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Interesting related trivia. Simon Baron-Cohen, the psychologist mentioned in the article, is cousin of Sascha Baron-Cohen: the actor who plays Borat and Ali-G.

Interesting related trivia. Simon Baron-Cohen, the psychologist mentioned in the article, is cousin of Sascha Baron-Cohen: the actor who plays Borat and Ali-G. Their family contains an unusually high quantity of professional creatives (actors, screenwriters, artists). I remember spending a non-trivial amount of time in college around ~Y2K in psychology lectures on the similar overlapping skills required between a successful artist and a successful psychologist, looking at their family in particular.

angrycontrarian 4y ago
Truly incredible that such a small group of people could be so well represented in academia and media. My hat goes off to them!
xcdzvyn 4y ago
I'd suspect Americans would best know him has the titular character of The Dictator. Ali G has gotta be a bit too British for that audience.
- birdyrooster 4y ago
  Borat more so. Aside from the fact there was a sequel, Borat 2 exposed Rudy Giuliani in a very unflattering way that got a ton of coverage. Much more than The Dictator.
- serf 4y ago
  Ali G was on in the United States longer than it was in Britain, first on HBO re-syndicated way later on FXX -- the U.S. seems well aware of Ali G.
googlryas 4y ago
I think it's the classic formula: rich person marries artsy person, children get to engage in artsy pursuits with little regard for the here and now of paying their heating bill.
- Cthulhu_ 4y ago
  Indeed; people in working class are discouraged from pursuing the arts because it's difficult to turn it into a paying career. But if you're born in wealth and financial security you don't need to worry about that. I believe it was one of the outcomes of universal basic income trials, people would engage more with the arts and creativity.
  - prisoner655321 4y ago
    >I believe it was one of the outcomes of universal basic income trials, people would engage more with the arts and creativity. Off topic but this result is one of many reasons why UBI will not be established any time soon. People in general are not ready for the challenging “creativity” that would come from otherwise “idle” individuals.

angrycontrarian 4y ago

Truly incredible that such a small group of people could be so well represented in academia and media. My hat goes off to them!

xcdzvyn 4y ago

I'd suspect Americans would best know him has the titular character of The Dictator. Ali G has gotta be a bit too British for that audience.

birdyrooster 4y ago
Borat more so. Aside from the fact there was a sequel, Borat 2 exposed Rudy Giuliani in a very unflattering way that got a ton of coverage. Much more than The Dictator.
serf 4y ago
Ali G was on in the United States longer than it was in Britain, first on HBO re-syndicated way later on FXX -- the U.S. seems well aware of Ali G.

googlryas 4y ago

I think it's the classic formula: rich person marries artsy person, children get to engage in artsy pursuits with little regard for the here and now of paying their heating bill.

Cthulhu_ 4y ago
Indeed; people in working class are discouraged from pursuing the arts because it's difficult to turn it into a paying career. But if you're born in wealth and financial security you don't need to worry about that. I believe it was one of the outcomes of universal basic income trials, people would engage more with the arts and creativity.
- prisoner655321 4y ago
  >I believe it was one of the outcomes of universal basic income trials, people would engage more with the arts and creativity. Off topic but this result is one of many reasons why UBI will not be established any time soon. People in general are not ready for the challenging “creativity” that would come from otherwise “idle” individuals.