it seems to me this word is used very loosley in terms, but what does it actually mean?
EG......your a normal person. thats a normal situation. it's just a normal day. it's normal to feel that way......etc....
so, can anyone define what 'normal' actually is?
2006-08-07 05:19:44 · 18 answers · asked by Jan 6 in Family & Relationships ➔ Singles & Dating
I guess the term "normal" to me is what your own life is based on. What's "normal" to me might not be "normal" to you.
For future reference the term is "i.e" not "EG"
2006-08-07 05:24:47 · answer #1 · answered by Tee 3 · 8⤊ 3⤋
If you want a really technical definition for normal, the statistics definition is probably the best. If you're familiar with the bell (aka: normal/Gaussian distribution) curve, some characteristic is said to be normal if it lies within a range of one standard deviation (std) above or below the central point of any normal distribution curve. Anything outside that range is out of the range of what is normal for whatever one is measuring.
For example, if you give people a standard IQ test, most people will have an IQ of 100. This is "normal"/average IQ. Fewer people will score below normal IQ (less than 90) or above normal IQ (above 110). Thus the range 90-110 (with 100 being the central point on the curve) is considered the normal IQ range. Using some mathematical formula, the numbers 90 & 110 are converted so that they represent one std below (-1) normal IQ; and 1 std above (+1) normal IQ.
The same mathematics can be done for anything that can be measured (e.g., height; weight; temperature, amount of rainfall, # of accidents during a particular minute, hour,day of the year; emotional/psychological state that could be measured by heart rate/perspiration in a particular situation such as what lie detectors measure; etc.) to establish a mathematical normalcy for certain situations.
Check out the normal distribution curve here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normal_distribution_curve#Specification_of_the_normal_distribution
2006-08-07 12:49:33 · answer #2 · answered by mindful1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normal. To me that isnt exactly a word. I guess people use normal liek its a normal day because that is the same wheather it usually is so they say its normal. But to me nothing is normal. A situation can't be normal. If its not a situation its not a situation. If some broke up with someone thats not "normal" its new and fresh. When people say its normal to feel that way i think they are saying that is how everyone feels when that happens that is what it is suppose to feel like. But a normal person? Well hun that just don't exist. Normal Normal Normal no one is NORMAL. Everyone is different. Everyone has there own style everyone does there own thing. not normal. Normal is just a word for usual.
2006-08-07 12:27:15 · answer #3 · answered by TheHillsLover 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Theres no such thing as normal. If someone said 'its a normal day' it would suggest you have a routine which you carried out as per usual without anything changing that routine. It you say someone is normal you are just measuring them against the averages of people in general.
2006-08-07 12:23:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normal is when a general consensus can be reached among a group of people, i.e. American society or people on Yahoo Answers, that something is expected, agreed upon, or came to conceivable conclusion.
2006-08-07 12:25:15 · answer #5 · answered by Shadow 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There is no such thing as normal you are who you are. Everyone is different in their own way and no one is the same so there can not and is not a normal person out there
2006-08-07 12:24:10 · answer #6 · answered by purplebutterflyhippie04 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normal is a concept defined by a society's culture.
2006-08-07 12:28:29 · answer #7 · answered by Adam B 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I can't define normal anymore than you can. It is a state of mind. We all have our own opinion of what is normal and what isn't. What I find to be normal, you may find to be abnormal.
2006-08-07 12:33:27 · answer #8 · answered by Dani California 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
according to a study a few years ago" 60% of the population is dysfunctional, that being said the other 40% are the ones that are abnormal.we are now in the majority.
2006-08-07 12:29:03 · answer #9 · answered by rich_goodman2001 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Normal just means "typical" - nothing outside the usual. Each of us have a differnet interpretation of the work, because each of us have individual nsorms.
2006-08-07 12:26:47 · answer #10 · answered by Tim B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In those cases it means that it happens, is experienced, or used more than once. But really, it just means whatever happens in every-day life. Nothing that not at least one person in this world has seen, or done,etc.. :)
2006-08-07 12:24:41 · answer #11 · answered by MADRA 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋