The mean standard

摘要

In the early 1940s, an American gynaecologist made an alabaster model of a typical young female by averaging the proportions of thousands of women. The statue, named Norma, was hailed as a physical ideal. Yet when a newspaper ran a contest to celebrate living lookalikes, fewer than 40 of the 3864 applicants even came close to sharing Norma's physique. Todd Rose has an explanation: "No one is average," he asserts, and averaging distorts the unique mix of attributes found in every individual. In The End of Average, Rose makes a strong case against "averagarianism", and attempts to show how an emphasis on individuality can revitalise higher education and the workplace.