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PHQ | QUESTIONS FROM COMMUNITY: In this episode Joel and Antonia answer a question about music type theory and the idea of having a donation button on the Personality Hacker website.
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39 comments
Well, maybe I’m taking this too far, but the golden ratio – which is said by some to appear in numerous places throughout nature is 1.6(18….) – and according to a quick google search, there appears to be some relationship between it and the circle of fifths….
On a (tangentially) related note, are there any music theorists out there that have studied how specific types of music affect mood? I know that certain apps use algorithms to try to match music to mood, and I want to learn how it works in order to create a tool for alleviating depression. The apps in their current form fall short because when someone is depressed, a play list matching their mood will just make them more depressed, and listening to uplifting music doesn’t usually help until the person can get into a receptive state for that music. I think that there is probably a way to gradually take a person out of a depressive state with a few tweaks of the algorithm….
P.S. Antonia and Joel, what great, insightful work you do! I see absolutely no problem with a donate button. If people see value in your work and want to pay for it (either in addition to or instead of the products that you sell), there should be a mechanism for it. Kudos on a great job!
Tyler, that is incredibly kind. I couldn’t accept such generosity—while I may be a poor grad student, I’m far from destitute, and feel such charity would be more beneficial spent on someone who is in greater need of it. Thank-you nonetheless for the thought.
Regarding the PHQ, the Robert Laughlin quote might be helpful:
“It represents the tension between two poles of thought, which drives processes of understanding the world the way the tension between the tonic and the dominant drives a classical sonata. At any one time in history a given pole may be stronger than the other, but its predominance is only temporary for the essence of the plot is the conflict itself.”
Currently reading Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope”. He mentions on more than one occasion the tension between the two opposing poles of thought, present in every person and every society, as the drive behind democracy (and us).
It might simply be a convenient coincidence. 8 notes in the octave, 8 cognitive functions. 16 keys in the circle of fifths (again, counting C twice as you do in the octave), 16 MBTI types.
This was one of the best PHQ that I have listened to. I would be willing to donate but in a different fashion than you talked about. I would be much more will to purchase premium content for someone like Taylor. I have purchased some premium content and found it very beneficial. After hearing Taylor’s theroy I am confident he is the type of person that would really benefit from premium content.
I feel this is a win win scenario. Personally hacker gets to maintain their current business model, and other listener get the benefit of the premium content.
Wow, thanks Antonia and Joel for discussing my theory, much appreciated. And yes, I do see your point on the donations, thank-you for explaining.
Even if my music idea doesn’t make sense (or is complete rubbish, which I concede it might be), it is a nice metaphor nonetheless— humanity is like the octave. Before the equal tempered instruments we have today in western music, the tonal imperfections of the scale were contained on one note called the wolf. In an equal tempered octave however, the imperfections are spread between each note, so the octave as a whole is perfect.
Humanity is like the octave. Each person has a piece of imperfection, but together as a whole we are perfect.
I have developed the idea further, if anyone is interested.
When I tell people about personality type and they get upset about being put in a box or given a label, I tell them personality type is a lot like musical keys. Saying a song is in C major doesn’t tell me what the song sounds like itself. It does however tell me what patterns of chord progressions I’m likely to see. It tells me certain guidelines and loose rules, but there are still infinite possibilities for songs written in C. No two ISFJs or ENTPs will be alike, there are infinite possibilities, but type like a key signature, type will tell you what patterns are likely to emerge, and what rules that persons melody is likely to follow.