weird

The truth is that 'weird' is basically anyone/anything deviating from the norm. I guess what we were arguing about before was 'weird' as an absolute identifier (maybe I shouldn't have done so many tech subjects at school...). The basic theory was that if someone had some peculiar feature, like pink hair, they could be rightfully labeled as a 'weirdo' by the conforming general public. But if they were 'normal' and everyone else had pink hair, they would still be a 'weirdo', so its a lose/lose situation (Catch-22)! But the thing is that 'weird' is a relative identifier. As in: "You are weird (in comparison with the general public around us)." If everyone has pink hair and you don't then you're weird, simply because you're deviating from the 'norm'. Of course this also depends on the sample size - but usually this is negligible. Take this extreme example, if your 'group' (or sample) consisted of you and a friend. You both start off with zero weirdness, you are the same, and are perfectly normal. Then your friend comes to school dressed in leather, for the purposes of our calculation we could say that they have now deviated from the norm by 10 points. So it would be normal to assume that you are still normal and they are about '10-weird'. (See: GP Factor) However, there is no-one else to compare with, is there? So in fact, the new norm has shifted to 5 points on the weird-o-meter. And you, being at 0 are deviating just as much as your friend at 10. You are in fact just as weird as they are. But in real life it usually doesn't work like that...but sometimes it does...

This extreme example highlights the effect of fashion victims for example - as they are usually stereotypically portrayed on TV. If you don't stay in tune and up to date you will one day find yourself being 'weird' simply because you failed to keep up to date with the fashion, and now you are deviating from the new norm they have created!

It's really a strange concept to think about isn't it? It's all relative.

Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, And Democratic

WEIRD is an acronym used to remind scientists, particularly experimental psychologists, that the majority of published studies are performed on a very specific demographic: most often college students, but more generally, people living in industrialized, democratic, and Western societies, and generally only on those rich enough to have free time to spend in psychological experiments. This is a far cry from studying 'humans' as a class.

This was perhaps most strongly advertised after a 2008 survey of psychology journals¹ found that 68% of all study participants were from the US and 96% from Western industrialized nations (i.e., Europe, North America, Australia, and Israel). However, it has also been noted that studies outside of psychology might be affected by bias in Western BMI, height, diet, and medical profile.

1. Arnett, J. 2008. The neglected 95%: Why American psychology needs to become less American. American Psychologist 63(7): 602-14.

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Weird (?), n. [OE. wirde, werde, AS. wyrd fate, fortune, one of the Fates, fr. weoran to be, to become; akin to OS. wurd fate, OHG. wurt, Icel. urr. 143. See Worth to become.]

1.

Fate; destiny; one of the Fates, or Norns; also, a prediction.

2.

A spell or charm.

Sir W. Scott.

© Webster 1913.

Weird, a.

1.

Of or pertaining to fate; concerned with destiny.

2.

Of or pertaining to witchcraft; caused by, or suggesting, magical influence; supernatural; unearthly; wild; as, a weird appearance, look, sound, etc.

Myself too had weird seizures. Tennyson.

Those sweet, low tones, that seemed like a weird incantation. Longfellow.

Weird sisters, the Fates. [Scot.]

G. Douglas.

Shakespeare uses the term for the three witches in Macbeth.

The weird sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the sea and land. Shak.

© Webster 1913.

Weird, v. t.

To foretell the fate of; to predict; to destine to.

Jamieson.

© Webster 1913.