d, pattern, and type of
sense normality--every normal person possesses these senses in a certain
general degree of power; hence, on this plane of existence, a person
born blind, or deaf, is spoken of as "ABNORMAL," that is to say, such a
person is DEFICIENT in regard to the sense powers.

On the contrary, let us imagine a plane of existence, in which the
great majority of individuals lack the power of sight and hearing,
respectively. On such a plane of existence, the occasional individual
who was born possessed of the powers of sight and hearing, respectively,
would be properly regarded as "SUPERNORMAL," that is to say, such a
person would be SUPERIOR to the ordinary run of individuals--above them,
in fact. The term "ABNORMAL" means MINUS the ordinary standard quality;
and the term "SUPERNORMAL" means PLUS the ordinary standard quality. And
yet both the "plus" and the "minus" would be "outside" the normal type,
though there is a difference as wide as that between the two poles, in
this "outsideness."

Supernormal, Not Abnormal

The above important statement concerning the distinction between the
"abnormal" and "supernormal" is not made merely for the purpose of
academic differentiation and classification. On the other hand, it is
made because there is a most pernicious tendency on the part of the
ignorant and unthinking portions of the public to regard and to classify
certain high phases of occult and psychic manifestation of power as
"abnormal," hence BELOW the standard; whereas, properly speaking, such
manifestations of power are far ABOVE THE STANDARD, and, hence, clearly
entitled to the term "supernormal."

The Prevailing Ignorance

The ignorant and unthinking attitude of certain portions of the general
public toward this class of phenomena is akin to that of a community of
blind and deaf persons, satisfied that their own "three sense" standard
is the highest possible one attainable by living creatures and that all
variation therefrom must be considered as "abnormal." In such a
community there would occasionally be born certain individuals possessed
of the senses of sight and hearing, in addition to the common three
senses possessed by the entire community. Judging by what we know of the
tendency of human nature in such cases, we are warranted in conjuring
that the ordinary run of persons in such a community would revile the
seeing and hearing individuals as "abnormal," and their possessors
therefore to be