My Name is Legion

So after the other day's "Conversation" post, I thought about who exactly was talking. In it, it's all "Me, Me, Me" (some of my friends may be used to this by now).

So I'm no psych major or anything (I have enough undergrad degrees thanks) but know about things like Ego, Id and Superego etc. But I think I've been able to identify five distinct voices in my head. I've given them names.

DaVinci, the creator. He's the one who comes up with the hair brained schemes, the novels never written, the projects never completed. Not the loudest voice in the bunch, but the most easily distracted. And the one usually that keeps the others up to 2 AM coming up with universes, stand-up routines, delusions of grandeur etc.

Ludd, the appetite. Again, not loud, but certainly persistant. Speaks only in nouns. Has a well-developed appreciation for technology. Generally good-natured, except when it comes to smoking, then he can get very, very insistent.

Hal, the logical. Always thinking, always positing scenarios. And also the critic, he he always yammering advice to everyone. Can be a bit mean.

Cromwell, the taskmaster. A classic Superego. He takes on all the responsibilites. Used to be the leader of the pack, but has been subsumed over the past decade or so after some bad decisions. Always strives to 'do good', but can be shouted down quite easily depending on the situation.

Zen the mystic. Almost mute until a few years ago, he's the one that "goes with the flow" and brings calm to the rest. Can take it too far at times, turning into a slacker rather than a serene being.

Of course the interplay of these personalities is always interesting.

Zen and Cromwell are always at odds, but can manage trade-offs (with Hal negotiating). Zen's ascendency is directly attributable to Cromwell's loss of total control.

Hal is pretty much the boss at work (with Cromwell making sure he keeps on track), although DaVinci is often called in when straight-forward reasoning doesn't work. The three can do amazing things working in concert, but this is usually short-lived as DaVinci gets side-stepped by potentials, drags Hal along for analysis capabilities, and leaves Cromwell seething. Then Ludd pipes up and demands nicotine.

DaVinci and Hal get along well, often too well. They come up with some great ideas with some good thought to execution, but often get blindsided by Zen (or sometimes Ludd).

Ludd is a nice guy, always willing to pipe up, but is very easily distracted. However he can totally spaz and nobody gets any work done until they shut him up. While the urge to play games etc usually comes from him (and most can agree, although Cromwell is known to get annoyed) actually obtaining new distractions goes through the whole committee.

The one thing that all can (usually) agree on is the gym. Cromwell thinks it's a great way to stay in shape, Hal likes the 30 minutes spent on the bike reading, DaVinci pretty much takes over cognative functions during weight training, Zen thinks it's a great way to meditate and Ludd gets to look at... well you get the idea.

Anything else though, there's never a consensus.