Norms and Normal
PAGE IN PROGRESS
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
What you see here is a page of my hypertext book Me, Looking for Meaning. Initially empty, it will slowly be filled with thoughts, notes, and quotes. One day, I will use them to write a coherent entry, similar to these completed pages. See this post to better understand my creative process. Thank you for your interest and patience! :)
“not normal” is another way to describe someone (together with mean and stupid) if we disagree with them or dislike their actions. Expression “sick puppy”. Expression “cognitive delusions” when speaking about people with depression or anxiety
The problem is when people extrapolate normality - it is common to have 5 fingers on each hand, so there must also be a common way to behave, to feel, to react, etc. And while there are some commonalities in behavior, there are also many nuances and variations. (A kid might want to stand when doing schoolwork instead of sitting) see story of author of Dogman
As Patsy Clairmont quipped, "Normal is just a setting on your dryer." The term "normal" is often considered the one to avoid. But what is "normal" really, and how is it related to the idea of "norms"? In it's original sense, normal is something that more common. For example, it is more common for a child to to born with five fingers on each hand rather than with six. More controversially, it is more common for a child to be born with a set of genitalia associated with one of the sexes (male or female) rather than with some combination of the two. But see what happens when more common is the two examples above is substituted with "normal". While the statements featuring "more common" sound neutral, the statements using the word "normal" can raise some eyebrows or be deemed offensive. Why is that? "More common" does seem pretty neural, while "normal" becomes a judgement. Not normal and abnormal sound almost pejorative in non-medical contexts. "Why can't you sit normally?" I want to say to my fidgety child, but then I bite my tongue, because I don't want to say that being hyperactive or struggling with attention equals being bad. So, not-normal is colloquial speech sound like "being wrong" or "being bad".
It is true that some things or ways of being are more common than others, but we need to see why that is. In biology, there is nothing to do with some things being more common and some less. But we should be careful designating less common things as somehow being inferior or dangerous. In culture, what's less or more common changes over time and space, which brings us to the idea of "norms."
"not normal" or even "less common" is a meaning that we can ascribe to things according to what we think/know about them. If some behavior is stigmatized and people avoid talking about it, it might be seen as less common than it actually is
We should be careful when we describe people whose actions we don't understand or dislike as not only mean and stupid, but also as somehow not normal. Another way to say that: strange or weird. "You don't like ice cream? You are weird!"
Also, careful even in biology with what seems more or less common. Six fingers - visible, clearly less common. But things that are not visible, for example connected with psychology, can be more common although we might not see them. Things we cannot measure (or that are difficult even to define) like intelligence.
Following norms = preserving the order of things. Seeing the world as orderly as one of human's essential needs. However, as we are trying to preserve the order, we can hurt each other in the process. This is one of the many reasons why people hurt each other.
Opposite of normal - pathological.
when we say that something is not normal, that can be seen as offensive. Do we mean that it’s an exception, something rare, less common. Does being rare mean being bad? Normal/not normal - judgement, while more/less common is an observation. Not everything that is less normal is bad, or good. Is it common to be concerned/suspicious about something that’s not common?
About this project: Start page
The problem is when people extrapolate normality - it is common to have 5 fingers on each hand, so there must also be a common way to behave, to feel, to react, etc. And while there are some commonalities in behavior, there are also many nuances and variations. (A kid might want to stand when doing schoolwork instead of sitting) see story of author of Dogman
As Patsy Clairmont quipped, "Normal is just a setting on your dryer." The term "normal" is often considered the one to avoid. But what is "normal" really, and how is it related to the idea of "norms"? In it's original sense, normal is something that more common. For example, it is more common for a child to to born with five fingers on each hand rather than with six. More controversially, it is more common for a child to be born with a set of genitalia associated with one of the sexes (male or female) rather than with some combination of the two. But see what happens when more common is the two examples above is substituted with "normal". While the statements featuring "more common" sound neutral, the statements using the word "normal" can raise some eyebrows or be deemed offensive. Why is that? "More common" does seem pretty neural, while "normal" becomes a judgement. Not normal and abnormal sound almost pejorative in non-medical contexts. "Why can't you sit normally?" I want to say to my fidgety child, but then I bite my tongue, because I don't want to say that being hyperactive or struggling with attention equals being bad. So, not-normal is colloquial speech sound like "being wrong" or "being bad".
It is true that some things or ways of being are more common than others, but we need to see why that is. In biology, there is nothing to do with some things being more common and some less. But we should be careful designating less common things as somehow being inferior or dangerous. In culture, what's less or more common changes over time and space, which brings us to the idea of "norms."
"not normal" or even "less common" is a meaning that we can ascribe to things according to what we think/know about them. If some behavior is stigmatized and people avoid talking about it, it might be seen as less common than it actually is
We should be careful when we describe people whose actions we don't understand or dislike as not only mean and stupid, but also as somehow not normal. Another way to say that: strange or weird. "You don't like ice cream? You are weird!"
Also, careful even in biology with what seems more or less common. Six fingers - visible, clearly less common. But things that are not visible, for example connected with psychology, can be more common although we might not see them. Things we cannot measure (or that are difficult even to define) like intelligence.
Following norms = preserving the order of things. Seeing the world as orderly as one of human's essential needs. However, as we are trying to preserve the order, we can hurt each other in the process. This is one of the many reasons why people hurt each other.
Opposite of normal - pathological.
when we say that something is not normal, that can be seen as offensive. Do we mean that it’s an exception, something rare, less common. Does being rare mean being bad? Normal/not normal - judgement, while more/less common is an observation. Not everything that is less normal is bad, or good. Is it common to be concerned/suspicious about something that’s not common?
About this project: Start page
