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#1 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Storm Sanctuary!
Posts: 255
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What do people in society view as "normal" and why? I mean we have the same jobs (some of us), same hobbies, certain religions (some of us), same body functions such as eating and breathing, and other characteristics. Not to mention the environment, diseases that spread, human conflicts, and death. Is this the way life is meant to be for ever? Why do some people just come to the conclusion that they can live life the way they do and consider it "normal"? Also, isn't there more than having the same jobs that people have had in the past or present (or jobs similar to that in these times)? I just want to hear from everyone else before I might say something (because I can't think of anything right now unless someone brings up a good point).
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#2 |
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Very Grave Indeed
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The only remotely reasonable definition of "normal" as it applies to humans is "The particular behavior/habit/belief which is held by the majority of the people" but as a definition it is one that I consider pretty useless and that "normal" is a pretty idiotic term to apply to people at all.
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#3 | |
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FFR Player
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Quote:
Though all-too-often, the majority changes without realizing it, and the old definition of "normal" is retained until society realizes that the standard has changed, necessitating a change in the definition of "normal." Take for instance, the old "world is flat" belief. This was the normal, the standard. It took years for the majority to change to the "world is round" belief, and now that is considered normal. "Normal" is a very volatile (as in unstable) term that only applies to the majority at a certain point in time. |
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#4 | |
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Very Grave Indeed
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Quote:
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#5 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Storm Sanctuary!
Posts: 255
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Well, if you guys could change the definition of normal, would you say that in order for something to be "normal" that it should be 100% true?
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#6 | ||
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FFR Player
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Ninja'ed by MotF
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Unfortunately, such a situation is rare at best. So I agree that in the overwhelming majority of situations, it's better to avoid using the term. However, as there always are, there are exceptions, in which the word is understood by all involved exactly how the speaker means for it to be. Still, you as a speaker don't know how your listeners will interpret your words, making such a situation almost impossible to achieve. Quote:
Last edited by Relambrien; 06-5-2007 at 12:04 AM.. |
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#7 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 66
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But when you're talking about the majority and "normal" people in society, being normal is abnormal. Even by conformist standards, people have so many quirks and individual habits. If you look at it a different way, some one following every "normal" aspect of society is abnormal, because almost nobody does that. When you get the average of such a varied population, barely anyone falls exactly in the middle, like an IQ test. The majority of people falls sightly off of either side of 100 points. Only a small fraction of people score the average. Those people, even though their getting the "normalest" score, they're abnormal. Being a normal person, actually means you're special.
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#8 |
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Little Chief Hare
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![]() Where that line is. Because, that's the definition. Well, I guess there's the median and modal averages as well, as people have already stated in some form. As has already been pointed out, any attempt to treat this as a basis for determining things such as right or wrong is generally quite silly. |
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#9 |
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FFR Player
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A normal is a line that is perpendicular to a surface.
That's about it. No, but really, I'd say normal is the average of human experience. If you had a person who was "average", they'd be "normal". I don't know if such a person exists. Edit: Crap, I was ninja'd by about 19 hours. How did I miss that? |
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#10 | |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Storm Sanctuary!
Posts: 255
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Quote:
Edit: When I said that some people can't add, this doesn't imply that I view people who can add as normal where the people who can't add as abnormal. This simply means that the people who can't add are wrong, but being wrong isn't always viewed as being abnormal. Last edited by Master_of_the_Faster; 06-5-2007 at 11:08 PM.. |
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#11 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 7
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Everyone made this all to technical. The way I comprehended the question was completely different.
What is normal? Normal is garbage, its a way of putting people down. In America if you arent normal you are shunned from society to be with the other "weird" people. Normal is a belief just like Popularity is a belief, popularity exists because popular people think they are popular its just a way to compare and compete, that is the nature of humans. If people were able to disregard normality and get past the different ways people live their lives and are able to look at ideas from more than one side than perhaps we will all be living in a better world |
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#12 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Storm Sanctuary!
Posts: 255
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Is there anyone who doesn't believe that "normal" is just garbage? I would imagine that proponents of banning gay marriage wouldn't believe that "normal" is garbage.
Last edited by Master_of_the_Faster; 06-6-2007 at 03:20 PM.. |
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#13 |
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Very Grave Indeed
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Why, unless you want to be specious and claim that absolutely everything anyone disagrees with is "abnormal" to them.
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#14 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2005
Age: 25
Posts: 3,996
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I don't think there is really a "normal". Everyone is a person that is completely unique. So to call one person "normal" would be like saying,"Here are the basics, you must conform to these basics." Everyone can do what they want to do without having to be called "weird". So really, the concept of "normal" is nothing more than a bias.
Did anybody understand half of what I just said? |
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#15 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Storm Sanctuary!
Posts: 255
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Well I understand you, but "normal" isn't just society. "Normal" can also be how a person defines him/herself. Unfortunatly, to some people, the "normal" standards for society as a whole would govern them instead of actually thinking for themselves.
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#16 |
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Very Grave Indeed
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How is making the free decision "I am going to make an effort to conform to what I percieve as preexisting standards" not thinking for yourself?
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#17 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Edmonton, Canada
Age: 29
Posts: 1,736
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People are "normally" unique.
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#18 |
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Very Grave Indeed
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People have all manner of beliefs, opinions and tendencies in common. How is it somehow offensive to conclude that a belief held by a vast majority of people is "normal" and that people who do not hold to the same belief differ from the "norm"?
People are using the word "normal" they are not explicitly attaching a value judgement that "normal" is the same as "good" and that "abnormal" is the same as "bad" so why are people reacting like that is the explicit presupposition? |
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#19 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 90
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People are afraid of abnormal, so they make everything "normal". Or at least they try to.
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#20 |
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FFR Player
Join Date: May 2007
Location: No.
Posts: 23
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The concept of what if normal and what is not depends entirely upon the person in question; in my mind, antisocial, intelligent, secluded people who like to play video games of some sort are "normal".
![]() Notice also that "normal" tends to coincide with how the person in question acts. |
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