The Abnormality of Normality

Statistics lie. Though, not in a traditional sense. The data they present is correct (most of the time), but the world view it gives us is fundamentally skewed. I mean, say that there was a rare genetic mutation that caused people to become temporarily paralyzed after they are startled, and it only affected 0.01% of the population. You could say; "Well then, that does seem very unlikely. I don't think I'll worry about it too much. After all, I doesn't affect alot of people." But remember this: 0.01% of Earth's population is still seven-hundred thousand people worldwide. Now, all of the sudden, it seems like a much bigger number. But it's still the same data, merely presented in a different format.

Another gross misrepresentation of humanity's obsession with percentages is what is "normal". What is a normal person? Well let's see. If we assume they live in the US (just to make things easier), then they would have to be: white, male, straight,  ~35 and a half years old, have brown hair, brown eyes, be ~5' 9", weigh 170 lbs., have had an average college GPA of 2.93, have an income of ~$81,400, be married, have 2-3 kids, and odds are they're also a salesperson for a living. But just how many people you know fit this neat little box? And that's not even factoring in things like religion, pets, household space, diet, hobbies and interests... et cetera, et cetera. So, why do some people have such a compulsion to be "normal", when there really is no such thing? Of course, even there, the normal they're shooting for isn't even statistically correct, but that's a discussion for another time. People have this animal urge to squeeze themselves into a mold that others have sculpted for them, in order to be accepted into a group. Their dedication to this idea is quite impressive, if pitiful to watch.

However, there are exceptions that make the rule. People out there that don't give a fig about what society thinks, or what standards it sets. I applaud them. But interestingly, their numbers seem to be growing. Where people used to squeeze and stretch themselves onto a template in order to present themselves to a social group, they now revel in their uniqueness and dance in the glory of their own imperfections and humanity. People accentuate their differences from each other and from there create and find groups that match their interests, not societies. This can be attributed to the large human population and the scramble for jobs in the recession. People go out of their way to separate themselves from the masses, to distinguish themselves amongst their peers. And you need to do this, it's a necessity, a requirement in order to catch and hold someones attention long enough that they hire or promote you. But it's a delicate balance. Too uniform, you'll never succeed. Too different, and you'll end up alienating yourself from society completely. While that may sound okay, enjoyable even, it's not desirable if you seek advancement. After all, we still cling to our primeval need for order and uniformity. Who would hire a freak?

So I suppose, in a sense, that the fact that we still need to alter ourselves to our social environment still lingers, like a disease, like the parasite it is. Society's interaction with individuals is a parasitic relationship. Unfortunately for us right now, it's also a necessary relationship.