Socially, many people are trained to react and fill the gaps created by others. We fill awkward pauses in conversations with chatter. We feel compelled to do work that some other leaves unfinished.
Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting.
You can test this pretty easily the next time you talk to someone by saying nothing. Just leave a gap on purpose. Take no action. The person across from you will feel the pause and will most likely fill it. Sometimes, if the pause is long enough, they will fill it with personal details they would otherwise never share.
One feels drawn to a person like this because their inaction creates a gap we feel compelled to fill. This is the "charismatic" effect the author mentions in the article. In reality, it's more or less a passive aggressive technique to get people to do your work for you through willful negligence.
I strongly disagree. Is this just your personal idea, or can you point me to anyone or anything making similar claims, especially any research? Many charismatic leaders, including most religious ones actually produce a sense of calmness.
Calling it passive-agressive is not helpful either. Too many things already get reduce to that one.
The success of this tactic will depend on how much power you currently have in relation to others. If you are a wallflower or extremely shy, choosing to remain silent will only serve to disempower you further. If you do have a lot of social anxiety, your first priority should be to practice taking social initiative rather than remaining silent. Because unless you have some type of social status, people may rarely take initiative with you.
Wu Wei is a practice designed to short circuit this action through the pursuit of conscious non-action. The main effect on everyone else is to evoke a mild state of panic or at least some uncomfortable fidgeting.
You can test this pretty easily the next time you talk to someone by saying nothing. Just leave a gap on purpose. Take no action. The person across from you will feel the pause and will most likely fill it. Sometimes, if the pause is long enough, they will fill it with personal details they would otherwise never share.
One feels drawn to a person like this because their inaction creates a gap we feel compelled to fill. This is the "charismatic" effect the author mentions in the article. In reality, it's more or less a passive aggressive technique to get people to do your work for you through willful negligence.