The title is taken from the song “Numb” by Linkin Park.

I’ve become so numb, I can’t feel you there

Become so tired, so much more aware

By becoming this all I want to do

Is be more like me and be less like you

This post is about individuality.

Today is probably the best time in history to be ourselves.

Education is no longer interested to produce hundreds of thousands of copies of the same person. They know better now, I suppose. There’s a large diverse mass of things we now have access to. Many different kinds of music, fashion, worldview, and so forth. A lot of it has to do with finding new sources of income for companies and individuals. We not only can produce more (slightly?) different things cheaply, but we can also market them to narrow groups of folks.

For example, it can be an advantage if we start our own business. If we like something and it’s a niche thing, there’s a chance a few thousand or more people on the planet will like it, too. Using the Internet, these people can find us. If we can produce that thing profitably (and profitability may be the income for just one person, us), then we already are successful. It’s what they call “The Long Tail”. The mainstream is still there but it’s getting less powerful. The niches rule.

(Sometimes even a new, hidden mainstream can develop. I’m thinking about hip hop music which is some of the most streamed music today, yet you almost hear none of it on the radio.)

And yet, even though individuality is celebrated, there are still pressures to conform. There’s the fragmentation of society regarding politics. People seem to be very aggressive about their point of view. Some will insist that Donald Trump is a horrible person. Or the whole Covid-19 thing about the masks and wether we should wear them. And everybody seems to feel they need to convince everyone else. To me it sometimes looks like we have been liberated to be ourselves and at the same time we are exposed to even more pressure to conform.

And that’s why we should think for ourselves. Not walk with the mob. Disconnect from social media. Do not have an opinion on everything and everyone. And recognize that, as flawed as we may be, we are indeed unique and therefore our contribution counts.

A nice quote by Buckminster Fuller (a man who, I think, was very much “himself”):

No one ever made a difference by being like everyone else.

Of course everyone already is unlike everyone else, at least a little. But still, we can be brave about it. It gives us freedom. Our life becomes much more intense and real when we find ourselves underneath all the education and upbringing. Why not share that with the world?

There are times when I suddenly get a feeling of absurdity. I can’t really explain it but I think you’ll know what I mean if you ever felt it. I can’t even tell what is absurd. Am I absurd, because I foolishly assume I could contribute anything worthwhile that more capable men and women cannot contribute? Or is society absurd by being, well, ridiculous?

It’s a werid feeling and I think certain kinds of comedy evoke it it me. The last time it was an episode of “Community”. I think this blog also has some potential. What am I hoping to accomplish here? Nothing? Isn’t that absurd?

But anyway, our life will end soon. I suppose it would be great if it really was our life that ends, and not our imitation of somebody else’s.

I’ve just decided I’ll finish this post with a Karaoke Song by Frank Sinatra:

And now, the end is near

And so I face the final curtain

My friends, I’ll say it clear

I’ll state my case of which I’m certain

I’ve lived a life that’s full

I traveled each and every highway

But more, much more than this

I did it my way

Good for you, Frank.

P.S. I’m not dying. It just popped to my head. For another great version of this sentiment I recommend the Stanford commencement speech by Steve Jobs. And I guess I didn’t end this post with Sinatra after all.