How do I know if I’m a contrary?

Chances are that you have had a contrary response (see definition of "contrary response" below) at least a couple of times in your life. If so, you're a contrary, even though you might not want to take on this label for yourself (in which case you might be contrarian (See discussion below about contrary vs. contrarian.)).

Here's an example. If you’re either extremely large or much smaller-than-average, every time you sit in a chair in a public place, you’re likely to be uncomfortable—it was designed to a norm, and you’re too far away from that norm to sit comfortably in that chair. Your response to the chair would be contrary to that intended by the designer (PLEASE don’t come back at me saying, “Well, actually, the designer knew full well that the chair wouldn’t fit giants, so the professional linebacker is having the intended response to the chair.” Duh. I’m referring here, and throughout, to the generally-expected response to a thing or environment—the “best” response, the “happy” response, the “popular” response, the “productive” response.)

Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have used a chair as an example. Bad example. Let’s talk about a mall store. Most are highly designed to create an experience. This experience works for some but not for others.

When you walk into Abercrombie & Fitch, do you feel like you’ve just come home and that those cool-looking mannequins sure do know how to dress? Or do you feel like everybody’s looking at you and there’s no way you’re ever going to get any action cuz you’re such a dork and those mannequins are even cooler than you are check it out the girl mannequins have nipple rings and butterfly tats on the smalls of their backs and the boy mannequins have six packs but they can’t do ballroom dancing yeah your ballroom dancing lessons might pay off some day WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! you CANNOT bust out with any of your ballroom moves cuz then they’re all going to KNOW what a freak you are just back away slowly and find shelter over at The Gap?

If you’re in the first group, A&F doesn’t bring out the contrary in you. If you’re in the second group, you’re probably a contrary, at least in this case. You can be a contrary about any designed thing -- a suburban development (Renaissance Meadows), a flat-screen television (Too Big! Too Flat!), flourescent lighting (makes me sad and angry at the same time), etc.

It’s easy to poke fun at Muzak, corporate attempts to monetize youth culture, and sentimental knick-knacks, but all of these things are designed to evoke a response from or induce a state in the user, consumer, listener or viewer.

Perhaps more insidious (although I don’t know if we can find anything more insidious than an A&F store) is personalization technology. The freedom to personalize seems like a natural right. A freedom!

But a skeptic might say that customizing my personal web page or my laser-cut-to-fit jeans or my playlists or my RSS feeds or my tastfully-accessorized cubical at work gives me the illusion of control that both limits my access to information (by preventing me from bumping up against other viewpoints, thus preventing me from learning through exposure to other cultures (and I mean that broadly, not nationally (and not yogurt-ally, either, though I am a fan) and also keeps me focused on consumption by integrating it with my sense of identify (Sure, I could buy a $40 pair of off-the-shelf Dockers, but I’m a laser-fit kind of guy. Not only is the extra $30 worth it in terms of comfort (snugger fit where it counts, more ventilation space where it matters), it makes me like myself.)

Like The O’Reilly Factor and self-heating coffee, personalization is FUN BUT WRONG.

What is a “contrary response”? What is an “expected response”?

The response to a designed thing that the designer intended most people to have is the “expected response.” Anything other than the expected response is a “contrary response.”

So with the example of Muzak, the expected response is enjoyment, comfort, ability to focus, increased productivity, decreased reaction to stimuli, decreased ability for rational thought, and mindless zombie robot work-food-work-buy-want-buy activity. (Okay, that last part is editorial.) A contrary response would be for Muzak to be in the foreground (rather than the background), to be distracting (Why would anyone leave a cake out in the rain?) and to be thoroughly depressing, anxiety-inducing and EVIL. This is just an example.

When you say “contrary,” don’t you mean “contrarian”? Aren't they the same thing?

No, by using the word “contrary” I am trying to describe an innate response to designed aspects of society and culture. To me, “contrarianism” is a point of view, a position, a policy, a political orientation. “Contrarian” describes a character trait, while “contrary” describes a physical and/or emotional state (temporary and site-specific).

Having a “contrary” response means having an visceral response to an object or designed environment that differs significantly from the response intended by the people who created the object or environment.

You can be a contrarian contrary (a skeptic of, say, the type of corporate catechism offered by Successories who also feels claustrophobic in malls), but a contrary isn’t necessarily contrarian. I might fill my home with commemorative plates depicting baby unicorns for the joy they bring me but feel anxious and agitated if I display those plates under fluorescent lighting (helpful hint: any commemorative plate looks warmer and more expensive under incandescent lighting).

That said, I expect there is much overlap between contrarians and contraries.

You have a garden-variety social phobia. And you’re trying to pass it off as some sort of noble cause.

Actually, I have acute megalomania, and I believe the work I'm doing to identify and educate contraries will save humanity.

Who is Lagrange?

A visionary who did his best work pre-1994, so you might not find many references to him online.

Do you have Questions or Assertions? Email:

brian@contrary4percent.org