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True Story: the guy who leads our sales team is a super star named John (legal name). He’s fearless, organized, focused, determined “and Canadian” as he would s
by lefstathiou 6y ago
True Story: the guy who leads our sales team is a super star named John (legal name). He’s fearless, organized, focused, determined “and Canadian” as he would say.
Any way, while he was a rising junior his GF came to the office one day and I heard her call him Jake (nowhere in his name legal name). I asked “who the hell is Jake?” to which she replied “oh, that’s what we call John back home”. I looked at him and he said “John likes to make cold calls, Jake doesn’t”.
It works...
- hanoz 6y agoWhat, John liked cold calls so much that he had to invent alter ego Jake, who didn't like cold calls, in order to get a girlfriend?
- IncRnd 6y agoIt's often the other way around... Many times, salespeople use different names on the phone than in real life.
- Consultant32452 6y agoI always assumed it was to make it more difficult for me to hunt down and kill cold callers.
- rriepe 6y agoThis is funny, but I think the real insidious reason is that it takes away the "saying your name" psychological advantage.
- pc86 6y agoWhat's insidious about that, exactly?
- HugeAcumen 6y agoIt's deception to an utter randomer, as well as to yourself. You really need to be careful with lying to yourself like that. Being a whole integrated person who doesn't have to remember who he is and what lies he's told comes in handy.
- amelius 6y agoYes, but aren't there notorious liars that are doing pretty well in life?
- HugeAcumen 6y agoIf you measure "doing well in life" by money and power, yes. If you measure by being a decent and content person, I'd have to say no.
- rriepe 6y agoWhat if I want to sell them something back?
- hnick 6y agoEvery good magician knows that True Names hold great power! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_name
- ant6n 6y agoThe story made explicit references to how John us the character‘s legal name and jake isn’t.
- IncRnd 6y agoHow does that affect what I wrote? Actually, that's not exactly what the story contained. It said that John was the legal name, but it didn't say that Jake wasn't the legal name. That happens all the time, John Jake Johnson, for example.
- balfirevic 6y ago> I heard her call him Jake (nowhere in his name legal name)
- IncRnd 6y agoThanks! I had missed that.
- scotty79 6y agoFew people in my family use their first and second name in different contexts (family/friends/work). Reasons probably vary. For my mum it just started that way when she was a kid. Family used her second name and when she started working people knew her by her first name.
- kube-system 6y agoSome people don't use any part of their legal names at all with their friends and family. I used to have some extended family who all went by nicknames unrelated to their legal names. It was a cultural thing.
- copperx 6y agoThat partly explains a perplexing issue I have with my students. For example, let's say a student named Fred Smith emails me, but then signs his name as "Alex Harrison." And his self-selected email address is alexrogers@school.edu. I'm not sure if it's a trend or a culture thing to use multiple names and last names, but it gets a bit confusing at times.
- ironic_ali 6y agoSame here. Its fairly common in the north east of England and parts of Scotland to be known by your nickname. Both my sons have a couple of nicknames each, which come out depending on the situation. They're 3 & 6 now and are both called wee man by way of greeting. The youngest is now getting called Mac because his nickname is MacMonkey McBean. Names evolve over time.
- simplicio 6y agoI ended up doing this, more or less for the same reason. I've found it kind of useful though, as I'm terrible at remembering names and faces, so if someone calls out to me the name they use gives me a clue where I know them from.
- laurent92 6y agoIt’s a bit like in gmail, where you can add a + and it allows you to spot spam mail. So, if someone calls you John+firstjob, you know where they’ve known you.
- mrslave 6y agoPerhaps it was not to get a girlfriend, but to keep one and nurture a meaningful relationship?
- save_ferris 6y agoI'm reminded of the bit in Silicon Valley where Jared turns into Ed Chambers. Of course that was a pretty dramatic character swing, but I had no idea that this was a real thing people did.
- tosh 6y agoEd Chambers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnug6i5SkQQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnug6i5SkQQ
- save_ferris 6y agoThe way he totally transforms on the spot into a cackling jerk in the kitchen scene is so great, Zack Woods was such an incredible talent on that show.
- rootsudo 6y ago100% works too. Making people wait builds up expectations.
- tug0fwar 6y agoMy name is.. my name is... my name is <chika chika> Slim Shady Edit: Don't know why the downvotes. Maybe the song 'all-solo-founders-please-stand-up' does not relate to as many of us as I thought.
- vimy 6y agoProbably because this kind of comment fits better on reddit than here.
- mundo 6y agoThe more nuanced version of the same comment would've been to point out that it's no co-oindence that rappers commonly choose an alter ego (not just a pseudonym, but a character with different mannerisms and traits) under which to perform. On top of that, Eminem used an alter-alter-ego, Slim Shady, for his most egregious lyrics, and conversely used his birth name to lend realism and humility to the songs that were (or alleged to be) honest about his real life details.
- renewiltord 6y agoThe difference between HN and Reddit is how many words people use to say the same wrong things.
- liability 6y agoLots of people named John choose to use another name. 'John' is common enough that having to negotiation which John on a team or group of friends uses the name is a common problem. I prefer to either use 'Jack' (a common alternate form of John, similar to Richard/Dick), or simply my last name by itself. I've also seen many Johns use their middle name, or 'John [LastName]' pronounced almost as a single word. Back home my family calls me by my middle name, since my father, grandfather and cousin are also named John.
- hnick 6y agoInitials seem pretty common around here, I've known a few Johns who go by JW JP JK etc. Never gave it much thought but after your comment I realise they are all Johns!
- laurent92 6y agoActually, dissociation of character is a trait that is rewarded. Although people will claim they want kind-hearted people as lovers, they also very often conveniently ignore what they do for work, and how cruel they have to be, and the partners happily enjoy the shared money (or respect they have from the world). Lovers surely know it: hard to claim Che Guevarra’s wife, Stalin’s wife or Pablo Escobar’s wife didn’t know anything about drug dealings, but it shows that what people actually fall for are people who are nice... with them, and ruthless to the outside of the family. So the John/Jake dissociation is unfortunately a road to success. I say unfortunately because it brings swathes of problems: John doesn’t mind having less ethics than Jake; wives who suddenly are dumped find themselves on the outer side of the fence, at risk, and very close to a very brutal human; and the last unfortunate corollary is that violent humans who can dissociate (and be someone else in private) reproduce easily from generation to generation. Hitler, Stalin, Che, Saddam Hussein have wives and Salah Abdeslam (the French terrorist, as famously any other mass killer) receives love letters, while people who won’t reproduce include Beaudelaire, Newton, Tesla, the Wright brothers or Alan Turing. The Jake/John dissociative trait is very interesting.
- Drdrdrq 6y agoThat... was not the point GP was making, at least not how I see it. And it is doubtful if dictators use / have used different personas, or they simply behaved differently towards close ones (for some time at least).
- john4534243 6y ago> Che Guevarra’s wife, Stalin’s wife or Pablo Escobar’s wife Comparing Che Guevarra and Pablo is totally unfair. Che was a true inspiration, born in a rich family, became a doctor and yet sacrificed his life and fought for what he thought would make the society just. On the other hand Pablo is just a gangster who did not care outside of his family.
- lopmotr 6y agoWhy would you respect someone for sacrificing and fighting for what they think is just? Osama Bin Laden wasn't too different either. Many Islamic terrorists were engineers before sacrificing their careers and fighting for what they believed in. You're right that they are true inspirations to others, but you seem to imply that's a good thing. Gangsters are obviously also a true inspiration to others (hence glamorization of gangster life) but not really good for society. I suspect that what you really mean is Guevara fought for what you think is just. But that's a weaker statement.
- e40 6y agoIt's a thing that some people like different names for work and personal life. I knew a guy like that and it was jarring being around him at home. My take: he had worked with such cretins before, I think he didn't really want to associate his favorite name with them.
- CarbyAu 6y agoI am similar. At Uni I had a gregarious circle of friends and got a nickname that "everyone" used including my now wife. Out of Uni, in the workplace I am legal-name - no more, no less. I don't want work bullshit to taint what I associate with friends and good times. In further adult life, you get my legal-name until I know you well enough that we're social and you overhear my nickname. It also means legal-name is more disciplined, whereas nickname is not... My wife knows when to use which one. :-P
- JoblessWonder 6y agoMy dad does the same thing. "Bill" (his real name) hates social settings, yoga, and emotions. "Fred" (his alter ego) is more than happy to try out any of those things. Just don't ask John. It certainly works pretty well for him. At the local gym he even had a Jake/John moment where everyone knew him as Fred and not Bill and got confused when my mom tried to reach them about something.
- hnick 6y agoIt's useful for customer support too. Some places all use fake names for personal safety but it also lets people say what needs to be said more confidently.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]