Why does society reward mediocrity?

Excellence, however it may be defined, is, like intelligence and beauty, distributed on a “normal” curve. That means 96% of the population will fall within 2 standard deviations from the mean.

…and being too good serves to show others up, or be perceived as uppity, rather than inspiring others to either appreciation or similar greatness.

It’s natural not to want to stick out. Which animal in a herd does the lion go after? The straggler, the brightly colored one, the one with a limp. To be different is dangerous, it makes you visible to predators, whether they chase you on the savannah or in your office.

there are rewards for excellence. other excellent people will recognize it. mediocre people don’t usually finish on top—i am, of course, not talking about politicians!

Could you provide some evidence or references here? I’m having a hard time accepting your premise.

Because of the movement, over the last couple of decades, that everybody is the same and we are all equal at everything.

A movement, in my opinion, started by a bunch of folks who couldn’t keep up or had kids that couldn’t.

@Blondesjon Couldn’t have said it any better. Now here is your trophy for participation.

Good question. The Pulitzer (for literature) is a great example of this. As a rule it seems to go only to mediocre or ‘safe’ fiction.

Why reward for excellence, or anything for that matter? The reward is in the doing, or so I’m told.

Mediocrity is the new excellence….didn’t you hear? :)

Looks around for where I can award @The_Compassionate_Heretic an “hohum question” lurve.

We prefer to take care of our own.

@filmfann
@Psychedelic_Zebra
Wow tough crowd eh?

do it, pursue excellence. it will fill you up with contentment and pride.

According to Ayn Rand, those who are in power keep control over the masses by rewarding mediocrity:

“Kill man’s sense of values. Kill his capacity to recognize greatness or achieve it. Great men can’t be ruled. We don’t want any great men. Don’t deny the conception of greatness. Destroy it from within. The great is the rare, the difficult, the exceptional. Set up standards of achievement open to all, to the least, to the most inept-and you stop the impetus to effort in all men, great or small. You stop all incentive to improvement, to excellence, to perfection… Don’t set out to raze all shrines-you’ll frighten men. Enshrine mediocrity—and the shrines are razed.

I think there’s some truth in there. I don’t think it’s a real secret agenda by those in power, but something that just sort of happened. Look at the majority of movies Hollywood puts out or the stuff that passes for music these days and you can see the enshrining of mediocrity at work. I think society started rewarding mediocrity for profit. If you lower your standards, the talent pool grows larger, which also means more chances to make to money.

@Blondesjon I think the movement was for everyone to have the same rights, not that everyone had the same abilities…just that everyone should have a chance to develop any ability and to pursue anything they wanted…in the last couple of decades the spirit was always of competition actually, especially with the Cold War so I don’t think anyone ever thought people are the same everywhere…

as to the original question…I’m thinking of daloon’s ideas with this…rewarding mediocrity probably has some sort of value, overall…in that when a society is complex there shouldnt’ be too many outliers so that structure is maintained

Because we need heroes. I was having this discussion on another thread. I was given the stink eye when I suggested that one of our American “heroes” was merely fair rather than a great person to be praised. Maybe I’m hard to impress, but it’s my opinion that to be placed on a pedestal, it takes an incredible person. If many people in the same position would have done the same, then I’m not sure what you did was outstanding. Sorry.

@ubersiren . . .I agree. I think that maybe the world would become a better place if we all quit looking for heroes and started working on being heroes.

Why should I need anyone to save me and mine when I am best suited to do it myself?

someone has been reading the execrable Ayn Rand.

@pdworkin what’s execrable?

Definitions of execrable on the Web:

* deplorable: of very poor quality or condition; “deplorable housing conditions in the inner city”; “woeful treatment of the accused”; “woeful…
* abominable: unequivocally detestable; “abominable treatment of prisoners”; “detestable vices”; “execrable crimes”; “consequences odious to those you govern”- Edmund Burke
* damnable: deserving a curse; “her damnable pride”
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

* of the poorest quality; hateful
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/execrable

* execrably – In an execrable way
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/execrably

@pdworkin . . .So, I’m guessing Ayn Rand declined your prom invite?

she pissed in my boot.

@ubersiren You’re not talking about Captain Sullenberger, are you? Because like you, I’m difficult to impress but I have to admit that that guy’s a hero.

@drdoombot : Sorry to burst your bubble, pal. :o) just kidding

No major, popular wars. Post 9.11 trauma, accompanied with a social shift. Reality television, popularizing the mediocre. Widespread desire for instant gratification. Jealousy of the financial elite.

A couple reasons, in my opinion.

for people like myself!

@laureth I love the image of predators chasing someone in the office. It’s a jungle out there, all right!