Normality

What does it mean to be normal? Well if you ask Webster’s dictionary about the concept of normality you get: “the state or fact of being the way things usually are”. But is it really that simple? Can you just define what it means to be normal with only a few lines and dots on a piece of paper? Is it actually possible to define normality as things being as they usually are? If everything is as it usually is there would never be any change.

Even if you look at normality seen from a mathematical perspective which is perhaps the most simple way of looking at normality things are almost never as they usually are. In mathematics you add all the numbers up and find an average. Most people are usually either above or below the average. But if we look back at our definition of normality it suddenly becomes normal to be either above or below average. However this may seem a bit confusing because in mathematics we accept that the average is what is normal but it turns out that it is not necessarily the usual. This means that it might be a lot harder to define normality than just using a few words.

For example if we look at someone who is physically handicapped they might not be “normal” in the way they look but there are lots of other people in their situation and it is socially acceptable. We have made it a part of our daily lives and there are even parking spots specifically for handicapped people and they have all the same rights as the rest of us which leads me to believe that they are conceived to be just as normal as the rest of us. However they are different in the way they look but so are people with Down’s syndrome which brings me to my next question.

Are you abnormal if you have a mental disorder? While it is true that a lot of people with mental disorders need assistance for their daily routines they are often very independent. Take people