Tell me what this means. It sounds like a trick sentence.
@lookatdesktop (27129)
Dallas, Texas
July 11, 2016 6:51pm CST
I got this on my Facebook page and it goes something like this:
'Quote- "If you want to be different, try being like everybody else." - end quote'
It seems a contra-contraditcion.
If a person is striving for individualism and wants very much to be different from anybody else, then trying to be like everyone else, who also are all different from each other, would be an impossible possibility. So to speak.
But if you are of the assumption that everyone else is the same, being more like everyone else would not make you any different so that would be illogical.
In truth we are all similar but yet each individual has a unique quality that makes them different from everyone else but the commonality of it is we are one species. We are all living on the same planet. We are all dependent on one another and each one of us has something to contribute to the cause of the greater good or if unwilling to do so, also has the ability to put a monkey wrench into the machine and thus can actually prevent progress and bring things to a screeching halt until someone else comes along to fix the problem and get the machine running again.
22 people like this
17 responses
@allen0187 (58438)
• Philippines
12 Jul 16
Everyone seeks to stand out in the crowd and be different. If you do the same, this makes you just like everyone else, trying to stand out and be different rather than trying to fit it and be like the crowd.
3 people like this
@akalinus (40440)
• United States
12 Jul 16
A common theme is that we are all part of one body. The body needs all its parts. The human body could do without a leg or an eye but the body would suffer. We are all one but each one is different in some way. Everyone has a secret life not exposed to others.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
14 Jul 16
Very accurate insight! You kind of scare me a little bit, @akalinus!
1 person likes this
@thesids (22180)
• Bhubaneswar, India
12 Jul 16
In fact I though over it a lot. Well, if you want to make that statement/quote true, the catch is the word - "Everybody" - No one yet has all the qualities. So if you become like everybody, it would mean, you would have the qualities of everyone out there on the planet - you would be a musician, a geek, a sportsperson, a politician and even a terrorist at the same time... (oklay, that is just a weird idea) 
And all of those bundled into you will make you unique no doubt, but you would be a dangerous guy around and I would be scared of that. So I do not think it is that good a quote
And all of those bundled into you will make you unique no doubt, but you would be a dangerous guy around and I would be scared of that. So I do not think it is that good a quote2 people like this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
Well, it does make you stop and think, a lot.
2 people like this
@psanasangma (5884)
• India
12 Jul 16
Being yourself itself makes you different and unique from others... because you are already trying to be like others and later on you will accept being yourself is much unique rather than being to try like somebody else
2 people like this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
This is somewhat what I gathered. Thank you for your analysis.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
I think if for instance a person wanted to join a religious group because they wanted to be a part of that group and therefore become more like that group of special people, that person might have to let go of who they are now in order to fit into that group and thus become more like them in order to be accepted by that group. This kind of thinking is not always fair or good in that to join a group but lose grasp of who you are as an individual is almost like becoming an officer of the military or to disavow their current affiliations to fit in with the new organization. Taking sides based on race, religion or even gender to become welcome into any group in my own opinion is against what I call our individuality and sense of self. If we lose it we will be more like them, a follower who doesn't depend on their own self to become motivated to act on their own reasoning and purpose. For that reason I refer to the famous quote, "To thine own self, be true."
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
12 Jul 16
That's because that IS a trick sentence! It could have been written so many easier ways, but someone decided to be different when writing that sentence! LOL!
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
12 Jul 16
@thesids 
Thanks, Sids! That's just what I was shooting for! LMAO!
Thanks, Sids! That's just what I was shooting for! LMAO!2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
14 Jul 16
@sugartoes Thank you!
I think it is fairly obvious someone tried as hard as they could to make that sentence as difficult to understand as they could!
I think it is fairly obvious someone tried as hard as they could to make that sentence as difficult to understand as they could!
@pumpkinjam (8537)
• United Kingdom
13 Jul 16
I suppose there are a lot of people/groups of people who follow a pack because they want to be different. So they're actually being the same as other people by trying to be different from a different bunch of people. I guess that to try and be the same, you would actually be more inclined to follow your own truth because you wouldn't seek out something because it's different, you'd be being yourself or finding groups with similarities to yourself. And, I think, you'd be more likely to find people who accept you as you are.
I think that kind of makes sense.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
13 Jul 16
That is why I am here at myLot. You have a good way of thinking things out. For the most part you have read my post so that is a good thing in any case.
1 person likes this
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Jul 16
I think that what it really means is that, because so many people are trying to be 'different' from everyone else, you will actually stand out from the crowd by NOT trying to be different but by being yourself.
The quote may sound snappy and memorable but it doesn't actually have a lot to commend it as a 'quotable quote'.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
Perhaps that is one way of looking at it. It is confusing to say the least.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
I like the way you think. So straight forward. So rational.
1 person likes this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
13 Jul 16
Yes we are all dependant on one another, that is true, but one of the skills we have for far too long supressed in our society is original thinking. It is as if those in power are scared of original thinking. Innovators perceive an idea and perform all the necessary steps to make their idea work.
1 person likes this
@pgiblett (6524)
• Canada
13 Jul 16
@lookatdesktop There is certainly something to be said for publishing things on the web first. That said if you are seeking a patent for new inventions then publishing on the web will invalidate any patent application.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
13 Jul 16
I have always believed that the government has taken the ideas of many an inventor just so they can own the rights to the design so in the future they might market the idea and claim ownership rights to it. It's sad however that the originator of many new inventions have not been given credit and thus will forever be invisible, behind the scenes and never be in the history books unless the internet manages to keep their ideas from their blogs and perhaps the originators of new ideas might be able to fight back to get credit where credit is due with digital date-time-stamping.
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
13 Jul 16
@pgiblett That is why I publish my ideas and do not patent them. I don't want to be rich, I only want recognition for my ideas.
1 person likes this
@Butchcass4 (5895)
• United States
12 Jul 16
God made us all unique and different. We can have things in common but we are different in many ways. Our DNA is unique, our eyes, fingerprints etc...We can agree to disagree. We may as well face it we are all different. How many faces can you come up with? I am amazed at God and His awesome powers and the fact that He loves us so much He gave us His Son and if we believe in Him we will not perish but have eternal life John 3:16
1 person likes this
@Butchcass4 (5895)
• United States
16 Jul 16
@lookatdesktop are you a believer in Jesus Christ?
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
12 Jul 16
maybe the point was that there is no "like everyone else", everyone is unique really. I remember thinking goths with their whole, "I want to be unique, so let's all dress in black and read depressing poetry" sameness was really amusing.
1 person likes this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
13 Jul 16
@lookatdesktop the whole thing I find entertaining.
@Macarrosel (7498)
• Philippines
12 Jul 16
It's really a trick quote and it depends on how you understand it. Well, "No man is an island." As the saying goes.
2 people like this
@The_Bong_Woman (851)
•
12 Jul 16
I'd like to pick up the word "unique" here and take the liberty of mentioning the "Unique paradox" (something I came across some time ago) which states that if each and every individual is 'unique' in his/her way, as they say, then what exactly is 'Unique'?
Well I know not the answer to this paradox but for that quote I can only say that each and every individual is 'different' in some way from each other and thus for one to become different, he/she needs to become what others are i.e. 'different'.
The quotation perhaps implies the 'phenomena of differences' that exists among humans. Therefore in order to become "different" one must indulge in the overall phenomena of creating differences among oneself- like everybody else. Hence in a compressed form, "If you want to be different, try being like everybody else."
1 person likes this
@lookatdesktop (27129)
• Dallas, Texas
12 Jul 16
You are very insightful. Thank you for your analysis. I like.
