June 1, 2008
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What is normal?
SekhmetDreaming has asked this question of the Featured_Grownups gang for this first topic for the month of June, 2008. She said,
I DON’T mean what is the definition
of the word normal, rather, I want to know what people consider to be
“normal”. Now, people can come up with fun answers if they wish, but
you see, lately, I’ve been having issues both with the staff here in my
building and with people in general, seeming to think that just because
my legs don’t work, neither does my brain, so I would really like to
make people think with this question and see what kind of answers we
get.I may not be able to play this game by those rules. What I think is normal is determined and defined by the word’s actual meaning. I don’t take my ideas about what is normal from the comfortable headspace inhabited by your average American. I am not the normal kind of person who thinks that normal means healthy or acceptable or good. I derive my information on normality from scientific data and statistical studies.
I have never been highly normal, and not since early childhood have I desired to be normal. Normal people are not particularly interesting to me. Normal people are not particularly anything, really. They’re just normal, average, unexceptional and largely theoretical entities, since almost everyone falls outside the norms in some way.
A person with a normal vocabulary might be able, with some difficulty, to work the New York Times Crossword Puzzle, except on Saturday, when it’s hard. A person of normal reading skills and mathematical ability might be able to decipher and complete U.S. Internal Revenue forms, but would probably prefer to leave it to an accountant or tax preparer, rather than make the effort. Tax forms are well-known to be challenging for normal Americans.
A normal person, if lost in a forest, will tend to walk in circles unless he or she has been taught to move downhill to the nearest watercourse and follow it to a road or some habitation. We tend to walk in circles because only very abnormal people have two legs of equal length. The variance between the lengths of my legs is abnormally great, so I walk in extraordinarily small circles. However, I don’t get lost in the woods.
Normal people are fearful, superstitious, prejudiced, misinformed, ignorant, shallow, and self-satisfied. Of course, it is possible to carry any or all of those traits to extremes that are beyond the norm. Transcend any or all of them completely, and you will have become abnormal. Anger is a normal emotion, and violence is a normal response to anger. Unconditional love is so rare that many normal people do not believe it is possible.
Drug abuse and addiction are normal in the United States of America. A normal American is a scofflaw in the areas of traffic violations, tax cheating, and petty theft, when he or she believes there is a reasonable chance of getting away with it. Reaching back a bit in time, a normal person is more likely to “solve” a Rubik’s Cube puzzle by taking it apart or peeling off and rearranging the colored stickers, than in the prescribed manner.
Normal people have great untapped reserves of strength and endurance, and capabilities that they do not know they possess. Only rare individuals challenge themselves and push their capacity to the limits. Congenital defects, accidental injuries, and extreme circumstances can force abnormal individuals to develop abilities that normal people consider superhuman.
A normal person is neither tall enough to reach the top shelf of my kitchen cabinet, nor small enough to reach the back of the bottom shelf beside my stove. I’m way too normal in both those ways. A normal person can walk more than 40 feet without having to stop and catch her breath. She can run without falling on her face, and can do a healthy cardiovascular workout routine without collapsing from lack of oxygen. I could use some more normality in those areas.
Comments (49)
“Normal people have great untapped reserves of strength and endurance, and capabilities that they do not know they possess. Only rare individuals challenge themselves and push their capacity to the limits. Congenital defects, accidental injuries, and extreme circumstances can force abnormal individuals to develop abilities that normal people consider superhuman.”
Amen.
I love this!
The more I think about the word the more my mind runs wild
You’ve been linked – and enjoyed
“Genius is an abnormality.”
–Dr. Temple Grandin
@HomerTheBrave - Yes, and that’s why I argue with people who tell me I’m normal.
thanks for such an abnormal post
oh wow, now you got me thinking, maybe I’m NOT normal after all! LOL!
Just reading through… I consider myself normal, unremarkable, in most ways, but your post makes me think hmmm… maybe there is hope for me.
I don’t consider “normal” to be boring, just the majority in the USA. But then again, normal can be a state of mind. Loved reading this take on it!~Jeri
As they say, the opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity.
I agree, too normal can become boring!
hmmm…now im not sure
@Jeri_Dee -
@Over_my_coffee_cup -
The only two places on this page where the word “boring” occurs is in your two comments. I did not say, nor do I think, that “normal” equates with “boring,” so Omcc can’t be agreeing with me that it is.
Since, by definition, the “majority” is normal, I fail to see how Jeri can find one boring and not the other.
I don’t agree with Jeri that “normal can be a state of mind.” Normal is a matter of statistical norms. That is what the word means, no matter how normal people choose to misinterpret and distort it. Certainly, people can be in a state of mind where they imagine that they are normal, but if they don’t conform to the norm, then their state of mind is delusional.
I knew I should have defined the word, regardless of what the specifications were for this challenge.
Next time you wonder why people do stupid things, remember that 50% of the general population has below normal intelligence.
Very nicely done.
Sorry I wasn’t thinking you discribed it as boring…I was pondering myself that trying to be too normal could become boring. Sorry I was not clear on that..
i consider myelf below normal. is ther esuch a thing as below normal? but not abnormal?
Interesting…
Fantastic post! I have never been normal……always on the outside looking in.
@chinchujin - Maybe you are thinking of “abnormal” as a negative thing, somehow “wrong”? Abnormal simply means “not normal” and normal means “conforming to a norm.” There is more than one definition of “norm:”
“A set standard of development or achievement usually
derived from the average or median achievement of a large group. A
pattern or trait taken to be typical in the behavior of a social group.
A widespread practice, procedure, or custom. A culturally established rule prescribing appropriate social behavior.”
It is possible to be “normal” in some ways, and “abnormal” in others at the same time, either “above” or “below”. Implicit in my post above is that I conform to some norms, perform below normal standards in others, and above standards in still others. Differing from any standard is “abnormal,” even if it is one where there is no way to determine whether the difference is “below” or “above.” In some people’s minds, being abnormal is a bad thing. To others, it is a virtue, and to still others it is just a fact without moral significance.
I hope that answered your question. I’m more confused than ever now. …and welcome. Thank you for the “friend” invitation.
“Normal people are fearful, superstitious, prejudiced, misinformed, ignorant, shallow, and self-satisfied.”
That’s because it’s abnormal to question what you were told, or try and see from another perspective. I guess that goes with the reserves of strength that it’s abnormal to use. The world would be a lot better off if this were not the normal case.
Your second to the last paragraph really got my attention. I have recently began to push myself past what I thought I was capable of, and as a result, I find myself accomplishing things I didn’t think I could do.
Great post!
OK, so now tell us how you really feel. *hehe*
In your “noraml” list–you left out greedy and materialistic.
PS–I tried to give you five stars, didn’t know how so just sorta muddled through–I hope I did it right.
…
Isn’t normal just what general expectations from people? It’s that rigid image of a person with certain qualities that moulds “normal” people, anyone who does not have those exact qualities are “abnormal”.
I remember a similar conversation with my friend. She thought anyone with a brain is normal, but I pointed out that jellyfish have no brains. Maybe we are all freaks of nature. Haha.
Thank you for your advice! i really appreciated it! I’ll let you know how the whole thing finished up.
As for your Normality post: my personal struggle with normality and abnormality has been difficult for some time, considering i just left the devasting time of puberty behind me not three years ago. I often still struggle to find my place in the world. I find that my main problem is my artistic side against my practicle side. My definitions of normal are always swinging from side to side, which often leads me to a very confused place.
I wish i had insight such as yours.
It is sad when drug abuse is normal.
I am definitely not normal. My husband says I provide the comic relief in our marriage (and I can’t say it’s on purpose, lol.)
@prettynosyarentu - I love your nose, and those eyebrows aren’t too shabby. Why can’t I read your entry on this challenge? Xanga tells me it can’t be found.
@chrisfina - ”Normal” is defined in the dictionary. I have no control over either the definition of the word or any popular conceptions or misconceptions of it. I certainly don’t see it as “general expectations.”
@Pluie_sur_ma_fenetre - Give yourself time, luv. I have grandchildren older than you. I don’t think I was even remotely as together as you are when I was young.
@Zeal4living - Drug abuse, obesity, fear… there’s a lot about American norms that saddens me.
@KimNeyer - My husband occasionally starts to say something like, “People are…” and I’ll say, “But I’m not like that!” Then he’ll say, “When I talk about people, I am not talking about you.”
On comic relief: I was exasperated with my son one day for “forgetting” to do everything he had on his to do list. I asked him, “What are you good for?” He waited for just the perfect comedic beat, and said, “Comic relief?” It broke me up, of course. There is a lot to be said for comic relief. If we can’t laugh, we’re in trouble.
This was a great post.
I must be abnormal. I got lost in the woods once and walked in triangles. Seriously, I think you make some pretty good points, though I’m not sure I agree with everything.
This is a fantastic entry.
I would love to have a lot more of what is considered normal. I used to have it all but things don’t always go your way, forever. I’m greatful for all the normal I did have and the normal that remains makes me very happy. It could be worse, wurse, worser.
Have a great week,
Growing up, a teacher once told the class (of peer-desperate teens) that we shouldn’t put much stock in “being normal” … that what “normal” really meant was “average and boring.”
@jazz102 - What did you mean by that?
@The_Timekeeper - My father once tried to reassure me in a similar way, when in first grade I was devastated over being harassed for being different. His point was that it is much better to be above normal, that to be like everyone else means being stuck at their level.
you can’t define normal.
it doesn’t exist.
@dsullivan - Anything specific you’d care to refute?
Hey Pam said you couldn’t view my posts, see if you can now!
@SuSu - “Normal people are fearful, superstitious, prejudiced, misinformed, ignorant, shallow, and self-satisfied.”
Can’t agree with that. I’ve known too many people that I consider normal, and very few were like that.
Also, I agree about the scofflaws on the road, but not about tax cheats. I sincerely believe that the majority of us are honest in reporting our tax.
Other than that, I see nothing to dispute.
it is what I have ever thibk of but I can’t find tyhe ans
“…so I walk in extrordinarily small circles. However, I don’t get lost in the woods.” lol. Good. Now I know what to do if I ever get lost.
@isabel_clover - What? Would you care to try and rephrase that?
@wordyferalvelociraptor - *giggle* I hope you won’t try walking in very small circles. Downhill until you find a stream, then follow it down until you find help… and hope you don’t end up in the ocean.
@dsullivan - Each of my assertions was drawn from polls in which people were asked questions about their own beliefs and behaviors, and all of those things were reported by significant majorities of those polled. I wasn’t stating my opinions, as you are in your comment. Since I have no way of knowing what my neighbors put down on their tax returns, and wouldn’t know if it was true or not if I did, I tend to accept what the polls reveal.
This is great…
@SuSu - Yes, it’s true that I was just stating an opinion. Like you, I do I know what goes on behind the closed doors of the people I know. I can only form an opinion based on their outward behavior.
Like you I have no desire to be “normal” – but maybe that is normal in itself?? Great post!