The World mourns as dedications and reactions pour in from around the globe.
By: Kavin Raj
Steve Jobs died on a Wednesday at the age of 56 on the 5th of October 2011. The former Apple Inc CEO was a Perfectionist who is largely responsible for integrating computers and sophisticated technology into our everyday lives. You’re probably reading this story on a Mac computer, an iPad Tablet or an iPhone that Jobs invented and inspired which is unique to his glorious legacy.
"He was a Genius who broke many boundaries in technology and succeeded"
Think about this. There’s no man that’s purely good or purely evil. That’s totally “ok” and acceptable to me. It’s true that no man does good things for the world without doing something that’s bad before. What’s not “ok” is to focus on an aspect of a man and while acting like we’re oblivious to the parts that we don’t like or we’d like to forget. Well, it’s a natural reaction to have a really lopsided view of the accomplishments and history when someone dies which is what I’m seeing at the moment ever since Steve Jobs passed away.
Yes, this was a man who introduced revolutionary products onto the market which has benefited lives of millions with his vision and genius. He was a man who despite knowing he had little time left to live spent the last year of his legacy working rather than with his family.
"He was a risk-taker who clearly knew what he wanted to achieve for society".
You could say he was selfish and ignorant who put work first over his own flesh and blood, but that was just him who wanted everything to be perfect.
In contrast, what do we ACTUALLY know about him?
Let’s face it. It’s ignorant to place the burden of creation of Apple’s products directly and solely on him. There are thousands of employees who did the work in refining, releasing and were part of the drawing board that elevated the success of these products. They definitely deserve the gratitude as much as the ex-CEO of Apple.
Oh and did I mention, he has his name on more than 290++ patents in Apple’s portfolio. If we could also recall, Steve jobs and his friend, Steve Wozniak created an Atari game earlier in his career. The deal was to split 50-50 with the profits that they get from Atari itself, but guess what? Out of the total $5000, Wozniak only got $375 who was left in the dark thinking they only made $750. You’re probably thinking that I’m out to be critical about this man who was a brilliant salesman, a person who could brutally refine an idea and turn it into a shining core. He was a person who met the needs of people and understood what people wanted. Don’t misunderstand me, but he was also a man who denied paternity for his first daughter, Lisa, whom he named a computer after, for two years while she and her mother lived in poverty.
Steve Wozniak (left) and Steve Jobs (right) sharing a light moment together during their early years.
Steve Jobs also played in a major role with Pixar, a company that’s delighted children with their excellent and fantastic animation like Toy Story, but remember, he’s also the one who never gave a hoot about the working conditions in the factories in China that made his products which used potent chemicals killing a number of people. With explosions in factories and the strong usage of this chemical, no one really did question this particular piece of news that was taken lightly by many. Please, these were the lives of innocent people.
Be the judge yourself.
Am I supposed to be sad about his passing? Perhaps I didn’t know this man or that I’m born without the empathy gene, or perhaps I’m just reacting to the death of just another person. In the end, you may ask, was he a good man, or a bad man?
It doesn’t matter. Steve Jobs was a man, and that’s enough.
Looking extremely frail, days before his death.
thinkhardabout 