Out-of-Sync ‘Loners’ May Secretly Protect Orderly Swarms
I've always felt that the oddballs and outcasts among us are like the sentinels or vanguards of society.  They detect problems before the majority and try to warn others.  It's a painful and unappreciated role, exemplified by one of the major alien characters in Greg Egan's book <i>Incandescence</i>.