name confusion

[calimac]

With Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan, I know they're two entirely different guys. I just can't remember which name applies to which guy. (And if you feel moved to tell me, you're missing the point. I could look it up. I have looked it up, more than once. But then I always forget again.) The problem is probably that I'm not very interested in the work of either.

With Reese Witherspoon and Rene Zellweger, I didn't realize that they were two different people. I had an amalgam of them in my head, who had done all the work I knew of both, and whenever I saw a reference to either, I thought of the amalgam, not remembering that, on previous occasions, she had a different name. I only discovered this when I looked up one's Wikipedia entry and was puzzled at not seeing listed movies that the other one had made.

Even after that, I still have not, however, sorted out in my head which one is which. The same applies to Norman Mailer and Philip Roth. I know there's two guys, but I can't remember which one did what, nor can I bring myself to care enough to read it.

I also sometimes have trouble remembering which opera titles are by Giuseppe Verdi and which by Giacomo Puccini. I have no trouble telling the men apart, and I'm sure of the assignation of many of the operas; I just can't always be sure. This comes of not caring much about opera, and it's the only case of this trouble I have in classical music. Might I confuse the Symphony No. 5 of Sergei Prokofiev with that of Dmitri Shostakovich, for instance? Of course not; I know both almost by heart, and they're totally distinct.

I also have no trouble remembering, at least for after the early period, which Beatles songs are by John Lennon and which by Paul McCartney. Since they're all officially listed as collaborations, this is tricky for a lot of people, but not me. And, again, the reason is: I care about the work.

This post brought to you courtesy of a long, indulgent article about Norman Mailer in the New Yorker.

Comments

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

I don't have your trouble with opera, but I do seem to have been born without a celebrity gene.

So many people famous for being famous and so many times I say: 'Who?'. :o)

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

This post is about people I at least have heard of; not having heard of celebrities is a different issue, which I posted about once before:

1. If I get it, and B. doesn't, it's about politics.

2. If she gets it, and I don't, it's about pop culture.

3. If neither of us gets it, it must be about sports.

[cmcmck.livejournal.com]

In our case

3. He gets it and I don't.
2. I get it and he doesn't.
1. We both get it.

John Major? 17th century religious commentator wasn't he? :o)

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

Both Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan are pretty well known. Maybe if you were more into beer and wine...

[kalimac.livejournal.com]

That's another thing I don't know. I know the names of many varieties of wine, but most of them, I couldn't even say if they were red or white.

This is the Michael Jordan I know.

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

I also get Michael Jordan mixed up, but with Magic Johnson. Luckily, I've yet to find myself in a situation where anything rode on it.

[barondave.livejournal.com]

I feel your pain.

On the other hand, I tend to aggregate Normal Mailer and Truman Capote. Same ecological niche, not enough interest to parse them properly.

[(Anonymous)]

There are a number of people I similarly conflate, always those in fields (or in whose individual work) I'm not particularly interested. A case in point would be Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. But I'd never confuse Michael Jackson with either, since I'm interested in his field (rock music) and not in theirs (sports). Easy mnemonic: remember The Jackson Five.

--John R.