> That's not a bad thing, by the way. I think there's something human and basically nourishing about thinking about strangers as people, and constructing even a

> That's not a bad thing, by the way. I think there's something human and basically nourishing about thinking about strangers as people, and constructing even a fabricated, artificial form of empathy for what they and their loved ones are going through. That those emotions have no practical connection to the world we live in is irrelevant. But the Steve Jobs persona, you describe how it was built in the previous paragraphs, was not a stranger to anyone. The whole Apple marketing team and Jobs built that. He's less a stranger than some people you meet everyday on a commute.