Typically outliers

As a thought experiment: consider ADHD. As we keep learning anew that the prevalence is in fact higher than what we previously thought—what if, what if at some point the prevalence reaches 50% or more? Are we going to switch definitions around, that those without ADHD become the outliers needing a full battery of medical tests and, upon positive diagnoses become a ‘burden for families and communities’? Are we going to reengineer and redesign our entire living space differently, such that the lack of ADHD becomes a special need requiring special accommodation?

Copernicus’ heliocentrism encountered grave opposition during his time. Authorities of his day silenced him. The opposition was perverting the course of scientific understanding. We do just that today: we pervert the course of scientific understanding when we block objective head-counting of gender identifications and sexual orientations. We have no clue, we don’t even have ballpark numbers, because data collection has so far been suppressed. Advocacy efforts that try to counter-balance by tipping the scale the other way do not help.

Biased efforts only add to the confusion and mess driving people into despair. Such efforts do not bring us any closer to scientific understanding. What we need is open discernment, not influencers setting out to sway and encourage either this way or that. We don’t need further confusions. Girls preferring trousers over skirts, or short hair over long hair—for instance—is often a matter of personality and expression rather than identification or orientation. They shouldn’t be confused further.

The next thought experiment would be: what if, what if at some point data collection reveals that we in fact misunderstood genders and orientations altogether, that we got the wrong end of the stick? Are we going to switch our terms around, that what used to be straight becomes bent and what used to bent becomes straight?

If we listen to Copernicus and Einstein, we should just let go of our mainstream definition of what’s mainstream and what’s offstream. We should simply stop finding others an aberration.