Normal, what is it?

[Gallstones]

Seraph's post brought this to mind, if a person has Tourettes, the kind that causes them to blurt profanity and this person is a female living in Saudi Arabia, what might happen to her?

She'd be either sold or killed.

Exactly.

[Ronja]

Maybe we can just get together to feel Normal.

Maybe we can convince him to shave down there. I've never had the opportunity to feel hairless balls.

But wait-- hairless balls aren't normal, are they?

• 

Where's my tutu, I feel like climbing.

. One of these days you two will make me piss my pants... Seriously.

[normal]

Maybe we can just get together to feel Normal.

Maybe we can convince him to shave down there. I've never had the opportunity to feel hairless balls.

You can both feel them like they are now, and then we can shave them to see what it's like. I'm sure it's better to have them in your mouth when they are clean shaven!

[Ronja]

It appears you are using "normal" in the sense of "neurotypical".

What do you think about people who are not normal?

Those who realize it are more sensible than neurotypical people in at least one respect: they don't expect everyone to be the same as them.

.

Thanks, Warren. As an atheist, bisexual, trilingual female engineer who belongs to a minority language/ethnic group and has ADHD, I really appreciate that comment.

Gallstones: FWIW my father was likely bipolar. That was never the problem (his dominating and abusive behavior was, but that was unrelated to the bipolar part). I learned by watching both him and my mom (who very likely would be diagnosable somewhere along the autistic spectrum) how bouts of extreme interest and/or energy and bouts of extreme passivity, disinterest and/or contemplativeness can be used productively in a researcher's professional life. However, neither of my parents accepted their own or each other's abnormality (refused to call a spade a spade - or even a spoon...), even though it was quite clear that they both accomplished remarkable things *because*of* their abnormalities. Unlearning their shame has been a big part of my own life-hackery project.

I'll have to think a bit about what I would define or describe as "normal", or if I indeed should even attempt that, seeing as I am obviously not qualified.

[MiM]

Yes. And then one matures and realizes the practical benefits of a hairless armpit.

Which are...

About being normal. It's always judged against some reference group. I guess there are not many abnormal Rats.

[Gallstones]

Yes. And then one matures and realizes the practical benefits of a hairless armpit.

Which are...

Less substrate for sweat eating, odor causing bacteria to live on.

[hadespussercats]

Yes. And then one matures and realizes the practical benefits of a hairless armpit.

Which are...

Less substrate for sweat eating, odor causing bacteria to live on.

And hair there can be itchy-- which probably relates to those other points...

[hadespussercats]

Ronja wrote: "Unlearning their shame has been a big part of my own life-hackery project."

There's something about this sentence that really appeals to me, Ronja.
And this goal of yours is probably one of the reasons you seem so easy to relax with (if you can say something like that about a person you've never met...)

Actually, you and MiM both seem to have that quality. Nice you found each other!

[hadespussercats]

Maybe we can just get together to feel Normal.

Maybe we can convince him to shave down there. I've never had the opportunity to feel hairless balls.

You can both feel them like they are now, and then we can shave them to see what it's like. I'm sure it's better to have them in your mouth when they are clean shaven!

Maybe you can just shave one? We can trade off...

[Gallstones]

Maybe we can just get together to feel Normal.

Maybe we can convince him to shave down there. I've never had the opportunity to feel hairless balls.

You can both feel them like they are now, and then we can shave them to see what it's like. I'm sure it's better to have them in your mouth when they are clean shaven!

Maybe you can just shave one? We can trade off...

• 
  
  
  
  

Yes Normal, do it.

[hadespussercats]

I was thinking earlier today about hypomania, which was described in something I read recently as being typified by feelings of happiness and confidence, and experiencing optimal functionality.

That sounds more like a super-power than a symptom of illness, doesn't it?

I've also read that many successful entrepreneurs historically have capitalized on the confidence of hypomania and the intense interest in work in order to meet big goals.

I recognize that there is a danger to the hypomania-- that it can pick up speed and become something unmanageable. But wouldn't it be nice, in the midst of a diagnosis that can bring with it a lot of shame, to be able to feel pride in some of its perks? (I think this is some of what Jamison was getting at, in "Touched with Fire"...)

I hope someday doctors might find a medication that lets people with hypomania ride the edge of the wave without tipping over.

[mistermack]

Yes. And then one matures and realizes the practical benefits of a hairless armpit.

Are you saying that women are more practical than men?
I would say that the practical benefit of not shaving your armpits is not having to shave your armpits.
I think it's all about looking younger. Men shave their faces, women shave their armpits.
But now it's the normal look, there's pressure to conform anyway.

[hadespussercats]

Yes. And then one matures and realizes the practical benefits of a hairless armpit.

Are you saying that women are more practical than men?
I would say that the practical benefit of not shaving your armpits is not having to shave your armpits.
I think it's all about looking younger. Men shave their faces, women shave their armpits.
But now it's the normal look, there's pressure to conform anyway.

Eh. Some men shave their pits. Some women shave their faces. Does everything have to be a competition?

[Animavore]

I shave the back of my shoulders.

[hadespussercats]

I shave the back of my shoulders.

You must be bendy.