Hero/Talk

"A hero is the name of a man or woman (or being) who is able to do what no other can do."

That's not the standard definition given in a dictionary. Perhaps you're thinking of superheros. (but even they can often do what other superheros can do, for instance fly or deflect bullets). I'll hold to my dying day that Harriet Tubman was a hero, and all she did was what (some) other people didn't have the courage to do. I think a topic like this will rather quickly generate metatalk about the role of media as well as various topics in psychology, including whom people choose to lionize. --KQ

Hmmm. That definition of hero would actually incorporate Harriet Tubman, since her courage was out of the ordinary. "What no other can do" is a rather wide statement. It also includes "what no other (present on the site of the actual heroic deed) can do". As long as we go with widely recognized heros with significant historical staying power we should be safe from media and various late 20th century obfuscations of what a hero is. But this is of course IMHO. --Anders Törlind

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"Can" indicates ability, and certainly anyone who thought of it could have done the same thing Harriet Tubman did. However most of them who were so inclined stopped at the thought of it, fantasizing a bit perhaps and then settling back into their relatively comfortable, secure lives. The difference is not in ability, but in willingness. --KQ

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"Zero My Hero" is the name of a School House Rock song. It talks about how the number Zero is a kid's hero because it is so essential to 'going to the stars', elevating us above 'counting on our fingers and toes' etc.

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This page is beginning to look nice. Hmmm. I'll insert a link to [The hero with a thousand faces]? theory (or what one should call it). --Anders Törlind