One of my favourite answers . . .
I'm sitting in a café having some lunch, and, looking around.
People are really highly variable.
Our familiarity with what local people look like makes us ignore the considerable differences in appearance in the population.
Some people are tall. Others short.
Some are stocky. A few lanky.
Plenty of grey or white hair on display, along with blonde, brunette, ginger, and not much at all.
Considerable differences in shape between male and female. Actually considerable differences in shape between people of the same sex.
Differences in complexion.
In the preponderance of facial hair.
Obviously ethnic differences, and skin colour.
People are smiling, the food is good. Some scowl, as it's not instantaneously produced, or, they are thinking of something extraneous.
Clothing types and colours vary enormously. Some are quite formal, most are informally dressed.
We scan such a crowd, and we see what we expect. We see the usual pattern.
When I was younger I spent five months travelling in Papua New Guinea. Not many Europeans at all in that country. After a few months, I recognised how super pale my skin was. Everyone else was very much darker.
The people were, however, quite variable. Tall, short, skinny, dumpy, female, male, young, old.
After a while, I could make a guess at the regions various people came from. I become familiar with the differences.
In my travels around Australia, I had the opportunity to interact with quite a few Aboriginal people.
They were interested, courteous, friendly, thoughtful, concerned, and generous.
Much like anyone else I encountered.
I didn't find them somehow "different".
^ With Louie. I’m the really pale guy. Born the same year, with a surprisingly similar outlook on life.
Here's the thing. There are as many differences within a population as across them.
It just depends on how familiar you are with them.
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