A bit off topic, but....
I think it's interesting to try and link Changeling physiology to their psychology. I'm not sure how truly revealing any of the insights are, given that the Founders' reasons for rigid control and paranoia are explained as a result of persecution (cultural experience, not innate drives), but there's some interesting considerations in there somewhere. A race who naturally create ordered forms out of formlessness, yet are not limited to any one of those forms and are naturally flexible - but who became rigidly inflexible in their thinking. The Link locking Odo into solid form as punishment was a wonderfully twisted idea, given that it recalls what apparently happened to the Link itself; they're trapped in an artificial rigidity in a manner that seems at odds with their natural tendencies. Or is it at odds? I wonder how easy it was for them to settle into their new philosophy of order and control; which of their instincts welcomed it and which resisted it? What aspect of their racial psychology was a perfect fit and which was an uncomfortable welding? Does their shapeshifting leave them open to the concept of order and the need to conform (every cell needs to be brought into line as part of a strictly structured whole) or does it suggest they should be naturally resistant to it? What aspect of the shapeshifting is the stronger instinct; to be free and flexible or to control and shape? I suppose if maple syrup is their "true" and favoured form, the shapeshifting is a useful defense to hide their true nature or their presence, so the need for rigidity and control could be easily "tripped" by fear. Defensive instinct in overdrive might well lead to order and inflexibility being favoured - have to hold the shape, can't lose the form - but we'd think, wouldn't we, that Changelings are more inclined to see the virtues in slipping out of your current mindset and embracing a whole new one with startling ease? Unless, I suppose, the ease with which they could lose sense of ordered logic and descend into incoherent changeability leaves them inclined to be rigid in thought as a pre-emptive defence against losing their capacity for reason?
My head hurts...
