Projections

In my entry about Power and Authority, I mentioned "projection". I'm sure there is a more common name for this technique, but I have not come across it in my shamefully poor scholarship.

Projection to me is carrying an idea and playing it out on a different scale (smaller or larger).

First, I have the idea/concept: "Police that abuse their authority" in the last entry's example.

Second, I unravel the definition (in the sense that I ask what it means to me). At that moment, based on the general theme of the album, the most relevant meaning for me was: "respected, powerful people using that power against others unfairly."

Third, I expand/contract the stage on which the idea was presented. Instead of the interactions of people on the street, the stage becomes the interactions of nations on Earth.

I use this technique a lot in my writing. It helps me uncover ideas which could pass for fundamental truths. It helps me see the basic nature of life's drama as it repeats itself over and again with different actors, scopes and results.