4 ms·

Sigh, the arrogance and smugness in this thread is disheartening. Wow, you don't know who Tim Ferriss is! So impressive! Or you do know, and you consider him to

Sigh, the arrogance and smugness in this thread is disheartening. Wow, you don't know who Tim Ferriss is! So impressive! Or you do know, and you consider him to be a scam artist! Got it. I read the 4HWW when it came out and I liked it but I agree that it was a bit over the top and chest-puffing. I think Tim says that himself these days. I listen to some of his interviews every now and then and to me, he comes across as a humble and genuinely interested and curious man who means well. This blog post doesn't state that he wishes he wasn't famous, it tells you some facts that you might not have considered if you have that same desire. I do not want to be famous myself but I still found it interesting.

hammyhavoc 3y ago
I feel like this is directed at me. No, I didn't know who he is—but there's no smugness or arrogance in my not knowing, it illustrates the point that fame is relative, contextual and most importantly, fleeting. His blog post about gaining 34lbs of muscle in 28 days was in 2007, and I'd never even heard of it. If it was that effective and I've not heard of it in all that time, I think I can safely say I didn't miss out on some kind of breakthrough. I could equally twist this back around to you—ooo, you know who Ferriss is and read his books and watched his interviews, suddenly you're a lifehacker and can present pithy soundbites and "techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms" if his 4-Hour Body book is anything to go by. But there's no smugness or arrogance on your behalf either, right? So why assume it of others?
- ihateyouall123 3y ago
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- lapcat 3y ago
  > I feel like this is directed at me. expertentipp: "Tim, I have no idea who you are and don't care about you. Hope it will makes you feel better." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 wigster: "well i'm not sure if this would make him feel better or worse, but I have no idea who he is" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 KrugerDunnings: "Who the fuck is Tim Farris?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338
- kristiandupont 3y ago
  >I feel like this is directed at me. Currently, there are 4 root-level comments that state the same in different words so no, not in particular. I don't see how your not knowing about him or his old blog post proves in any way that fame is fleeting, though.
  - hammyhavoc 3y ago
    > I don't see how your not knowing about him or his old blog post proves in any way that fame is fleeting, though. Person in question makes some sensationalist claims, sees some success in selling techniques to achieve those claims. Proceeds to rinse and repeat formula of what will get attention and continue riding the wave. Doesn't look all that "famous", let alone anymore: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=Tim%20Ferriss&hl=en https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=Tim%20Fe... Currently at an interest score of 16 versus a peak of 100 in January 2017. Whilst he may have briefly been a hot topic, if you weren't exposed to him/his brand/his ideas at the height of his relative fame, you're statistically less likely to have been since. People having not heard of him seems a given looking at the interest graph—nothing to be smug about.
    - kristiandupont 3y ago
      > [...] Proceeds to rinse and repeat formula of what will get attention and continue riding the wave. For someone who is not being smug and knows nothing about the author, you make some pretty bold statements.
      - hammyhavoc 3y ago
        I said I didn't know who he was until today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019550 As per https://tim.blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/ https://tim.blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-... : "You will learn: How to lose 20 pounds in 30 days (without exercise), how to triple your testosterone, techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms, and more." Please. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3091878 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3091878 Following the 4-Hour Body book, he did a 4-Hour Workweek book. As per https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4pat3x/the_4hour_work_week_bs_or_the_real_deal/ https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4pat3x/the... : "The title is misunderstood a lot, it's an attention grabber. Edit: he actually admits in his podcast that it's purely market research about the catchiest title that lead to what it is." Ferriss openly admits to doing x because it gains attention and was continuing to ride the wave, as evidenced by the Google Trends graph, even going so far as to name his next book another "4-Hour" thing for attention. So no, I don't think my statements are bold, and I don't think I'm smug. Frankly, I don't give a fuck who Tim Ferriss is, but I have a problem with telling me I'm something I'm not when you don't know me nor how I feel. Call the article posted to HN what it is: a puff piece for a known self-promoter.
laratied 3y ago
I like Tim's podcast but he is not famous. Tim could go out to eat in any city and almost no one would know he is. You can't claim to be famous if Pauly Shore has you beat 100:1 in terms of being recognized in public. Tim is just a good hustler and self promoter of what he is selling.

hammyhavoc 3y ago

I feel like this is directed at me. No, I didn't know who he is—but there's no smugness or arrogance in my not knowing, it illustrates the point that fame is relative, contextual and most importantly, fleeting. His blog post about gaining 34lbs of muscle in 28 days was in 2007, and I'd never even heard of it. If it was that effective and I've not heard of it in all that time, I think I can safely say I didn't miss out on some kind of breakthrough. I could equally twist this back around to you—ooo, you know who Ferriss is and read his books and watched his interviews, suddenly you're a lifehacker and can present pithy soundbites and "techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms" if his 4-Hour Body book is anything to go by. But there's no smugness or arrogance on your behalf either, right? So why assume it of others?

ihateyouall123 3y ago
[dead]
lapcat 3y ago
> I feel like this is directed at me. expertentipp: "Tim, I have no idea who you are and don't care about you. Hope it will makes you feel better." https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019501 wigster: "well i'm not sure if this would make him feel better or worse, but I have no idea who he is" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019448 KrugerDunnings: "Who the fuck is Tim Farris?" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019338
kristiandupont 3y ago
>I feel like this is directed at me. Currently, there are 4 root-level comments that state the same in different words so no, not in particular. I don't see how your not knowing about him or his old blog post proves in any way that fame is fleeting, though.
- hammyhavoc 3y ago
  > I don't see how your not knowing about him or his old blog post proves in any way that fame is fleeting, though. Person in question makes some sensationalist claims, sees some success in selling techniques to achieve those claims. Proceeds to rinse and repeat formula of what will get attention and continue riding the wave. Doesn't look all that "famous", let alone anymore: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=Tim%20Ferriss&hl=en https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=Tim%20Fe... Currently at an interest score of 16 versus a peak of 100 in January 2017. Whilst he may have briefly been a hot topic, if you weren't exposed to him/his brand/his ideas at the height of his relative fame, you're statistically less likely to have been since. People having not heard of him seems a given looking at the interest graph—nothing to be smug about.
  - kristiandupont 3y ago
    > [...] Proceeds to rinse and repeat formula of what will get attention and continue riding the wave. For someone who is not being smug and knows nothing about the author, you make some pretty bold statements.
    - hammyhavoc 3y ago
      I said I didn't know who he was until today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019550 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36019550 As per https://tim.blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/ https://tim.blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-... : "You will learn: How to lose 20 pounds in 30 days (without exercise), how to triple your testosterone, techniques for producing 15-minute female orgasms, and more." Please. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3091878 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3091878 Following the 4-Hour Body book, he did a 4-Hour Workweek book. As per https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4pat3x/the_4hour_work_week_bs_or_the_real_deal/ https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/4pat3x/the... : "The title is misunderstood a lot, it's an attention grabber. Edit: he actually admits in his podcast that it's purely market research about the catchiest title that lead to what it is." Ferriss openly admits to doing x because it gains attention and was continuing to ride the wave, as evidenced by the Google Trends graph, even going so far as to name his next book another "4-Hour" thing for attention. So no, I don't think my statements are bold, and I don't think I'm smug. Frankly, I don't give a fuck who Tim Ferriss is, but I have a problem with telling me I'm something I'm not when you don't know me nor how I feel. Call the article posted to HN what it is: a puff piece for a known self-promoter.

laratied 3y ago

I like Tim's podcast but he is not famous. Tim could go out to eat in any city and almost no one would know he is. You can't claim to be famous if Pauly Shore has you beat 100:1 in terms of being recognized in public. Tim is just a good hustler and self promoter of what he is selling.