when the moon comes out in full ), the whole city would go on break and just chill the fuck out.

Drugs, booze, sex, music: the party would fucking rock.

Then, after about three or so days of that stuff, another month of hardcore working to make the whole place run smoothly again

D

Your city reflects absolutely NO Fi, and this Ni that you speak, ummm.. where is it?

:huh:

Anyhow, I'm talking to you on the phone...
 

Zarathustra

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My response is complete nonsense.

Now I understand, first hand, at least in this forum context, how when someone doesn't agree with you, they are not only wrong, but stupid.

For you are always right, oh wise sage.

I noticed the Se in your city, the Se and the Te, but you are smoking CRACK if you honestly believe that your city as described here, in your words

Reread your message and see how inflammatory it was...

You explicitly deemed my soul hellish; implicitly, you deemed it depressing and lacking in self-reflection.

The former, I can at least let slide, as it is simply your opinion.

The latter, however, was stated as complete fact.

That, I will not let slide.

***

The fact of the matter is that this is all coming from an ENFP who (admittedly) has underdeveloped tertiary Te.

Of course, my inner soul would seem hellish to you, but that does not mean that it is.

You are simply discriminating against the exact thing you actually need more of in your life: Te.

The medicine might not taste good, but it is exactly what you need...

Your city reflects absolutely NO Fi, and this Ni that you speak, ummm.. where is it?

Did you even read the entire paragraph I devoted to why your perception about this is completely off base?

[side rant: I swear, the most annoying thing about forums, email lists, etc. (and, unfortunately, people even do this face-to-face in real life) is that people don't even actually read/listen to what other people have to say/write... even clearly stated, well-articulated stuff...]

I dealt with this issue explicitly in the following paragraph:

With regards to the second (i.e., your lack of understanding of where Ni and Fi are tacit in my description): the plans, goals, and values towards which the city is striving come from a combination of Ni, Te, and Fi thinking. Te, being the extraverted Judging function, in the auxiliary position, would clearly be the most visible. But you have made the erroneous assumption that, simply because it is the most visible, it is the only function present... The truth, on the other hand, is that Ni possibilities and Fi values underlie all action towards which the citizens are working. Te is simply the function that drives the action to accomplish these possibilities and values.

How does your comment respond in even the slightest degree to the paragraph above?

It's like you didn't even read it...

Just went right by you...

:shock:
 

Zarathustra

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P.S. Sorry for the threadjack...

... this derail should be put in the "ENFP+INTJ=Disastrous Combo O' Love" thread...

:doh:
 

sculpting

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... this derail should be put in the "ENFP+INTJ=Disastrous Combo O' Love" thread...

please.

I put you guys to shame ;)

You guys are quite adorable and cute and you disagree over the proper structure of metaphorical cities in your mind. It makes me want to give both :hug:

*Scampers away yapping and laughing*
 

Yloh

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Now this sounds like fun. My city would be in three main parts.

The first part would look like the cities from the movie "Speed Racer". It would be very colorful and there would be lots of fun things to do there. This city would be about 20 miles from a tropical beach. This part of the city represents my extroverted side.

The second part would look like the wilderness from the movie "Avatar". This is where you can go to educate yourself about the world. This part of the city represents my deep side.

The third part would look like the Sahara Desert. I always find those kind of deserts to be very beautiful and those kind of deserts are often a theme in my dreams. I would go here to be alone and be at peace. This part of the city represents my introverted side.

People would live in all three parts and going from one part to another would be very easy.
 

You

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The city of mine? Well, first of all it'd be a metroplis. It would be a plot of land built out on the ocean. Not an island. It'd be totally manufactured. I saw this crap on the History Channel. True story...

Anyway, the people that lived there would all be refugees from destroyed lands, like Katrina survivors, Haitians, Ethiopians, and Pacific Islanders. Why Pacific Islanders? Because they are sexy, and so are Ethopians. The city would mostly make it's money on hobbyist, like fisherman, loggers, basketball team - all sorts of things people do, but placed on a grander scale for income.

It would serve as a great escape. Sort of like Las Vegas, but with a basketball team. It would be out in the Pacific, between California and Hawaii.

It'd be amazing, and everyone on the boards is invited!!!
 

nolla

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Officially the most self-pitying thread ever. Yay, good work NFs!!!

Ha! Yeah... :yes:

I've been thinking about another possible scenario for my town... It would be revolving around itself so that if you walked a street a couple of days ago, it wouldn't be there today. Also, there would be an invisible monster that goes around eating buildings and giving birth to new ones. The center of the city would be protected from the monster, but every now and then it would break through and change the structure. When that happens, everyone will think that the new center is better than the old one. If you happen to ask directions, you will be given a map drawn by a four-year-old. If you ask about the history of the city, you will get a lot of information about the general idea behind it and the future plans but not that much about the past.

The factory is a sweatshop producing art for everyday needs. The workers like their jobs, but have to have armed guards keeping them in, as they would rather work less. Whenever there is a distraction of some sort, everyone drops whatever they were doing and a party breaks loose. The guards will happily join in as they are just as tired with their jobs.

EDIT: Oh, and from the outside, the city would look like there is no movement at all, you would have to sit still for the whole day to see it. The time in the city is slowed down a lot. But, sometimes someone spices up the well and the city picks up speed and get to such a spin that half of the inhabitants die of exhaustion.

The government has some pretty interesting dynamics, too. The mayor seems to be a man, but most of the decisions have a certain feminine tone to them. This is because the mayor is a puppet for the real boss. In fact, most of the men in the city are kept around to make everything seem normal to outsiders. The police, the traders and the science team are men, but there are no other purposes for them, so the majority of the male children are put to sleep after birth and sacrificed to the invisible monster. But the men who are alive are actually better off than the women. It is forbidden for most women to ever leave the city, and overall their freedom is quite limited compared to the men. On special occasions there are diplomatic missions for women to some of the more important neighboring cities, but usually all the diplomacy is in the hands of men.

The invisible monster, btw, is the cornerstone of the local religion. It is both feared and worshiped. Mostly worshiped, because it keeps things interesting. Inspired by the monster, the elections are held in game show style and the five-year plan is selected randomly from a box of hand made fortune cookies.

The defense of the city-state is based on judo. Whenever there is an enemy that won't get tired of falling on its face, the city will grow legs and relocate. Usually the defense is not necessary, though, since the foreign policy is to have a number of loyal allies that are kept symbiotically close. But even with them, the motorway is often shut down. This is usually because the invisible monster has been playing around and the intersections need to be rebuilt.
 

runvardh

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It might be dead, it might not be. Toss the coin or look in the box, that's the only way to know...
 

angell_m

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My city:
main-beach-island.jpg


Items' my city would hold:
marlboro_red.jpg


Straw_Hat.jpg


iced.jpg
 

Liesl

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If my life were a city, every building would be magnificently constructed from white marble. Homes would be odd contemporary shapes with windows in place of some of the walls. Every living thing in the city would be thriving, every day being a celebration of life. Everyone would [hopefully] be filled with a sense of humility and gratitude for being so blessed to live in such wonderment and be so appreciated for their contributions to the world.

It would be a place where magical things would happen, a place governed by a vision of what life could be and not by what it has been like in the past.
 

skylights

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oh lord, this thread is like my dream come true.

but uh, holy crap, some of y'all have some depressing cities :sadbanana: :hug:

okay here's mine...

mine would be a city in green grassy hills, with small lakes everywhere. dirt paths bordered with patches of soft cool moss would wind all around the hills. spiral staircases would lead to houses, stores, sanctuaries, and temples both low and high in the trees, with hanging wooden bridges connecting the higher levels. there would be plenty of pretty areas (like walls of water, etc.) that exist just for the sake of existing, and tons and tons of places to explore. there'd be lots of fountains and windchimes, and tons of plants and vines and fragrant flowers in all different colors. the city would be illuminated by electric string lights, paper lanterns, and lampposts - eclectic but in good taste. the sky would be, normally, a bright azure blue, and occasionally dotted with white and neon-color clouds. and insanely colorful sunrises and sunsets. the weather would usually be pleasantly cool and sunny, with mild seasons. everyone would sleep longer in winter and less in summer..

people would be friendly, generally artistic and all a little strange. all different colors, shapes, customs, talents, and crazy makeup and jewelry/piercings/tattoos. some very refined and elegant people, and other kinda crazy nature kids, and lots of large families all living together. adventure sports would be common but people would pay a lot of attention to safety equipment - it's the only thing they're really neurotic about. bizarre creatures would wander around as well, mostly curious/friendly, all wild but some choosing to bond with families like pets. there'd be regular (fairly disorganized) festivals with meaningful ceremonies and regular group singing. they'd celebrate some undefined greater life spirit that comprises everyone and everything. little idea-fairies would flit about in glowing neon colors and lead kids on fun little adventures. there would be symbols from many different languages inscribed everywhere, all sensical but many unfamiliar. the primary language would be clear, melodic and have regular conjugation... sort of like halfway between french and finnish. placenames would be long but pretty. alternatively, people would just speak in images.

the people would also all like to gather together and start big projects, but some people would still wander around the outskirts because they are rebels and feel like doing their own thing. and, sometimes, they would distract everyone just for the fun of it, or because they feel like what they're doing is honestly more important. everyone else thinks this is kind of amusing but really annoying when there is an actual problem to be solved. rarely they have to be tazed/knocked out for their own good - more about that later.

when it turns nighttime, the city transforms into a vibrant gritty nightlife, full of nooks and crannies and dark places to hide and search, techno music with a pumping bassline, neons lights and tons of stars (and occasionally random planets) in the deep black sky, fireworks and people in all black long coats and high boots working in seeming rebellion for the greater good of the people. everyone would have tons of sweet techno gadgets like hoverboards and headsets and DDR (some gadgets obviously being more productive than others). and non-fatal weapons, in case the outside world threatens to disturb the city's sense of self-sufficiency. sleep sounds like a good idea but doesn't always happen because everyone's too into their projects.

on the edges of the city, there would be idyllic farms and lots of horses and cows and the occasional herbivorous dino, and roads to other places - there would be tons of trade going on all the time, because the people are interested in everything. and occasionally, the trade influx would be so great that everyone would wake up to discover that the city has been engulfed by foreign artifacts, to the extent that it has transformed into some kind of theme, like a scottish castle or a shinto temple - it dwindles after a few days, but some artifacts will always hang around.

further out, past the farms, would be oceans, deserts, moors, and forests where people can go alone to relax and contemplate. they're a little scary, though, sometimes, the infiniteness of them - and occasionally even in the middle of the city things can disappear slowly, if no one pays enough attention to them, even if they are good. sometimes the city doesn't remember all of its own history, especially if it was not so positive. there are lingering fears and anxieties in certain places, sometimes triggered by even vague references. the people are very interested in inter-city politics, but have a defensive streak. they get upset when other cities forbid certain things, even though it borders on being none of their business. the city also really like to be celebrated and awarded and talked about, especially by its favorite other city. it can even be a little bit snobby, even though it tries to be a haven. its worst fear is being cut off from everyone, forever.

thunderstorms would sweep in occasionally, dark and chaotic and full of lightening and heavy rain, and the people have to seek refuge in their homes. sometimes, if the storms go on too long, there can be damaging flooding, even trees down. and when there's real trouble, everyone freezes and puts everything on hold except that one task. if you're not on board with the agenda, you get knocked unconscious by the people who are, to ensure maximum efficiency. unfortunately, that means sometimes the city loses sight of some of its important ideals in the process of handling crises. it can be very rigid, critical, and high-intensity.

but when the crisis is over... well, back to the whimsical, adventurous everyday life :]

yup, favorite thread ever :D

EDIT -- well i didn't even answer the question, did i? i think that most people would really enjoy staying in my city for a while, but you would have to be okay with quirky things and really intense projects and a bit of anxiety to live there, as well as lots and lots of colors. and being knocked out if you're not helpful during stressful times. and occasional group singing.
 
Last edited:

skylights

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I can see.. :smile::yes: Cool city you have there.

hehe thank you :3

btw i loved this from yours...
Also, there would be an invisible monster that goes around eating buildings and giving birth to new ones

all of a sudden a trail of new buildings just pops out of nowhere, i love it. do you mind if i ask where in finland you are, btw? i lived for a little while in jyväskylä :]


anyway some favorites of mine...

Sytpg said:
Mine would have fanciful architecture that was structurally not so sound. Eye grabbing but not taking the laws of physics into account.
haha yay neglible gravity!
Orobas said:
My city sits in the water-in an ocean, with no land in site. It is very massive, totally black and shaped a bit like a tulip. [...] the sun can shine between the petals for brief stretches of time, but in the city an elaborate system of mirrors is in place to lengthen the daylight as needed. Everyone has balconies that line the inside of the petals to maximize the sunlight they receive. From the outside it is rather stark and severe, but due to the way the sunlight is captured and reflected, in the inside there is always a warm glow.
this is lovely :] you sound dark and elegant but well-guarded and a bit forboding from the outside. and our storms sound very similar
noigm said:
Everyone's job would be to build "the tower", but they'd only work three days a week and have irregular work times.
my kinda job, sounds like P paradise
Yloh said:
The third part would look like the Sahara Desert. I always find those kind of deserts to be very beautiful
me too. there's something so peaceful and inspiring, but rugged and challenging at the same time.
Liesl said:
If my life were a city, every building would be magnificently constructed from white marble. Homes would be odd contemporary shapes with windows in place of some of the walls. Every living thing in the city would be thriving, every day being a celebration of life. Everyone would [hopefully] be filled with a sense of humility and gratitude for being so blessed to live in such wonderment and be so appreciated for their contributions to the world. It would be a place where magical things would happen, a place governed by a vision of what life could be and not by what it has been like in the past.
so beautiful :)
 

nolla

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do you mind if i ask where in finland you are, btw? i lived for a little while in jyväskylä :]

In Helsinki. Just moved a couple of months ago. Before that I lived in Kouvola. I think I've never even been to Jyväskylä. Was it any good? (it all looks pretty same to me :D)
 

gromit

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I feel a little dumb, but I do not know if I understand this question...
 
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Gromit,
simply imagine a city, and then imagine that someone whom you love very dearly was about to move into that city....(that's the basic premise----some more questions below)

where do you think this person would want to go in that city? Would he/she want to stay at a cheap motel for a few nights then leave? Maybe they would want to stay at your finest hotel, then leave? Maybe they'd want to buy a house, and flip it, in order to make a profit....

The questions are endless, have fun!
 

skylights

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In Helsinki. Just moved a couple of months ago. Before that I lived in Kouvola. I think I've never even been to Jyväskylä. Was it any good? (it all looks pretty same to me :D)

i really enjoyed it, but yeah i just looked at photos of kouvola and they look alike lol. i was attending the university and it was a really good place to live. i always thought it would be an excellent place to raise children because it's so safe. quiet in comparison to where i live in the states, and a smaller city, but also cleaner and everyone walks and bikes instead of driving their cars everywhere, which was nice as well. the city center had lots of good shopping and restaurants... and of course i had a lot of fun exploring the forests and playing on the big lake in the middle of the city when it froze! i really enjoyed the lakes in summer too. it took me a while to get used to the very short days in the winter haha - i always wanted to go to sleep around 4 pm! my street name was roninmäentie and it took me almost 3 months to be able to pronounce it :D it was so impressive to me how most people spoke finnish, and english, and "a little" (a lot of) swedish, and usually something else too.. hmm i miss the nature and the food now lol. i liked helsinki a lot, i wish i had been able to spend more time there. it seemed like a fun place.
 
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