This discussion dives into the fleeting nature of fame, drawing parallels between contemporary celebrities and historical figures like Marcus Aurelius. It reveals how even the most famous eventually fade into obscurity or meet their end, challenging our perceptions of legacy. The hosts reflect on how stories of fame often miss the grim realities of mortality, emphasizing that regardless of success, fate is relentless. This thought-provoking conversation urges listeners to consider the reality behind the glamorous narratives.
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insights INSIGHT
Marcus Aurelius's Reflection
Marcus Aurelius contemplated the fate of past emperors, conquerors, and philosophers.
He observed that despite their power and ambitions, they all eventually met the same end: death and obscurity.
insights INSIGHT
Survivorship Bias in "Where Are They Now?"
Modern "Where are they now?" stories often focus on celebrities' continued lives, skewed by survivorship bias.
They overlook the reality that everyone eventually fades, gets forgotten, and dies, regardless of fame.
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It’s a staple of entertainment shows and those clickbait-y links at the bottom of the page on news websites: Where are they now? What happened to those famous TV stars of your youth? You’ll never believe what so-and-sois up to today.
Funnily enough, Marcus Aurelius liked to play this game too. He’d say: Think about the emperors who came before you. Think about this famous conqueror or that notorious philosopher. Think of the wealthy or the powerful with their insatiable appetites and ambitions. Where are they now?
They’re dead. That’s what he’d say. They’re dead and gone and almost completely forgotten.
It’s a humbling thought, one that we could all be reminded of from time to time. Because the celebrity stories are skewed by the survivorship bias. The reporter either tells you about how so-and-so went on to huge stardom or how they struggled with addiction for years but are finally turning things around. Maybe the story tells you that the band broke up and now that rockstar is a school teacher in Cleveland. But inevitably, where they are now is “alive.” It’s never that the hard hand of fate took them from us too early. It’s never that international fame helped them beat cancer. It’s never that they got old, drifted into obscurity, passed away, and the world moved on.
But this happens and it is inexorable. No matter who we are or what we’re doing. We all, in our own way, with enough time, end up like the punchline in this Clickhole article: 7 Famous Dogs From The ’90s That Are Definitely Dead Now.
The Daily Stoic