I’m trying to think of a word for somebody I’ve never met, but who has influenced me.
Like Steve Jobs, I’ve never met him, but he continues to teach me.
He’s like an invisible hand to me. An unmet teacher. I can’t nail the word down!
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3You're saying he's a stranger?– StoneyB on hiatusOct 5, 2012 at 22:57
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2The title is completely misleading. Even the question is stated in reverse.– KrisOct 6, 2012 at 6:09
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It's actually not stated in reverse... Introduce problem, give an example, then state i can't figure it out. Seems like the normal question to me. Also, it's a concise title that is completely relative to my question.– ThingamajigOct 7, 2012 at 5:30
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7 Answers
There is also role model: a person looked to by others as an example to be imitated.
While he is a stranger, he is also a mentor.
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1In his book A Game Plan for Life: The Power of Mentoring, John Wooden say how his father, coaches, President Abraham Lincoln, and Mother Theresa all had a powerful influence on his life, coaching, philosophy, and outlook on life. He says that as individuals we can be mentored by the writings, words, and thoughts of people we have never and will likely never meet. Davis Lui MD, blog post on www.kevinmd.com, thanks one of his mentors, Steve Jobs. He says he has never met Steve Jobs. It seems as though a mentor can be someone we have not met or are unlikely to meet. Oct 6, 2012 at 0:27
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2The fact that John Wooden has to make that point simply proves that he is stretching the word beyond its common usage.– itsbruceOct 6, 2012 at 10:28
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@SiteDesigns: That's a good comment. In the future, I'd recommend adding that sort of thing to your answer.– J.R.Oct 6, 2012 at 18:48
I would use either role model or mentor.
Could you just go for the emotional component, and say that that man is an inspiration?
For my ears it's a broader word that better grabs the 'influence in some way' aspect of it all esp if you pair it with the "I've not met him" opening. For example:
I'm trying to think of a word for somebody I've never met, but who has influenced me.
Like Steve Jobs, I've never met him, but he continues to teach me.
He's like an invisible hand to me. An unmet teacher. An inspiration!
(gratuitous exclamation mark added for effect)
I understand the feeling and reasons that prompted you to ask. There is a vacancy in vocabulary for this particular fandom. I recoil at the thought of those people that made a point to make a comment on clearly something they are mentally unequipped to answer, yet that is not their fault.
You could stretch to refer to Latin if nothing else is quite one-the-head.
Persona Grata, perhaps.
At a long stretch in this 21st Century a reinvention of the word Amicus may have viability for such description.
I often find the best part of writing in our English language is the puzzles one must solve in order to correctly arrive at a point, emotion or purpose. Try to have fun using multiple words when one word is not enough, often one word may seem to be perfect to the speaker but quite often the audience needs more information.
My Kindred Friend.
oracle
Perhaps not an exact match or obvious choice for this question but neither an exact match, nor an obvious choice sprang to mind.
I know what you mean, I think. It's elusive, though.
Paragon?
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6Paragon implies nothing whatsoever about whether you've met the person or not. In fact, I can't think of an interpretation that makes it an appropriate answer to this question.– MarthaªOct 6, 2012 at 1:33
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1But it's much better than, say, mentor or teacher. It's used similarly to role model, but with the added sense that they're more than just a personal inspiration, but that they exemplify the highest quality of a certain characteristic. It also carries some of the larger-than-life, admired-from-afar aspect that the OP asked for. If this person were an excellent moral compass or engineer, it would be valid to call them a paragon of morality or a paragon of engineering just as much as a role model!– rsegalOct 6, 2012 at 3:45