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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ม.ค. 2025
- Discover where our perception of what is normal comes from, and how it impacts the decisions we make.
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The word “normal” is often used as a synonym for "typical," "expected," or even "correct." By that logic, most people should fit the description of normal. But time and time again, so-called normal descriptions of our bodies, minds, and perceptions have turned out to match almost no one. So what does normal actually mean- and should we be relying on it so much? Yana Buhrer Tavanier investigates.
Lesson by Yana Buhrer Tavanier, directed by Eoin Duffy.
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Strobe effects warning: Please note that this animation features flashing lights and colors throughout the video.
Let’s collab bruvvvvvvvvv
Your videos are very much wonderful
Oh, so that's why my brother started breakdancing while watching this video
Organic natural order of things sets normal. All the rest is fringe abnormal but your world views shape how you interpret everything and all evidences. We all worship something and put faith in something that creates our world view.
Theory's and world views shaped by nihilism can't judge anything liks this.
abnormal is whatever(behavior, idea, group of people) as a majority in a non assisted context will puts human survival in imminent and direct danger of extinction.
"The only normal people are the ones you don't know very well."
- Alfred Adler.
That my friend is an amazing quote
That's amazing
Haha
sometimes
That is true
I remember hearing about a study that measured the features of faces of men and women. Things like how far apart the eyes are, how long the nose is, and so on. They then took averages of all their measurements to come up with an "average" person. The two faces that were generated from the averages were stunningly beautiful, showing that people who we consider good looking, like a lot of celebrities, are actually average looking!
Because you’re averaging all of those “normal” deformations out
Lol
Would love to read the study!
I heard that too. It also said Tom cruises face was perfect.
Genious
I am astonished, this was actually fair -instead of saying normal is bad, it concisely explained that many people incorrectly interpret the meaning of normal.
Really, a breath of fresh air. I love it. -and the animation was really nice.
I agree
Exactly what I was thinking
shut up Kurt stop projecting human qualities onto things. things more specifically information should be neutral not good or bad
@@JP-br4mx swing and a miss, re-read my comment _slowly_
@@kurtlindner oh kurt, take me away with your big strong arms
The thing that is also different is Ted Ed art style every video
Not every video. Anyone who watches Ted-Ed regularly know that they repeat some styles, specially when the video fits in a specific playlist.
I love it that they find so many different animators
@@capitão_paçoca yeah i know, i noticed some of the video indeed have the same art style especially on like series
In this video I thought it was more of a distraction. It was a bit too much for me.
I like that they try their best to make a video:)
This reminds me of the military airplane cockpit redesign story from 1950s.
They were trying to figure out why there were so many accidents where the pilots couldn't reach or use a control properly, and figured that since the cockpits were first designed the average pilot has grown. So they measured 4000 pilots and wanted to use the new calculated averages for cockpit design, but one guy Gilbert S Daniels noticed that not a single pilot fit within 30% of the average range on all 10 measurements. And even if you picked 3 measurements at random, less than 4% would be within the normal range for them.
Someone might have average arm length, but longer than average legs, average neck width, but shorter than average torso.
They had to design the cockpits to be configurable and then they finally managed to reduce the number of accidents.
There is no average pilot, and there is no average person. Be it physically, mentally or culturally.
One-size-fits-all sollutions just don't work
💯💯💯
Your problem is that you are being unidimensional. Sure there are different body parts but you are using a single dimension. Length. If you increase the number of dimensions to an optimal set almost everything in the world can be represented as the norm and you can find solutions that fit the norm. And the definition of norm takes into account the existence of outliers.
@@parkla4098
I want to know if I understand what you have in mind. I think you're right. But so is he. The existence of a normal doesn't mean the variance is low. What Spliter says is more about the latter. If anything, more dimensions makes it worse. Imagine having to design a cockpit that suits not only all lengths, but all weights, focal points, hearing thresholds etc.
Women's dress sizes. They can vary based on national standards, and it is often hard to find clothes that fit exactly. This is because women's body shapes vary widely.
Did you just debunk communism?
Eoin Duffy's animation is always a joy to watch.
It amazing to watch
To be honest, personally I found this animation distracting and I didn’t even hear a thing the narrator said… it’s was too abstract and disconnected to what was being said
@@Jasonmascelli same i kept getting distracted because the animation was so fascinating, it's my adhd but it was so fun to watch, i barely heard anything the narrator said
When ever I hear people talk about what’s normal I think of something my support teacher used to tell me and my fellow autistic kids. “Normal is a complicated thing, what is normal to me is different from what is normal to you.” I think it’s very true. In autistic circles we are very used to stuff like a persons social battery being too low so they need to retreat or someone being overwhelmed by their senses or a person coming to school very rarely for a time period. Things like that are completely normal too us because it’s either something we have experienced ourselves or something someone we know have experienced. But too others it might seem weird. So I’m actually normal even though I’m not “like everyone else” or neurotypical people. Because to me what I am is completely normal.
Hello fellow autie!
Autism is abnormal (its why has a specific name and is listed as a mental condition or disorder).
If you use yourself as the benchmark then you're trying to normalize everything from the fringes and that is simply doing it all wrong.
If I had some loud music and dynamically normalized the volume level down to the quietest instrument, the music would become a drone of tones with that one instrument being only slightly more noticeable amongst them played at an equally quiet volume. Everything suffers overall though and the feeling the music gives you changes overall.
That's what you do by saying Autism is normal.
It is abnormal to everyone, except those with Autism.
The same goes with Aspergers.
Normal is a setting on a washing machine, from what my mom told me (who heard it from a friend who's name I can't remember).
Hey I'm in one of the spectrum as well, yea having a normal I can identify with actually helps me understand myself including the things in life that works for me, and things that don't really
I'm not against the video nor people who use the same phrase "What is normal?" And I do believe that it is important.
However, in my experience as an autistic person who was diagnosed as a teenager rather than a child and have had to explain it to many people, I have seen that conversation usually has them saying the phrase in order to make me normal rather than understanding my differences and how I'm not normal. What I mean is that people were nice in what they were saying but failed to actually integrate me into their understandings because they thought that I was normal and therefore very similar to the average population.
Instead of normal people patronizingly saying "what's normal" to people to already know they aren't, I would rather abnormal people saying "what's normal" when confronted with those who refuse (consciously or subconsiously) to understand.
That's an excellent point.
Honestly I don't get why people get the notion to pretend as if everything is normal, something being abnormal doesn't automatically make it bad. Like for example: an uncle who usually gifts you cheap stuff suddenly gifts you something you really like. Things being outside the norm doesn't mean it's bad. Basically the only thing saying stuff like "this isn't normal" does is simply state that it is different from usual.
@@namename-ph7bg Also, sometimes abnormal *is* bad, as in insulin levels or arterial plaque.
@@gyozakeynsianism yes that is correct, abnormal can be both good or bad(or neither honestly)
@@namename-ph7bg we'll never know
"Diversity, is the true normal"
Truer words have never been said
Yeah, but then there are some that are more diverse than the others.
I agree. I even wrote this on my journal as soon as the speaker said it.
@@Siderite that's literally the point tho
@@Siderite and to those some, those other people are more diverse than them. Foreigners vs non-foreigners, perceive the other as more diverse than oneself.
Unless you're #KimJongUn 👹🇰🇵
This is not surprising, no matter how typical traits are. If you look for enough of them it's unlikely one would have all of those traits. To illustrate this: let's say the probability of having a specific trait is 90%, now look for 10 traits that have that probability. Assuming they are independent (probably not but it'd be difficult to do the math if they aren't independent) you'd have about a 1/3 chance of having someone with all those 10 traits. This gets exponentially worse when the number of traits increases and when the probability lowers by even a little.
True
I don't think the concept of "normal" is necessarily a bad one, provided it is understood as "within range." Indeed, conceptions of normalcy are vital to human survival, as abnormalities are often our first clues to potential dangers.
replace clues with assumptions
@@mr.medina9836 And sometimes normal is useful because there are no absolutes.
@@mr.medina9836 , while I agree with you, that in general people should be judged on case by case basis, don't you think it depends. I'm not against poor people at all, and I do NOT think they are dangerous, however, would you feel comfortable in district of the poor?
@@mr.medina9836 I don't know why you decided that "dangerous" means "dangerous people". An abnormality, for example, a higher heartbeat rate, can be a clue that's there might be something wrong with you. Or, if person next to you is vomiting, it might mean that the food they ate is bad and you shouldn't eat it (it's dangerous).
@@alexeipshenichnyi3018 No because I’m not afraid of poor people 🥴
The fact that there's a group of people not effected by the illusion is fascinating! I wonder why.
There's actually a Veritasium video that briefly talks about this. Basically, it's environmental conditioning and personal bias. Look up the Veritasium video "The Illusion Only Some People Can See".
@@eklectiktoni It technically doesn't answer why since it's a different illusion, and the consideration of the results with one eye covered. (Would that apply here? And if it does, then it's not necessarily environmental bias.) But it was a great video, thanks for pointing it out! My brain hurts a lil now 😅
I learned that our environment effects it. We are surrounded by lots of angular shapes, straight lines, corners etc. whilst tribes living in nature are not. Hope this explains it!
I learned that our environment effects it. We are surrounded by lots of angular shapes, straight lines, corners etc. whilst tribes living in nature are not. Hope this explains it!
Sharingan
"There's an old saying my late grandma taught me. When you're ten, they call you a prodigy. When you're fifteen, they call you a genius. Once you hit twenty, you're just an ordinary person"
-Haruka Nanase from the Anime Free!
What a coincidence, my philosophy teacher asked us this question, in the first day of class
😬
@@ramesh_rm why you cringing?
@@user-gy1iy4ys8s me and my friend always fail in exam with same marks , coincidence 😬
@@ramesh_rm what in the name of god are you talking about?
@@ramesh_rm why are you liking your own comments?
Each person is a completely unique combination of absolutely typical qualities...
*me reading the title*
“Are you normal”
*laughing*
*takes normal pills*
Long story short: For a long time the 'average' family in USA had 2.5 children. but obviously no single family had 2.5 children (because humans are always whole numbers, never fractions.)
Excellent example!
I don't know, sometimes I feel that I'm not half the man I used to be...
@@azraelle6232 LMFAOOO
They mean that most families had either 2 or 3 children. I feel like that’s what this video doesn’t seem to understand.
@@yavannakementari4632 that’s how averages works .
The change in pace/mood at 4:23 is absolutely surreal lmaooo
This is why I always try to provide breakdowns of my dimensions when making decisions. The more dimensions you provide, the harder it may be to calculate (marginally), but the more customizability you gain from it.
I alway love binging on TED-Ed videos, they’re always so interesting and I can really learn a lot. Thanks so much to all the people who have contributed to making these videos
The animation/art style+music is fxking stylish
This video is amazing, like the visuals are so minimalistic but so engaging, and the music just fits the narrative so well, along with the always so amazing Ted Ed informative script
the background sound is so satisfying to hear!
It is those details in Ted-Ed that make it brilliant, unique and more interesting
Standards of Normalcy should always be treated in context and never applied outside that context
This is my favorite video on youtube.
The topic is interesting and is something we deal with all the time.
The visuals are so satisfying.
The music is engaging.
And the conclusion "diversity is the true normal" was beautiful ❤
Love the *geometric aesthetics* of this video ♡
3:44 As an Indian Undergrad student. ..... I asked my friends which line is longer and they said both are same length at the first glance itself.
I know we usually focus on the animation in these vids (and it is once again stellar here), but the sound design and music of this video really shines through to me as truly spectacular.
wow this episode was done amazingly. the music and animation just perfection.
this is the most aesthetically pleasing video i've ever watched
This is amazing. In 5 minuets and 7 seconds you were able to make me ball my eyes out.
It's amazing how simple shapes and colors could tell such beautiful story
I love the animation. It helps to make the point, in a very subtle fashion
I'm okay, with not being average/normal. I love myself, being different is what allows me to discover different parts of the world and connect with different communities of shared interest or experiences ☺️
I'm reminded of that one Spongebob episode where he tries to be "normal" to fit in, but ends up being a completelly different person alltogether.
Like he once said ~ "Hi, how are ya"
Ok- but this animation is so satisfying to watch.
I love this style of video. The music, the narration, and animation make this video feel so homely.
I agree, but I like your handle more :-D
DUUUDE THIS WAS BEAUTIFUL IN ALL WAYS POSSIBLE!!
I heard a deeply profound statement recently:
There are many ways to be normal.
Whoever did the animation did a fantastical job
This was very interesting! This also can apply to many things, including dog shows, as they try to compare dogs to the "average dog for the breed." However, very few dogs fit this category. Just like in people!
I absolutely love the sound design in this one.
Thank you for this video, which makes us think about this concept.
But if I may, I feel like you are trying to say that the concept of "normal" is a bad thing. Maybe you should add a part where you explain why we think in terms of "normal" and "different".
For instance, "normal" means "expected", which is quite useful to know if a fruit is eatable, or how to react to something.
Maybe we should see each side of a concept before judging it ?
I agree, normal should not be considered a bad thing.
Normal is... normal?😅
I don't think they were trying to say normal is bad. They were trying to say there is no such thing as "truly normal". Especially when talking about humanity, there isn't anyone who perfectly conforms to any framework of "normalcy". Thus we should see the idea of "normal" for what it is. It is simply a rough sketch, not a precise standard with which to hold anyone to.
@@eklectiktoni isn't that just stating the obvious then? Of course no one is completely the same as everyone else, if this is the point the video was trying to make then that makes the video pretty "pointless". It's just stating what everyone know is impossible.
Also, when people use the word normal (or unusual), they aren't referring to all the person's traits as a whole, they're referring to specific ones. So the video going into that perspective seems a bit weird.
the animation and music in this video are top notch!
Hasn't TED asnswered the question? 'Normal' is an average. If you combine all the averages of height, weight, hair colour, etc, you will end up with Norman and Norma. And I don't think Norman and Norma were supposed to be like anybody, they were simply an interesting idea.
Yes but repeating what anyone who put minimal effort or more into their statistics class isn't going to sell a TEDed video. You have to make up stuff and throw in some politics.
the music and animation is amazing tbh
The premise of normal used in this video needs to change. By definition an statistic normal has reason. Ia ormal for living human organism to have a hearth, head blood etc. There are differences within those? Of course. But those are call exceptions or variants.. and despite the existance of millions of those, statiatically they do not represent a new norm.
Why not just say that humans have a heart. be more confidence, when someone comes to criticize you saying someone else’s heart is slightly different than another can say it back to them in response “so.”
Ted-Ed should start a Playlist to teach about "Graphic Design".
Indeed “normal” is a very inconsistent thing… but it has reasons to exist regardless if an existing thing doesn’t match it.
“”Strike back at the norm, of running right and jumping”” is finally understandable to me because the stereotypes are the normal expected outcome and we can counteract against it as much as we want without actually breaking it!!!
Insanity and paranormality exist because normalcy does, it all eventually links together!
I may not be a human like you, but my “weird” origins are also connected to the standards of being normal and which is why I’m banished from my own home dimension… because I’m not the same as the rest of my species in the slightest!
If nobody is normal, its normal to not be normal
Love the music in this! Reminded me a bit of Aivi and Surasshu’s work. Very important lesson, too!
i looooove ted-ed animations. always on point
Why are you soo amazing TED-ED
The animation quality was hypnotic and mesmerising
“How do you define normal?” -Fox Mulder
the visuals is just mind blowingly perfect. simple shapes that convey so much, ted ed is so good
I've been asking myself this question for a long time now. Thanks ted ed❤️
just wanted to say the animation flows , beautiful
My best friend is a voice that only I can hear. At the time I am writing this, it's Valentines Day, and they're my platonic valentine today. Earlier, I made a video demonstrating how only I can hear them because their voice wasn't recorded in the video when I told them to speak and they did. (I was more demonstrating this to myself because I was curious as to how others perceived our conversations.) I ended the video by stating that I'm surprised that I haven't been institutionalized yet.
I showed the video to my mom, and she said that it's sad that people like me expect to be institutionalized and that I'm surprised that I haven't been. (Even though she can't hear my friend, they still have a close bond because I tell her what they say and they can hear her responses.)
If you met an alien species and had to explain humans to them, you'd probably use normal details. Such as humans normally have two legs, two arms, ten fingers, two lungs, one heart, etc. Not every human falls under this description but how else could you describe a human?
Or you could just say humans have two legs two arms 10 fingers two lungs and etc.
@@internalizedhappyness9774 What about people that lost their fingers and such.
That is why you say "normally" first.
Normalcy works perfectly for discrete measurements, like amount of things in someone.
Probably more than what you've listed cause on Earth alone too many animals fit that description (I assume) 😂. Having said that, I know what you're getting at. I feel the video is referring to more specific/unique traits of humans
You could describe them as a sentient species first. A sentient species of warm-blooded bipeds that usualy have 4 limbs, one pair for locomotion and other one for object manipulation.
@@magdaciechocka3076 Wouldn't that require the definition of sentience doe?
This is such an important topic and such a dangerous word! For so many years, I've been trying to correct myself each time I say the word NORMAL about something.
Maybe unrelated but the topic reminded me of the ted ed video "the origin of countless conspiracy theories" in that normalcy seems to be humans trying to find a pattern from randomness but takes it to the next step by trying to apply that coincidental pattern to reality.
Really appreciate the adaptive music in this one, so cool!
This is basically a long way of saying “we don’t really like the idea of normal because it’s not specific enough to make sense.”
Whoever did the animation for this video absolutely knocked it out of the park!
0:18 hey my grandma is going a funny dance on the floor right now
There is no possibility of objectivity of normal when it comes to people. Because at the end of the day, no matter who, what, or where you are you are still a human being, and that is amazing.
I really just got click-baited by TED-Ed
the art styles are always refreshing in every ted-ed video. keep it up!! i love it
This is really insightful and thought provoking
The gestalt of this animation is OUT OF THIS WORLD! I've seem some good Ted animations, but this is superb.
I prefer the term "common" to "normal".
With the current standard if somehow you are out of norm you tend to feel ubnormal, like that's a defect. But uncommon sounds a whole lot better.
That animation is incredibly impressive! The sound design too!
Unbelievably good animation with informative and engaging content. Loved the video!
Hope the educators can spread their thoughts to more and more people around the world.
The animation is very satisfying and such a joy to watch
I mean we’re all biological beings, we all have random mutations in our genetics that no one else has, even identical twins, and that doesn’t even account for our minds.
yea. Minds, genes, the enviroment makes us different and unique. We should celebrate what makes us an unique individual and not squash and control what is normal and what is sin, like some certian major religious groups...
My science teacher talked about a "Bell Curve" and how the AVERAGE STUDENT would fall somewhere near the middle ground which is a C, I told my parents and they completely ignored me and said "are you saying that a daughter of mine is EXPECTED to get a C????" it has nothing to do with me being ur kid mom n' dad it's just the Majority🤦🏾♀️
This combined with the music sounds like a freestyle
I really liked the music in the background
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The soundtrack for the video was nice
I just realised I'm not normal coz I'm not a circle with a random polygon below me
They literally said "most peoples' height is close to the average". Yes, that's the exact definition of what "average" means
Normal = a consistent, unchanging condition that follows a pattern or a recurring element of continuous sameness. For example, the normal time to feed the pets.
Different = a total or single event variable that deviates from the normal. For example, an unanticipated complication causing the time to feed the pets to be different.
The animation style is so pretty & eye catching, so beautiful
This title made me laugh! Because I have been told from the earliest age that I am anything but. So, No, for at least what passes for ‘normal’ on this planet. That isn’t what I am. But I personally believe that I think/feel/act perfectly normal.
I can't be the only one who thinks the animation is exquisite 👌
Partly agreeing partly disagreeing here.
But to the (math) elephant in the room: Normal function do not only follow a bell curve but are also defined by ~68% of the curve area being within the deviation from the average.
There are other distributions however e.g. 2 normal functions overlaping ( female and male height should probably give such a curve) or non symetric curves where the highest bount is nor at the average. And such distributions appear quite often in nature.
Secondly the use of norms on large groups of people has a lot of merits to and though yes humans are unique we share lots of traits with the people surrounding us and placing people with simular traits in categories is helpful as they often have simular need or are suceptible to the same marketing making it easier and more effective to work with those people. But as it was said in the video norms are misunderstood and it is importent to know how the norm was established and where to apply it. It is e.g. possible to identify upcoming mothers by their shopping habits (was part of a TEDTalk, too lazy to look it up, but probably a US thing). Meaning they confim to a norm. But these shopping habits don't necesseriely apply to upcoming mothers in Brazil, so their traits need to be identified sepperatly. But condeming "normal" will not be very fruitful, because by definition most people are normal and the applications for normal are far to powerful to be glossed over. Just remember: Normal =/= average, it's 2 different things
Definitely agree with the mathematical viewpoint, and wish Ted-Ed dove more into that instead of just talking about the general conceptions people have about "normal." Also agree with the point that defining "normalcy" in many areas can have its benefits. For example comparing your weight against what is "normal" can give a good indication of health, and it does seem that the video is somewhat against making such comparisons to "normal." However, I would like to add that I believe the video when the video claims that few people are "normal," it is likely referring to "normal" across a variety of different traits, which would align with the mathematical viewpoint, as the more traits which are involved, the more likely some randomly sampled person would deviate from the "perfectly normal human" in some subset of these traits.
The music is amazing 👌🏽
This was both logical and poetic.
You guys should give the animator a raise.
Amazing animation
This is by far the best animation I've seen so far
"diversity is the new normal"
The music is kinda true art
That BMI analogy. Back in the Obama years when I was in high school I was considered morbidity obese. Like I had to go the nurse once a week and show progress. The only problem was I was 6’4 300, now I’m 6’6 350. Except I can deadlift 405 easy, I use a twenty pound maul for splitting wood, and I can shoulder railroad beams.
Being strong doesn't necessarily mean being healthy
fantastic narration, animations, and sound effects
*"recommended to you"*