A story... July 2020 After several months of lockdown and only seeing the odd person, we were invited to lunch - outside!- with someone Brian had been working with before Covid. It was the first proper socialising we'd done in months. We arrived and were introducing ourselves when this guy's friend arrived - he'd been invited to lunch, too. He came up to me and my son, and introduced himself. He stuck his hand out, my son reached out and shook it, then looked at his hand in horror. This was the first person he'd touched in months. 'Do you want some disinfectant?' I asked as I got it out of my bag. The guy just laughed and laughed. Pre-Covid if someone shook his hand, many would have declared that they would never wash their hand again and now here's my son treating a handshake like it's poison. The guy was Bono.
Very interesting piece. I find it really odd how so many people want to be famous - on the surface maybe it looks appealing but the reality of people staring at you all the time and never really knowing if anyone is being sincere must be awful.
Haha, great story. Yes, Covid made us repel anyone who came near! I remember wondering how we ever managed to walk past each other in the street before.
Mukbang is such a good analogy for fame! the number of people seeking internet fame seems to be growing as it’s more attainable - so many kids want to be influencers now, rather than develop an actual skill (singing, acting etc).
Whenever I have looked at very famous people (Michael Jackson, Britney spring to mind) they appeared to me like an animal covered in leeches sucking them dry, so awful.
This is a point very well made. When you start getting the dopamine hits from followers it must be very hard to ensure you don't chase. As an example seeing what's happened to James Lindsay is why I've got so much respect for the wonderful Helen Pluckrose. Sticking admirably to her principles seems to have taken a toll on her mentally and professionally, but the rabbit hole he's gone down ultimately seems a million times less healthy for him, and a million times worse for society.
Very interesting piece. I find it really odd how so many people want to be famous - on the surface maybe it looks appealing but the reality of people staring at you all the time and never really knowing if anyone is being sincere must be awful.
Haha, great story. Yes, Covid made us repel anyone who came near! I remember wondering how we ever managed to walk past each other in the street before.
Mukbang is such a good analogy for fame! the number of people seeking internet fame seems to be growing as it’s more attainable - so many kids want to be influencers now, rather than develop an actual skill (singing, acting etc).
Whenever I have looked at very famous people (Michael Jackson, Britney spring to mind) they appeared to me like an animal covered in leeches sucking them dry, so awful.
This is a point very well made. When you start getting the dopamine hits from followers it must be very hard to ensure you don't chase. As an example seeing what's happened to James Lindsay is why I've got so much respect for the wonderful Helen Pluckrose. Sticking admirably to her principles seems to have taken a toll on her mentally and professionally, but the rabbit hole he's gone down ultimately seems a million times less healthy for him, and a million times worse for society.