The Evolution Of Normal (Finally!)
So let’s look at this word “normal.” It’s a pretty interesting word! We use it in SO many ways, with multiple layers of connotations that have nothing to do with its original meaning. We use it to mean “healthy,” as in, “Your blood tests came out normal.” We use it to mean “common” or “expected,” as in “It’s normal to feel weak and tired after a long bout with the flu.” We use it to mean “socially acceptable,” or at least “socially predictable,” as in “Why can’t you just listen to pop music like a normal teenager?” (Which was my mom’s response to the constant strains of Mozart and Duke Ellington emerging loudly from my room during my 80‘s teenhood. Heh.) So what is the original meaning of the word, the one from which all of those others somehow evolved and diverged? I could half-jokingly say that the answer is written in the stars. Fellow astronomy buffs and lovers of Latin will know what I’m talking about: there’s a small constellation up there that everyone ignores, becaus...