Watch the people who never fit in, for they are the ones who are going to stand out.

People think being an anomaly is a precursor to things like school shootings and other violent behavior. It probably is, but that’s a very small minority of anomalous individuals (and sometimes you get normal people doing that too). More common are the ones who emerge as society’s next generation of leaders.

I think the reason is simple: if you never fit in, the only person you can depend on is yourself. No group is going to come to your aid, no one is going to catch you if you fall, and thus you feel keenly the full brunt of either success or failure. You might give aid freely, but you’ll never learn to expect it in return.

Furthermore, when one is fully exposed to the laws of action and consequence, reality is an excellent teacher; one either learns quickly or perishes.

Finally, standing apart cultivates individualism. With no allies, there is no choice: you have to stand on your own. You must see where you want yourself to be, and you must figure out a way to get there. This also requires a self-derived hierarchical value system that praises greatness. This runs into a distinct clash against the indifference of the masses, and after a while, you begin to see this indifference as a disease: it stands for everything opposite of what a self-starter believes in, and thus dichotomizes the population into apathetics and movers.

Now, what happens when two movers meet is rather interesting, because it’s likely to first happen rather late – the apathetics greatly outnumber the movers. There is an almost immediate sense of respect, something that screams “this person is different; this person is competent.” These are the moments that erase the built-up cynicism that anyone observing society from the outside would necessarily acquire; the existence of such individuals – and the principles they stand for – justifies all of humanity.

These are the people I am trying to find to start my university. They are the root cause of every meaningful social construct that exists.