Always a fun topic, good to rile people up, it's a simple question....are you normal?
First off, what exactly is normal? Is it a person who doesn't harm himself or herself, sits around, plays cards and watches reruns of Law and Order? Is it the guy who on Friday nights goes for leather, a riding crop and enjoys his sub for a couple hours? How about the loon who is thinking, in his mind he is doing a noble thing by taking potshots at demons, who are ordinary people, walking around on campus? How about the guy who is in a straitjacket, who might be rambling, but is running off the digits of PI out to the 127th digit?
Secondly, is it overrated to be normal? Can it be reached and should we even try to find it? Or is it like the prize in a Cracker Jack box, all the good stuff...then a trinket prize worth maybe a five cents, but that's my five cents!

Normal?

Well the guy in the straitjacket sounds most like me.

But seriously, what normal means to me is that you bend to society's will and follow it like the rest of the conformists. You wear socially acceptable clothing, say socially acceptable things and do socially acceptable activys.

Not the best way to have fun.

I honestly don't even know what you're trying to ask here.

For argument's sake, someone who's normal is a functional member of society without major mental or physical health issues, a criminal record, or notable achievement that will result in them becoming historically known. They have a roof over their head, a reliable mode of transportation (public transit or biking included), and a steady income of sorts.

Since people's interests differ wildly, you can't really say their hobbies or interests are abnormal unless it's something that most people would find unsavory or off from what's generally socially acceptable, for instance going down to Rusty Joe's Meat Locker and suspending yourself from meat hooks for your Saturday Night or doing hard drugs to cope with whatever on a nightly basis.

Since people's personalities differ wildly, unless there's something about them that prevents them from being able to function in public and among family and friends in a manner similar to most people, then the norm would simply be that they're acceptable.

Normal people can still do extraordinary things, we aren't defined by a single action unless it's something that's been building up for a long time. For instance, a lady who fends off a chupacabra from stealing her kid when they were going for a walk is still a normal person, she just reacted to something. Some famous military conqueror or serial killer who spent most of their life working towards what made them famous is another story.

Really, the vast majority of people are normal and probably unremarkable, even if they have talents that others don't. Normal is good; it means society is working. A person's value isn't based around how normal they are, it's how they effect their friends, family, and community that really matters. It's not overrated or elusive, it just is.

Dervish, it can be looked at in two formats, as in One, are you Normal....and two, what defines oneself as being normal? I know everyone has the idea or image of a guy in a three piece suit, with a hat in his hand coming home from work to the white picket fence and a wife, two kids and a small cottage. Hey, America's dream. Unfortunately, either the dream does not exist, has been hijacked or there's a lot hiding in the closet. Mr three piece suit might be a hitman for the mob, the wife could be a trophy wife, but for anyone looking in, you'd never know...until the cops show up to arrest him for murdering someone and leaving them face-down in their cheerios. At the same time, I know some places, where the "alternative" has become more mainstream, blurring those lines. Sometimes, breaking normal is fun....after all, imagine a Raider fan, who is not drunk, a convict and not covered in tattoos.....or worse yet, is articulate, college-educated and polite in society. Who would have heard of such a thing?

The norm is what most people in a community subscribe to.

/Thread.

It's really not complicated.

I'm pretty normal, when I get cut I usually bleed red blood... usually...

If anything, being normal is UNDER-rated. By definition most people are 'normal,' because that's literally the exact definition of what 'normal' means. Yet we're all pushed to 'be ourselves' and 'don't conform' and 'play by your own rules,' well, when we do that, we're normal people. All we're doing, collectively, is shoehorning average folks into an unnecessary and destructive identity crisis, in the facile hope of making them more comfortable by forcing them out of their comforts, and making them happier by belittling the things that make them happy. If someone ever tells you to stop caring what people think, start by tuning that person out, and see where you go from there. Then you'll be 'normal' and probably happier than if you bothered to put up with their bullshit.

interesting perspective mdk. Ya, normal used to belong with the belief that you wanted to fit in, belong, and above all, don't make waves. Thing is though, even starting in High school and earlier, you saw that normal didn't work. Jocks wouldn't hang with gang-bangers, goths wouldn't hang with tech-nerds, and so forth. Sure, you might have the rare occasion, but a lot of it depended on the individual, and his ability to go against the grain.

William Draconius said
Jocks wouldn't hang with gang-bangers, goths wouldn't hang with tech-nerds, and so forth. Sure, you might have the rare occasion, but a lot of it depended on the individual, and his ability to go against the grain.

Oh... Them high school politics and caste systems. Heh.

Of course, one big problem sits with this current batch of educators, who seem to either not want creativity to be explored, or it's held in such rigid conditions, that rebellion is not allowed...which then if a kid is unhappy, the system will look at it as something's wrong with him, not the school.
Also dates back to the way they first found normal....by looking at people in a mental institution, and then declared that anyone in here, was not normal...not what was wrong with them, mind you...but what was normal.

I must've missed this being a thread about high school. High school is one of only a few places left on earth more meaningless than a college campus. High school doesn't matter and I don't care about them.

Nah, open-ended, mdk....all safe.

Even for a fairly expansive definition of normal, as someone with Asperger's syndrome, I don't qualify.

I also don't care that I'm not.

Alkeni Synair said
Even for a fairly expansive definition of normal, as someone with Asperger's syndrome, I don't qualify.I also don't care that I'm not.

^^^
This

What's normal? Well it ain't me I'll tell you that right now :P

Partly for what Alkeni said, I also have asperger's but mine got to the point where the only person to ever find out (who I or someone else didn't tell) was someone who himself had aspergers. My lack of being normal also just has to do with... I don't get along with most people, I don't relate to them, I don't understand them, my interests are no where close to there's. Or maybe that's just the kind of normal I've been exposed to. In my area most people just want to chill, have fun, go home, sleep, have fun again. Whenever anything somewhat complicated comes up (moral questions, debates, interest in a science or technology) etc. they not only try to avoid it like the plague but somehow snap and get mad as if the people who do enjoy these things are assholes for taking the time to expand their mind rather than simply looking to chill out with others everyday.

Now, what actually makes normal though? I say it varies culture to culture, but it's basically the most typical/average mentality, interests and behaviour of the culture and area. And usually this becomes the culturally accepted way of acting/behaving simply because it's what most people understand, identify and relate to. Some culture's may embrace being different and not be afraid or hide from people not normal but rather embrace them, but there are also many cultures who see people outside the norm was something scary, weird, threatening and something to be afraid of and vicious towards.

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And it seems the topic of High School also came up so I'll address this as well.
High School is an exception, but at the same time the avatar to the rule of culture and being normal.
Human's are naturally curious but also social and fearful creatures. They seek to be accepted to matter what, and they are afraid of what they don't understand.
Hell look at any religious war, crusade, witch burning or simply paranoia/fear of things like D&D is demon worshiping, video games make murderers etc for examples of this.

They find a group, they stick with the group and become vicious to the rest in both fear and an attempt to reach the top of the power scale.
You've got the normies, those who subscribe to the culturally accepted behaviour and are the majority. Nothing too special, nothing too interesting, they just make the bulk of the community.
Then you got the popular people, those who are close enough to normal people that they are accepted and like, but also possess characteristics that they do not possess (or not as strongly) which puts them above the others.
Typically in High School with them being teenager's they value things like attractiveness, sports, sex, and anything that's simply fun and requires little thinking to be more relatable and valued. So you get the people who love to party, do sports, be cheerleaders and then fuck all night long on top.
Then you got the unpopular people, those who may either simply not subscribe to the normal culture, or those who possess characteristics they do not like. In High School sense this is normally something such as Intelligence or Maturity (It either Intimidates them or inconveniences their ability to simply relax), a skill that gains them more recognition/praise from adults and others that leads to the jelliousy of the other kids (High grades, good with computers), or simply a hobby/interest that most people don't subscribe to and find as weird (Warhammer, Magic, D&D).

The general rule of thumb still applies outside of high school, but what becomes valued changes.
Suddenly in the working and post-secondary education world, Intelligence, Advanced skills, maturity etc becomes the most valued charactertistics (Normally because this leads to better jobs, more renown, more money and power etc.) and suddenly High School's whole culture turns upside down. Those who were normally picked on for their skills and mindset become valued and on top, and those who were valued for simply throwing a ball and acting tough find themselves with not as many tools, so their popularity takes a hit.

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Ok, that went on longer than I meant for it too... :/

TLDR: Normal is the most common/typical behaviour and mindset in the community.
Subscribing to this makes you normal, relating to this but having something different that said culture values makes you more popular.
Not subscribing or having skills either unvalued or seen as fearful/intimidating makes you unpopular.

On phone. Apologies for typos.

Normal as per a society is defined as someone who largely operates within societal norms, and conforms to societal beliefs. Normal can also be broken down into cultures and social circles.

In a sense: Everyone is abnormal in belonging to and operating within at least one or more minorities (ethnic, habitual, religious, political, social, psychological, physical, etc), but also normal for managing to conform and operate within the overall society around them.

So the answer is: Everyone is both abnormal and normal. It's merely based on the situation at the time. We would all be abnormal in ancient Gaul or Feudal Japan, for example, and they would appear just as abnormal to us.

"Normal" is a highly subjective term, but I'll define it like this:

1. Has no physical or mental health problems, nor any conditions that would improve their health.
2. Has an IQ of 100
3. They fit their culture's expectations to a T.

Being normal is both under and overrated in different parts of society. This is due to the Anticonformist Effect: rebellion is now a cultural expectation. Your typical Yuppie in the office or 50's sitcom family would actually be very nonconformist in today's world. So you're stuck choosing between being a hipster like everybody else or working for the man all by yourself.

This leads to interesting phenomena. For example, when the political right controls the government, democrats suddenly hold anti-authoritarian beliefs. When the political left takes control, the political right suddenly tries to appeal to anti-authority.

Another effect is that any obscure organization or lifestyle (a small business or lesser known political position or a fad diet, ect) might suddenly find people rushing to it, in support of their small, independent nature. This will cause them to move away from obscurity and into popularity...which causes them to be abandoned because they've 'sold out'. Basically, this is like somebody feeding a puppy because it's cute and little, and then abandoning it when it grows up because it's no longer cute and little anymore. Or somebody intentionally going out of their way to damage their relationship with their spouse because true love is boring.

Anyways, what I recommend is this: Set your path independently of culture, and then try to get people to conform to you. If it's unpopular, try to popularize it. If it's popular, make it universal. If it's universal, then try to expand on it.

How normal you are is defined by how well you fit in.

@Protagonist (I always thought that was a fairly clever user name for a roleplaying site, by the way) (also, I am on the phone. Typos other other fuck ups are going to happen)

I'm going to have to disagree with your list being normal for a couple reasons. IQ tests, for instance, aren't a great way to determine someone's overall intelligence, because some people aren't geared towards that kind of intelligence or testing but may be brilliant in other areas. Case in point, I almost always need a pen and paper to do most math because I have a hard time keeping it together in my mind, but I excel at stuff like writing and sciences. Someone who may not be scholarly may be brilliant as a mechanic. An athlete can be brilliant at understanding sport related sciences, but struggles with social sciences. A musician may be able to pick up an instrument like it's nothing, but may not know how to read or write well, and so on. Point I'm trying to make is that intelligence covers a lot of different areas that don't fit nicely in an IQ test, and we're all set up differently.

Likewise, most people have some kind of health condition or another, so is it really normal to have a clear bill of health if most people don't? And how many people fit cultural expectations perfectly? Everybody has something they do or like that's outside of the norm. I mean, you can be a socially awkward goth kid who collects knives but works a steady job, pays his or her bills, and drives an economy car. You can be a store manager who seems like a regular old mom but she collects discarded dolls and takes part in a sex club on weekends. You honestly never know what somebody's like unless you get to know them. Most people aren't cookie cutter bland, even if they appear that way from a casual glance. If you try to find people who are normal and discard anyone who deviates from what the rest of society does, you're going to come up very, very short.

And why advocate deliberately trying to defy your culture? What if you're happy? What if defying just makes you miserable and accomplishes little? More sensible advice would be to do what you're happiest doing and don't let people tell you who you should be. You can still be unique and make choices for yourself without trying to be a rebel without a cause. Going against the grain just because it's not what the majority is doing just seems silly, and you're still letting society dictate how you live. It doesn't mean if your culture is doing something you disagree with you should go along with it, it just means that if you want to do something that's what society expects, why not?Doesn't make sense to try and define yourself by being what everyone isn't. If you want to take risks and strike out on your own, go for it! Just make sure it's what you want to do rather than just because you don't want to be like most people. That's silly.

Y'know, I just realized, that like batman, you can make everything funnier if you add the words "While drinking coffee" at the end. Provided you immagine that while drinking said brew, the person somehow does it BETTER, ALWAYS, AND NEVER PUTS THE MUG DOWN.

Like fencing.
Fencing while drinking coffee.

Swimming.
Swimming while drinking coffee.

Drinking beer and/or smoking.
Drinking beer and/or smoking while drinking coffee.

Being a referee for a hockey game.
Being a referee for a hockey game, while on coffee.

Batman fighting Tony Stark while drinking coffee, at a hockey-game, with all of the above going-on in the background.