All of us want to be normal, yet none of us want to be average.

We march through life measuring ourselves on one scale after another, from developmental markers through standardized tests and employment evaluations, cardiac risk and bone density scores. Not to mention the ready-made clothes that never fit anyone quite right.

Does it have to be that way? Must the tyranny of the group rule us from cradle to grave? Absolutely not, says Todd Rose in a subversive and readable introduction to what has been called the new science of the individual.

Great thinkers from Einstein to Chairman Mao have long wandered this territory, musing on the situation of the little particle in the big crowd. So have a zillion self-help authors, slicking over the complexities with upbeat attitude.

Dr. Rose, a faculty member at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, operates somewhere in the middle of the field: He is not above dwelling on the inspiring story of his own paddle-against-the-current career success, but supplies enough history, biology and social science theory to interest those in no particular need of inspiration.