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About this quote

What does it mean?
The speaker finds dark humor in the fact that a disease will be named after them after they die.
In plain terms
The doctor said I will get a disease that will carry my name forever.
What can you take from it?
Dark humor finds irony in legacy and mortality.

Where it applies

  • medical news
  • comedy routines
  • coping with illness

Putting it to work

  • use irony to process bad news
  • reframe legacy

Questions to consider

  • How do you cope with bad news?
  • What legacy do you want to leave?

Another view

The joke trivializes the reality of suffering from a disease.

More from Steve Martin

  1. Comedy is not pretty.

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  2. I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot.

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  3. People come up to me and say 'Steve, what is film editing?' And I say 'How should I know? You're the director.'

    Permalink to quote #17

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