7 ms·

I think I understand your larger point, but whatever corrections or amendments need to be made to the myth of Jobs, the idea that he was in any way average shou

I think I understand your larger point, but whatever corrections or amendments need to be made to the myth of Jobs, the idea that he was in any way average shouldn’t be one.

eyelidlessness 4y ago
In terms of him being a bully? He was pretty average a person. That’s the only point. Just a normal run of the mill jerk, maybe a bit eccentric about it, but could’ve been dozens of people I knew growing up. Whatever other life accomplishments don’t make him a remarkable jerk. Just a well known one.
chc 4y ago
The dude basically chose to die of treatable cancer in his 50s because he just didn't like the idea of getting medical treatment. That's one of the most odd behaviors I've ever heard of.
- kube-system 4y ago
  Odd, maybe, but the past few years of events in the US demonstrates that behavior isn’t too uncommon.
- eyelidlessness 4y ago
  That’s one of the most human and common behaviors I can think of, and one of the ones I find most humanizing about him as a person who’s so caricatured. He was this giant, right? Saw the future of so many things others couldn’t see, yeah? And his own health suffered because he couldn’t meet the present facts of it with any kind of realistic acceptance. That’s just… some guy, could be any one of my family or someone you know. He was a flawed, normal, person, with… a story which is why we’re discussing it.
- simondotau 4y ago
  Plenty of incredibly smart people think and do incredibly stupid things. Isaac Newton was one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of history, inventor of the telescope, father of Newtonian mechanics, and a key figure of the Enlightenment. Yet he considered that scientific work of lesser importance, spending much of his effort studying the occult, biblical interpretation, and alchemy.
  - loganc2342 4y ago
    “Stupid” isn’t the word I would use for following your interests rather than what others would like you to do
    - simondotau 4y ago
      Stupid is the word I would use for discovering that you have pancreatic cancer and then believing the best course of action is to reject effective medical treatment and "cure" it with an all-carrot diet. Stupid is the word I would use to posthumously describe the interests of Isaac Newton. I admit that it would have been difficult to recognise the stupidity of occult studies in 18th century England, but we can certainly apply that label with the benefit of a modern perspective.
      - SyzygistSix 4y ago
        >Stupid is the word I would use to posthumously describe the interests of Isaac Newton. I admit that it would have been difficult to recognise the stupidity of occult studies in 18th century England, but we can certainly apply that label with the benefit of a modern perspective. It seemed to work for Jack Parsons. And many other very creative people.
        simondotau 4y ago
        Correlation is not causation. There are many very creative people and uncreative people with many diverse quantities and qualities of stupidity.
        SyzygistSix 4y ago
        Or maybe our conscious and unconscious brains don't work in linear fashion like factories. Inspiration matters. It doesn't matter if what it takes to inspire one, consciously or subconsciously, is weird and doesn't make logical sense but is more poetic.

I think I understand your larger point, but whatever corrections or amendments need to be made to the myth of Jobs, the idea that he was in any way average shouldn’t be one.

eyelidlessness 4y ago

In terms of him being a bully? He was pretty average a person. That’s the only point. Just a normal run of the mill jerk, maybe a bit eccentric about it, but could’ve been dozens of people I knew growing up. Whatever other life accomplishments don’t make him a remarkable jerk. Just a well known one.

chc 4y ago

The dude basically chose to die of treatable cancer in his 50s because he just didn't like the idea of getting medical treatment. That's one of the most odd behaviors I've ever heard of.

kube-system 4y ago
Odd, maybe, but the past few years of events in the US demonstrates that behavior isn’t too uncommon.
eyelidlessness 4y ago
That’s one of the most human and common behaviors I can think of, and one of the ones I find most humanizing about him as a person who’s so caricatured. He was this giant, right? Saw the future of so many things others couldn’t see, yeah? And his own health suffered because he couldn’t meet the present facts of it with any kind of realistic acceptance. That’s just… some guy, could be any one of my family or someone you know. He was a flawed, normal, person, with… a story which is why we’re discussing it.
simondotau 4y ago
Plenty of incredibly smart people think and do incredibly stupid things. Isaac Newton was one of the greatest mathematicians and physicists of history, inventor of the telescope, father of Newtonian mechanics, and a key figure of the Enlightenment. Yet he considered that scientific work of lesser importance, spending much of his effort studying the occult, biblical interpretation, and alchemy.
- loganc2342 4y ago
  “Stupid” isn’t the word I would use for following your interests rather than what others would like you to do
  - simondotau 4y ago
    Stupid is the word I would use for discovering that you have pancreatic cancer and then believing the best course of action is to reject effective medical treatment and "cure" it with an all-carrot diet. Stupid is the word I would use to posthumously describe the interests of Isaac Newton. I admit that it would have been difficult to recognise the stupidity of occult studies in 18th century England, but we can certainly apply that label with the benefit of a modern perspective.
    - SyzygistSix 4y ago
      >Stupid is the word I would use to posthumously describe the interests of Isaac Newton. I admit that it would have been difficult to recognise the stupidity of occult studies in 18th century England, but we can certainly apply that label with the benefit of a modern perspective. It seemed to work for Jack Parsons. And many other very creative people.
      - simondotau 4y ago
        Correlation is not causation. There are many very creative people and uncreative people with many diverse quantities and qualities of stupidity.
        SyzygistSix 4y ago
        Or maybe our conscious and unconscious brains don't work in linear fashion like factories. Inspiration matters. It doesn't matter if what it takes to inspire one, consciously or subconsciously, is weird and doesn't make logical sense but is more poetic.