An eccentric is by definition someone whose behaviour is abnormal, someone who refuses to conform to the accepted norms of his society. This, of course, immediately begs the question, "What is normal?" Most of us, after all, have our quirks and oddities. It may be something for entering newspaper competitions, a compulsion for collecting beer mats, a tendency to write indignant letters to the press on every conceivable subject.

Eccentricity is the assertion of our individuality. Within most of us that urge is constantly in conflict with the opposite force. It is as though in the depths of our psyche we have two locomotives head-to-head on the same track, pushing against each other. One is called individualism and the other conformity and in most of us it is conformity that is the more powerful. The desire to be accepted, loved, appreciated, to feel at one with our fellows, is stronger than the desire to stand out in the crowd, to be our own man, to do our own thing. Notice, for example, how people who have unusual hobbies, opinions, strong or unconventional behaviour, tend to congregate. They form clubs, hold meetings, and organise rallies where they can get together and discuss their enthusiasms common or problems. The important word is 'common'.

They look for other people with whom they can share what in the normal run of events is regarded by relatives, friends and neighbours as an oddity. A crowd, even a small crowd, is reassuring. Probably all of us recognise a tension within ourselves between the two forces of individualism and conformity, for at the same time that most of us are going with the crowd, we tend to resent any suggestion that this is what we are doing.