# Do the greatest ever realize their greatness? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624 "2012-12-20T13:16:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/1 "2012-12-20T13:16:10Z")
Who I am thinking about, mainly, is Daniel Day-Lewis and Kendrick Lamar. Many, many people are saying that Kendrick has potential to have his name right up there with Biggie and Tupac as the greatest ever, and you won’t hear me disagree. He has impeccable flow, amazing lyrics, and good album concepts, all of which are readily on display on Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. However, I have no idea if Kendrick himself, who also spends a lot of time with good rappers like Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and A$AP Rocky, ever think that he might be the greatest ever and needs to keep living up to that hype. Is he just creating music, or does he realize that he need to hunker down and really focus on making masterpieces. Same goes for Day-Lewis. I know he doesn’t like to spend time in the Hollywood limelight, but does he honestly realize how insane his method acting is? I’m sure he knows he’s a good actor, but does he honestly realize that he is, most like, the greatest actor ever? If not the greatest, at least top 5? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/2 "2012-12-20T14:25:53Z")
Prince does. ---
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/3 "2012-12-20T15:34:47Z")
Don’t you mean… O(+\> ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/4 "2012-12-20T15:45:08Z")
[Muhammad Ali](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_%281977_film%29)did. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/5 "2012-12-20T15:49:19Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > Don’t you mean… O(+\> No, Prince - he changed his name back after he finally got out of his contract with Warner Bros. That’s all the name change was - an attempt to be difficult to get out of his contract. And yes, Prince knows. As does **Jeff Beck** , the guitarist. I read a joint interview with him and Clapton a few years ago. The interviewer asked Clapton if there were things Beck could play that Clapton could not - Clapton very graciously hemmed and hawed and acknowledged that Beck did things with a whammy bar, with jazzier material, use of harmonics, etc. that Clapton could not. The interviewer turned to Beck and started “So, Jeff, is there anything that Eric can…” Beck blurted out “No!” before the sentence was finished. He’s never lacked ego, but when you can do what he does, who’s going to argue? Certainly not Clapton. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/6 "2012-12-20T16:44:20Z")
Michael Jordan did. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/7 "2012-12-20T16:48:13Z")
I’m watching _The Men Who Built America_. I would say that Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie and Morgan knew they were hot shit and acted like it. Haven’t gotten to Ford yet but I suspect I know what’s coming 🙂 LeBron James _spit_ has known since he was 16. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/8 "2012-12-20T16:59:09Z")
Donald Trump knows! ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/9 "2012-12-20T17:40:37Z")
Well, it’s been widely reported that, when Ted Williams was in the on-deck circle, he’d growl to himself, “I’m Ted Fucking Williams, and I’m the best fucking hitter who ever played.” So, I guess he had some idea of how good he was. Not that he was wrong, of course… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/10 "2012-12-20T17:43:46Z")
> [@Oedipus](#): > > Who I am thinking about, mainly, is Daniel Day-Lewis and Kendrick Lamar. Many, many people are saying that Kendrick has potential to have his name right up there with Biggie and Tupac as the greatest ever, and you won’t hear me disagree. He has impeccable flow, amazing lyrics, and good album concepts, all of which are readily on display on Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City. However, I have no idea if Kendrick himself, who also spends a lot of time with good rappers like Schoolboy Q, Ab-Soul, and A$AP Rocky, ever think that he might be the greatest ever and needs to keep living up to that hype. Is he just creating music, or does he realize that he need to hunker down and really focus on making masterpieces. > > Same goes for Day-Lewis. I know he doesn’t like to spend time in the Hollywood limelight, but does he honestly realize how insane his method acting is? I’m sure he knows he’s a good actor, but does he honestly realize that he is, most like, the greatest actor ever? If not the greatest, at least top 5? I doubt they know. If there’s one thing rappers and Hollywood actors are famous for, it’s their humility. ---
**Author:** ![Labdad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/11 "2012-12-20T21:36:06Z")
One of my all-time favorite quotations was by Dizzy Dean: “It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it!” ---
**Author:** ![Oedipus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Oedipus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oedipus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/12 "2012-12-21T01:33:15Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I doubt they know. If there’s one thing rappers and Hollywood actors are famous for, it’s their humility. Well Kendrick and Daniel Day-Lewis aren’t run of the mill artists by any stretch of the imagination. ---
**Author:** ![Dave\_Hartwick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7feea3/32.png) [@Dave\_Hartwick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dave_Hartwick)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/13 "2012-12-21T01:46:53Z")
I read somewhere that when Bernard Montgomery was asked who the three greatest generals of all time were, he replied that the other two were Alexander and Hannibal. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/14 "2012-12-21T03:07:22Z")
Tons of people think they’re great. A few of them actually deserve the acclaim. > [@Oedipus](#): > > I have no idea if Kendrick himself […] ever think that he might be the greatest ever and needs to keep living up to that hype. Is he just creating music, or does he realize that he need to hunker down and really focus on making masterpieces. I think it’s difficult to make any kind of decent art if you’re busy thinking crap like “I need to live up to the hype!” and “Everything I do must be a masterpiece!” ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/15 "2012-12-21T04:21:20Z")
Frank Lloyd Wright did. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/16 "2012-12-21T05:31:53Z")
Pablo Picasso Mohammed Ali Arnold Schwarzenegger Howard Hughes Frank Sinatra Michael Jackson Michael Jordan Joe Namath Elvis Presley, probably Babe Ruth Lennon/McCartney The Beatles William Randolph Hurst I’ll probably think of more later tonight or tomorrow. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/17 "2012-12-21T07:23:20Z")
I think we’ve strayed _far_ from the topic here. How about people at the top of their profession who _don’t_ seem to realize their own greatness? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/18 "2012-12-21T07:44:44Z")
> [@ekedolphin](#): > > I think we’ve strayed _far_ from the topic here. How about people at the top of their profession who _don’t_ seem to realize their own greatness? That’s not the the topic. The question was – do the people at the top know they’re the best? So far, the most common answer is – yes. Just read a lengthy NYT feature on Jerry Seinfeld. I don’t think he would claim to be _the_ best comedian, but he certainly understands he is _among the best_ comedians. Also… a chance to tell my only Frank Lloyd Wright joke. Wright is called to testify in a trial. When asked to identify himself an list his credentials. he said, “I am America’s greatest ever architect.” Later his wife tells him it was unseemly to make such a grand claim. He responded, “But darling, I was under oath!” ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/19 "2012-12-21T07:45:56Z")
I suspect Marie Curie had an inkling when she was picking up her second Nobel Prize. ---
**Author:** ![James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ac8455/32.png) [@James\_Otto\_Sweet\_Heart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/James_Otto_Sweet_Heart)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2012, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624/20 "2012-12-21T20:37:52Z")
> [@Labdad](#): > > One of my all-time favorite quotations was by Dizzy Dean: “It ain’t braggin’ if you can do it!” Well if you can’t do it, what is there to brag about? Nothing. 🙂 🙂 🙂 God bless you always!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂 Holly P.S. To me, the greatest are the ones who never realize how well they are at whatever it is that they do. 🙂 🙂 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-the-greatest-ever-realize-their-greatness/644624.md?page=2)