The Normalization of the Abnormal

After touring the Googleplex in Mountain View, I attended a seminar as a listener at Stanford University in Palo Alto. With its vast campus, systematic organization, and open-minded atmosphere, it was supposed to be inspiring. Yet, it had a different effect on me — it made me question life. I felt a responsibility to raise awareness that many things we consider “normal” are, in fact, not normal at all. That’s why I decided to write this article.

During my high school years, I grew up hearing physics teachers tell my parents, “This kid won’t make it academically, send him to vocational school so he won’t be a burden to you or to us” — not normal. In my first year of university, I failed a non-credit Turkish language course because I didn’t write the answer the professor wanted to hear in the final exam — not normal. During my graduate studies at Turkey’s most prestigious technical university, I unknowingly had half my grade deducted for weeks just because I wrote my name on the wrong corner of the paper — also not normal. In protest, I later tried writing only my name in the “correct” corner just to see if I could get half grade again — that didn’t help either. I ended my technical education with that course.

We were expected to feel lucky and indebted for staying in state dormitories at a “nominal” fee. Yet, for 18 months, there was no internet in our dorm room. During the same time, Facebook was born in a dorm room and became a global brand. Meanwhile, we had difficulty even accessing that website.

Expecting technological or scientific breakthroughs from such a system is like trying to race a horse against a Ferrari. It’s a hope that defies the nature of matter. Expecting innovation without investment, or economic stability while ignoring the principles of science… On one side, you have companies shaping the future with factories operating in the dark, autonomous vehicles, and cutting-edge chip technologies. On the other side, there’s a country where people still debate whether interest rates are the cause or the result of inflation.

When articles like this are written, our society often reacts with, “How dare you criticize the system that gave you an education?” But we’re not even aware that judging and criticizing are not the same. Criticism is made to make things better; judgment is a one-sided tool used only to silence. In a society that punishes criticism and rewards silence, progress is impossible. Can such a society find a place in a changing, evolving world? In a culture that preaches gratitude by comparing ourselves to lives we wouldn’t want to live, not even a grain of progress can be made.

Making comparisons is often seen as problematic — a door opening to unhappiness. Yet, if we want to improve as a society, we must compare. Comparing Stanford with Turkish universities may not sound fair. That’s because we, as a society, don’t want to see what’s better. However, the real injustice is ignoring potential. The real injustice is accepting impossibility as fate.

In a society where technology, art, culture, education, and free thought are absent or not encouraged, the greatest existential threat is the society itself. Individuals and communities that can’t bear to hear about their own shortcomings end up surrendering their futures to the dreams of others.