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A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

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Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#21

Post by [deleted] »

starpilot wrote: post #18
the_fonz wrote: post #16

From my measly perspective, fame suuucks... there's really no upside. Anonymous obscurity seems a better camouflage rather than people getting up in someone's personal business documenting their every move, criticizing their every breath, treating them differently, expecting to impose on their emotional reserves and time, or acting goofy/toadyingly around them. All people put on pants one leg at a time unless they're…

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

[deleted]

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#22

Post by BMorearty »

starpilot wrote: post #18
the_fonz wrote: post #16

From my measly perspective, fame suuucks... there's really no upside. Anonymous obscurity seems a better camouflage rather than people getting up in someone's personal business documenting their every move, criticizing their every breath, treating them differently, expecting to impose on their emotional reserves and time, or acting goofy/toadyingly around them. All people put on pants one leg at a time unless they're…

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

I hadn't heard that was his POV. I'm surprised. I've always thought fame would be terrible. You can't walk down the street in peace. You can't shop in peace. You can't eat at a restaurant in peace.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#23

Post by [deleted] »

BMorearty wrote: post #22
starpilot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

I hadn't heard that was his POV. I'm surprised. I've always thought fame would be terrible. You can't walk down the street in peace. You can't shop in peace. You can't eat at a restaurant in peace.

[deleted]

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#24

Post by BucketSort »

ACow_Adonis wrote: post #11
ZhuanXia wrote: post #2

Fame is a disfigurement. As the costs of fame increase, how will this effect the distribution of people who seek to do great things? This is probably a much more important question than many things we worry about.

Alternatively, perhaps fame-seeking behaviour helps us identify frauds and hollow-men?

Seeking fame and notoriety is a norm. Our minds are so attached to media these days that most people lose touch with those around them and live in a world of popular personalities. So I'm not sure if this is true, because it's almost like fighting for existence these days when our communities and interpersonal relationships are so weak.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#25

Post by steve19 »

BMorearty wrote: post #22
starpilot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

I hadn't heard that was his POV. I'm surprised. I've always thought fame would be terrible. You can't walk down the street in peace. You can't shop in peace. You can't eat at a restaurant in peace.

Money seems to have all the benefits of fame and few of the disadvantages. Having $100m in the bank confers all those advantages without being harassed on the street.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#26

Post by papermill »

tobych wrote: post #4

I'm surprised this piece doesn't mention The Life of Brian: Followers: "Speak to us master, speak to us!" Brian: "Go away!" Follower: "How shall we go away master?" (59 minutes into the movie)

"Always look on the bright side of life..."

But my favorite scene is the "Romanes Eunt Domus" scene.

The Life of Brian should be mandatory viewing. Such a masterpiece.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#27

Post by Chris2048 »

starpilot wrote: post #18
the_fonz wrote: post #16

From my measly perspective, fame suuucks... there's really no upside. Anonymous obscurity seems a better camouflage rather than people getting up in someone's personal business documenting their every move, criticizing their every breath, treating them differently, expecting to impose on their emotional reserves and time, or acting goofy/toadyingly around them. All people put on pants one leg at a time unless they're…

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

> people listen to your mundane opinions on anything

I would hate that. The only upside is the deluded ego stroke.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#28

Post by netsharc »

steve19 wrote: post #25
BMorearty wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hadn't heard that was his POV. I'm surprised. I've always thought fame would be terrible. You can't walk down the street in peace. You can't shop in peace. You can't eat at a restaurant in peace.

Money seems to have all the benefits of fame and few of the disadvantages. Having $100m in the bank confers all those advantages without being harassed on the street.

Well, with fame, you walk into a fancy restaurant, you get a table. With money, you're still another anonymous schmuck.

I guess if you have that much money you can hire someone to call ahead and say "This man's net worth is this much, and he would like to have a table in half an hour.". Or to be less crass, they can rattle off your impressive CV/portfolio and the restaurant would get the idea.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#29

Post by netsharc »

BucketSort wrote: post #24
ACow_Adonis wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alternatively, perhaps fame-seeking behaviour helps us identify frauds and hollow-men?

Seeking fame and notoriety is a norm. Our minds are so attached to media these days that most people lose touch with those around them and live in a world of popular personalities. So I'm not sure if this is true, because it's almost like fighting for existence these days when our communities and interpersonal relationships are so weak.

This doc is eye-opening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1MqJPHxy6g (although it's over 2 hours and I fell asleep the first time I watched it).

but TL;DW: People are always looking for status, because status means others acknowledge and praise them. And today's celebrity culture means being famous is seemingly a quick way to gain status.

With a better community you'd have friends who like you and acknowledge you because they got to know you and your character.

Re: A philosophy-quoting homeless man in China has fled internet fame

#30

Post by everdrive »

starpilot wrote: post #18
the_fonz wrote: post #16

From my measly perspective, fame suuucks... there's really no upside. Anonymous obscurity seems a better camouflage rather than people getting up in someone's personal business documenting their every move, criticizing their every breath, treating them differently, expecting to impose on their emotional reserves and time, or acting goofy/toadyingly around them. All people put on pants one leg at a time unless they're…

Will Smith's contrary view is that fame is great. You get treated better everywhere and people listen to your mundane opinions on anything. The pain of being ignored or rejected is vastly reduced, whether it's in your personal life, career etc.

I think some people are extroverted enough, and arrogant enough to love this sort of fame. I don't mean this comment to be negative, but I'm not sure how else to describe the trait. Have you ever walked into a room and thought "These hundred or so people should really be listening to me." Maybe not verbatim, but I suspect Will Smith has had that thought in one form or another.

Since HN is titled so heavily towards introverted logical (logical as opposed to emotional) thinkers, it's no surprise that the perspective of a celebrity would be hard for the community to grasp.

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