Nick HutchisonFounder and CEO, BookThinkers

Culture governs our behavior!

7 Jun 2023 · 1 min

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1:01

In this short monologue, the speaker uses the statistical concept of the bell curve (Gaussian or normal distribution) as a metaphor for cultural norms and individual behavior. He explains that most traits—such as tree height or human intellect—follow a normal distribution where the majority cluster around the mean, and only a few are outliers. By equating the statistical "middle" with cultural "normality," he argues that social pressures, conventions, and expectations push individuals toward the center of this cultural curve. He then illustrates how what was once a fringe interest (e.g., anime 20 years ago) can shift from the far left of the distribution to become mainstream, showing that cultural norms evolve over time as outliers become accepted.

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You know the bell curve, right? This curve represents the distribution of all things that happen organically, right? So the height of trees, the intellect of humans, they all abide by this distribution curve. 80% of people sit in the middle and there are a few outliers on each side. We call the Gaussian curve the normal curve because everything in nature abides by that normally, right? So when the mean, the mode, the median are equal, we say that that is a measurement of centrality. So the closer you are to the middle of that normal curve, the more normal you So in a population, you are more normal when you are abiding by what the cultural characteristics are of that population being pushed on you, telling you to be normal. Those social pressures are the conventions and expectations of culture. But to your point, how does it get there? Well, everything that is now normal, that is now cool, all started with the thing on the far left. 20 years ago, if you were into anime, you were a dork. Now anime is super cool. Everything that is now normal started