Wikipedia Section–> Eccentricity (Behavior)

Characteristics

The textbook General Psychology by Weeks and James mentions people with a mental illness “suffer” from their behavior while healthy eccentrics are quite happy. The text even states eccentrics are less prone to mental illness than everyone else. According to the textbook, there are fifteen distinctive characteristics that differentiate a healthy eccentric person from a regular person or someone who has a mental illness (although some may not always apply). The first five are in most people regarded as eccentric:

* Nonconforming attitude
* Creative
* Intense curiosity
* Idealistic
* Happy obsession with a hobby or hobbies
* Known very early in his or her childhood they were different from others
* Highly intelligent
* Opinionated and outspoken
* Noncompetitive
* Unusual living or eating habits
* Not interested in the opinions or company of others
* Mischievous sense of humor
* Single
* Eldest or only child
* Bad speller[2] (usually uncommon)

Herpex