Are you more of a conformist or nonconformist

29 Comments

I'm a new user here and got here by a Google link to a post on a kind of a fringe topic. So, I thought I'd find a lot of free-thinkers on here. But, I've read a bunch of posts and comments and noticed there are a lot of posts on fringe topics, but that many of the comments were by people who seem to be pretty traditional and conformist. There even seems to be a pack mentality by a number of apparently frequent users to gang up and tear down people with non-mainstream thinking. I wonder if these users have been conditioned in some way on this site.

So, are you......

I'm more often a conformist 7
I'm more often a nonconformist 25
Other, please comment 5
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Comments ( 29 )
  • VinnyB
    8 years ago

    It bugs me when someone calls themselves a nonconformist. Often, not always, I find those people are not being genuine, they are intentionally doing what they believe is against the grain. So really, they are conforming to some vision of what it means to be nonconformist. I mean, how can you label yourself as something without fitting a standard for that thing?

    The only thing I consider is if my actions hurt other people. Beyond that, I just do whatever makes me happy, and don't really give much thought to if I am conforming or not.

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    • Koda
      8 years ago

      I agree. If someone is purposefully trying to come off "alternative" in order for people to view them as unique or cool, that's a conformist. I mean, most hipsters seem to see themselves as non-conformists, but they're totally conforming to hipster subculture. They might not like the bands on mainstream pop radio, but they like the bands their friends say they should like. They choose their taste to seem cultured or intelligent. It's not that they actually "like" what they say they like. A non-conformist wouldn't use the judgmental terms "generic" or "mainstream" in regular conversation.

      A true non-conformist is true to themselves and doesn't care what people think of their attitudes, views, choices, and tastes. They don't choose to rebel against what surrounds them, but they don't try to placate people by agreeing with them either. A real non-conformist will be OK with being the same as someone else as long as it's by coincidence and not by conscious emulation. Non-conformists have to face ridicule and hatred sometimes, but they remain true to their beliefs and don't settle for being merely an "acceptable level of weird". Non-conformists don't "enjoy" being thought of as weird, but they don't feel anxious about it either.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      8 years ago

      I left it a bit open so people could think freely, didn't expect that would make someone angry. Anyway, by definition a nonconformist is someone who is a person who does not conform to what most people think is a generally accepted pattern of thought or action. So, you could measure "most" as the majority of a group made up of the world, country, neighborhood, work colleagues, church, or whatever. Hope that helps.

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      • VinnyB
        8 years ago

        I am not angry at all, not sure why you think that, but I apologize if I gave you that impression. In fact, I wasn't even speaking to anything that you said. I was making a general statement about the way the word is sometimes used.

        But to answer your question, no, nothing you have said in your response is helpful. I was already aware of what the word meant. Using the standard of what most people do, pretty much every human being on the planet can be seen to conform, and not conform regarding something at some point in their lives. It is not so much a general classification.

        The point I was making was that, if someone is going to be honest and true to themselves, they should not be making decisions based on a desire to conform, or not conform, and should therefore not be labeling themselves either way.

        A person who is doing something, not because they really want to, but just because thy think it is nonconformist, is in my view, conforming to the idea of being a nonconformist, and so they are really conforming anyway.

        Again, these statements have noting to do with you personally, or anything that you said in your post.

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  • dirtybirdy
    8 years ago

    I'm a bird.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      8 years ago

      But are you a solitary, nonconformist bird, or a conforming, flocking bird??

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      • dirtybirdy
        8 years ago

        89% solitary birdy.

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        • Holzman_67
          8 years ago

          have you seen the movie birdy? early nicolas cage film co starring michael modine. i found it weird.

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          • dirtybirdy
            8 years ago

            Never even heard of it but I just looked it up. I think I should watch it just becaws.

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  • JD777
    8 years ago

    If by nonconformist, you mean someone whose thoughts and ideas, or behavior is different from most people, then that's me in a lot of ways. I'm involved in research science and we wouldn't discover much if we didn't think or look "outside the box" and consider the possibilities of "crazy" ideas. This way of thinking also spills over into my personal life.

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    • NeofelisNebulosa
      8 years ago

      Hey, what kind of research? I'll be graduating with a B.S in biology this year

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      • JD777
        8 years ago

        My research that currently pays the bills is in human health, mostly assessment of diseases/conditions and their treatments. But I'm also researching quantum theory and consciousness and have started writing a book on it. Do you know what area you want to go into? I LOVED biology and it's integral to my consciousness theories.

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        • NeofelisNebulosa
          8 years ago

          Yes, I'm interested in conservation biology and wildlife management :) although there are many more subjects I like learning about. But I think wildlife management is what I want to do for my career.

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          • JD777
            8 years ago

            Cool. I was backpacking and met a group of young people who had just been hired by the US forest service to do conservation work. I thought that would be such a great job - getting paid to camp out in the backcountry with fun people and do stuff to protect the environment.

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  • VirgilManly
    8 years ago

    Everyone likes to consider themselves to be a nonconformist even if in reality they are extremely conformist.

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  • anti-hero
    8 years ago

    You're such a non-conformist, just like everybody else.

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  • RoseIsabella
    8 years ago

    Some of the best people I know are kitty cats, it's true!

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    • dirtybirdy
      8 years ago

      Put your paws in the air if your friends are covered in hair!

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      • RoseIsabella
        8 years ago

        *puts paws high up in the air*
        ;-)

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        • VirgilManly
          8 years ago

          You two are so damn weird.
          :p

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          • dirtybirdy
            8 years ago

            Haha, you're darn tootin!

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          • RoseIsabella
            8 years ago

            More like totally awesome, hella tight and as the kids today say, "so amazing"!

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  • howaminotmyself
    8 years ago

    There are some clever and insightful people here. But there are many people who think pointing out extreme opinions for shock value means they are free thinkers and/or original. They try too hard. They often just spout off a catch phrase and don't really dig deep into where that thought came from. Some do, but may never know with the way some people talk. You seem to have a pretty good assessment of the site, but don't judge too quickly. Or so, it may make for some entertainment.

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  • NeofelisNebulosa
    8 years ago

    Your perception is actually pretty accurate. I think sometimes the users here see all posts as trolls, even when it might be weird but true. I'm definitely not a conventional person myself.

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  • [Old Memory]
    8 years ago

    Who cares.

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  • Holzman_67
    8 years ago

    I'm non conformist in the sense that I'm deliberately old fashioned. I don't download things, I don't keep apps on my phone for fear that i will become preoccupied with technology.

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  • mystery7
    8 years ago

    I submitted a post about onion men and it wasn't accepted

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  • Koda
    8 years ago

    People tell me I have zero fashion sense because I wear what I want to wear no matter how bad it looks to someone else. I form my own opinions. I don't just absorb the ones I'm fed by those around me. My music taste makes most people roll their eyes. My hobbies aren't what people my age or gender are supposed to be interested in. I'm a liberal in a community of conservatives. There isn't any food I wouldn't try. I don't have a smart phone or social media accounts. Which do you think I am?

    Some people act as though conforming is taking the easy way out, but I don't agree. Being yourself is easy!

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  • Brownblowout
    8 years ago

    To be honest I'm more of a toilet farter than anything

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