Saturday, October 30, 2021
In today’s edition let’s talk about FAME. Something that almost every person on this planet wants. People want it so much that their actions/behaviour depends on it. From the youngest ages people crave it.
Humans have a tendency to naturally go after things that are not best suited for them. One such thing is fame. In today's world success is often attributed to being wealthy or being famous. But is fame really good ? When you desire fame you basically seek for external validation. Your happiness depends on others and not you. As the famous saying goes - “Happiness is in the happy. But honour is not in the honoured”. This is especially true in the modern world where teenagers look for fame in the form of likes and retweets. Fame has become an addiction.
Our drive for fame can likely be explained by simple evolution. Being known and admired by others makes it easier for us to attract a mate and pass on our genes. However rarely do people recognize this today.
“I want a thousand subscriptions for this newsletter so that many people will have my children.” sounds nefarious.
In modern times there is a high correlation between wanting fame and a stated desire for social recognition, financial success, and an attractive appearance, and to appear on reality television. People want to be famous in order to be seen and valued even by strangers. Even if the motive is to set a positive example, it eventually depends on others opinion. Fame is not found within ourselves but based on what scholars call extrinsic rewards, which research overwhelmingly shows bring less happiness than intrinsic rewards.
Fame is really bad unless you are a politician or an actor. Fame is their bread and butter which we pay it in the form of our attention. If you are not a politician or an actor, stop seeking fame. Don’t boast or seek attention; delete the post and take a social-media break. Connect instead to someone who truly loves you for who you are, not just for the parts you hope someone might admire or envy.
“Fame is … That last infirmity of noble mind. It leads us to “scorn delights and live laborious days.”
This is one of the main reason I love crypto, metaverse and anonymity. What do you think?
In the last two editions of The Passion Pad - Basis of Empathy and How we see objects , I talked exclusively about The Brain. My idea is not to bore you by keep rambling about brain and neither that I know *everything* about it. It’s the adrenalin rush that I get when I read something crazy and informative about it and feel like sharing. With that being said, let’s discuss about how do our brain make decision so quickly.
When standing in your favourite ice cream parlour, how do you decide which ice cream you want? Or rather in the first place how do you even decide if you want an ice cream? Let’s go one more step backwards. How did you decide if you want to go out to an ice cream parlour or order it online? If chocochip and butterscotch are your two favourite ice creams, how do you decide which one to eat? By now it must be clear that every action has a decision behind it which our brain executes smoothly.
Decision making is like an election, where parties comprising of a group of neurons try to defeat the other bunch of neurons. In your brain there's one group of neurons that want the chocochip and the other group wants the butterscotch. Now there's a competition between these two groups and whoever wins takes it all. The outcome of the competition is based on past experiences and body reactions. Maybe you have had chocochip before and really liked it. Hence the chemicals released by that particular neural group will suppress the other and you make a choice.
Let me give you another real life example. I bought OnePlus wireless bullets last year in November and I was extremely satisfied with the build quality and the sound quality. A week ago the earplug somehow ruptured and it eventually stopped working. I decided I would buy a new one but not something I have been using for the past one year. I explored a lot, found some great wireless earphones in my budget but guess what? I ended up ordering the same earphones I have been using since November 2020. The only thing I could change was the color.(I transitioned from blue to red.)
It is really difficult to change something if you have had a good experience. The same reason why companies focus on customer experience so much. Do you see how everything comes to THE BRAIN? Maahn I just love the complexities of brain and I hope you find it interesting too!!!
See you next Saturday, until then have a great weekend :)
Cheers!
Some things that you may find interesting-
Article: Talking To Strangers Is Good For You by Kate Cray
Podcast: The Joe Rogan Experience - Naval Ravikant
Song I am listening to: Happy Ever After by JK Beats
Thought of the week: “Learn to be patient; some things cannot be rushed.”
Thread: The Compound Effect
Here are the last three posts if you were too occupied to read them:
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