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| Embracing mediocrity. |
If you have ever seen the film Gattaca, it reflects this exact sentiment. Indeed, the allure of the story is the very human aspect of struggle and despair followed by triumph against all odds. In a dystopian future with genetically tweaked newborns, the naturally-born protagonist struggles to reach his dreams. If we compare the protagonist with his genetically enhanced brother, we can see that there are character traits which were developed through a life-long struggle present in the protagonist but absent in his brother.
The human condition lies in the struggle of life.
Thus, rather than accepting the cards dealt to us by our genes and childhood, we should embrace our circumstance and strive to take control of our future.
It sounds to me like you're leaving out a crucial caveat: being average isn't so bad, so long as you started out being below average. If you stagnate at average or decline from above average, then you're no longer striving in the sense that you value.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this line of thinking makes me curious where you fall on the question of free will and determinism!
I see your point, but I personally don't feel that to be the case with regards to my opinion on the subject. I think that one's value of themselves should not be derived from society's definition of average. Although certainly that can factor into it if you allow it, and that's sort of what I am trying to say.
DeleteIt is a subjective perception of your self-worth that I am getting at. Let me illustrate by using the following cases:
1) If you started out below average and you plateau around mediocrity, that is great because you yourself have improved.
2) If you started out at average and you are able to achieve more and be above average, that is great too (as in the article).
3) If you started above average but fell below average, that's okay too, as long as you tried your best to control your descent. In this case, it would be the second derivative of your performance that provides value. In other words, the rate of rate of change.
In all of these cases, I emphasize the importance in attempting to maintain control. Indeed, the main message in the original post was simply to rebut the common assumption of life-long mediocrity simply because one feels very average.
But again, I do see your point. And I think that it is a good one and it was one I did not discuss in my original post (I only had 200 words after all). In any case, your comment provided interesting food for thought on my part, and so I thank you. As always, this is just my opinion, so feel free to disagree.