Without deviation, progress is not possible.

Dallas interviews Zappa while he is promoting the film Baby Snakes. Asked how he regards the people described in its publicity as not normal, Zappa supports them and says society benefits from their contributions. Dallas then challenges him about sexual material in Joe’s Garage, and Zappa disputes the interviewer’s characterization.

Progress requires departures from accepted patterns; unconventional people can contribute something society needs.

It is not a blanket claim that every deviation is valuable. In the interview it supports recognizing the contributions of unconventional people, rather than dismissing them as abnormal.

Society, Change, Wisdom

• To be great is to be misunderstood. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• It is circumstances (difficulties) which show what men are. Epictetus
• Whoso would be a man, must be a nonconformist. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Ralph Waldo Emerson
• Courage is the most important of all the virtues, because without courage you can’t practice any other virtues consistently. Maya Angelou

Frank Zappa, Karl Dallas, ‘Enjoying the glandular arena’, Melody Maker, 26 January 1980. Checked at Quotogeny, https://quotogeny.com/q/without-deviation-progress-is-not-possible/ (24 October 2026).

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