Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

While addressing Stanford University’s graduating class of 2005, Jobs said: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”


Editorial October 06, 2011

His death came too soon, but he lived a life complete. Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, an innovative genius, died on Wednesday at the age of 56, leaving the world just a little poorer for his absence. His loss is being mourned by the technology industry, as well as the millions of users and fans of his products the world over. Jobs’ significance to the world of computers and consumer technology as we know it today cannot be underestimated. When he founded Apple in 1977, he was the first person to think of computers as something an ordinary person might be able to use, leading the team that designed the first mouse-based computing experience that has since become standard. After a 12-year hiatus from Apple, Jobs returned in 1997 to lead the charge that eventually led the company to completely revolutionise the world of technology, changing the way the world listens to music (the iPod), what we can do with our phones (the iPhone) and most recently, how we interact with digital content (the iPad). Yet for all the impact that Jobs had on the world of technology, we cannot help but think that he was the product of a uniquely American upbringing, having been raised in a liberal society that allows its young people to be free and question authority — any authority.

That remarkable freedom of thought, nurtured in a democratic political culture and an entrepreneurial economic one, is what has made so many of its people bold thinkers, and enabled them to change the way the rest of us view the world. How else, for instance, would one explain a man who was neither an engineer nor a programmer become the founder and visionary leader of the world’s most valuable technology company? In Pakistan, we would probably have kept asking Jobs for relevant degrees and qualifications (or worse, his connections). America let him be free. That rebellious spirit reflects an ethos found in whatever Jobs did in his life. While addressing Stanford University’s graduating class of 2005, he said: “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” We will miss you, Steve.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7th, 2011.

COMMENTS (8)

Sundas | 12 years ago | Reply

""In Pakistan, we would probably have kept asking Jobs for relevant degrees and qualifications (or worse, his connections). America let him be free."" UGLY LINES INDEED. DID THEY REALLY HAVE TO BE THROWN IN? cut out on the comparison habit for once in life ! The article could have been so readable without em!

ashok sai | 12 years ago | Reply

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