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Definition Bedrock
People don't often step back and look at the importance of definition. It is like air or water. We just take it for granted. But without definition we would not exist. It is the bedrock of self reflective consciousness. It is the foundation of a reading in terms of the Four Views - Definition, Type, Authority, Profile. Without definition you can't know Type or Authority.
It is definition that differentiates us from the totality. All the defined lines, gates, channels and centers in your chart is what makes you different from the guy next door. And don't forget that under the lines in your chart is Color. Under color is Tone, and under tone is Base. The variations of differentiation are enormous.
When you look at what is defined you are seeing what makes you stand out from the crowd. It is fixed, consistent and will forever by YOU. Trust it, get to know it, and hopefully love it - not because it is good or bad since it will be both, but because it is what makes you special.
We are all pieces of crystal from a very large crystal that shattered a long time ago. Nobody in the world has your crystal. You are like a diamond that can't be reproduced. And the place you occupy in the world can't be occupied by any other shaped diamond. Definition is really where we can find something consistent to love.
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Nature vs. Nurture
Did you ever see the movie "Trading Places"? Two rich old men disagree over whether human behavior is the result of environment (nurture) or genetics (nature). So the two men make a bet.
They take a successful white guy (Dan Aykroyd) and reduce him to poverty. They take a poor black guy (Eddie Murphy) and make him very successful.
The old man who thinks human behavior is based on nature bets that Aykroyd's character will break out of poverty and Murphy's character will screw everything up, thus proving that a person's character (winner - Aykroyd, crook - Murphy) is genetic.
The other old man thinks human behavior is based on nurture and bets that Aykroyd's character will be influenced by his new surroundings and remain poor, while Murphy's character will continue to be successful now that he has the conditioning of his new environment.
What eventually happens is both Aykroyd's and Murphy's characters realize they are being screwed around. They fight back and the movie ends with both characters chilling on a tropical island with lots of money and happiness.
The Moral of the Story: It's ok to screw other people if they screwed you first!
No seriously, from the Design perspective the moral of the story is that it is neither nature nor nurture but rather we are all moving along our own individual path and nobody has any control over that. There really is no choice.
But more importantly for this section, we see in the movie that you really can't isolate nature from nurture.
Nature AND Nurture
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Sociologists have argued for centuries the importance of environment vs. genetics. Is it nature or nurture that allows some people to succeed while others fail? Are we born criminals or does the neighborhood you grow up in make us criminals. If your parents went to college the chances are exponentially higher that you will too compared to a person who's parents didn't go to college. Is this fact an example of brains or parental support?
In Design this is not an issue. Just take one look at a chart. The defined elements are your nature and the undefined elements are your nurture. Both play a part. Case closed.
Everything that is defined in your chart is inherited from your parents and entire ancestry. This is the energy you put out in the world. Because your ancestry is many thousands of years old, it is not possible to conclude that one family is dumber than another genetically by simply looking at how many people in a family went to college. You'd have to look back thousands of years for it to really be an accurate conclusion. And if you did look back that far you'd see the families are related anyway!
Everything that is undefined in your chart is what you take in from the environment. This is where you get influenced by your friends. This is where you change (at least temporarily). Have you ever had a best friend who get's a girlfriend or boyfriend and they totally change? It feels like you've lost your friend. That is usually because the new girlfriend or boyfriend has something defined that is conditioning your best friend.
We are a Synthesis
Even thought the defined parts in your chart are you and the undefined are not you in the sense that you take in energy from others via the open places in your chart, keep in mind that who you are overall is a synthesis of both. You might have a defined throat and that certainly is who you are. And if you have an open root that is where you take in the "Not Self" stress of other people's root energy, i.e. you can be pulled away from the truth of your defined throat though stress.
So in that sense, the open root can be who you are not because it is where elements that aren't you can be put inside you, like an open door for strangers. But that is definitely you. You would be a person who is vulnerable to external stress that pulls you away from the truth of your defined throat.