What I learned from 2,000 obituaries | Lux Narayan

Lux Narayan starts his day with scrambled eggs and the question: "Who died today?" Why? By analyzing 2,000 New York Times obituaries over a 20-month period, Narayan gleaned, in just a few words, what achievement looks like over a lifetime. Here he shares what those immortalized in print can teach us about a life well lived.

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[BoundlessEyes]

This was very moving, thank you. Also, reassuring to a depressed 30 year old in the arts. Still got 5 years to make it. :)

[ddantes]

I know 2 people who read the obituaries regularly. My Mother reads them to see if she knows anyone that she went to school with in Brooklyn in the 30's and 40's has passed. The other is a Physician who looks to see if she knows any of her patients that may have passed. As a technology professional, I love the application of applying technology to identify general tendencies that ultimately lead to a meaningful life. Brilliant!

[funny-video-YouTube-channel]

That's a fun talk. His wife is correct, he should focus on the now, and enjoy life in the little moments, instead of obsessing with his legacy :-)

[domc]

I think the act of writing an obituary might be a confounding factor.. if I had to write 1000 words on someone in a non-personal, reverential, non-critical way, I'd probably end up using the word help in there somewhere, even if compared to the average person, they probably weren't actually particularly generous.
Maybe not, just a thought!

[tammysilverwolf]

That was an interesting talk that gave me something to think about; I never put much thought into what'll be said about me when I die, but this did.

[xapemanx]

obituary for my life;
man who lived alone; died alone; broke even; had no kids, helped by not getting in the way

[atwaterpub]

5:45 "So ask yourself as you go back to your daily lives, 'How am I using my talents to help society?'"

[theexnay]

i dont care that im remembered in death. i dont care who knows my name. i want to learn and i want to teach, i want to be part of the world's collaborative search for what is true and right.
but most of all, i just kinda want to enjoy life.

[namasivayamc]

I used to read Obituaries, but never analysed it. Really good lessens can be learnt. 👌

[AlexBallMusic]

Here lies David St Hubbins.

And why not?

[adriatic]

I've been doing genealogy and I've read at least a thousand obituaries- this really shines some perspective on it.

[geraldmerkowitz]

4:06 I read "traitor to nine president" I was a bit confused about what to think about it XD

[yourrightiamwrong]

This is interesting but, i am thinking, also incomplete. It focuses on english obituaries. I guess you could find out more if you also take a look at obituaries in other langueages.

[JerkyNero]

I wonder what this guys obituary will say.

[Arbfor]

1:48
"And so we looked at the data"
Such child-like enthusiasm and wonder

[prasobh]

I just became a bigger fan of data analytics.

[cynthiahawkins]

The Quaker funeral service, BTW (sidebar here) is informal, not like, say a Catholic Mass in memory of a decedent. In the Quaker service, people get up and tell a story about the person who has died. It can be humorous, and sometimes might contain a barb or a sting. I remember someone telling about a woman we knew, "Shelley's tenacity and perseverance could make her...also one of the most annoying people I ever met!!" (Great laughter - we who knew her got the reference immediately). Yet she had no obituary at all. This memorial was in a sense marking and honoring her life, and her life achievements - but seen through the eyes of friends, family and comrades.

[namasivayamc]

I wonder, What Obituary one would write on Jayalalitha, the former CM of an Indian State, TAMILNADU ?

[MateDrinker]

2:36: That's funny, I hadn't realized that Zaha Haddid has become deceased (R.I.P.).

[andrewzuo]

2:40 So this is what passes for natural language processing these days.