the_mediocre_people Farool I'm not beautiful. I'm not talented. I'm not smart. I'm not creative. I'm not loved. I'm not wanted. I'm not artistic. I'm not bright. I'm not funny. I'm not unique. I'm not everything you want me to be, sorry. Some people out there just aren't special. Like me, I'm not special. People see me on the street and ttheir eyes keep moving. People bump into me in the store and don't remember it. People don't care.The few people that do care don't care enough. I'm drowning in this sea of conformity. I'm not a beautiful person. I'm not a beautfiful person. 060315 ... LS Well, okay, that sucks. But do YOU care? About yourself, I mean... 060315 ... neesh i don't think anyone lacks the capacity to be special 060315 ... But does Farool realize it? Farool is lying! 060315 ... bricks i'm not anything, i'll hold on by my little finger to some hope that i have a talent, but i know its not there. whatever. i've come to terms with it, and its not big deal. i don't like myself, but i try not to be emo about it. 060315 ... Harlequin Who wants you to be this way? Who's saying you aren't? These words and concepts and labels are based on perspective. I don't see anyone accusing you of not fitting into them. 060315 ... dipperwell Well, if most things fall in a normal distribution, then about 68% of the people are going to be about average, and 32% will be below or above average. It is entirely possible to not be "special" by our conventional measure of specialness. If you'd like to consider yourself special, I suggest redefining the term - do away with the whole trait-by-trait comparison approach, and fiddle around with something more comprehensive. 060315 ... Freak i saw a car with a boy sets fire sticker on the back of it. It made me happy at first, but then sad 060315 ... misstree dipperwell: wouldn't that be about 33% above, 33 at, and 33 below? by your figuring, no one would be above average, making for a very meteoker world indeed... hearts bell curves 060316 ... dipperwell Alas, I don't think it would be. But that's because I'm giving a more generous space for averageness. I consider to be average anything that falls between one standard deviation below, and one above, the mean. This statistically doesn't so much determine the averageness as the outliers, the really exceptional points of data. I find that measure a good one because when people consider themselves "not special", they don't usually want their unremarkable or lacking qualities to fall within the +1 standard deviation range - they usually aim higher. They want to be an upper outlier, one of the most talented. If most people have an average intelligence, and they don't consider themselves smart, they probably don't want to be just a little smarter - enough to do better at math, for example - they probably want to be quite intelligent indeed. There is roughly a 1 in 20 chance of someone falling outside of the middle 68% (although this varies a little based on other factors) and my estimation is that most people want that. They don't want to be a little better at a lot of things; they'd be happy with just one glowing acceleration. It's our fault for drilling messages of how everyone is special and beautiful and unique into them as children, and then offering them a world that entirely contradicts all that as soon as they hit twelve. But I'm kind of jaded. "She, Laura, likes to imagine (it's one of her most closely held secrets) that she has a touch of brilliance herself, just a hint of it, though she knows most people probably walk around with similar hopeful suspicions curled up like tiny fists inside them, never divulged." - Michael Cunningham is not particularly special 060316 ... z mediocre people define themselves. definition can be a self fulfilling proposition. i prefer to let others define me and then ignore the definition. i proceed as the way opens. 060316 ... dipperwell What I find astonishing is that mediocre people are considered boring. Which amazes me, because some of the most mediocre existences out there - I am thinking of characters on newly popular teen soap operas like The OC or Laguna Beach - in which they have no redeeming qualities except traditional beauty - fascinate so many. The fact is, it doesn't really matter if you aren't interesting to people, because you will always interest yourself - and all others are really interested by are people's lives, not their personality traits. I just can't understand why people fret so much about feeling mediocre. I mean, I know why they do it, but I just can't relate. I feel sort of the same confused reaction to people who get genuinely worried about the afterlife. Is there a correlation? 060316 ... It is so true! There is no quantifying personality. What appalls or bores one will excite or amaze another. 060316 what's it to you? who go blather from