A521.7.4.RB_SchreterPaul

               The use of stories to share knowledge is absolutely amazing. This is awesome especially when all parties get to be involved in the creating of a story and incredibly complex ideas/knowledge can be derived from this story. What I’m talking about specifically is a little game I like to call, The Cube.

               The Cube is something I’d like to share from my personal experience because it’s a knowledge sharing story where I, the director, allow another person, the narrator, to come up with their own story. What makes this incredible is the fact that both parties gain incredibly deep insight into the lives of the narrator.

If you've never heard of the cube, now is your chance to experience it. Since this is a blog and not something being conducted in real life, I won’t be able to fine tune it towards you. Instead you’ll get something rather generic, but perhaps insightful anyways. You can derive your own meaning and figure out what works best for you. Seriously, try it and let me know how it goes.

Let us begin:

 I want you to imagine a desert. In this desert, there is a cube.

·        How big is this cube?

·        Is it floating or on the ground?

·        What color is the cube? How do you feel about that color?

·        Is it transparent or solid?

Now I want you to imagine a ladder.

·        Where is this ladder relative to the cube?

·        Is it leaning against the cube?

·        How big is the ladder?

Imagine a horse.

·        Where is the horse relative to the cube?

·        Is the horse tied down? Is there a saddle?

·        What color is the horse? How do you feel about that color?

·        Describe the personality of the horse.

Imagine a flower(s).

·        How many flowers are there?

·        Where are these flowers relative to the cube?

·        How do you feel about these flowers?

Imagine a storm.

·        Where is the storm relative to the cube?

·        How big or small is this storm?

·        Is the storm heading towards the cube or in another direction?

Okay, after you've answered all the questions (and only after you answered all the questions), read on to figure out what they mean:

Cube: The relative size of the cube represents how you think of yourself. Perhaps the size of your ego. If the cube is on the ground, it means that you are generally a well-grounded person. The higher up the cube is off the ground, the more imaginative you are. The color and how you feel about that color is another way of how you see yourself or how you want others to see you. Relative transparency is how easy it is for other people to see through you.

Ladder: The ladder represents your friends. The distance between cube and ladder is the emotional/physical distance between you and friends. The relative size of the ladder is relative to how you feel about them. If the ladder is leaning on the cube, this could mean that sometimes your friends rely on you for support.

Horse: The horse represents your ideal mate or significant other. Distance between horse and cube is the distance between this other person and you. If the horse is tied down or with a saddle, then you like to have control in the relationship. What you feel about this horse in terms of color or personality is how you see your ideal mate or your significant other.

Flowers: Flowers represent children. The amount of flowers represents how you feel about them (not necessarily the amount you want to have). Distance to these flowers represent distance between you and what you would like.

Storm: The storm represents problems or obstacles in life. Distance between the storm and the cube represent the distance these problems or obstacles are to you. The size of the storm represent how stressful you might find these things in life to be. The direction the storm is traveling represent the possible direction these problems or obstacles are going to go relative to you.

So how did that go?

I’ve got other personality tests as well, but The Cube is the one I think is most insightful. I like to use it as a potential screening tool for potential mates because it’s a fun way to discuss how the other person thinks about themselves, their relationships with their friends, what they look for in another person, how they feel about children, and what major problems or stresses they have in life. Sure, I could just ask these questions directly and flat out, but then they might take it as getting too personal, too fast. By turning it into a story and a game that they become involved with, they are more likely to divulge information they might not otherwise do. Not only can they learn great things about themselves, but so can I!