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Reasons not to become famous

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Re: Reasons not to become famous

#361

Post by imgabe »

gist wrote: post #153
throw18374 wrote: post #138

This is tangential to the article, but James being “a frequent commenter on his blog and a huge help to other readers” was my first sign that he was not mentally well. Immediately knew things would not go well for him in this story. People often say this as a joke, but I think it’s 100% accurate: Internet comment sections have a strong self-selection bias for the mentally unwell. I’ll include Twitter, Facebook, Reddi…

> Healthy happy people simply do not spend much of their time that way. But what if making comments makes you happy? While I don't disagree with the premises of what you are saying I think you are not considering that for some people saying something makes them feel good and they are perfectly mentally sane. I could also say that 'healthy happy people do not spend their time socializing with others at parties' but we…

"Healthy, happy" in this context, happy is not a momentary emotion as a response to external stimulus. This is happy in the sense of generally content and well-adjusted. One doesn't get made that way by something else, one makes oneself that way by adjusting the way they view the world. A better word would be equanimity. You can be "happy" in that sense even while going through distressing events.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#362

Post by accidentalrebel »

opportune wrote: post #307
afpx wrote: post #119

Regarding the stalking ... Reminds me of a recent "Hidden Brain" episode - about "Secret Friends" - people of whom others believe to be friends but aren't. The show implied it's fairly easy for the Human Brain to develop a belief those whom are seen or heard often are friends, even if not known personally. Tim mentions feeling that he is a tribal leader of millions of people. And, he definitely has the attention of t…

I've heard of podcasts being described as "friend simulators" because of this phenomenon

That is very interesting. I follow a number of "Just Talking" podcasts and I have come to consider the members as my friends. Some of them really are, but others are just purely because I listen to their podcast.

Feels weird to realize this.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#363

Post by accidentalrebel »

okareaman wrote: post #320

The irony of this blog entry is that Tim Ferris is a relentless self-promoter who continues that practice for the entire first half of this essay before finally getting to the drawbacks of being a successful self-promoter. I appreciate the thought, but I question the motives of the author.

Whatever the motive I'm glad that he still eventually got to the point. I don't think you can fault him for that, that's what he's good at, I guess.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#364

Post by accidentalrebel »

PragmaticPulp wrote: post #106

The last time I wrote a mild critique about Tim Ferriss online, someone scoured the internet to reverse engineer my personal identity and sent an e-mail to my personal e-mail account to debate with me. (I have since switched to anonymous handles). I can only imagine what it's like for Tim Ferriss himself. If you're not familiar with Tim Ferriss, there are several reasons why he's more attractive to dangerous follower…

> It's not surprising that his fans have chosen to apply those techniques to Tim Ferriss himself, by following his social media and calling around at hotels to find him. He all but encouraged this behavior in his first book.

This is a funny in an ironic sort of way.

It's like teaching thieves only for them to rob you.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#365

Post by accidentalrebel »

graeme wrote: post #142
MayeulC wrote: post #80

I think I do not want fame, but it's obviously easier to navigate some circles if your name is known: you don't have to introduce yourself, nor prove other people what you are worth. This works on many scales: from a small team at work, where it's much easier to co-ordinate if everyone knows each other's strong points. It's also great for arguments: if you know that a person is very knowledgeable on a topic, you won'…

There’s a big difference between being known in your field and being generally famous as Tim Ferriss is talking about. I am well known in my field and it has all the benefits you speak of. But it’s not a large field. So I have none of the negatives that the article speaks of.

> There’s a big difference between being known in your field and being generally famous as Tim Ferriss is talking about.

Thanks for actually making me realize this distinction.

Kinda like being known for something instead of being famous for something. Does that make sense?

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#366

Post by torgian »

speedgoose wrote: post #103
varjag wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can lose a job, and it can play out pretty bad. That's a persistent background dread in most people lives.

You have unemployment and more than enough time to find a new job. And let's say you don't find one, the state will still give you enough money for you to survive. Maybe you will have to reduce your lifestyle and be unhappy for some time but there is no need to seek to be rich just to prevent an unlikely future.

Yeah uhhh... having lived in below poverty level, Fuck that noise. I’m a us citizen so if I lose my job I’m pretty much fucked either way.

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#367

Post by accidentalrebel »

ronyfadel wrote: post #353
accidentalrebel wrote: post #347

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is very interesting. > That means that 5% of the richest people in the world (24 of the richest 500) are so anonymous that there isn't a photo that even a dedicated team of reporters can find. Either they can't find it or they were asked not to put it up? They have lawyers after all and might prefer to be anonymous.

Nitpick: They’re not anonymous since they’re identified by name :)

Good point. :)

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#368

Post by k__ »

tartoran wrote: post #317
k__ wrote: post #182

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. A friend of mine is a famous musician and there is a women who somehow pops up on most public events he visits. He's often too nice and hugs her before telling her that she should leave him alone because he's there in private with his friends. He's always "yes, stalkers bother me a bit, but they aren't that bad" Well, yes, if it's a small cute woman bothering you now and then it's not that bad, but who has the l…

The way someone looks doesn’t say much about their mental health. Being stalked by someone raises the alarm a bit but sure, not all the time a bad outcome comes of it. Theres the potential to attract nutcases and in my opinion this is a high cost for being famous.

That's true.

I knew a guy who dated some crazy woman, because "what's the worst that could happen, she's a small woman, haha". Well, he gravely underestimated her abilities...

Re: Reasons not to become famous

#369

Post by eru »

matz1 wrote: post #123
keiferski wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interesting read, thanks for the link. It's a pretty complex post and with some unconventional conclusions. Especially about the power of placebos. It still seems suspect to me, though, as there is virtually zero discussion on the negative aspects of steroid use. The post is entitled The Science of Steroids: The Physiology and Psychology of How Steroids Make You Stronger . In any case, I was more referring to the com…

It is a common misconception that the only way to be jacked is by hard work.

Well, hard work never hurt.
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