Why Fame Isn't Great? | Sun Tzu - The Art of War Explained

We live in a world where fame and reputation define an individual's success. Maybe not everyone will want to be a celebrity, but many of us consider a good reputation as something valuable and desirable. As Warren Buffet said, it takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it. In another quote from Benjamin Franklin, it takes many good deeds to build a good reputation and only one bad one to lose it. From these quotes we see that many successful people attach great importance to their reputations. But is reputation really a good indicator of an individual's competence? Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher who lived during 544 and 496 BC, explained his view on fame and reputation in The Art of War. In this video, let's take a look at why Sun Tzu doesn't think reputation is reliable proof of competence and skills. And as we will see, this is not the only time this kind of view was presented in ancient Chinese philosophy. According to Sun Tzu, the most skillful fighter chooses battles wisely, excels in winning with ease, conquering an enemy that is easy to defeat or is already defeated. Therefore, winning doesn't bring him any fame or credit. Furthermore, the most skillful fighter should also see what others don't see and solve a problem before it is noticeable. Therefore, he received no praise from others. Chapter 4 of The Art of War is named Tactical Disposition, in which Sun Tzu said, those that the ancients referred to as excelling at warfare conquered those who were easy to conquer. Thus the victories of those that excelled in warfare were not marked by fame for wisdom or courageous achievement. Perceiving a victory that has not surpassed the masses could know is not the pinnacle of excellence. Wrestling victories for which all under heaven proclaim your excellence is not the pinnacle of excellence. Tu Mu, a Chinese calligrapher, poet, and politician who lived during the late Tang dynasty and wrote commentaries on The Art of War explained this very well. Inasmuch as his victories are gained over circumstances that have not come to light, the world as large knows nothing of them, and he wins no reputation for wisdom. Inasmuch as the hostile state submits before there has been any bloodshed, he received no credit for courage. What about those heroic stories and case studies we learned about winning more with less or defeating stronger enemies through tactics and smart moves? Aren't they better strategies? Sun Tzu would say this is due to selection bias, which occurs when the selection of events is not random and therefore failing to represent the whole picture of history. Overall, less possible incidents has more chance of being remembered and studied throughout history, because they are more interesting. Nobody wants to study how Michael Jordan or LeBron James defeated a basketball novice, but it becomes interesting to many people if the opposite occurs. Maybe only 5 out of 100 battles in which a weaker force would defeat a stronger one with tactics, but these 5 tend to be discussed the most. As these cases accumulate over time, it gives us the illusion that these small probability events happen quite often, even though they don't. This is why Sun Tzu implied that fame and skills could be negatively correlated. The best fighter only fights when it is highly probable to win, and he lays out an execute plan way before other people realizing it, so he gets no fame for wisdom or recognition for courage. This is not the only time we have seen similar thoughts in Chinese history. Bian Que was the earliest known Chinese physician who lived from 407 to 310 BC during the considered the inventor of anesthesia. He and his two brothers all studied medicine. One day, Marquess Wayne of Wei asked him, whose medical skill of you is the best? Bian Que said, my oldest brother is the best, the second brother is the second, and I am the worst. The Marquess was very confused because Bian Que is the most famous out of the three brothers. Bian Que explained, my oldest brother can detect signs way before the patient becomes ill and prevent the occurrence of the disease, therefore his medical skills are not recognized and he has no reputation. My second brother can make diagnosis at the early stage of the patient's illness and give treatment, so everyone thought he could only treat minor illnesses and he had little reputation. And my patients are seriously ill, and I used methods that seemed radical and scary. I pricked the blood vessels with needles, fight disease with poison, and cut through patient skin to relieve their pain. Everyone believed that I could cure serious illness, so I became the most famous. Today when we say it is lonely at the top, we usually refer to those successful and powerful people with few friends. Sun Tzu's The Art of War added another layer of meaning to this. Top talents may not get recognized by the masses, and those who receive the wide recognition may not be the top talents. Do you agree with Sun Tzu? Let me know in the comments below. Thanks for watching!