Thread: How come famous people get quoted?

Has anyone ever wondered why famous people's quotes bear more weight than ours? Even if what they say is really dumb or obvious? Michael Jordan for instance "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take." Duh. Come on. Or reporters/politicians brazenly adding words to our lexicon, even ones that don't mean anything. Weapons of Mass Destruction anyone?

No one's ever heard of you or me, and we aren't known for anything. I'd wager that more people know of Michael Jordan than they do their own governor.

I know. But let's say I'm writing a Term paper on say, opportunism. It would be a valid source to quote Michael Jackson's quote, but if I were to quote my buddy Jim saying the same thing it would be a lot less credible. To me that seems bogus.

In my experience, it would depend on how it was written. If the paper was done right, it shouldn't matter. The same goes for the flip side- if the paper relies on the quote being from Michael Jordan, I highly doubt it would be given very good marks.

Of course, if we assume that the paper is perfectly written, and it comes down to the same quote from either Michael Jordan or Buddy Jim, Michael Jordan's would be more relevant because of his obvious and famous success. The reader most likely knows about MJ's success, while any success that Buddy Jim has had is not likely to be known to the reader.

Target Audience and Shifting Units. lol!

James.

For papers, the only quotes that matter are from those who are well respected on the subject at hand.

In general, I think the famous are mostly quoted because Americans are obsessed with the lives of famous people. Once upon a time, famous people were quoted because they spoke eloquently, but that is, for the most part, no longer the case.

Quotes are also like quality razors - people will only know they are quality if the razors are well known. Words will only be quoted if the people who speak them are well known.

I like that response Holli- I'm stilled miffed though.

The fact that obscurity does not drive one's words into the books of quotes is linked directly with the fact that we always find things in the last place we look.

Plenty of poignant quotes are ascribed to "Anonymous."

Originally Posted by khaos

I know. But let's say I'm writing a Term paper on say, opportunism. It would be a valid source to quote Michael Jackson's quote, but if I were to quote my buddy Jim saying the same thing it would be a lot less credible. To me that seems bogus.

I think in the case of a term paper it would be a case of quoting someone from the field in which you are studying.

So if I was writing on the Phillips Curve and I was quoting Michael Jackson, that would not be taken seriously. I would need to quote Irving Fisher and Milton Friedman. There is a different requirement when you are writing academic papers I think, which is to demonstrate your applied technical knowledge in the area you are studying.

If you were writing a newspaper article, or even a political speech, you could quote anyone you wanted in order to connect with your audience because the requirement of the article is different. All you have to do is get your point across to your reader or listener.

As to why famous people in general are quoted, I suspect its a desire for us to connect with that persons way of thinking. That person obviously made an impression in his day and modern scholars are trying to connect with that mentality.

I dont take the "fame factor" into consideration when I quote someone. I have quoted some of the signature bars from this very forum because I relate to the thought behind the statement. Fame doesnt make anyone more insightful or more worthy of quoting and some of the most enlightening things I have heard have come from my dearest friends and loved ones, not from the mouths of celebrities.