Most Well-Known!

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William

SF Supporter
#1
Who do you think is the most well-known human being ever? Otherwise stated, who do you think is the most recognizable human being ever? What I mean by "recognizable", is that, if you state a particular name of that human being to a person, that person would possess knowledge of that particular name about whom you are discussing. Many people think that it is a facile question to answer, but, in actuality, it is not, for several reasons. For a person to be the most well-known human being, or to be one of the most well-known human beings, that person would have to be the most recognizable of all other persons throughout the world who had lived, and who are living.




My answer would probably be Michael Jackson, because according to some sources that have been mentioned by several people and other sources, which I am trying to discover, it has been stated in those sources that more than ninety-eight percent of the human population recognizes Michael Jackson, and those sources were supposedly created more than ten years ago. Ever since I was born, I have heard news of famous people dying, and how their deaths have affected the mass media; but the death of Michael Jackson was extraordinary. I have never experienced a death of a famous person having such a wide impact as the death of Michael Jackson.




His death was constantly mentioned in the news media. Not even the deaths of Princess Diana, Pope John Paul the second, Mother Teresa, and Elvis Presley were given as much attention as the death of Michael Jackson. That made me posed an interesting question: Is Michael Jackson the most well-known human being in the world? I do not know for certain if he is, but if he is not, he is definitely in the top ten, if not, the top five. I am very confident that he is the most recognizable human being in the world, because I have never met anyone, regardless of race, age (newborn infants do not count), gender, socioeconomic, ethnic, national, or cultural background, who did not recognize him.




I was talking to my ten-year old cousin about Elvis Presley and Madonna, and she startled me. She had no clue who those two people were. She replied to me by saying, "Who is Elvis and Madonna?". I showed her pictures of Elvis Presley and Madonna, and she still had no clue who they were. However, she recognizes Michael Jackson. What is amusing about the level of awareness of Michael Jackson, is that, he was already exceedingly well-known before he died; yet, when he died, his level of recognizability augmented. That implies that a significant number of people who did not recognize him when he was alive, recognizes him now.




It is rare to find a human being (infants do not count) who does not recognize Michael Jackson from anywhere in the world. I have read about a man who was visiting several villages in Africa. He displayed pictures of famous people from the Western world to small children in the villages. He displayed to them pictures of Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Will Smith, Barack Obama, Madonna, Albert Einstein, Britney Spears, Eminem, Tupac, Angelina Jolie, Tony Blair, Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan; Elizabeth the Second, Adolf Hitler, Elvis Presely, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Michael Jordan, Paris Hilton, The Beatles, David Beckham, Pele, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Michael Jackson, and a Western representation of Jesus Christ. What surprised the man, was that, the only people the children recognized were Jesus Christ and Michael Jackson.




Not only did the children not recognize the pictures, they had no clue about the names associated with the pictures. Another male who was a sociologist had gone to remote areas of Asia, and had stated that none of the people whom he met in those areas recognized Elvis Presley, Barack Obama, Madonna, and The Beatles, but all of them recognized Michael Jackson and Jesus Christ. It is instances similar to the ones above that makes me think that Michael Jackson could possibly be the most well-known human being of all time. Think about this, if it is true that more than ten years ago, more than ninety-eight percent of the human population recognized Michael Jackson, imagine how many people recognizes him now, since his death. Possibly more than ninety-nine percent of the human population, and there are more than six billion and nine hundred million human beings. Consequently, if you meet someone who does not recognize Michael Jackson, remember this -- that person is in the extreme minority of human beings.
 

William

SF Supporter
#2
I have even asked my cousin about The Beatles, and she had no clue about the group or their music. I bet that I could visit any country in the world, and ask almost every person in those countries, "Do you recognize Micheal Jackson?", and most of them (ninety-nine percent, or more) would answer affirmatively. Another interesting account was about another male who traveled in the most remote area of Africa, where there is no electricity, Internet, or television, and only one radio. What amazed him, was that, the music that the natives were playing on that one radio was a song by Michael Jackson called "Thriller", and many of the nude natives were trying to do the moonwalk, which to the male who was visiting the area, was highly comical. Many people had claimed to visit remote areas of the world where the natives are almost never exposed to Western mass media, yet, for some reason, almost all of them had knowledge of Michael Jackson and did not have a clue who Elvis Presley, Madonna, or The Beatles were; not even the prime minister of Britain, or the current president of The United States of America. Regardless of how you feel about Michael Jackson, you cannot deny the fact that the man is a legend, and had a significant impact not only in the musical industry, but in the world in general. I am not even an immense fanatic of Michael Jackson, but I still have a consequential quantity of respect and admiration for him.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oCCnxBos10
 
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ZombiePringle

Forum Buddy and Antiquities Friend
#3
I think it really depends on where you go and who you talk to. There really is no way of knowing if 98 percent of the world's population actually knows of a specific person. I mean sure... there is the surveys that people can give that measures a specific amount of people from different walks of life and they then calculate a guess. but those aren't entirely accurate. The only real way of knowing is if you were to ask literally everybody in the world.

The most recognizable person, in my opinion, really is based on where you are and which type of people you are talking to. If you talk to somebody a bit older they might know who Jim Morrison was but not know who Taylor Swift is. Or talk to somebody younger and they may know who Lady Gaga is but not Bob Dylan. Or somebody that likes movies might recognize Johnny Depp but then have no idea who Derek Jeter is.
 

Phteven

Well-Known Member
#4
hmm i would think it would be someone who is popular in both india and china but thats just my guess based on pure numbers game.
 

Ringo

Well-Known Member
#5
Maybe someone infamous like Adolf Hitler?

Just read the 1st post properly. Maybe not adolf hitler then. :laugh:
 

hornbeam

Well-Known Member
#6
I agree with del. sunshine on this.

Yes Michael Jackson is commonly known around the world - because he died not long ago and his music is timeless.............

When ELvis died there was mass media coverage and when Princess Diana died- my God - if you lived in the Uk - the press coverage was intense. I can remember going to the beach near where i lived and sitting down with a newspaper -everything was very still apart from a few people who were sitting on the beach reading - it was overwhelmingly sad - I still remember her to this day. God bless her. God bless her sons William and Harry.
 

William

SF Supporter
#7
I understand what you are asserting. The recognizability of a person largely depends upon the type of group of which that person is a part, even though there are exceptions. For example, Lil Wayne might be extremely well-known in the hip-hop culture, but largely unknown outside of that culture. In other words, most people who are not a part of the culture would not recognize him. Tim McGraw might be widely known to people who are interested in country music, but not to most people who are not. Black Sabbath might be generally known within the culture of heavy metal, but not to most people who are not a part of that culture. For example, ask someone who is exclusively into hip hop culture does she or he recognizes the group Black Sabbath, and most likely, you might not receive an affirmative answer.




Most people who hardly know anything about basketball would most likely not recognize Scottie Pippen. Ask a young person in America does she or he recognizes Bing Crosby, and most likely, she or he would possibly respond negatively. However, ask someone who is much older from that country, and she or he would possibly reply positively. Morbid Angel and Death are very well-known within the death metal scene, but most people who are not a part of that scene would not recognize those groups. Someone who is highly recognizable in North America, might be hardly recognizable in Europe, and vice versa. Someone who is intensely well-known in the Western world, might be scarcely well-known in the Eastern world. David Beckham and Pele are consumedly well-known in Europe, South America, parts of Africa and Asia, but most people in the United States of America would have no clue who they are (I am an exception).




Most people who are interested in ice hockey would know who Wayne Gretzky is, but ask most people who are only interested in American football who he is, and they probably would not know. Most people who are interested in golf would probably know who Jack Nicklaus is, but the majority of people who are not immersed in the sport would probably not know who he is. If you are into the electronic dance music scene, most likely, you would have heard of Goldie, DJ Tiesto, and Aphex Twin, but if you are not into that scene, you might not have heard of those people. If you are living in The People's Republic of China, you would probably know who Hu Jintao is. Most people in that country knows he is, but he is significantly unknown outside of that country.




Visit Japan and ask one thousand people do they know who Ayumi Hamasaki is, and almost all of them would know. Ayumi Hamasaki is one of the most famous popular singers in Japan and other countries in Asia. However, most people in Europe and North America would have no clue who she is. Utada Hikaru is just as well-known as Ayumi Hamasaki in several Asian countries. Visit Africa and ask most of the people there do they know who Aishwarya Rai is. Most of them would not know, yet, go to India, and most people would know about whom you are talking, since she is extremely well-known in India. Most people in North America would have no clue who Amitabh Bachchan is, but in India, most people would know.




Ask a person living in Latin America who Enrique Iglesias is, and they would probably know who he is, but ask someone in Australia, and they might not know who he is at all. Recognizability is relative, and I could give more than a hundred examples, but I think that I have made my point. A person or group could be very well-known in one country, but not in another, or in one subculture, but not in another; in one subgroup, but not in another. For instance, if you are into the nerdcore scene, you would possibly would who MC Frontalot is. Race, ethnicity, language, and culture plays a major role in the recognizability of people. Katt Williams is an American comedian, who is extremely well-known within the African-American culture, but most white people in America do not know who he is.




Jennifer Aniston is extremely well-known in white American culture, but ask one thousand black people who she is, and most of them probably would have no clue. If you are living in Africa, North America, South America, Asia, or Europe, do you know who Julia Gillard is? If you were to ask that question to someone living in Australia, they might be able to answer it with ease. My fellow North Americans, do you know who David Cameron is? If I were to ask that question to someone living in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, they would most likely know. My friends who are from that region (of this forum) would know about whom I am talking, when I am mentioning the name of David Cameron. Europeans, do you know who Manmohan Singh is? Do not worry, if I were to ask that question to someone living in India, they would probably know. I might be an American, specifically from the United States of America, but I know what most Americans do not know. The world does not revolve around the United States of America, and my country is definitely not "the world".
 
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William

SF Supporter
#8
The press coverage was intense in the United States of America, too, when Princess Diana died, but the press coverage of the death of Michael Jackson was greater. Michael Jackson was and still is extremely well-known in India and China. I am not sure if this is accurate, but his memorial service was watched by more than two billion people throughout the world, and that does not include those who were viewing or hearing it on the Internet. The service of Princess Diana was watched by more than one billion people throughout the world. The memorial service of Michael Jackson is considered the most watched event on television in the history of television. I need to find more reliable sources, because the numbers vary from source to source.
 
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Avarice

Well-Known Member
#9
I get what Del-Sunshine is saying and completely agree but I think the point that William was going for here is that Michael Jackson is most probably the most recognisable person across all walks of life.

Problem with this though, is that in five, ten, fifteen years time, when the next generation take over; his memory is going to fade and the youngsters of the future will be less aware of him than those that are alive today.
 

William

SF Supporter
#10
I get what Del-Sunshine is saying and completely agree but I think the point that William was going for here is that Michael Jackson is most probably the most recognisable person across all walks of life.

Problem with this though, is that in five, ten, fifteen years time, when the next generation take over; his memory is going to fade and the youngsters of the future will be less aware of him than those that are alive today.



I do not think that will be the case with Michael Jackson. Elvis Presley is still as well-known today as he was (if not, more well-known) when he was alive. John Lennon is still as well-known (if not, more well-known) today as he was before he was killed. Tupac Shakur is still as well-known (if not, more well-known) in the hip-hop culture as he was before he was murdered. During the World Music Awards in two thousand and six, Michael Jackson was regarded by the male who had given him a Guinness Award by saying verbatim that Michael Jackson was "undoubtedly the world's most famous living human being". That really states something very outstandingly.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jk2a9ctihc
 

William

SF Supporter
#12
I agree with the Michael Jackson statement. I haven't met one person yet who didn't know who he was.



Most, if not, all newborn human beings might not recognize him. According to the Bureau of Census of the United States of America, there is an estimated three hundred and sixty-one thousand, four hundred and eighty-one infants born every day worldwide. That infers that every minute, two hundred and fifty-one babies are born worldwide. Furthermore, that there are more than fifteen thousand and sixty-two births every hour. That means that an infant who was born two minutes ago, is not going to recognize Michael Jackson, or any other celebrity, or very well-known person (maybe there are exceptions).




People who are in cultures, civilizations, societies, or areas, which have little or absolutely no exposure to any facet or aspect of Western civilization, would in gargantuan likelihood, not recognize Michael Jackson. I could also argue about particular groups of people who have psychological disorders, or the like, but I am not touching that subject. However, besides infants and mentally handicapped people, I have never met anyone who did not recognize Michael Jackson, regardless of the race, gender, age, ethnicity, generation, subculture, social status, interests, hobbies, dislikes, society, or preferences of any type of the human being; or religious, spiritual, economic, national, or cultural background of the person, or any other subgroup of which the individual is included.




What the percentages indicated, is that, at the time that the survey was purportedly taken, only two percent of the human population at that time did not recognize Michael Jackson. That would implicate that at least one hundred and sixty million people at that time did not have any knowledge of Michael Jackson. One hundred and sixty million might be a large number, but as I have previously said, it was only two percent of the human population at that time (compare one hundred and sixty million people to the rest of the human population, and one would realize how minuscule the number). If the survey was given today, I wonder what the percentage would be, since his death was given attention exceedingly in the mass media around the planet? Probably exceeding more than ninety-nine percent of the human population.
 
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