E-001: What Is An Anomaly?

By Jade.

The dictionary defines 'Anomaly' as something that deviates from what is standard, normal, or expected. It really has become one of my favorite words, and has gone on to be the inspiration for this entire project. But our usage of the word anomaly may differ from other's usage of it. What constitutes as an anomaly, and what can be made into an article for this project?

We live our entire lives with assumptions on how the world works, based on our experiences and knowledge, and then use these assumptions to make decisions and interpretations of the world. For the most part, this works very well. We can expect an apple to fall to the ground when we release it from our hands, and it will fall to the ground. We expect this to happen because we've seen it happen many times before. But what happens if the apple rises up? Or spontaneously combusts? Or is a raccoon? Then, the event would be anomalous, as it deviates from the expected norm. Things such as hauntings, curses, extraterrestrial sightings, cryptids, and many mysteries would fall under this category. Other, more abstract things, may also fall under this definition, such as spatial and chronal anomalies as well as infohazards and unexplained events. If the mechanisms of function, or the results of function, or the expression of function, greatly differ from the logical, expected norm, and mainstream science has or has had great difficulty explaining this phenomenon, then it may be considered to be an anomaly.

This means that explainable medical anomalies (such as Situs inversus) would not be classified as anomalies under our definitions, but ones that are not confirmed or are to be explained fully (such as Alexandria's Genesis) may be. Strange places such as the Alnwick Poison Garden would not be anomalous for our purpose, due to an understanding of the mechanisms involved in creating it and the function of these places, but a place such as the Overtoun Bridge would be considered anomalous, as there is no explanation to this location's strange effects and nature. The vast majority of creatures do not qualify, but if mainstream science is largely unsure of it's existence, then it becomes a cryptid, and is considered anomalous.

Hoaxes are difficult to decide whether they warrant an article, but generally, if the hoax managed to fool many people while active, it may be considered an explained anomaly. This also goes for other explained anomalies, though it is always a case by case basis on whether an article should be written on any given object.

To find out if something qualifies as an anomaly, as these questions first: Does it deviate from the expected norm, and can it be explained by mainstream science? If it does significantly deviate from the norm with no satisfactory explanation (or for some time had no satisfactory explanation), then it is to be considered an anomaly for the purposes of the project.