What is “normal” and what is “different”? - Yana Buhrer Tavanier

Prevodilac: Milan Ležaja Lektor: Milenka Okuka

In 1945, two sculptures meant to represent the average man and woman

Godine 1945, dve skulpture koje je trebalo da predstavljaju prosečnog muškarca i ženu

in the United States

u Sjedinjenim Državama

went on exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History.

izložene su u Američkom muzeju prirodne istorije.

Based on measurements taken from tens of thousands of young men and women,

Zasnovane na merama uzetim od desetina hiljada mladih muškaraca i žena,

they were called Norma and Normman.

nazvane su Norma i Norman.

That same year, a contest launched to find a living embodiment of Norma.

Te iste godine, održano je takmičenje da bi se pronašlo živo otelotvorenje Norme.

Normal is often used as a synonym for “typical,” “expected,”

Normalno se često koristi kao sinonim za “tipično”, “očekivano”,

or even “correct.”

ili čak “ispravno”.

By that logic, most people should fit the description of normal.

Tom logikom, većina ljudi bi odgovarala opisu normalno.

And yet, not one of almost 4,000 women who participated in the contest

Ipak, niti jedna od 4 000 žena koje su učestvovale u takmičenju

matched Norma, the supposedly “normal” woman.

nije se podudarala sa Normom, navodnom “normalnom” ženom.

This puzzle isn’t unique to Norma and Normman, either—

Takođe, ovaj nesklad nije bio jedinstven za Normu i Normana—

time and time again, so-called normal descriptions

iznova i iznova, ispostavljalo se da se takozvani normalni opisi

of our bodies, minds, and perceptions have turned out to match almost no one.

naših tela, umova i opažanja ne podudaraju skoro ni sa kim.

And yet, a lot of the world is constructed around a foundation of normalcy.

Ipak, velik deo sveta izgrađen je na temelju ideje normalnosti.

So what does normal actually mean— and should we be relying on it so much?

Šta onda zapravo znači normalno i da li bi trebalo da se toliko oslanjamo na to?

In statistics, a normal distribution describes a set of values

U statistici, normalna raspodela opisuje skup vrednosti

that fall along a bell curve.

koje padaju duž zvonaste krivulje.

The average, or mean, of all the values is at the very center,

Prosek, ili aritmetička sredina svih vrednosti je u samom centru,

and most other values fall within the hump of the bell.

a većina drugih vrednosti pada pod grbu zvona.

These curves can be tall, with most values inside a narrow range,

Ove krivulje mogu biti visoke, gde su većina vrednosti unutar uskog opsega,

or long and flat, with only a slight bias towards the average.

ili duge i ravne, sa samo malom sklonošću da favorizuju prosek.

What makes the distribution normal is that it follows this curved shape.

Ono što čini raspodelu normalnom je to što prati ovaj zakrivljeni oblik.

Normal doesn’t describe a single data point, but a pattern of diversity.

Normalno ne opisuje pojedinačan podatak, već šablon različitosti.

Many human traits, like height, follow a normal distribution.

Mnogo ljudskih odlika, poput visine, prate normalnu raspodelu.

Some people are very tall or very short,

Neki ljudi su vrlo visoki ili vrlo niski,

but most people fall close to the overall average.

ali većina ljudi nalazi se blizu sveukupnog proseka.

Outside of statistics, normal often refers to an average—

Van domena statistike, normalno se često odnosi na prosek—

like the single number pulled from the fattest part of the bell curve—

poput pojedinačnog broja izvučenog iz najdebljeg dela zvonaste krivulje—

that eliminates all the nuance of the normal distribution.

koji eliminiše sve finese normalne raspodele.

Norma and Norman’s proportions came from such averages.

Proporcije Norme i Normana nastale su iz takvih proseka.

Applied to individuals, whether someone is considered normal

Kada se primeni na ljude pojedinačno, to da li se neko smatra normalnim

usually depends on how closely they hew to this average.

obično zavisi od toga koliko dobro se poklapa sa tim prosekom.

At best, such definitions of normal fail to capture variation.

U najblažem slučaju, takve definicije normalnog ne uzimaju odstupanja u obzir.

But oftentimes, our calculations of normal are even more flawed.

Međutim, ponekad su naši proračuni normalnog još više manjkavi.

Take the BMI— or Body Mass Index.

Uzmimo za primer ITM— iliti Indeks telesne mase.

BMI is a measure of weight relative to height,

ITM je mera težine u odnosu na visinu,

with different ratios falling into “underweight,”

gde različite razmere spadaju pod opsege: “pothranjeni”,

“normal weight,” “overweight,” and “obese” ranges.

“normalno uhranjeni”, “sa prekomernom telesnom masom” i “gojazni”.

Generally, only BMIs that correspond to normal weight are considered healthy.

Uglavnom se samo vrednosti koje odgovaraju normalnoj težini smatraju za zdrave.

But BMI is not always an accurate predictor of health,

Međutim, ITM nije uvek tačan pokazatelj zdravlja,

or even of what’s a healthy weight.

ili čak toga šta je zdrava težina.

BMI doesn’t take into account body fat percentage,

ITM ne uzima u obzir procenat telesne masnoće,

body fat distribution, levels of physical activity, or blood pressure.

njenu raspodelu, nivo fizičke aktivnosti ili krvni pritisak.

And yet, those who fall outside the so-called normal range

A ipak, oni koji spadaju izvan ovog takozvanog normalnog opsega

are commonly advised that losing or gaining weight

obično dobijaju savete da će im gubitak ili povećanje težine

will improve their health.

poboljšati zdravlje.

When we apply a standard of normal to all of humanity

Kada na čitavo čovečanstvo primenimo standard normalnog

that’s based on data from a non-representative slice,

koji je zasnovan samo na delu podataka koji nije reprezentativan,

we’re not just choosing one point on the distribution,

ne samo što biramo samo jednu tačku sa raspodele,

we’re choosing it from the wrong distribution.

već je biramo iz pogrešne raspodele.

A lot of behavior science research draws from samples that are pretty WEIRD—

Dosta istraživanja u bihejvioralnoj nauci vodi se na osnovu uzoraka koji imaju

meaning Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic.

zapadno, školovano, industrijalizovano, bogato i demokratsko poreklo.

These features can skew norms

Ove osobine mogu da iskrive norme

even in research that doesn’t have an obvious link to them.

čak i u istraživanjima koja nemaju očiglednu vezu sa njima.

Take the famed Muller-Lyer optical illusion:

Uzmimo poznatu Miler-Lajerovu optičku iluziju:

it’s normal to think one of the two lines is longer,

normalno je pomisliti da je jedna od dve linije duža,

when they’re actually the same length.

iako su zapravo obe iste dužine.

At least, it is if you’re an American undergraduate.

To jest, ako ste američki studenti.

A team of anthropologists and psychologists

Grupa antropologa i psihologa

found other demographic groups were much less susceptible—

primetila je da su druge demografske grupe mnogo manje podložne iluziji—

members of the San people of the Kalahari

Bušmani, narod iz Kalaharija

weren’t susceptible to the illusion at all.

uopšte nisu bili prevareni iluzijom.

When these limited or inaccurate definitions of normal

Kada se ova ograničena ili netačna određenja normalnog

are used to make decisions that impact people’s lives,

koriste da se donose odluke koje utiču na živote ljudi,

they can do real harm.

mogu biti stvarno štetne.

Historically, such concepts of normal have been hugely influential.

Istorijski, ovakva shvatanja normalnog bila su vrlo uticajna.

The Eugenics Movement of the early 20th century weaponized the concept of normal,

Eugenički pokret iz ranog 20. veka pretvorio je shvatanje normalnog u oružje,

using it to justify exclusion, violence, and even extermination

koristeći ga da opravda isključenje onih koje nisu smatrali za normalne, nasilje,

of those deemed not normal.

pa čak i njihovo istrebljenje.

To this day, people are often targeted and discriminated against

I dan-danas, ljudi su često meta diskriminacije na osnovu

on the basis of disabilities, mental health issues, sexual orientations,

invaliditeta, mentalnog zdravlja, seksualnog opredeljenja,

gender identities, and other features deemed “not normal.”

rodnog identiteta i ostalih odlika za koje se smatra da “nisu normalne”.

But the reality is that the differences in our bodies, minds,

Međutim, u stvarnosti, razlike između naših tela, umova,

perceptions, and ideas about the world around us—

opažanja i ideja o svetu koji nas okružuje—

in short, diversity— is the true normal.

ukratko, različitost— je ono što je istinski normalno.