Studying Stupidity & Abnormality

"A 'normal person' is what is left after society has squeezed out all unconventional opinions and aspirations of the human in question" - M. Mokhonoana

I've always been rather smart, so much so that I have been termed: "autodidactic."

This is a novel, concerted term for anybody who can look at two paragraphs of an article of literature and within five minutes, fully understand the material in question.

It comes from being able to "fill in the pieces," and duly noted, it can be a pain in the butt. For one, sometimes learning way too easily can lead to boredom, which was what eventually led me down a rather notorious path where this equated to addiction.

But this is not an autobiography; it just sounds like one.

Today's subject? Abnormality.

Note that I actually wrote this yesterday morning, and I apologize for not keeping track. I had a moment of dizziness, possibly from exhaustion (writing an article a day is harder than it sounds), and I was bedbound for a day. This is a recap on something I learned while a Psychology major. As I enter the world of marketing as a discipline, I have to say, this "article a day" concept is a lot, but do take a moment to subscribe to this newsletter.

The Abnormal Is Normal

When Elon Musk was described as "strange" as a child, he would have kids throw soda cans at his head, but then he got on board with Tessla, and did well; Albert Einstein was called a "doofus" by his earlier teachers, seeing his inabilities as confining, but yet he still invented the first nuclear weapon (now we know why); Bill Gates was considered stupid in his childhood years, and yet he formulated a deceptive path forward with Microsoft...

These are all examples of "abnormal intelligence," as I like to call it. Or, as others call it: "abnormal thinking." There are many like us, and we haunt the minds of weary critics and substantiate disagreement. However, we must begin to realize that as society moves us in a new direction toward "normality," we forget that in our attempts to be normal, we are ignoring the abnormal, which is so, so much more fascinating to think about.

We all like to believe that we are unique, cauterized within the mechanism of society's norms. When we try to fit in a bit too much, we lose sight of the true nature of the beauty of one's inner demons, outer heavenly spirits, and when we ignore these facets of our existence, we stumble upon a breeding ground for regrets and wrongdoings.

Too Smart For One's Own Good

Some people are termed: "too smart for one's own good," and it is the perfect description of an autodidact. This person is someone who is strange, albeit, out of the ordinary, willing to take substantiated risks, and is often a social isolate. But is that not a great thing?

When we are smart, we learn relatively easily, and this can lead to boredom, which can turn into bad things. This can lead many to alcoholism, drug abuse, and many who fondle the candles of intelligence are often seen as outcasts by many.

"An idle mind is the devil's workshop" - Anonymous

I recall my middle school art teacher stating that he was the one who made this quote up.

Essentially, I believed him. Roughly eighteen years later, I found that this quote is actually not so subtle. It is true: when we let ourselves drift from our true selves, allowing isolation into our hearts and minds, we find that the heavenly spirits within us are dominant. Idle minds grow bored; bored minds seek pleasure; seeking pleasure causes a drift in atmospheric pressures, much like a solar flare or a hurricane approaching.

The History Of Abnormality

I like to think that I would rather be studying the abnormal than the other way around, and this has led me down a path where I am able to relate to just about anybody. If you think you are odd in your own ways, as we all are, welcome to the discussion, and you will enjoy this, as I am about to ramble (I promise, it has a point).

As a Psychology major (yes, I fell for the trick they waved in front of me, but that is beside the point) I have learned from books on "abnormal psychology" that dating back as far as 1792 when Philippe Pinel (a French physician), oddness was often criminal.

Back in the early 18th century, we were upon the epoch of "New Age Reform."

Whatever the heck that means, but it is a simple term describing an era where asylum admittance was more than accepted. In fact, it was preferred as the best means of maintaining normal human functioning.

Witchcraft & Superiority

For a while, anybody showing superior intelligence, an oddness (which, considering the world we live in, describes everybody at present to some degree) they possessed was considered tantamount to witchcraft. There is actually undocumented literature I recall seeing once a long, long time ago (in a galaxy far, far, away...) where it was stated:

"If you are a witch, we will push you off of a cliff. If truly a witch, you will be able to levitate and survive. If you are not a witch, you will plummet to your death..."

This may be a "Simpsons" reference, but I find it all too suiting.

When we look back upon the times of witchcraft, we are actually peering past the eras of abnormal psychology. There is not much literature on the days of witches, with many stating that they were common among small communions that considered anybody who claimed sophisticated oddness to be among the few chosen to fall from a cliff...unless they fly!

But moving on.

Freud & The Unconscious

When the 19th century rolled around, Sigmund Freud began his psychological triumph with personality theories and notions of an "id" and an "ego." The id was the unconscious facilitation of inner desires. The ego was the societal norms we have to abide by.

The superego was the mediator between the two, defining our decisions (the id is the drunk forty-year-old at a bar; the ego is the part of him that decides to hit on the desirable waitress; the superego is the bouncer who escorts him out when he is far too drunk).

What am I getting at? Simple: we are all a bit crazy, and the sooner we accept that abnormality is the best way to go, the better off our lives will be.

Abnormality Is Normality

The stranger we are these days, the more likely we are to be listened to. Is that not an amazing concept? Think about the eccentric Medicine Man dancing around the fire.

Most of us have had the luck to, at some point in our ethereal existences, witness live renditions of Native American culture of some sort. I recall seeing that Medicine Man talking to himself, and he was always, always respected because he could maintain contact with the spirit world. Turns out, roughly two thousand years later, anybody dancing around a fire and chanting that he/she can talk to the spirits within the troposphere is insane.

Yet in Native-American culture, the Medicine Man, eccentric and lost in a cloud of fantasy, is considered the most likely person within the tribe to supersede the Chief!

Yes, the main worship among most Native American culture (among that, we can also include the Mayan and Aztec tribes of an age-old time, as well as many other lesser-known societal epochs) centered around ritual to engage the Medicine Man's "powers" to light.

But now, in our society (i.e. whether you are American, Hispanic, Pacific-Islander, and so on), we succumb to a different perspective, where Hunter S. Thompson once stated:

"In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity. Some may never live, but the crazy never die" - Hunter S. Thompson

Why Strangeness Rules The Earth

Be strange but kind; be confident but humble; be a hermit but go to Starbucks once a day to maintain some sense of societal acceptance. You see, I was one of those young children who found themselves lost in a whirlwind of thought: was I sincerely just a "gifted child?"

Or was I abnormal?

We find that the two go hand-in-hand, as stated in lieu of Albert Einstein, who was known to be called by his teachers as a "doofus," or in Denis Bryan's words: "dull-witted," meaning stupid back in his time. His oddities confined him to a life that eventually led to great intelligence, and the age-old saying supersedes the abnormalities themselves:

"He'll be more famous dead than alive..."

My point is this: the stranger you are, the likelier you will be to succeed. A Harvard study by Karpinski et. al. in 2018 equated high intelligence with social oddities. Take, as a broad and disorganized example: something I saw in my cousin, as unfortunate as it may be. He is a very, very smart child, conducive to Einstein-level intelligence, and yet he is currently struggling to scratch and claw his way up the middle school "chain of command."

Remember this old thing?

Trying to be something we are not, making every attempt to seem better than the rest, and yet still finding difficulty in social interaction. I remember that, and I remember the struggle. Intelligence, in this case, defines myself and my cousin, and we both suffer/suffered at the hands of the masses. It was recently that I learned something from him when he said to me:

"Cuz, I'm being picked on....but I really don't mind. I think if I were to be picked on more, I would be more likely to figure out the insanity of our society, and I'd like to truly sit down and interview one of them some day about why they call me weird"

- My younger cousin, who will go unnamed

I Love That Saying!

When he said that to me, two things crossed my mind: 1) this kid is really, really, really smart, and 2) he is looking at this in a prophetic light, where he seeks to actually study those who make fun of him for (you guessed it) being smart! Is that not a lovely abnormality?

To say such words as: "I will figure out why they call me smart and make fun of me for it" is sincerely the best way to look at things, and this is where the "point" I mentioned comes into the equation once again: I think we all need to take a lesson from our younger selves, and take a moment to think about who we have wronged out of mere frustration.

Oddness Rules The Earth

In essence, oddness rules the earth. The smartest are often the weirdest; the weirdest are often the most prone to being among the cohort of outcaste...but at the end of the day, oddness rules the earth. Recall times when you have experienced oddness in your lives.

I thought I would take today's venture to a new level, so instead of reading a boring Sunday article for my 90 Day Content Challenge (please subscribe!), this was an eerie look at the darker light of the man behind the content. I hope it was engaging, fun, and if nothing else, a lot different than what you will normally find on LinkedIn. Remember, abnormality is brilliance; brilliance is success; success is flawless, yet flaws are not real.

Take that into consideration.

And remember, you are who you are.

Accept your oddness today, and share your strangeness!

Have a great weekend! Be sure to Like and Comment!

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