Everybody is unique. When people think of themselves in a positive light, they tend to think of the better parts of their personality, intellectual ability, physical capabilities, etc. Many people are willing to admit that they lack in certain areas, but they don't consider themselves normal; essentially, everybody is answering their own questions. If you asked an intellectual person if they were above average, they would most likely answer "yes," thinking in terms of their IQ and where it sits on the normal curve. If you asked a popular jock if he was above average, he would probably say "yes," thinking in terms of his fitness and popularity. If you asked an idiot that happened to be rich if he was above average, he would probably say "yes," thinking that money made him better. Nobody is on the same spectrum. They all have their own ideas of what average is, their own ideas of what makes someone successful, and almost nobody admits that they are above average in some random area but below average in other areas. Naturally, humans are pretty stuck-up and full of themselves; everybody thinks they are better than everybody else. So, if someone simply asked random people if they felt they were above average, most of the people would say "yes."

The Stand definitely had some... mature... moments, but other than that I found it amazing. It was pretty intimidating when I saw how big the book was--tiny font, lots of pages (almost 1200) and just an overall big book length- and width-wise--but I finished it in about a week (and I'm a pretty slow reader). It was really graphic, most of the time in really good ways. Nothing about Stephen King or any of his works is ordinary, but I thought The Stand was especially unique because of the characters (and I loved the reference to The Stand in the Dark Tower series, which I didn't actually get at the time because I read The Stand right after). Randall Flagg and Trashcan Man gave me goosebumps (in their own ways, of course). The Stand was also really unpredictable, in my opinion, which makes it so much better; additionally, as much as I don't want main characters to die, when they do die, it makes the story way better because it creates so much suspense, as opposed to when the main characters are basically invincible so all battle-type scenarios are boring because you know nothing will happen. Stephen King is great at that, and The Stand is a perfect example. If you haven't read it, I highly suggest reading it. I read the uncut addition and didn't think it was too long or anything.