Thanks for a better stream of clarity on that subject. I have always found that context of" am I, is this, is that normal" always used and annoy me in some trivial way. Is it reasonable? Makes sense to me, however it sure would give alot of parents a lot less to complain about if all of their kids had that as a retort.
Wow, this thread got demoted allll the way down to the cesspool then promoted to About the members... A totally normal person must be the most boring person alive. And when someone says they're not normal, introduce them to the most boring person you know and say 'This is normal'.
Do we conclude then that everybody is abnormal, but the real interesting question is: Who is interesting and who is boring?
To ask "am I normal?" is so fricken ordinary. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Many teens consider themselves abnormal, like it's some important status.
I wonder if "trying to be normal" is actually a sign of a serious emotional problem. I think Thor already covered this one.
Wes, Are you trying to outweird someone? Or are you trying to outnormal someone? Could this someone be you? hehe...
There is something as a normal person though and it can be distilled from the average actions people undertake and what is acceptable on average. All the people I used to go to school with are now still in Holland. They have a house with a garden. A girlfriend/boyfriend/wife/husband and possibly a child or children. They have no intention of moving or giving up what they have at a ripe age of above 30. This is normality, although it sounds like abnormality to my ears. I do long sometimes for a normal life. After all, it is not always easy being not normal.
I find it incredibly difficult to even pretend to be normal. I mean I can manage it with first impressions easily but the more someone gets to know me the more they realise I'm an incredibly strange human being. It's inevitable, nobody who knows me doesn't think I'm the wierdest person they know. My parents even are baffled with how I turned out. I know losers say that all the time trying to brag but it really is a serious problem for me. It makes me avoid getting to know people, especially people who I notice couldn't deal with a wierdo like me in the long run. I don't dress like a freak or anything, quite the opposite, outward appearances suggest I'm uber-normal. I might even over-compensate in that regard (normal people tend to try and make some kind of statement with their fashion, even if minimal, not me. I'm like the stereo-typical 'straightlaced' character out of some comedy). I seem quite reasonable to talk to and like I have my head on straight. Its just when people really get to know me. The more people learn about me the more they realise I'm really fucked up. Without exception. I don't buy the 'no one is normal' idea. Because most people are blatantly normal. There is certainly more to everyone than what meets the eye, but that doesn't mean they aren't normal. I'm utterly abnormal, to the extent I invariably and inevitably stand out as 'wierd' to everyone that gets to know me. And its not a goal of mine, I'm not like a goth trying to be seen as wierd, I've spent most of my life fretting over trying to be normal, and it still is my number 1 concern. I'm getting better at pretending to be normal, but its a hard image to maintain, I'll just eventually without fail reveal that I'm messed up. I really don't want to be noticed and I'm not noticed, UNTILL someone gets to know me. And its purely because I slip up whilst trying my hardest to be normal. I'm slowly starting to care less, especially around my older friends, but I still have to pretend around new people I meet. It's just necessary. One way I think I'm more normal than the majority is my sense of whats appropriate. I know unloading my 'craziness' on people I hardly know would be utterly inappropriate and I go to great lengths to not do that and hide it. Inappropriate behaviour actually irritates me when other people exhibit it. Even with my best friends I need to 'act' normal, unless I'm like drunk or on something else and we are having an in depth conversation. The only people I've talked about this issue with are people who I know are a bit loose around the edges as well. My other normal friends have just picked up on my strangeness over the years despite my concerted efforts to hide it, when they call me up on it I just brush it off, or say they are wierd and change the subject to something they did that was embarrassing or whatever and make everyone laugh at them. I'm drunk right now. Do you ever get drunk on sciforums? and then the next day feel reluctant to see what you were typing? Yeah tomorrow will be like that.
Here was a sample of something "not normal" taken from a Tim Higem set that was available for download at Http://www.religionuk.com (Club called "Religion") [Btw, the file extension has been changed to "bin" as the server is behind a setup that doesn't allow MP3's, so just change ".bin" to ".mp3" to hear.]
the smarter you are, the stranger you are...applies to people on this board maybe. possibly why nerds don't rule the world (as questioned in a previous thread). my brother is the absolute smartest person i know and the kid is whacked. when he was younger, he told my mom he thought he was autistic. he doesn't function in society like "normal" people do. if he wasn't good looking, he might have had no friends cause people suck and are put off by intelligence. i also have a hard time with how you're supposed to act. it took me a long time to figure out "normal" conversation. when people would make small talk with me i used to pause (for too long) and think "why did she ask me that?" "why does he want to know my major?" "do they really care how i'm doing today?" eventually it would occur to me that this is what you're supposed to say. i'm still trying to figure out the appropriate responses to questions people don't want you to answer.
it's just that people are threatened by what they can't relate to. the easy route around that problem is to uhm... well you know, as the smart one, find something about the other person that you can relate to. maybe if you can't relate to other people, you're not as smart as you think you are.
