Are We Average?

Chapter 2  The Dream of the Red Chamber

When Yu Cun and his friend talk about the Ning and Rongguo mansions, they discuss the high birth of the founders of that family and how unique cirumstances place them high in society's ranks.

Baoyu's father also hires a monk to display objects and asks the baby Baoyu to choose what he prefers.  Instead of the scholars brush or money, Baoyu chooses women's accessories like makeup and jewelry.  Baoyu's father assumes Baoyu will chase women and be a wastrel in the future.

Yu Cun then discusses how ethers of good and evil concentrate in certain areas, and people who possess extremes of ether has great power to do good or evil while everyone else remains "average" in their respective places.

Christopher Hitchens points out that the Christian concept of God having a unique plan for the individual is ludicrous when one tries to reconciles original sin.  If humans are faulty, why would God entrust the individual to serve Him?  And if humans are fallible, how could the individual interpret or understand the doings of God?  Hitchens argues that "uniqueness" through perfecting God's vision is an excuse for an individual to feel self-entitlement.

Hitchens tells us recognition our averageness and insignificance puts us in awe in relation to the grand scheme of the universe.  He tells us to look at images from the Hubble Telescope and realize that the universe is unique for what it is.

The quintessential breeding ground for average is public schools, especially high school.  There's standard behavior codes and curriculum that everyone must follow.  I still remember the those drab grey "guidelines" manuals.  You paradoxically have to find some way to be unique for college in this environment!  If you think you're special then you're obsessed with average.

Average is a relative and ambiguous term, like conservative and liberal.  You can't average something without looking at everyone else, but who cares what other people think?  Mark Twain said it best:  everyone has a story to tell.  Uniqueness is the average.

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