
On the Origin of Celebrity (2013) - dnetesn
http://nautil.us/issue/5/fame/on-the-origin-of-celebrity
======
danbruc
»We all feel the magnetic pull of celebrities—we track them, know their net
worth, their tastes in furniture, the absurd names of their pets and
children.«

No, I don't at all. Am I kind of a statistical outliner? I like their movies
and their music, but I could not care less how they dress, what they earn or
with whom they end up in bed. I always thought that interest in kings and
queens and celebrities is something for teens or bored housewives. Now I need
some statistics...

~~~
ScottBurson
"Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss
people."

(This quote has often been attributed to Hyman Rickover, but he apparently did
not claim authorship of it[0].)

[0]
[http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover#Misattributed](http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Hyman_G._Rickover#Misattributed)

~~~
jared314
> "Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds
> discuss people."

Interesting quote, but I think it unfairly judges people who are not "like
you". Discussing people, like celebrities, is like discussing the weather.
It's a lowest common denominator that you fall back to when you have
difficulty connecting or communicating with another person.

It's better to think of ideas, events, people, and weather as a way to measure
the quality of connection and communication you are having with someone. (You
can also start a conversation with a "bottom up" strategy by starting with
weather, or people, and working your way up.)

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gregpilling
The title does not reflect how good the article is. I thought it was very
interesting, and I also found the next article on Indianapolis interesting
also.

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WalterBright
I've talked with a couple Hollywood celebrities in real life. Once you get
past the golly gee effect (which I was annoyed to discover in myself) they are
quite ordinary people.

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jcr
In case you were wondering about the (more) important people mentioned in the
article whose names you didn't recognize, and also wondered about their
mentioned research...

    
    
      Robert Sapolsky, Stanford, biology and neurology, (author)
    

[https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/robert-
sapolsky](https://med.stanford.edu/profiles/robert-sapolsky)

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sapolsky](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sapolsky)

    
    
      Nicholas Rule, University of Toronto, Psychology
    

[http://www.uc.utoronto.ca/nick-rule](http://www.uc.utoronto.ca/nick-rule)

    
    
      Lotte Thomsen, Harvard, Psychology
    

[http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/sidaniuslab/people/lottw-
thom...](http://projects.iq.harvard.edu/sidaniuslab/people/lottw-thomsen)

[http://harvard.academia.edu/LotteThomsen](http://harvard.academia.edu/LotteThomsen)

[http://www.sv.uio.no/psi/english/people/aca/lottetho/index.h...](http://www.sv.uio.no/psi/english/people/aca/lottetho/index.html)

    
    
      Caroline Zink, Lieber Institute for Brain Development
    

[http://www.libd.org/contact/staff-directory/91-caroline-
zink](http://www.libd.org/contact/staff-directory/91-caroline-zink)

    
    
      Robin Dunbar, Oxford, Anthropologist, (famous for the "Dunbar Number")
    

[http://senrg.psy.ox.ac.uk/people/r_dunbar.html](http://senrg.psy.ox.ac.uk/people/r_dunbar.html)

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Dunbar](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Dunbar)

[http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/books/how_many_friends.html](http://www.ox.ac.uk/media/books/how_many_friends.html)

    
    
      Abigail A. Marsh, Georgetown University, Psychology
    

[http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/aam72/](http://explore.georgetown.edu/people/aam72/)

    
    
      Christopher Boehm, University of Southern California (USC), Anthropologist
    

[http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-
staff/faculty.cfm?pid...](http://dornsife.usc.edu/cf/faculty-and-
staff/faculty.cfm?pid=1003114)

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_society](http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_society)

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wallflower
In a 20/20 special from long ago, Jerry Seinfeld was going off in brilliant,
comedic tangents. One thing he said about Julia Roberts: "Julia Roberts. Where
would she be without her vulnerability?"

I think he also said that most Hollywood actresses spend their lifetime
preparing for their most important role: being a Hollywood star.

------
xhevahir
I ran into Roberts and her entourage once in Venice. Ridiculous hubbub. I was
nearly pushed into the canal.

------
jafaku
What's up with Americans and Julia Roberts? I don't even find her attractive.

~~~
pm90
The article mentioned Julia Roberts just as an example, Americans are obsessed
with many actresses.

However, if you are looking for a discussion for the actual merits of the said
actress, this may not be the right forum for that discussion.

