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People Call Me Aaron

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Re: People Call Me Aaron

#21
post #9

SF tech party culture sounds awful. It sounds no less superficial and dehumanizing than the worst of celebrity adulation in Hollywood.

Well I've been in the SF tech community for a long time and can't say I've experienced any superficial or dehumanizing things at parties. There are certainly jerks in the tech community, but there are jerks everywhere. If you avoid the jerks, you'll probably have a good time.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#22
post #9

SF tech party culture sounds awful. It sounds no less superficial and dehumanizing than the worst of celebrity adulation in Hollywood.

I don't get it. Where does this need to be on stage, and be in the middle of everything, and have everyone know you come from? If I was Einstein's brother, nobody would know and I wouldn't care -- and thus this situation wouldn't happen. Maybe I'm too far from the whole 'scene' to understand. I guess it's unfortunate for Noah that he looks pretty similar to his brother because people figure it out on their own. And it's genuinely too bad he's had such a rough past few years - much rougher than it should have been.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#23
Wow, what a touching, yet sobering story. It sounds almost as if people used him as a stand-in for Aaron. The tragic part of it is that the only way he could really get away from it is to either disassociate himself from Aaron and the people who know about him (kinda hard considering Noah seems to be involved in the tech field also) or to become even bigger than Aaron (a daunting task which shouldn't be necessary). I wish Noah the best of luck establishing his own identity.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#24
post #22
post #9

SF tech party culture sounds awful. It sounds no less superficial and dehumanizing than the worst of celebrity adulation in Hollywood.

I don't get it. Where does this need to be on stage, and be in the middle of everything, and have everyone know you come from? If I was Einstein's brother, nobody would know and I wouldn't care -- and thus this situation wouldn't happen. Maybe I'm too far from the whole 'scene' to understand. I guess it's unfortunate for Noah that he looks pretty similar to his brother because people figure it out on their own. And i…

He wrote it happened mostly with people he considered friends already, those people would definaty know who hi was and would brag about it to have him at their party.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#25

Very interesting reflection on identity in the modern world as it relates to family, fame, and trajedy. I have to say that the situation does feel very familiar to me based on some other readings and historical examples. I'll explain. The most prominent correlative is with respect to Hunter S. Thompson. He created Raoul Duke as a character, and Gonzo Journalism as the method by which to report and embellish/comment o…

     in my opinion, most all highly intelligent individuals - especially those in the public eye - must have one 
I think I understand this. I used to run a small but active online community. So not fame at all, not even "guy in a tiny band that has 15 people show up for their shows" famous. Less than that even. But sometimes I'd go to parties and people would know who I was and I didn't know them. That kind of thing.

And I did start to develop a hint of a persona. Like you say it was kind of a must. Having strangers that know who you are coming up and talking to you is definitely flattering and also definitely a bit intimidating so you quickly develop a... a mode you go into or something.

Not a calculated Raoul Duke thing at all. In my case it was more like the different "personas" any person has - the personality you wear at work vs. the one you wear around your parents vs. the one you wear around your significant others. I was always being myself, but you definitely calibrate yourself a little differently for different groups.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#26

Very interesting reflection on identity in the modern world as it relates to family, fame, and trajedy. I have to say that the situation does feel very familiar to me based on some other readings and historical examples. I'll explain. The most prominent correlative is with respect to Hunter S. Thompson. He created Raoul Duke as a character, and Gonzo Journalism as the method by which to report and embellish/comment o…

in my opinion, most all highly intelligent individuals - especially those in the public eye - must have one I think I understand this. I used to run a small but active online community. So not fame at all, not even "guy in a tiny band that has 15 people show up for their shows" famous. Less than that even. But sometimes I'd go to parties and people would know who I was and I didn't know them. That kind of thing. And…

I've often felt a bit abnormal for doing this. I guess I only ever see each person in one mode, so I had no idea if other people do it or not. Nice to know at least some other people do.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#27
post #6

The best read about Aaron that I've read in the past few days. I had a weird feeling while reading this, I don't really know why, after having read quite a few articles already. Thanks, Noah!

The essay isn't about Aaron.

The parent probably meant "related to" Aaron rather than literally about Aaron, especially since they use Noah's name afterwards. Though you make a point that bears repeating that this is article is about Noah himself, especially since his trouble is with people overly associating him with Aaron.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#28
post #20

This is so sad. I wonder if Noah has considered moving abroad for a bit - in my experience, very few people in the London tech scene know who Aaron Swartz was, or if they've heard the name they will struggle to remember the story behind it. Maybe people will disagree, but I don't think the story had quite the same cultural resonance outside the USA.

(I am European and moved to Australia 4 years ago) - while I agree with you that the story did not have the same cultural resonance outside of the US, I would say that most tech people would know who Aaron Swartz was (although among the generally public hardly anyone would have a clue).

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

in my opinion, most all highly intelligent individuals - especially those in the public eye - must have one I think I understand this. I used to run a small but active online community. So not fame at all, not even "guy in a tiny band that has 15 people show up for their shows" famous. Less than that even. But sometimes I'd go to parties and people would know who I was and I didn't know them. That kind of thing. And…

I've often felt a bit abnormal for doing this. I guess I only ever see each person in one mode, so I had no idea if other people do it or not. Nice to know at least some other people do.

Yeah, totally normal, I think. I think that's just basic social mammal stuff - you calibrate your actions to your social surroundings. I mean even our dog has totally separate personalities when he's around us at home versus how he acts around other dogs. And it's not even the same personality for each of the other dogs - some dogs have calming effects on him, some make him hyperactive.

Re: People Call Me Aaron

#30
post #12

How is it possible for anyone who knows who Aaron is to not know that he's dead? How could they possibly mistake his brother for him to the extent of thoughtlessly calling him the wrong name?

This is what I was wondering too. I'm terrible with names, but I literally can't imagine that kind of mixup. Not that I doubt anything Noah wrote; I just don't get it.
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