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Fame is a disfigurement. As the costs of fame increase, how will this effect the distribution of people who seek to do great things? This is probably a much mor
by ZhuanXia 8y ago
Fame is a disfigurement. As the costs of fame increase, how will this effect the distribution of people who seek to do great things? This is probably a much more important question than many things we worry about.
- drcode 8y agoYeah, the guy probably thought interesting young people would come and have conversations with him after he became famous. Instead, he is just filmed all day on phones by visitors trying to bolster their social media likes with some desirable video footage.
- Aeolun 8y agoAnd even if there were a few that would come to talk, they’d almost certainly also be turned off by the thousands filming.
- BucketSort 8y agoSeeking to do great things is not linked to fame. The public is generally ignorant of every great person alive today, they just see the people who need to be seen because it supports their ventures.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- ismail 8y agofully agree. People conflate fame with impact. Everyone’s version of impact may be different but having Impact does not necessarily lead to the other. Consider the case of Howard Thurman, not nearly as famous as Martin Luther king Jr[0], or Nelson Mandela[1]. Yet highly influential on them, and they went on to catalyse massive change. So his impact if we consider social change, was massive and far outpaced his actual fame. [0] he mentored Martin Luther King and otherS [1] Mandela came out of prison with a completely different philosophy to when he went in.Mandela appears to have been highly influenced by by his writing while in prison.
- BucketSort 8y agoSo many examples of this. This highly charming piece by a former IAS director goes into this so well: https://library.ias.edu/files/UsefulnessHarpers.pdf https://library.ias.edu/files/UsefulnessHarpers.pdf
- ACow_Adonis 8y agoAlternatively, perhaps fame-seeking behaviour helps us identify frauds and hollow-men?
- BucketSort 8y agoSeeking fame and notoriety is a norm. Our minds are so attached to media these days that most people lose touch with those around them and live in a world of popular personalities. So I'm not sure if this is true, because it's almost like fighting for existence these days when our communities and interpersonal relationships are so weak.
- netsharc 8y agoThis doc is eye-opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g (although it's over 2 hours and I fell asleep the first time I watched it). but TL;DW: People are always looking for status, because status means others acknowledge and praise them. And today's celebrity culture means being famous is seemingly a quick way to gain status. With a better community you'd have friends who like you and acknowledge you because they got to know you and your character.
- BucketSort 8y ago> With a better community you'd have friends who like you and acknowledge you because they got to know you and your character. You hit the nail on the head. It's such a simple truth, but we are stuck in a machine now and can't even change things to help us live healthier lives. Great documentary too! Thanks!
- netsharc 8y agoYou say "machine", makes me think of The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster: https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machine-Stops.pdf https://www.ele.uri.edu/faculty/vetter/Other-stuff/The-Machi...
- advael 8y agoFame is a cost. Some important, meaningful, or even just fun things incur an increased likelihood of accumulating fame, though not all of them. If what you want to do is worth the risk of attracting attention, the tradeoff can be worth it, but I think you're right to say that the cost is growing higher.