How Generations See Each Other – Part 17 – On the Generations
The most fundamental generational concept is that the members of the cohort perceive the world in a common way and that this way differs from how members of other cohorts see the world. When we say the world we don’t mean the events, politics, culture, or any of that. We mean the fundamental, physically reality of the world – how things work. In your world, fruit that comes loose on the tree falls to the ground. To understand a person of another generation you have to consider that in their world, something different may happen, and to them it’s just as ordinary as what happens in your world is to you. Now of course they share the same fundamental physics which dictate that a heavy piece of fruit – insufficiently supported by the branch – will be pulled toward the ground. Instead, things differ between generations in how they play out in more complex event patterns – this is about time, not gravity – so rather than how things work it is closer to how things go. It is the effect of being born to a time that imprints us with these different patterns and the myriad traits that come to exemplify a “generation” are merely downstream of these fundamental differences. Over the decades lives unfold and perspectives, discernment, and expectations mature and establish themselves in recognizable ways, again downstream from those fundamental differences. What becomes the standards and expectations of one generation is determined by their point of view and these points of view differ, as this series has attempted to thoroughly demonstrate. Let us now explore those points of view when applied through the generational lens.
Point of view is ultimately about bias and perspective. We take for granted what we can comprehend or do and we are privileged to see things from an angle that others outside of our cohort will not. As a result the way one generation sees others is not necessarily “correct” in any grand universal sense. They might be entirely wrong, unfair, cruel, whatever, but the merit of their perspective is not as useful as knowing what that perspective is. If you know how one generation will view another’s actions, behaviors, and decisions, you will be able to communicate much more effectively across these generational gaps, but it also lets you discover a different set of abilities and ways in the world which may prove valuable and useful to you. Notably, the values of a person aren’t something you see well from a distance – it takes time and experience to see what Pluto is doing in their lives. For that reason we will primarily focus on Uranus and Neptune and the visible impact they have on thinking and aesthetic sensibilities. That is what we present most readily to the world, and that is what the world most readily responds to in us.
For each generation we will provide two key words, one responding to the Uranus placement, and the other to the Neptune placement, for each of the other generations.
To the Baby Boomer, subsequent generations appear as such:
Generation Jones: calculating, edgy
Generation X: neurotic, challenging
Blank Generation: suspicious, adventurous
Millennial: foolish, interesting
Gen Z: contrarian, disruptive
Gen Alpha: fun, random
To Generation Jones, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: inspiring, beautiful
Generation X: pedantic, cool
Blank Generation: clever, wild
Millennial: creative, snobby
Gen Z: contrarian, original
Gen Alpha: cool, agreeable
To Generation X, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: egotistical, shallow
Generation Jones: scheming, trailblazing
Blank Generation: clever, agreeable
Millennial: interesting, rigid
Gen Z: confusing, corny
Gen Alpha: determined, beautiful
To the Blank Generation, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: delusional, fun
Generation Jones: egotistical, agreeable
Generation X: pretentious, interesting
Millennial: obnoxious, bland
Gen Z: inspiring, corny
Gen Alpha: creative, calm
To the Millennial, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: frustrating, corny
Generation Jones: inspiring, agreeable
Generation X: foolish, fun
Blank Generation: arrogant, inspiring
Gen Z: egotistical, disruptive
Gen Alpha: challenging, beautiful
To Gen Z, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: self-centered, beautiful
Generation Jones: egotistical, corny
Generation X: inspiring, edgy
Blank Generation: cavalier, fun
Millennial: dumb, boring
Gen Alpha: assertive, agreeable
To Gen Alpha, other generations appear as such:
Baby Boomers: confusing, inspiring
Generation Jones: self-centered, edgy
Generation X: stubborn, beautiful
Blank Generation: capable, adventurous
Millennial: conventional, fun
Gen Z: inspiring, stubborn
The next time you communicate across a generational line keep in mind that you have assumptions about them based upon your point of view, and that this other person has assumptions of their own. Are they talking down to you because they’re jerks, or just because they assumed that you are dumb? If you show that you are not dumb, might they then talk to you differently? Remember that none of these perspectives are correct, nor is it necessary for them to be. If you can’t see something clearly because a tree blocks your view, are you condemned to this circumstance? No, you are not, because you have the easy ability to step a few feet to one side and alter the perspective, opening up a clear view. Can the tree do the same?
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