Eccentric.

Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric says Bertrand Russell. Where eccentricities are not there, everywhere they are there.Sometimes we grasp them, sometimes we don't grasp them.When what happens in world,in life,& what man would do it can't be said,everything is unpredictable & eccentric.Society consists not only ordinary people it consists of eccentric people too. Eccentric is odd. It is unusual, unconventional & draws attention. An eccentric won't usually won't be aware of their eccentricity. It never seems to be unusual to them.Sometimes, it is a boon. Sometimes it's a curse.Signs of an eccentric people are evident from many things like their dressing style, peculiar tastes, their speech, or an offbeat way of thinking. Though it’s not abnormal, there is also a definite deviation in their conduct from that of the general cultural or society normal’s.Eccentricity isn't either developed or thrust upon anybody. It's God given.

Human beings are His creations.Each is of a different mould.Eccentrics are two of the different mould.Who isn't eccentric everyone is eccentric in one or another way. Renowned theoretical physicist Albert Einstein; his eccentricities included picking up discarded cigarette butts off the street in order to circumvent his doctor's ban on buying tobacco for his pipe. An eccentric laughs when the whole world laughs, but a madman only weeps when the whole world laughs.It is to the eccentries the world owes most of its knowledge - says Rose Macaulay.It isn't ordinary but eccentrics always make the news.

An eccentric isn't what others are.Eccentricity is often in one's behavior & actions. What an eccentric person would do & won't do it cannot be expected. They do unusual.Eccentricity is often associated with genius, intellectual giftedness, or creativity.It's of different types.One sleeping when all are awake & busy & remaining awake when all are sleeping is eccentric.In what way one would be eccentric it couldn't be said at all. Moving up & down not sitting at a place is often eccentric. Eccentrics are less prone to mental illness.Eccentrics aren't walking with head up, but it's walking topsy turvy with head down. They may be absent minded too. Famous people who were eccentric in their different ways include Albert Einstein, Nero, Alan Turing, Howard Hughes, Ludwig II of Bavaria and Lord Berners.The world would never be without eccentrics at all.

Eccentricity is not, as some would believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride, and the man of genius and the aristocrat are frequently regarded as eccentrics because genius and aristocrat are entirely unafraid of and uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.” says Edith Sitwell.

David Weeks identifies the following fifteen descriptions (in descending order of importance) as applicable to eccentrics. Although the first five characterizations are most definitive, possessing any ten of the fifteen may qualify one as an eccentric.

* Nonconforming

* Creative

* Strongly curious

* Idealistic

* Happily obsessed with a hobby (often more than one)

* Aware from early childhood of being different from others

* Intelligent

* Opinionated and outspoken

* Noncompetitive

* Unusual eating or living habits

* Not interested in the opinions or company of others

* Mischievous sense of humor

* Single

* Eldest or only child

* Bad speller

Eccentricity isn't one that can be worn it's one that's born.It's one's extraordinary qualities. One can leave anything easily but not their eccentrics. An eccentric couldn't be understood easily,stuns & makes others perplexed. It's eccentrics change the world & make it look different.Every eccentric is a different story.Eccentrics are memorable characters. Only great writers can create them. Shakespeare's Hamlet, Macbeth, is always alive

Above 60 years back, I studied Oliver Goldsmith's Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby Hard Times. It is when I came across a character called Man in black. He often haunts my memory. He was eccentric. He intended always"One's charity must be what one gives with their right hand their left hand mustn't know at all. "Donors are not only there in mythology they are at all times.

The man is a charitable man. He cares about others, gives to others, and shares with others, but he pretends to not care about the well-being of others. He is “ashamed of his natural benevolence.” While he pretends to have a disliking for mankind, he’s not very good at pretending to be. The author reveals that his poker face is not up to par. “… While his looks were softened into pity, I have heard him use the language of the most unbounded ill-nature.

The “Man in Black” is so concerned with the place of the poor, that he complains to the author of how ignorant the countrymen, or wealthy, are to the state of living of the poorer people. He says that the poor only want a few things – food, housing, clothes, and warmth but cannot obtain those things due to the negligence of the fortunate.

The man in black gives a beggar a piece of silver, but when doing so, he appeared “ashamed” to present his weakness to the author; the man has too much pride to show his soft spot for the less fortunate

When a man with a wooden leg passed the author and the man in black, the author ignored him. The man in black showed much attention to him, but instead of giving him alms, he called him out to be a poser of the needy. But once hearing the sailor’s story of fighting in defense of the country while others “did nothing at home”, the man gave alms to him.

The man in black and the author ran into a woman who was an obvious example of helpless, but he had no money to give her. He became shameful, as it was presented in his face, but once he found a “shilling’s worth of matches”, and placed it in her hands, he was pleased with himself seeing the smile in the woman’s face. This anonymous man, the Man In Black, is a man of benevolence, and is bluntly shameful of it. There is no understanding of why.

The man is one who cannot exhibit generous behavior without being ashamed of it. He wants the world to see him as a man who does not care too much about the well-being of others; much less, the unfortunate. He is the “Man In Black”, because he hides his benevolence. He does not want to be noticed for it. He is, the Man in Black.