I tried to add variety to each playlist, to showcase the ways that each Chromatype can be lovesick, mad, betrayed, passionate, disciplined, smart. This is why I tried to have at least one sad song and a club song in each! I also wanted you to have a song you like under each color, that is fun for you to think about because you like it. 

If I pick a band, I would try to check if their other songs are of the same color. It is not always the case that if you generally practice Blue in your life, that you would make Blue music, but insofar as music is hard and people are “trying to do a thing in music,” it would be surprising if a band had only one Blue song, and not any other Blue songs at all. That would suggest to me they may not actually be doing a Blue thing. And so I would check a few songs and see if the pattern I think I see, I also see in some other songs by the same artist. Some songs are are dual-colors, but I placed them in one playlist for simplicity’s sake, but if you think “oh that seems Blue/Black” it might be. Some songs meanwhile are that straight color. 

BLUE

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2zeXhLff4TnzExHpMMmR50?si=3a22234463d249f2

BLACK

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3tnn4ITe24ruXhuFj78ltG?si=c00f7483ee9d4a6d

GREEN

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7jLjng45Y8RHLy8qFjaNDF?si=c53d800bc3fc4e2f

WHITE

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3JbL9XfceZJZoApwHK5Pow?si=6d7a11ba6d924b4e

RED

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7xRLnAyDQosl2jjKsRL7Gb?si=e6876a8a669d4bee

Additional “instrumental only” Playlist with one song for each color, in a melancholy mood. Can you guess which song is intended for which color, based on what it does with its melancholy mood? Ask me for answers!

INSTRUMENTAL ONLY

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0jx3c8aortqNjFPKXuCjdd?si=6c20f3a91adb4045

I do think each color has “bleakness” that it tries to tap into with music–its own kinds of existential despairs and hopelessnesses that get “metabolized with its music” as part of the larger system of existing in that color space. In part, I am also looking at “what gets metabolized” when distinguishing colors of songs. 

I also want to mention that I am by no means a musical connoisseur. My database of music is not particularly large! Most of this music is from my existing playlists over the years and bands I happen to know, with me going through and listening to songs, and then thinking “where would this go?”. 

I do think there are patterns in lyrical themes, but this is in beta! 

Green 

The timing of green tends to “go back to a central point.” You see that even in the intense song, “Cool for Chaos,” by Nostalghia that the song returns back to its center. 

Lyrical slices of Green songs sometimes do have a pattern of noticing the individual’s relationship to a much larger whole. 

All music “moves forward” because of how time works, but for Green, there is often a symphony of sound, or a circularity of sound, to create a feeling of “staying still with something” and to slow down time. “Paris, Texas” by Lana Del Rey is a playful, trickstery song, but it still has these features and that is why I put it in Green. 

The “whole feeling” and circularity does not have to lead back to something “stable” or nice feeling, necessarily, which is why I included “Mot Mot” under green. A hurricane is “whole” but not pleasant! There are a lot of sharpnesses in this song, but it still follows this. 

Sad Green songs can sound “swampy.” 

In “Young and Beautiful,” the lyrics seem to be talking to another person, “Will you still love me when I’m no longer young and beautiful?” but the core emotions in the song are rooted in these lines: “All that grace, all that body. All that face makes me wanna party. He's my sun, he makes me shine like diamonds.” Green lyrics tend to revolve around the inner experience of the experiencer, as related to something much grander. 

Red 

Red is experience-maxxing. If the song lyrics really are not making sense, then there’s a good chance that it’s Red. For Red, the lyrics are there to make an experiential point. It’s the most likely of the colors to include a line “because it sounds good” or because it makes a good joke, squeezing the other musical elements to “make it make sense,” and Red can have “non-sequiturs” in the lyrical narrative. In this way, Red is big on something approximating “instantaneous time.” 

If a song seems like “you have no idea how it is even hanging together” then it is likely Red. 

I included some sad songs, “Compliments” and “Signs” by Bloc Party, to show that a Red song does not necessitate certain kinds of intense passion or electric guitars and loud drums. 

Red can be punchy about its bitterness. Of all the types, Red can tune most precisely into acrid bitterness. You can see this in The Mountain Goats’ song, “No Children” – “I hppe you die, I hope we both die.” Red can also be trickstery, such as in “International Small Arms Traffic Blues” by The Mountain Goats. 

Red songs have a lot of “You” lyrics – a theoretical experiencer, a somebody being directly spoken to, and if there is a situation, it is often the insinuation of a hyper-specific situation. 

If there is repetition in Red, it is often that the repeated part is the “feature.” If many parts seem like they are repeated, that is because they are all the feature. “Hands In The Dark” is like this–each repeated part seems like it is the “favorite part,” even though this means the entire song is composed of favorite parts.  

Black 

Black songs can be complicated, but you still get a sense that you know where “everything is” even when there are harmonies. Though there is merging, you can track things down if you are trying to. It is easy to picture a very well-organizeed DJ, adding more and more complications just because they know how to and so they can. A good example of what I mean is “HERZ” by RYSY.  

The lyrics of black are unusually straightforward. “I like the way you kiss me, I can tell you miss me. I can tell it hits, hits hits hits.” “Do I stress you out? Can I help you out? Does it turn you on when I turn you around?” 

The clarity is the point and the art, for black. If you find yourself taken aback by seemingly simple or almost childish lyrics, there is a good chance this is Black. Black can be fun and trickstery, but it is different from Red because Red goes more for immediate effect and sharpness, and Black goes for more joint understanding of the joke.

Black does a kind of “communicative self-awareness” as seen with Lorde. 

If there is repetition in Black, it is to double down and clarify. If you weren’t paying attention the first time, or did not understand what was happening, the repetition is to give you a few more tries to localize your awareness of what it’s showing you. In “Hangry,” the same main melody is repeated, and other instruments are harmonized to show you just what that melody is like and what it can do next to various other things. The main vocals come in a minute before the song ends, after a 5-minute set-up.  

Blue

Blue songs are the most “forward-moving” and the ones with the most straightforward relationship to linear time. The harmonies and lyrics form a “braid,” like paths elegantly crossing. Imagine a person scoring a song on their computer, each recorded instrument one at a time, with the different tracks in Logic, satisfied with each one individually, and then pleased with how they work when they are all played together.  

If there is repetition, the point of the repetition is that “the second time is different, because time had passed” and including it a second time showcases the difference and the passing of time. Sometimes it is to drive momentum to get to a different part of the song (“Midnight City”). Blue is most likely to have a thread stop, so that another thread can come in and shine. 

I included “Disarm” by Smashing Pumpkins because this a song that feels like it could be Red or Black, but actually it is passionate Blue. You can tell based on its patterns of strain. 

Blue plays around with actions, generally, as its main substrate. In music, Blue aims to connect the actions to deeper meaning and deeper feeling. In “Disarm,” the lyrics strain to make sense – but they still have not given up making sense, and are still constrained to the general “process-focused” orientation of the song. There are no lyrical sounds that are “out of place.” 

Lyrical themes are often about “things happening” or the possibilities of things happening. Either a regretful past or a hopeful future, with some pauses to describe the present. 

Blue can include large anthem qualities, like White, but for Blue there is often a distance in the parts of the song, between a grounded reality and the “hope” of the Anthem Wholeness. Rather being “present,” the wholeness feels somewhere in either in the future or “higher up.” 

When Blue is instrumental, the different sounds can sound like a “conversation is happening in sound.” It almost sounds like a conversation that could really happen. 

White 

Like Green, White has a lot of “Whole” sounds, but in White, there is a dissolving into the Wholeness, rather than a return to a central point (a return to “origin”). For white, there is no “origin” – rather the base point are the layers of the personal and the interpersonal that sometimes lead to positive intimacies. 

Unlike black, the complexity is harder to pull apart. Everything seems to “just be happening” and knowing what is happening is not prioritized. 

White songs give enough structure that you are not lost when the dissolving happens. Usually there is either a “trickstery” part of the song to return to, or a repetitive “grind” that the song returns back to. Some of these elements are well-articulated in “The Lost Soul Down” by NBSPLV, which has only one repetitive line as a lyric, “You love me.”

The priority on “the wholeness” versus on “the grind” varies between songs. “Over and Over” by Hot Chip focuses quite a lot on the grind. 

If for Blue, the repetition is to showcase change across time, for White, the repetition is to emphasize sameness across time. If something is a good thing, why not have it again, exactly the same? The point of the famous accordion hook in “Stereo Love” is not for it to be different each time – it’s a cool sound. Let’s hear it again! 

Lyrics often engage the personal and interpersonal layers of the social experience. This includes themes of uncertainty, expectations, and the pursuit of the “perfect, beautiful” fleeting intimacies in relationships. This can include frustrated individual separation from the whole interpersonal complex, or separation from one special intimacy, with an allusion to what the whole feeling is supposed to be like (such as in “Miss You”). 

Compound Colors 

Now that you have some impression of the colors, we can think about the compound colors. Often thinking about compound colors is easier than thinking about the self-consistent system of one color by itself! Red Hot Chili Peppers are Red/Green a lot of the time. You can tell with their punchy lyrics of red, and the uncomplicated, big sexuality of Green. “Pay to break the spell of aging” in “Californication” is mocking blue. It’s Green/Red making fun of dreamy Blue. A lot of Aphex meanwhile is Anti-Green.

The Killers - Blue/White

M83 - Blue/Black

Smashing Pumpkins - Blue/Black 

Aphex - Blue/Black, usually 

Analogue Bubblebath and Polynomial C - Unusually Blue 

Lots of metallica is Red / Black

Nirvana feels Blue / Black like Smashing Pumpkins, sometimes Red

Pixies very Red / Blue

Meat Puppets Red / White

The Ramones just Red

The Strokes just Red

Queen is Red / Green

You can be powerful by using two or more Chromatype dynamics for various things, but one potential drawback for going “sideways” like this as you go through your life, is if you are accidentally cutting short the gratification arcs for the colors, and not completing the satisfaction arc for *any* Chromatype.

This is pretty easy to do when there is pressure from other people, or even pressure from other sides of yourself that want to make sense to a diversity of other people. However, the way to do this would be to complete *each* arc you come across to its fullness, rather than cutting off an arc when believing you should be following some other satisfaction structure than the one you started with when you had initiated your plans.

It can be useful to go “sideways” when you are stuck in a despair, based on your own dynamical system, and want tools from the other Chromatypes to have a different perspective.

But when it comes to joy, we do not want to leave dopamine on the table! Cutting short “joy arcs” is a good way not to let yourself sink into full joy, and end up with frustration!

I will describe each color and its satisfaction arcs below in detail.

A BLACK strategy arc would harvest joy from the fact of something going according to plan.

A BLUE strategy arc would harvest joy from having figured something out.

A WHITE strategy arc would harvest joy from nice social feelings.

A GREEN strategy arc would harvest joy from things being fine.

A RED strategy arc would harvest joy from experiencing something interesting.

And now, the details for this this works.

Black is the one that gets the most joy of all the colors from “Having Done A Thing.”

Black would get the most joy of the colors from having “executed the strategy” or “done the thing” regardless of the feelings in the moment about it or immediate outcome. For example if Black was throwing a party for somebody, the measurements for Joy would be if the party went as expected, with happiness for the main stakeholders and participants, regardless of if Black spent the whole time during the party playing host and running around doing logistics. The Point would be the success of the logistics, and the intended effect being achieved.

Black would get the most joy from the fact of “having played their cards well.” Considering trade-offs for different outcomes would have already been pre-built into the strategy.

Notice, lean in, and harvest an extra 75% pulse of joy when:

• You did something you said you would do

• You did something hard

• A “bad idea” didn’t have any long-lasting negative consequences

• Somebody helped you when you did not expect them to

• Someone allied with you on your goals

• Resources were used wisely, and not wasted

• Something got unexpectedly repurposed to be useful

• You kept your focus and finished what you started

Notice, and reduce anxiety when:

• Something goes not according to plan. You always knew this was a possibility, and took it on as a possibility. You already had the sadness “built-in.” You don’t need to feel it again a second time.

• You’re having a bad time. You knew you might — you already signed off on the bad time. Don’t feel “extra bad” about having the bad time.

• Someone seems sad. You already included, or are planning to include ways for them to be happy, and either you or them already made a strategy for handling the sadness. They are either taking those on-ramps or not. Instead of dwelling, discuss if they are actually sad or not and make plans around that, or know that you will discuss this soon.

Blue is the one that gets the most joy of all the colors from “Having Figured Out A Thing.”

Blue can almost get euphorically happy from this, get drunk on solving a puzzle.

Notice, lean in, and harvest an extra 75% pulse of joy when:

• You figured something out. Take time to relish in it, replay how you did it, admire the solution. This is your lifeblood and you might as well revel in it!

• You’d forgotten about a system you’d put in long ago, that is doing what you want it to, effectively and smoothly. Stop and admire it, notice it going “brrrr” pleasantly in the background. Acknowledge and feel joy in the continual maintenance of what you had already built.

• You had finished something and feel free, flexible, and fluid—regardless of how it went. It’s done with—checked off. Feel the breath of air inside you and around you.

• You are working on a problem inherited from an ancestor. Enjoy that you are participating in this exciting lineage of frustration, problem-solving, and euphoria.

Notice, and reduce anxiety when:

• You are frustrated that something is broken. Something is always broken. That is why fixing it or figuring out is so satisfying. This is already built into the equation—focus on the solving, the momentum, and the joy you will feel once you solve it.

• You are spinning around with an unsolvable problem. Some problems are going to be unsolved forever, not because they are too big for you, but because they are part of the solution to something else. One problem in one area can be a solution in an area. Remember also that some problems that seem like they should be solvable may well be, but you do not know when. Remember that you are part of a tradition of iterative problem-solving. You had inherited many solutions before you were born and before you started solving problems. Similarly, somebody 100 years from now may inherit a problem and solve it.
  

  WHITE

  White is the one that harvests the most joy from “nice social feelings.” This is not a shallow statement! Many people have a lot of trouble here. This would be taking joy in a compliment, appreciating a present, noticing somebody texting you, somebody engaging or giving feedback on a project you are working on, somebody letting you know a boundary or when they cannot participate, or will be late.

  Notice, lean in, and harvest an extra 75% pulse of joy when:

  • A friend helps you in an unexpected way.

  • Somebody takes the time to have a conversation with you.

  • Somebody comes to hang out.

  • Somebody is curious about you or what you’re doing.

  • Somebody pays you a compliment.

  Notice, and reduce anxiety when:

  • A friend didn’t text you back. They are probably doing something meaningful to them and will text you back later. You probably have a friend who did text you back that you can harvest more dopamine from.

  • Somebody cancels plans. They are probably tired or busy and need something that the structure of your meeting would not provide, and had noticed that they do not want to waste your time and energy by showing up as not their full selves. You can choose whether you feel respected, or disrespected here!

Green is the one that harvests the most joy from “things being fine.” This is not a shallow statement! Many people have a lot of trouble here. This would be taking pleasure in there being peace, and an absence of anxiety. It would not feel like “procrastination,” rather the dangers are genuinely not nearby, and you can take joy in the current stability.

Notice, lean in, and harvest an extra 75% pulse of joy when:

• You have the spare time to do physical therapy, exercise, or stretch. Lean into the moments of stability that allow you to do self-maintenance.

• You notice a visual you are enjoying; a sunset, a stream of light.

• Your body feeling good in some way (even while other parts of your body might feel bad).

• Somebody is relaxing with you, and keeping you company in a way that feels nice.

Notice, and reduce anxiety when:

• Things feel chaotic. They will feel stable again soon enough, and this is part of a cycle. If you are often in chaos, notice “local points of stability” relative to the general chaotic arc.

• Somebody else is relaxing in a way that isn’t super helpful to you or your nervous system. You can still bask in the joint stability that allows *both* of you to relax, in your different ways.

Red is the one that gets the most joy out of “novelty for it's own sake. Red gets a lot of joy out of the experience of something, whether it is good or bad, and being square with the many parts of experience as truth of experience itself. For Red, it could be important to remember this when it is in the middle of something bad, that this was part of its bargain with the universe.

Notice, lean in, and harvest an extra 75% pulse of joy when:

• You went out of your way to do something hard.

• An impulsive or risky decision led to an uncommonly good result, or something unique that can’t ever be replicated.

• You fought for something that mattered to you, and won.

• You turned a fleeting opportunity into something sustainable.

Notice, and reduce anxiety when:

• You feel bad. You probably need to recover from something. Don’t freak out and just go through your normal recovery procedures. This is part of the normal cycles of intense experience, and then recovery.

• You catch yourself judging too much. One of the points was to act without fear—continue in the fearlessness and courage, rather than coming up with new ways to be afraid after the fact.

• You feel weighed down with regrets—it probably means you are feeling pressure to not use the Red system. Stay with Red long enough to alchemize Red debts and do Red recovery, before trying on a different system or judging yourself through a different system.

You can learn about the other Chromatypes, and see if there are aspects you respect or like about them, and see how you can practice those.

You will almost certainly revert back to your own Chromatype strategy, even while you try on a different one, and this is okay.

Practicing adjacent colors can be a good starting point, as you will have something in common. If you practice an opposite color, there will be a good chance that you will be learning something new about *your own color,* because the chance that you will still be within your own dynamical system is very high. (For example, Blue practicing spontaneous intensity will be much more likely to be practicing Blue spontaneous intensity, than practicing Red.)

However, you can make progress over time. It does take patience and persistence in understanding the other colors *as their own systems.*

One other thing you can do is to learn how to be more faithful to the dynamics of your own system, to complete “joy” arcs in their entirety.

Often there are feelings of guilt around harvesting full happiness, or harvesting full joy from having completed an “arc.” The different colors have different things they consider failure modes, and different things they consider as bountiful success. As in most areas of life, people often feel a lot of feelings of self-consciousness around feeling too happy. This translates into the Chromatypes as well. People often do not nestle into feeling the full joy of completing a Blue arc, or a Green arc, or a White arc, or a Red arc, or a Black arc.

Often, they look for mistakes, or think they should be unhappy because they “did not do” something they weren’t even going out to try to do. Thus learning more about how to be more faithful to your own system can be highly generative.

You can also be more interested in following the rules of your dynamical system, with more attention to detail of the full conception of those rules.

It might be the case that you’d assumed that you would get things you want in certain ways. It is possible that your assumptions are correct, and it is a good strategy and you wish to continue with it, but maybe you want to learn more about how to cross your t’s and dot your i’s following this strategy.

Blue

Blue presents either “fix” something, or else create more opportunity for a person to express themselves. These are the presents at the “bleeding edge” of what somebody wants to do—a new paint set, a new instrument, a new book.

White

White presents reify the relationship; a new puzzle to do together, a photo album of the past year, reading your partner’s favorite book, making your partner their favorite meal.

Green

Green presents help a person become more of themselves. Perhaps a book that fits on their bookshelf, from a social niche they had not explored yet, but would love. Or a record that they do not have yet, from a nearby music ecology. Or a candle for a scent that fits their house particularly well.

Red

Red may give a gift “from the heart”—making something to express their intensity and commitment that they often do not get to express under circumstances. A card, a letter, a song, a special dinner or a special trip that would not otherwise get to be experienced except on the romantic holidays.

Black

Black would use Valentine’s day to solve problems or offset harms. Fixing something, getting a new tool or upgrade for an existing process that has some inconveniences (such as new dishes or a dishwasher). These gifts would still be romantic in spirit and filled with love.

When disintegrated, Blue can become obsessively fixated on optimization and efficiency at the expense of human connection. Disintegrated Blue might endlessly tinker with systems that already work well enough, creating unnecessary complexity in pursuit of theoretical perfection. Blue can fall into analysis paralysis, constantly seeking more information before acting, or become arrogantly dismissive of conventional wisdom that doesn't fit its mental models. At its worst, Blue can develop a cold utilitarianism that reduces people to problems to be solved or resources to be optimized, forgetting that not all valuable things can be measured or improved through technical intervention.

Black (Disintegrated)

When disintegrated, Black can become excessively self-interested, seeing everything as a zero-sum game where someone must lose for Black to win. Disintegrated Black might hoard resources unnecessarily, burn bridges for short-term gain, or become paralyzed by over-analysis of potential losses. At its worst, Black can fall into nihilism, believing that nothing ultimately matters since everything ends in death.

White (Disintegrated)

When disintegrated, White can become rigid, enforcing rules and protocols long after they've ceased to serve their original purpose. Disintegrated White might sacrifice individual well-being for the appearance of collective harmony, demanding conformity and punishing dissent. White can develop a martyr complex, taking on unnecessary burdens to prove its moral worth, or become judgmental of those who don't adhere to its standards of proper communal give-and-take behavior. At its worst, White can create stifling bureaucracies that value procedure over outcomes, becoming so focused on maintaining order that it crushes the spirit of the community members it claims to protect.

Green (Disintegrated)

When disintegrated, Green can become stubbornly resistant to necessary change, clinging to familiar patterns even when they're no longer viable. Disintegrated Green might reject helpful innovations out of reflex, or become so focused on natural cycles that it passively accepts preventable suffering. Green can retreat into comfortable isolation, avoiding any perspectives that might disrupt its sense of harmony. At its worst, Green can develop a fatalistic acceptance of harmful conditions as simply "the way things are," refusing to acknowledge that some limitations can and should be overcome.

Red (Disintegrated)

When disintegrated, Red can become trapped in a self-sacrificial spiral where the "dance" of passion and intensity becomes so sacred that it cannot bear to ask for its debts to be repaid. Disintegrated Red might pour endless energy into relationships, projects, or causes, burning itself to illuminate others' paths while insisting "I'm fine" as it crumbles. Red can develop a martyr complex around its emotional labor, simultaneously resenting others for not reciprocating while refusing to articulate its needs out of fear that calculated exchange would taint the purity of its giving. At its worst, Red convinces itself that authentic passion must be selfless and spontaneous, that to ask for repayment would make the original sacrifice meaningless. This creates an unsustainable pattern where Red is depleted, and yet cannot find a way to revive itself.

Blue

For Blue, a problem is an obstacle to forward momentum or efficiency. It's something that slows down progress or creates friction in a system that should be optimized. Blue sees problems as puzzles to be solved through analysis, innovation, and understanding the underlying mechanics. A problem represents an opportunity to apply knowledge and create a better tool or system. Blue encounters many problems in a day, and often has fun thinking about problems or solving problems. When there are too many problems Blue does not know how to solve, Blue gets frustrated that its system is not optimized.

White

For White, a problem is part of the status-quo—a disruption to established order or community wellbeing, but this is to be expected. The daily grind involves solving problems and working together to solve problems. White sees problems as situations requiring structure, research, rules, or coordinated effort to resolve. A problem represents a call to work together and create a better balance.

Green

For Green, a problem represents a call to reconnect with what is sustainable and true. It is a sign that something had gone off the “path” of wisdom, and something must be learned or implemented in order to return to the path and for balance and progress to be restored. A problem is a deviation from “reality”—often based on incorrect or uncalibrated perception of the situation. The solution therefore often involves looking at the situation more clearly with a wider lens—before this happens, the problem is likely to persist and continue to make things worse.

Red

For Red, a problem is an immediate challenge demanding immediate response. It's something that threatens what matters right now and requires intense action. Red sees problems as moments that call for full engagement of one's capabilities and emotions. Sometimes a problem requires personal costs to resolve. If the problem is not resolved, then this risks dire consequences that would either be impossible to fix later, or be much more difficult later. Sometimes not solving the problem would lead to a loss of personnel, resources, or important inspiration.

Black

For Black, a problem is a situation requiring clear-eyed assessment of trade-offs. Problems are an unpleasant, but common and expected occurrence. It's something that forces recognition and renegotiation of limited resources and opportunity costs. Black sees problems as inevitable aspects of reality that must be faced pragmatically. A problem represents a call to make strategic choices based on honest evaluation of what can actually be accomplished given constraints.

Blue - The Systematic Optimizer

Blue approaches fitness as a system to be understood, optimized, and improved. They're drawn to tracking metrics, analyzing performance data, and finding the most efficient workout methods. Blue might use fitness apps, wearable tech, and carefully structured progressive overload programs. They value understanding the science behind exercise and nutrition, constantly seeking new information to refine their approach. When disintegrated, Blue might become obsessed with optimization to the point of overtraining or lose motivation when progress plateaus and they can't immediately solve the problem.

White - The Consistent Practitioner

White approaches fitness as a commitment to discipline and long-term well-being. They value established routines, proper form, and sustainable habits that can be maintained over time. White might be drawn to group classes, team sports, or training programs with clear structure and community accountability. They're likely to schedule workouts at the same time each day and follow through regardless of motivation fluctuations. When disintegrated, White might rigidly adhere to programs that no longer serve them or judge themselves harshly for missing workouts.

Green - The Intuitive Mover

Green approaches fitness as a natural expression of their body's capabilities and needs. They value movement that feels good and connects them to their physical nature. Green might be drawn to outdoor activities, yoga, dance, or other forms of movement that emphasize mind-body connection. They're likely to adjust workouts based on energy levels and seasonal changes. When disintegrated, Green might resist beneficial structured training or become too comfortable with their current capabilities, missing opportunities for growth.

Red - The Martial Artist

Red approaches fitness with intensity and full engagement in the moment. They value the immediate experience of pushing limits and the rush of challenging themselves. Red might be drawn to high-intensity interval training, competitive sports, or physically demanding activities that provide immediate feedback. They’re likely to be more drawn to a mindset of training, learning a new useful skill, rather than feeling they are working out only for their own health and benefit. They're likely to train with full effort when inspired but may need recovery periods after intense pushes and encouragement to eat well and supplement—rather than continuing to push both in training and in recovery by not eating enough. When disintegrated, Red might push too hard and risk injury or burn out from unsustainable intensity.

Black - The Strategic Investor

Black approaches fitness as a pragmatic investment in their capabilities and longevity. Black recognizes that all physical training involves trade-offs—time spent, pain felt, recovery needed, adaptations gained and lost. They're comfortable with strategic rest and tactical intensity, holding back when conditions aren't favorable and capitalizing on opportunities when they arise. Black might carefully select exercises that address their specific weaknesses or support their particular goals. They're likely to be honest about their limitations and strategic about when to push versus when to rest. When disintegrated, Black might become too calculating about fitness, missing the intrinsic benefits and opportunities for fun, connection, or embodiment, or neglect long-term health for short-term gains.

Blue

Blue approaches car buying as a system to be understood and optimized. They research extensively, comparing specs, reliability data, and cost-of-ownership metrics. Blue values efficiency in both the process and the vehicle itself. They might create spreadsheets comparing models, read technical reviews, and test drive strategically. They might pick their three favorite specs and optimize for those. Blue dislikes the debt of car payments but will calculate precisely if the benefits of financing outweigh paying cash. They're drawn to vehicles with new features and reliability. When disintegrated, Blue might become paralyzed by analysis or rush into a purchase based on specs without considering how the car actually feels to drive.

White

White approaches car buying as a process with established steps and social considerations. They value vehicles with safety records, manufacturer reputation, and resale value. White researches what experts recommend and may consult trusted friends who've gone through the process. They're comfortable with reasonable car loans if there's a clear payment plan. White considers how the vehicle will serve family needs and community expectations. They might prefer dealerships with established reputations over private sellers. When disintegrated, White might purchase a "sensible" vehicle that doesn't actually meet their needs just because it's what's expected.

Green

Green approaches car buying with attention to how a vehicle fits their lifestyle and values. They consider longevity, and if the car feels intuitively right. Green might take their time, visiting dealerships multiple times to sit in different vehicles and see which one "feels like home." They're drawn to cars with character, history, or connection to their identity. Green considers the full lifecycle of the vehicle and may prefer used cars with proven durability. When disintegrated, Green might stick with an unsuitable or damaged vehicle too long out of attachment or reject beneficial modern features out of resistance to change.

Red

Red is drawn to vehicles that provide an emotional experience—the thrill of acceleration, the perfect sound system, or the statement it makes when pulling up or when being walked up ot. Red might fall in love with a car on the test drive and be willing to take on significant debt if the vehicle provides immediate joy. The daily joy would feel like a worthwhile trade-off. They trust their instincts about which car is right for them, and would consider a car that does not “feel right” to be an unnecessary weight and burden, something that needs to be paid off or sold before acquiring the dream car. Red might negotiate intensely in the moment, and may look at diverse options for buying—used, new, from a factory, from a dealer’s auction—whoever has the dream car. When disintegrated, Red might purchase impulsively without considering long-term costs or practical needs.

Black

Black approaches car buying as a strategic transaction where timing and leverage matter. They research market conditions, waiting for opportune moments like end-of-month or model-year clearances. Black understands that cars depreciate and calculates exactly what features provide genuine value versus status markup. They're excellent negotiators who come prepared with market data and alternative options. Black might be willing to purchase a less prestigious brand if it offers better value or buy used to avoid the initial depreciation hit. If the dream car is available at the right price, Black would buy the dream car. If another car is available very cheap, Black may buy that car because it’s a good opportunity, and resell it later. Black may also be likely to purchase in non-standard ways, such as directly from a dealer’s auction, or online. When disintegrated, Black might focus so much on getting a "deal" that they miss finding a car that truly meets their needs.

When you know your Chromatype, you can understand your common patterns of conflict resolution and how they compare with other people’s patterns of conflict resolution. You can understand what “rules you are following” and how these rules of self-constraint and action may not be the same rules that other people are following. If you have aspirations to be a different type, you can understand what trade-offs they are making, so you can fully embody the other system.

This means that you can notice with more precision what other people are doing, and what you are doing. You can speak in their language, or notice what about your style or language would not make sense to another person.

Chromatypes are useful in many different contexts, but they can be uniquely useful in situations in which you are having a conflict with a friend, coworker, or loved one—situations in which disputes cannot be reduced to having conflicting interests (you already know you care about each other and have similar interests) or differences in values (you had already done various values-based checks when deciding to trust each other and becoming friends.)

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There are five Chromatypes:

Blue, White, Green, Red, and Black.

Each of these has its own way of handling intensity and its own way of dealing with risk.

You are not “born” with a Chromatype—rather, you get used to using a Chromatype. As you go around the world, you find that some strategies make sense with your personality, your family dynamics, your work dynamics, and even your appearance and mating preferences. As you use a strategy, you get better at it and keep using it.

Often, so long as things are going smoothly, one does not need to change their strategy. However if one is stuck, then learning about the other Chromatypes becomes very useful, because then you have more tools for surmounting unusual problems.

The system is simple enough—there are only five Chromatypes—five colors. Complexity enters the system in that each of the colors has many characteristics that it can be analyzed on. Imagine different knobs on a PID controller for different settings. For each Chromatype, the different knobs have different minimums and maximums, and different conditions under which they are used.

Each of the types can be competent, passionate, diligent, fast, slow, selfish, hateful, disciplined, paranoid, confused, and messy. “Having passion” or “Being smart” are not the axes on which these Chromatypes differ from each other.

However, it is hard to have a handle on the details of the Chromatypes without general impressions. We will dive into each Chromatype and how it mechanistically relates two important dimensions—speed and debt—but before that I will give an impressionistic mindfeel of each of the Chromatypes using words you may have associations with. (You are already likely to have implicit associations with the colors as colors.)

Blue - Improving the human condition with technology. Useful tools. Medicine. Fixing things. Understanding how things work.

White - Guarding each other from excessive cruelty. Inspirational books. Libraries. Staircases set to industry safety standards. Useful social networks.

Green - Accepting who you are. Loving where you came from and your ancestors. Understanding the strength of rivers, mountains and respecting limitations.

Red - Dancing, fighting, living in the moment, making the most of what you have, not letting things go to waste. Full intensity.

Black - Unflinching about trade-offs and opportunity cost. Honest about reality and mortality.

I intentionally kept descriptions short, and hard to compare with each other. (Their opaqueness and lack of obvious interoperability is why natural conflict occurs.)

You may start having ideas of potential simplifications pop into your head—“Ok, blue is rational, red is passionate, white is nice, black is morbid, green is nature”—but it is not quite like this. Each of them can be each of these things.

Let’s look at two characteristic and how they relate to each other—speed and debt, so that you have an impression of the dynamics inside each Chromatype for the rest of the post. These are the preferences for each Chromatype, but that does not mean that each type does not have its own special ways of getting itself into trouble.

I use “debt” to mean something beyond monetary obligations. I include social debts (favors owed, promises made), health debts (pushing your body beyond sustainable limits), energetic debts (unexplained “things that happened” and depletion of hopes), technical debts (shortcuts taken), and emotional debts (unprocessed feelings).

Blue - Blue likes to be quick. Because Blue likes to be quick, Blue does not like to take on debts. A debt is a weight, and weight hinders speed. Blue would rather either settle debts quickly, or forget about them, or settle the debts quickly in order to forget about them. Blue values knowledge and fast learning. Move fast and break things could be a Blue slogan (a lot of the tech industry is blue.) Blue wants to maintain forward momentum, and maintain maximum flexibility to work on the next thing that is blocking its way. With forward momentum, unblocked agency, and speed to work and think, Blue can build on top of the previous block and create progress. Blue can be slow to change when it is in a disintegrated form, when it has gotten itself in a situation in which it has neglected too many debts, has not actually paid debts off, or failed to understand the contingencies that make it quick.

White - White cares about states being remembered. It cares less about speed for its own sake, and is happy to trade speed for established historical memory—“taking the time now to save time later.” White is fine taking on debts if there is a reasonable plan to pay them off and cares about consistent and predictable movement of attaining debts and paying them off. When healthy, White can be seen as an effective manager or bureaucracy—distributing goods to participating parties steadily and not leaving people behind. In its disintegrated form, white can demand too much from individuals for the sake of the whole—demanding too much from individuals for the sake of maintaining collective state stability.

Green - Depending on the situation, of all the Chromatypes, Green can be the slowest or the fastest. Green often does not consider itself taking on substantial debt, because Green is focused on balance as a general way of navigating. This means that cumulatively, over time, if Green is healthy, Green can react very well and very fast on instinct, as if it is not reacting at all, rather is being, and create healthy cascading effects seemingly without much cost or disturbance to itself. When disintegrated, Green can be very slow-to-change to a new environment—stubborn, enmeshed where it is and not letting itself be pushed over.

Red - Of all the Chromatypes, Red is the one most willing to take on debt for something very important with a plan that it would find a way to pay it off, even if it does not have a plan yet. Red is willing to take on debt for immediate speed. This is because if there is an option to create a better local world state, right now, through optimized action, Red is willing to take on personal damage to perform the optimized action. Red can be very fast, reacting with borrowed energy, and seemingly leveraging all past expertise into one moment. However, Red then is likely to need to rest from the intensity, slow down to figure out how to pay off its debts, and then in states of non-urgency, gain expertise for the next moment of urgency.

Black - Black is opportunistic, holding back when conditions are not in its favor, and acting on opportunity when opportunity comes knocking. Black takes for granted that despite best intentions, some things are zero-sum, and that each life’s life points do always drop down to zero (everything does die). Every action inherently has both a cost and an opportunity cost. Black approaches speed as a major component of debt—too much time unchanging when you should change means opportunity cost, and too much time resting after a big battle also means opportunity cost. Black also takes self-interest not as something to shy away from, but as the appropriate starting point when negotiating with others given the limitations of what can do with time.

Now, we have a foundation for explaining how this applies to conflict mediation.

You can notice that someone who “plays Red” is much more comfortable with debt than Blue would be. Thus, when they are talking about “too much risk” or “too much debt” they are likely to be talking about radically different things, even if they are good friends and have shared social values.

If you would like to learn more, feel free to comment or schedule a call.