I enjoyed watching the Steve Jobs movie, based on a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin [to me famous for West Wing]. It has the creativity and intense dialogue that one expects from Sorkin
I have a few minor comments.
I never quite understand people who go on about how Jobs "changed people's lives" and "transformed the world" and is a hero like Gandhi, Einstein, Gutenberg, Edison, ...
To me, he was one of several key players in the computer revolution.
The movie shows how Jobs had a cult-like status and people were just "dying" to attend his latest product launch.
I agree his creativity and achievements were significant. I love my Mac and much prefer it to a Windows PC. But I just don't feel this gives my life more meaning, purpose, or enrichment.
Given the way he poorly treated many work colleagues, should he be respected? A key issue is whether you believe that the ends justify the means. I don't.
The movie shows how people can have a lot of professional and financial success but at the end of the day what matters is close personal relationships; with family, friends, and colleagues.
We all hunger for acceptance, recognition, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
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Hi Ross, I hope things are alright in light of hurricane Debbie. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteThanks for asking. Yes. We survived. Do have a big tree limb on our house roof though.
DeleteNo. The word 'hero' is quite overused nowadays.
ReplyDeleteA hero is someone with sufficient courage to do something (for the common) good while risking his own life or limbs.
Steve Jobs had many qualities (and a few shortcomings), and certainly had an influence on the world of technology, but a hero, no.
Also note that the 'world of technology', despite its pervasiveness, is a rather small part of humanity - so 'transformed the world' is too big of a statement too.
Even though technology plays a big role in humanity, I would say that humanity is more defined by life, relations, abstract thinking, and depending on your view, religion.
Thanks for the comment. I am glad to see that I am not alone in being skeptical about some of this hype.
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