I always hear people saying "thats not normal" or "thats normal. How does one decide what is normal and what is not. For example, and this is the main thing i've been wandering about, it seems to me that people see unhappiness as not normal and being happy as normal,what if being sad is whats normal and what is meant, and happieness is whats not noemal. What if ugly is normal and pretty is not normal. Who sets the standard? is the standard the same all the time or does the standard change according to the situation? What do you guys think?

For the most part normal is understood to be anything that follows scientific explanation. Anything outside that is paranormal I guess. Now people will tell you that there is no paranormal occurences or that Science can explain everything, but opinions are opinions, everyone has one.


Gene

Regarding happiness and attractiveness I agree that what is normal fluctuates within cultures throughout time. Sometimes it is influenced by living standards i.e. when a populace is starving fat women are deemed more attractive. Sometimes it is influenced by the media as well. I remember seeing something on TV a few years ago saying that in America there would be a drug that stopped kids being shy. But isn't shyness 'normal'? Part of a range of personality traits everybody has? In a culture that has nurtured being charismatic as the most desired personality trait it is not normal anymore to be shy.

Good things seems to be normal I guess.
It's just how everyone sees it

I always seem to define "normal" as something that is average. Anything outside average is not normal.

For instance, the vast majority of people are neither beautiful (in face) or ugly. Everyone, of course, looks different, but most people just seem to fit in, on the odd occasion however, a person will enter a room and their face may be completely disfigured or incredibly beautiful. This is not normal because if it were, everyone would be the same.

It also isn't normal for someone to have, say, £1,000,000,000. Or for somebody to be able to run the 100 metres sprint in 10 seconds flat. Or for the memory man to be able to remember a phone book.

In my opinion, everything is normal unless it is exceptional.

By the way, if something is not normal, I am not saying I, in any way, consider it bad - there is nothing wrong is being not normal!

Yes I agree, but then what makes some thing good and what makes something bad?

Most physical and other properties define a sort of bell shaped
curve if plotted. If you measure the actual lenght of a hundred
12" rulers you'll get a bellshaped curve with the center close to
12" and most in a very narrow range. Not normal is usually con-
sidered more than one standard deviation outside the mean.

People have a lot more parameters than a 12" ruler and many
are difficult to measure. But the principle might remain about
the same; excessive deviation.

More seriously, if someone exhibits beliefs or behavior that may
indicate problems people tend to start thinking that he's not nor-
mal. If he's wealthy then he might instead be considered eccen-
tric, or if he seems threatening then he could be committed.

There's such a wide range of behavior there's very little which
isn't normal. In the last century there's less personal respons-
ibility and the range of normality has expanded much more
than in the past as have the numbers of people obviosly outside
this range. Things like cannibilism, murder, and eating Jeeps
will never be considered "normal".