In a media culture, we not only judge strangers by how they look but by the images of how they look. So we want attractive pictures of our heroes and repulsive images of our enemies.
Virginia PostrelRead
Most of us cluster somewhere in the middle of most statistical distributions. But there are lots of bell curves, and pretty much everyone is on a tail of at least one of them. We may collect strange memorabilia or read esoteric books, hold unusual religious beliefs or wear odd-sized shoes, suffer rare diseases or enjoy obscure movies.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Everyone is unique in their own way, often found on the fringes of various statistical norms.
Virginia Postrel suggests that while most people may be found toward the center of many statistical distributions, each person is likely to be on the outskirts of at least some distribution, highlighting the individuality and uniqueness of human experiences and interests. This reflects the diversity of interests, beliefs, and experiences that make each person distinct, encouraging an appreciation for the quirks that define us.
Themes
UniquenessDiversityIndividualityEccentricityStatistics
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about embracing individuality, someone might say: 'As Virginia Postrel noted, most of us are on the tails of statistical distributions, reminding us to celebrate our uniqueness.'
More from Virginia Postrel
All quotes →Glamour doesn’t just happen, people don’t wake up in the morning glamorous.
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With its fluctuating forms and needless decoration, fashion epitomizes the supposedly unproductive waste that inspired 20th-century technocrats to dream of central planning. It exists for no good reason. But that's practically a definition of art.
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A world of few choices, whether in jeans or mates, is a world in which individual differences become sources of alienation, unhappiness, even self-loathing. If no jeans fit, you'll feel uncomfortable or inferior. If no housing developments reflect your taste for unique architecture, you'll write screeds against philistine mass culture.
Virginia PostrelRead
'Frankenstein' did not invent the fear of science; the novel found its audience because it dramatized anxieties that already existed. Although popular entertainment can, over the long run, shape public perceptions, it becomes popular in the first place only if it addresses preexisting hopes, fears, and fascinations.
Virginia PostrelRead
Religion, art, and science flourish best in a free society. True, freedom does not afford much opportunity for grand gestures. It has little room for martyrs. But life is not supposed to be about dying well. It is about living well.
Virginia PostrelRead
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No generalizing beyond the data, no theory. No theory, no insight. And if no insight, why do research.
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