Tuesday, June 29, 2010

According to Statistics,

A "normal" family has 2.5 children.
If you ever meet 1/2 of a person, you will know that he came from a normal family.

Of course normality is an abstract concept, meaning it doesn't exist, except in our minds. And since different people think differently, different definitions exist for the concept of "normal."

If we treat things that are above 50% in surveys as normal, then it is normal to be divorced, to be female, and to have watched porn on the internet. Voting, on the other hand, is not normal because less than 50% of the population votes, even for presidential elections.

However, normal is most often used as an arbitrary ideal that society should strive for, i.e. it is "normal" to be a virgin until married, it is "normal" to be satisfied with one's lot in life, etc. Under this definition, a behavior could still be considered "normal" even if 0% of the population actually engaged in that behavior.

Also, the people society chooses to honor and celebrate are those who are extraordinary and outside the norm: Mother Teresa, George Washington, Jesus of Nazareth, etc.

In other words, if "Normal" actually exists, it is not something one should aspire to be.

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