It should have been Russell Crowe
I try not to read the news. Whether I do or not depends on how well I think I can deal with the shame of just shutting my eyes, taking my daily dose of Fukitol* and moving on with my life.
So it was actually my mum that told me that John Nash had died. Because she knows me, and she knows that I knew who he was before watching A Beautiful Mind. And I replied, as any true sociopath would: 'Oh well. He hasn't done any good work in decades anyway.' Because I. Am an asshole.
Unlike a true sociopath however, I strongly dislike the idea of anyone dying. Except for mass-murdering fuckheads of course. I think we can all agree on mass-murdering fuckheads. I think death is generally icky, and what they do to your body at the undertaker's makes the whole death thing even grosser. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. However. If I had a choice, which of course none of us do, I think I would have preferred for it to be Russell Crowe. Let me explain:
After having spent a fair amount of time in Australia and New Zealand, I've found that when Russell Crowe comes out with a hit he's Australian, and when he's a dick everyone remembers that he's actually from New Zealand. So he's mostly a Kiwi, no matter what people say. And while I don't think that being an all around shitty person makes him worthy of death (necessarily), I do think the switch would have been better for all concerned. In all fairness, I don't know much about his failures as a sentient being, because I frankly don't care that much. Just like I don't really care who Nicki Minaj -- or Mitch McConnell, or John Key, or Ban Ki Moon -- is. (Unfortunately I know all of them, but that is beside the point.) However, I feel entirely comfortable condemning Russell to this fate, because the math is quite clear.
You see, it was obvious after taking my utilitarian statement about John Nash to its logical conclusion. Because while John Nash hasn't done anything notable in years, at least he did something once. Whether you think symbols and stories are important or not, they do affect how people think. Nash is a symbol, and an inspiration to nerds everywhere, especially to those suffereing from schizophrenia.** Russell Crowe is just someone who is smart enough to remember his lines.*** I actually have nothing against Russell Crowe. (Besides the fact that he has a fat face and I've had to watch Cinderella Man roughly a dozen times.) I just think that John Nash was still more useful to society. John Nash, while not irreplaceable, is much, much harder to replace than some random actor. No matter how adorable you find the guy's accent.
But anyhow. Nash is one of those people who, against all odds, got made into something flashy. And yes, the idea of him was "made," just like the tween pop stars who get churned off the Disney conveyor belt. The truth is that most people in academia never make world-changing discoveries, even if they do it might not get named after them. Most academics will never even get noticed within their fields, let alone by the larger world. But Nash wasn't just an amazing thinker, he had a story. So even people who couldn't invert a matrix to save their lives know about him. So even if I think the whole public-figure thing is shallow, even if I think that his death wasn't any more important than anyone else's, it's still worthy of recognition. If only because of that.
I'm not sure really why this came up. Only, I wanted to write down what I was thinking about for the day. I've never really liked the idea of a journal (it always seemed like an affectation,) but now that I'm in Australia, I'm basically a day ahead of everyone I know. And I like the idea of writing something down about my day as theirs is just beginning, as if I'm somehow letting them know what they're in for.
__________________________________________________
*Since we're going the whole depressing-death route and everything, I should mention that it was Robin William's favorite drug. If I were smarter I'd probably wonder why it didn't work for him, but who am I to question genius? Also, I confess that John Nash's death didn't hit me quite as hard as Leonard Nimoy's. Because: Leonard Nimoy. Also, I was entirely unsympathetic when my brother's childhood hero Steve Irwin died. Not that I didn't like the guy, and he'll always be my archetypal Australian no matter how many witty, urbane Melbournites I meet... I was just entirely absorbed in the surreal experience of having someone who had been a fixture of my childhood simply disappear; it makes me feel old.
**And those enjoying every minute of it. Pauses... Too soon?
***Well, I hope he remembers his lines. Actors who habitually forget their lines are a mystery to me. Hasn't anyone told them that it's kind of, you know, their job?