Are We in Charge of Our Legacy?

 I was listening to a podcast in which cartoonist and writer Scott Adams was discussed. He’s mostly known for creating the Dilbert comic strip, although he’s written several books as well. According to the podcast two fairly short books on religion and philosophy are what he believes that he will be ultimately known for, not the comic strip that he owes his fame and fortune to. So Scott Adams apparently believes that in the generations to come, two of his books will have more influence than his work on Dilbert.

I’ve noticed this pattern with many writers throughout history. Some become popular within their own lifetime and actually do well financially, but they believe that they will ultimately be known for something  else. For example, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is legendary as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. However, after awhile Doyle grew tired of writing about Holmes over and over again, and hoped that he would be known ultimately for the historical novels he wrote as well.

That was not the case.

Another example would be the author Alexandre Dumas. The French novelist was most famous for writing the novels “The Count of Monte Cristo” and “The Three Musketeers.” However, he believed that his ultimate legacy would be a massive cookbook. It was to be over a thousand pages long, joining really big books such as “Moby Dick,” “Gone With the Wind,” and “The Stand.” While it ultimately got published after his death, Dumas is still mostly known for his classic novels.

I’m not sure if we’re 100% in charge of our legacy, of how we’re remembered after we die. This doesn’t just apply to writers hoping to be known for their “magnum opus” long after their demise. This applies to anyone, whether or not they’re some sort of artist or not, or if they’re actively seeking out a particular legacy. One could work towards something and actually achieve it, but those left alive after they die may remember them for something else. I think that the best anyone can do is do things they find interesting, at least attempt to be a good person and make the world slightly better, and enjoy themselves.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using Imagination to Accept Facts

Image
I read an article recently titled “18 Really Toxic Things People’s Family Members Had the Nerve to do at Thanksgiving Dinner.” Basically a bunch of people contributed to the article and described insane things happening at their Thanksgiving dinner, ranging from simple etiquette blunders to family members having affairs. I browsed the comment section and saw that one person posted, “None of these are true. #3 is among the fakest thing I’ve ever read. If you believe any of this I honestly think I could convince you to eat a rock.” I on the other hand thought, “Yeah, I could see any one of these incidents happening.” I feel that sometimes people have a hard time believing things that are true because they have no real experience with what’s being described. For example, one of my favorite books that I’ve read in the past couple of years has been Tara Westover’s “Educated: A Memoir.” It’s gotten mostly universal praise, this tale of a young woman who went from being in an abusive ho
Read more

Me vs. Cracked.com

Image
Hey everyone! Hope all of you are doing well! I know it’s been a bit since I have written in my blog. Been kind of busy, between my job, working out, and of course putting the finishing touches on my new book, “ The Princess of Infinite Tomorrows: Child of Prophecy.” If you haven’t checked out my new novel yet, feel free to do so (hint hint, wink wink). Anyway, here is my latest blog article and thoughts about life in general.   I’m not really a big fan of the website cracked.com. I’ve enjoyed some of their articles but in the past few years or so I feel that the writers in general try way too hard to sound edgy and cynical. I’m not saying that it’s necessarily bad to write something edgy or cynical, but oftentimes when I have read the articles on cracked.com, I feel that they often try way too hard. Also there have been multiple times in which I have found that facts touted in the site’s articles are often just plain wrong.   One of the articles cracked.com posted is titled, “9 Lame H
Read more

The Jetsons' Car That Turns Into a Suitcase

Image
  Back in the 1960s, a lot of people thought we’d have flying cars by the year 2000. It’s 2020 now and we’re probably still a little ways away from flying cars. I’d love to see them come to fruition at some point in my life, although realistically I think the automobile industry should first focus on making vehicles much more energy efficient, and perhaps also self-driven. Flying cars have been a staple in science fiction for decades upon decades, but perhaps they’re most famous in the classic cartoon “The Jetsons.” I was just looking at the opening of “The Jetsons” on youtube and there are a couple of things I noticed. One thing is that while it still looks futuristic, stylistically the animation feels very much like the 1960s. This is pretty common in science fiction, for the style to look like the era it was made in, or for people to look and behave like people from the era the series or film was made in rather than the future. If you watch “2001: A Space Odyssey,” the clothes t
Read more