May 31, 2025
I am not a psychologist, and all I have is an obligatory introductory psychology course taken at university, several psychology subjects, and a certain interest in psychology. Everything written here reflects my own thoughts after reading Kurpatov’s book "Троица" ("The Trinity"), watching videos on his channel, and through my own experience interacting with other people.
If, like me, you are someone whose schizoid radical dominates, while the histeroid and neurotic ones are weakly expressed, the world and society may often seem chaotic, arbitrary, devoid of logic, not obeying any known laws — or, at best, obeying unknown laws that are impossible to discover and whose fairness seems doubtful. At the same time, you may be genuinely interested in how society functions from various perspectives (without a specific goal), yet still struggle to “grasp the essence” (even partially or illusorily, but in a way that could serve as a stepping stone to deeper understanding).
As we know, the dominant instinct of a schizoid is the safety instinct. So all of the points listed below are aimed at serving that safety instinct, and first and foremost, creating the safest possible environment to engage in the two most important activities — study and work.
The main motivation will always be “increased safety.”
The second motivation involves curiosity — “to feel the pleasure of understanding the beauty and logic of the world, to see that it follows patterns, that its laws are fair, and therefore perfect and beautiful.” In other words, by following the points, you can better understand reality and experience this.
Let’s not forget the other name for the schizoid — the ethical type. Thus, the points will also touch on altruistic motivation (“to improve the quality of life for yourself and others,” “to contribute to the prosperity of society and humanity, as it helps you feel a sense of belonging and grow yourself”), which, although unlikely to be strong enough to break through all obstacles (unless you are a passionary), will definitely be stronger than motivations like “to impress,” “to be praised,” “to be better than everyone,” “to shine,” “to be the center of attention,” “to be in the spotlight and talked about,” etc. — which usually don’t work at all or only for a short while. In extreme cases, you can always remember ethnographer Bronisław Malinowski, who wrote a fundamental work on the Papuan aborigines and forced himself every morning to go out and communicate with them during his research.
Kurpatov himself says that an overexpressed radical (in the absence of high intelligence) always leads to many problems:
Поэтому большая часть из тех, кто находится на данном полюсе «особенных людей»
с перекрученными «радикалами», конечно, не слишком успешны. И это мягко сказано.
Как правило, такая «чрезвычайность» психического устройства приводит людей не к
победам и не к покорению социального Олимпа – к деньгам, власти и славе, а наоборот – к
провалам и поражениям (pp. 390-391) (Therefore, most of those on the “special people” pole with twisted “radicals” are not very successful. And that’s putting it mildly. Typically, such “extremes” in psychic structure do not lead people to victory or climbing the social Olympus — to money, power, and fame — but rather to failures and defeats.)
«Радикалы» на то и «радикалы», что создают окружающим массу проблем или, по крайней мере, беспокойств. Никто выскочек не любит, а прокрустово ложе – это вообще жизненное
кредо любого общества (p. 393) (“Radicals” are called so because they create a lot of problems or, at the very least, worries for others. Nobody likes show-offs, and the Procrustean bed is the life motto of any society.)
Let’s be honest: we schizoids really love histeroids. And who doesn't? Who wouldn’t admire a true histeroid — someone who not only knows how to get admiration but can also handle it when that admiration isn’t openly or abundantly shown? When something affects your senses directly, bringing delight, but you can’t analytically deconstruct it — that’s the reason, as Kurpatov said, "why schizoid boys fall for histeroid girls."
In my opinion, one of the main reasons to develop the histeroid radical is to gain the ability to create a product that inspires people to go out and do something great. Although the safety instinct still plays a role — a person capable of creating such products will, all other things being equal, always be safer (due to their higher value) than someone who is not interested in such things. Their life will be brighter, more interesting, and more joyful (even internally)
Watch real-life histrionics or characters on screen. Try directly imitating them in front of a mirror
Sometimes I get the impression that neurotics are the most numerous type. We live among neurotics. And these people, though “neurotic” and responsible, sometimes create a sense of incredible comfort — like being in the womb. But we should never forget their dominant hierarchical instinct, which makes them rather toothy and ready to bare those teeth when that instinct is threatened.
A well-developed neurotic radical imho feels like: “You feel very comfortable with the person, they never touch your ego painfully, on the contrary — you feel great next to them, just good. You are loved, and you are wonderful just as you are.” This is a great skill worth developing. Again, there is an altruistic aspect (making others feel good), but also the drive for greater safety — you avoid the teeth of neurotics and thus save your nerves and energy for better things, like studying and working.
Interact with people, observe your reactions and theirs. Make it your principle: people should feel comfortable with you — if you like them at least a little. If not, just minimize communication
You may have to go to university or just read books, watch videos, or listen to lectures. But learning will always be necessary — and in large quantities.
On the one hand, our schizoid thinking is quite flexible. We’re less likely to invent some non-existent “essence” and treat it as ultimate truth. We are often curious about things for their own sake. We notice contradictions and are ready to change our point of view. On the other hand, it’s hard to see new perspectives on a subject unless you’ve studied tons of material and developed your neurotic radical — through fruitful, interesting communication with many people and by accumulating experience.
Used literature:
Комплект книг: Красная таблетка. Посмотри правде в глаза / Красная таблетка-2. Вся правда об успехе / Троица. Будь больше самого себя (на litres.ru)
Recommended literature:
Троица. Будь больше самого себя
"Троица" | лекции в Академии смысла на YouTube