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Well this was always going to happen in an attention economy, the worship of fame for fame's sake. Success has shed the burden of actual achievement, vanity has
by Gatsky 5y ago
Well this was always going to happen in an attention economy, the worship of fame for fame's sake. Success has shed the burden of actual achievement, vanity has become a job qualification. Why bother being good at sport or dancing or playing guitar, just be famous.
Fine whatever, but it is poison candy for children.
- seibelj 5y agoFamily, friends, health, purpose. These are the only things in life that truly matter. Some people get very low emotionally before they realize this.
- frankbreetz 5y agoSome might say fame gives friends and purpose.
- chomp 5y agoDoes fame really give friends? It's been my understanding that a lot of famous people are chronically lonely.
- frankbreetz 5y agoReally? No, but if someone says friends are important in life, some people will think fame would be a good way to make friends.
- chomp 5y agoI upvoted you but I think you and I might differ in our definition of friend; I think you're right that you have the opportunity to "cast a wide net" so to speak, but an internet search turns up numerous quotes from celebrities that find those relationships lacking in humanity and are void of meaningful connections. I don't think there's anything in fame that inherently precludes you to making true friendships, but you might have to sift more to find them.
- starfallg 5y ago>I don't think there's anything in fame that inherently precludes you to making true friendships, but you might have to sift more to find them. I guess the quantity and variety of interactions you get with fame will quickly desensitise you to the point where normal interaction with people becomes awkward.
- axiom92 5y ago>These are the only things in life that truly matter. Not really, such lists are typically a function of personal experiences. For example, plenty of people would happily take family out from the list.
- seibelj 5y agoI would argue you should make a new family. People who eschew the concept of family live a less fulfilling life IMO.
- ptd 5y agoYou’re being asked to consider the possibility that your family experiences have influenced this view. Not that you are incorrect, or even correct, the parent statement is simply saying you hold this belief because if you’re experiences.
- seibelj 5y agoOnly on HN would advocating for the importance of family be rabidly downvoted. Family is a universal component of human civilization. Our current president has repeatedly stated the utmost importance of his family, as has every president. What makes family bonds so strong is that they won’t turn your back on you when you are in a bind. They are much stronger than friends. Stable households are the most important predictor for childhood success. You won’t find many who are bitterly opposed to the concept of family except those that are lonely during the holidays.
- Applejinx 5y agoOne of the reasons I'm a HN type is that I'm the type of entrepreneur who will beat himself into the ground to get to my results, no matter what it takes. Part of the reason for this is that when I was much younger, my family DID turn their back on me, and I became homeless, and I was treated as a black sheep loser all my life and was compelled to reach for other things. I did not have friends for the most part, and my family ties were much worse than that, and I dreaded any connections I had to have. Made for a lot of free time to work on things that interested me. I was happier during the holidays when I'd got past whatever obligations I even had, those being as minimal as possible. It didn't make me a good person. It made me a bad person. I've spent years trying to overcome that badness, with some success, despite not getting a lot of reason to bother: I didn't grow up with any sort of positive role models or connections (Dad having rage and guilt issues, and Mom literally being a secret heroin addict). I'd probably be dead if Mom hadn't got clean, then got me clean (we were both so miserable that any change seemed exciting) and started a long slow road towards being less toxic. You will find damaged people without the importance of family (in a normal sense) among the most significant and influential people in hacker culture, and in SV unicorn culture. These are the people who ride the unicorns, because they aren't normal and aren't good people… just inhumanly driven. GOOD family makes for good people. Good people aren't always what you look for when you're trying to make the next billion-dollar tech unicorn. Certainly not in leadership.
- coder-3 5y agoI would slighly change it to relationships, health and purpose and I think this is a list that could apply to almost everyone.