Dr. Cornelious Yoder
Dr. Cornelius Yoder is truly from a different time. Born in the Midwest United States after the second World War, Dr. Yoder saw his country through the lens of hope, rebuilding, and freedom. The Nazis were just put to heel and every man, woman, and child in the country bled red, white, and blue under one banner for this moment in history. A time when our collective differences were put aside for the greater good and values of freedom for all, not freedom for some. Coming from a modest upbringing, Cornelius attended Princeton in the 70s during a time where behavioural psychology was in its infancy, a topic that would create a lifelong obsession for him to understand the human mind, to a degree that could only be considered an addiction. He spent every waking moment during those years attending lectures, reading up the on the subject, creating studies, and, most importantly, interviewing the most interesting deviations from the neurotypical community that he could find.
Once graduated, Dr. Yoder wanted to see the world and promptly left his life in the United States to wander from university to university, while picking up teaching assistantships and other graduate student work where he could. As a byproduct, this meant travelling from country to country, learning about cultures and minds from all over the world. On a quest to understanding the human animal and why we think the way we do, he eventually settled in Geneva as a tenured professor of Abnormal Behavioural Psychology. He continues to this day, where he takes on clients with the most interesting stories and abnormalities he can find. In fact, there are two unique clients he is currently working with, at the behest of his friend, Karma, whom he mentored during a Grad Student exchange program. While in Geneva, something happened to Cornelius that he didn’t think would be possible. He found something he loved more than the mysteries of the mind; he found Arlene. A server at a local cafe he frequented, and over time the casual flirtation became something more, and the rest, as they say, history. It didn’t take long for them to move in together and when not in the office, he can be found spending time with Arlene in their garden, in the park, or otherwise living life together, instead of him living life through the experiences of others.
As his passions shifted from the focus of affections, Dr. Yoder stopped taking new clients and began the process of what all people do eventually, when they want to slow down their lives and unburden responsibility. Although keeping up with the odd special program at the local University, he was all but retired when he received a call one evening from his former student, Karma. Although it had been years since they spoke, she reached out to him after joining a startup with a local entrepreneur, as the head of Fuzzy Qube Entertainment’s (FQE) AI Division. She had two special cases that could benefit from the unique services Dr. Yoder could provide and, in her mind, there was no man better for the job. She needed someone with his special skills to keep these two key members of her team on the rails so their work could continue unhindered. Always up for a challenge, Cornelius took the cases of Gideon D’Lux and Dale the Anarchist, setting to work on a plan of attack to help these two broken souls get back to a place of functional sanity.
Formative – Key Memories 🧠
Dr. Yoder’s approach is a mix between the sociologists, who were known for asking unpopular questions in their time. In his opinion, there was good reason these minds were making society squirm, and people asking the questions that make folks uncomfortable were the ones he wanted to learn from. Why, may you ask? Because, in uncomfortably lays a reason, a reason that could unlock all the secrets of our collective neuroses and social norms. Cornelius read the works of Freud, Nietzsche, Durkheim, Jung, and other experts from the field of sociology and behavioural therapy of their time, their teachings used to round out his overall approach and provide him the food-for-thought anecdotes that helped pull back the layers of self-bias.
When people think psychology professor over 60, they think of a frail old man, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. As a health-minded person, Cornelius always took care of himself (besides the cigar habit), and in doing so, kept up with regular exercise all his life. In fact, in his later years, as an effort to stave off arthritis and other aging issues, he took up the pastime of power lifting and body sculpting, something that probably helped him land Arlene, the love of this life. To this day, Dr. Yoder still keeps a regular routine, putting in all the effort he can to stave off the ailments brought on by time, while feeling (and looking) far younger than his years.
Cornelious will never forget his first tattoo. It was after a night of drinking with some local inhabitants from one of the Caribbean Islands, where he was conducting research. Shot after shot of the home-made swill at Klassen’s Corner, Dr. Yoder cleaned out the house before walking, or rather, stumbling into the tattoo parlour attached to the pub. Waking the next morning, he was abashed to find a skull and crossbones scribbled red and angry on his backside. A little embarrassed by his drunken choices, he didn’t regret it for a moment, falling in love with the idea of immortalizing his experiences. After that he was hooked, and although he has made better choices from that point on, Cornelious now has over 150 unique pieces of tattoo art all over his body, each with a story tied to an adventure. Many a night in his later years spent lying in bed with Arlene, where she would point to one and he would tell her its origin story and why he chose it.
It’s as if “like a boss” was a phrase invented for Dr. Yoder, and he leaned into it naturally. You wouldn’t think just from looking at him, that he was a soft-hearted student of the mind. Growing up in a different time, his style never changed. Feeling more comfortable in dress pants and vest, or a suit and tie, over the lounge styles of clothing popular today, he maintained the 1950s businessperson look through his entire life. His style is the personification of every stereotypical mobster and madmen from the era. Cigar in mouth, Dr. Yoder always looked his best, a firm believer that feeling good on the inside starts with how you present yourself from the outside.
Interests and Skill
💟[ Anthropology ] . [ Astrology ] . [ Body Building ] . [ Climate Change ] . [ Cooking ] . [ Gardening ] . [ Genetics ] . [ Global Politics ] . [ Golf ] . [ Hiking ] . [ Ancient Greek Language ] . [ Meditation ] . [ Park Walks ] . [ Philosophy ] . [ Pop Culture ] . [ Power Lifting ] . [ Poetry ] . [ Reading ] . [ Skiing ] . [ Tattoo Art ] . [ Traveling ] . [ World History ] . [ Yoga ] . [ 1950’s Business ] . [ Art Deco Design ] . [ Drinking ] . [ Writing ]
🤹[ Abstract Thinking ] . [ Athletics ] . [ Behavioral Psychology ] . [ Boxing ] . [ Chess ] . [ Classic Vehicle Restoration ] . [ Couples Therapy ] . [ Critical Thinking ] . [ French ] . [ Italian ] . [ Martial Arts ] . [ Psychology ] . [ Public Speaking ] . [ Research ] . [ Scuba Diving ] . [ Sociology ] . [ Spanish ] . [ Storytelling ]
Dr. Cornelius Yoder is truly from a different time. Born in the Midwest United States after the second World War, Dr. Yoder saw his country through the lens of hope, rebuilding, and freedom. The Nazis were just put to heel and every man, woman, and child in the country bled red, white, and blue under…