I've heard this plenty of times, when people are discussing things, and then someone doesn't seem to like something that the majority of the group like they would say "Thats not normal." How can someone define normal? People talk of normal as if normal is the right way to be, and not to get racist, but if you were a nazi, is trying to take over the world normal and right? I'd like peoples opinions on this please. First off, Define normal, and is normal right? I want to ask people this question, and please try your best to answer it: To you what is normal?
Normal in a real world situation like your asking to me is; you live in a town with tons of crime you would say it's normal to get robbed. Because it happens so much you expect it that way. Then when the crime suddenly stops, that's not "normal". Or if it happens more than usual it's abnormal.
So in summary I think normal is defined by something that happens so often that it's expected or natural. If something changes from what you define as normal than it's abnormal.
In games, it something that balances the line between too easy to beat and too hard to beat.
I've heard this plenty of times, when people are discussing things, and then someone doesn't seem to like something that the majority of the group like they would say "Thats not normal." How can someone define normal? People talk of normal as if normal is the right way to be
According to the way you phrased it, "normal" characterizes the compliance to the views of the majority of a group (neighbourhood, friends, ...). Having different opinions/tastes isn't considered "normal".
Normal as it is used is an abstraction, of the average response/view of a person perfectly integrated on a given group, or the ideal response as envisioned and accepted by the group. Different behaviours are considered suspicious and awkward, and people tend to not accept them.
Normal can be the right way to be if you want to fit the group in an homogeneous way. To blend in.
Otherwise is just the choice, given an option, of the majority of people in a group. You can always have a different one, but depending on the the degree of understanding of the members of the group, you can always face rejection and mistrust.
In my opinion Normal is what most people consider to be the way things should be and then anyone who goes against that trend is doing something that is considered to be different or not normal.
Like people building a gaming PC, the normal thing to do would be to go for a high power Intel system, people deciding to pick a different option might be considered to be people who are deviating from the norm, and that's me, I'm a deviant with an AMD! But I have the capacity to change, all I need is the budget!
@Hardgamer: Normal is a subjective term of commonality biased by a person's expectations. Clearly by the responses you see here you'll understand that there is no 'normal' because everybody assumes everybody else shares their own form.
If you like these basic psychological and logical questions you might want to check out this book.
EDIT: Oh, and of course normal isn't necessarily 'right' or a sound position to take, that would be argumentum ad populum, one of the most basic logical fallacies.
Normal is one of those ideas that starts to break down the more you think about. It's really just code for disapproving of something (e.g. "that behavior just isn't normal").
I think it depends on a bunch of things; for me, normal is just stuff that I learned growing up and I feel is normal on a personal level. There are other families that have other traditions, and they probably think what they do is normal, but in my case would just be awkward. "Normal" is just something people learn to conform under whether it's on purpose or just sub-consciously.
I think normal goes around like a virus, but it starts with an individual and someones personal ideals. So as time goes on, the normal routines will change for a whole group of people, but it doesn't mean it changes for some individuals since I think normal is just something held by personal belief and what have you. I feel like I just repeated myself a few times there, there, there. Oh, whoops :P.
The more I think about it, it seems like "normal" is weird. Why would anyone want to be like everyone else, you know? It's like everyone wants you to do what you're "supposed" to do and like what you're "supposed" to like. They expect you to be who they want you to be because they like to put everything in a neat little box with a label. Well, guess what? I don't fit in your little box... Most people just go through life doing what there told because they can't think for themselves. They just listen to Britney Spears and Lady Gaga because they want to fit in because they're so afraid of being different. I don't care about brand-name clothes and liking what everyone else likes just because its "mainstream". I'm my own person and I think for myself. Maybe it isn't "normal" but why would I want to be normal? Normal is boring because everyone is all the same. It's like, I don't care if what I like is "popular". I listen to old school bands like Nirvana, and I don't care what the masses think about it. Just because its not some mass-produced auto-tune crap like all the music today that sounds all the same. I'd rather hang out with weird people anyways, because normal people aren't interesting. It's the weird people that are creative and artists and think for themselves... I don't need to play Call of Duty just cause everyone else does, cause old school games like Legend of Zelda and indie games are better anyways."Normal" is what everyone tells you your supposed to be like because they can't handle it if you don't conform to their black & white categories, but I AM NOT A NUMBER!!! I'm ME. I'm my own person and I don't care what other people think. So if not conforming to everybody else's standards of what's "right" makes me weird or abnormal, fine. I don't care... I don't want to be just like them anyway. I'm unique...They laugh because I'm different but I laugh because they're all the same... Nu-uh, Dad, you take out the trash...
Don't worry. Someday you'll turn fifteen, and then you'll be ready to tackle the big issues. Like, what if what you see as green, I see as blue, but we both just call it green because we're told it's green?
"Normal" is normally intended to be an average of some kind. I agree with your general complaint that "normal" tends to be ill-defined, and most people lean heavily on their own experiences and preferences to define "normal" (instead of getting a more representative sample). As a quick catch-all, the word "normal" works reasonably well, but in situations where precision is important it's a term better avoided.
Normal is pretty much the society standard that's set by what is accepted by the majority. It isn't normal for dudes to wear dresses, it isn't normal scream instead of talking in conversations, and it isn't normal to not shower.
Normal is one of those ideas that starts to break down the more you think about. It's really just code for disapproving of something (e.g. "that behavior just isn't normal").
This.
It's just something that isn't normal to that specific person. You can honestly call tons of things normal, just because it's not normal to you doesn't mean it isn't normal for me. It's one of those words that gets thrown around a lot and means something different to everyone.
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