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Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way but... If you have to explain who someone is, is their obituary really a news story? Everybody dies, some tragically
by cletus 7y ago
Maybe I'm the only one who feels this way but... If you have to explain who someone is, is their obituary really a news story?
Everybody dies, some tragically young while others such as Mr Volcker lived long lives.
There problem is that often these obits ends up being used to further some agenda (although I don't get that sense here.
- pc86 7y agoMany here don't know who he was (I didn't) but nobody outside of our circles care about Paul Graham or Linus Torvalds, either. I'm sure almost every IB associate in NYC knows who Volcker is. Whether I know them specifically or not, I think a former Fed chairman dying qualifies as news.
- deleted 7y ago[deleted]
- munk-a 7y agoIt's a bit weird to say "Welp, I've done a lot, all done now - never going to come back into the fray." because it can be often followed with, "Wait what's that? You need help suddenly!? Well, here i come!" So it's unclear when to really dig into someone's accomplishments and share the interesting bits, that's why so many such investigations happen after death. I've always personally viewed obituaries of interesting people as more of a "Hey, here's some really interesting stuff you may have forgotten or may not have lived through" as a sort of starting point to dig a bit deeper into the interesting things - than a memorial, I'm sure the family and close friends appreciate the article highlighting his public history, but for most folks it only serves as a knowledge gateway.
- uptown 7y agoEverybody dies. The lasting impact of those who die lasts longer for some than others.
- buboard 7y agoAgree. I was thinking ... HN's audience has gotten too old, and reddit's audience is too young. what's the middle way?