> Imagine a world without Apple computers pushing the envelope. We'd still be using wired mice and ugly black boxes. I strongly disagree with these classes of

> Imagine a world without Apple computers pushing the envelope. We'd still be using wired mice and ugly black boxes. I strongly disagree with these classes of statements. Would we not have calculus without Newton? Great ideas tend to often happen simultaneously for a reason. Building of more complex abstractions (metaphors in the context of language) allows us collectively to consider ideas that previously we could have never considered (i.e. it increases our perception). Julian Jaynes on the power of metaphor for unlocking new ideas: > All of these concrete metaphors increase enormously our powers of perception of the world about us and our understanding of it, and literally create new objects. Indeed, language is an organ of perception, not simply a means of communication. If Jobs and crew hadn't done what they did, someone else would have. The timeline may not have been the same, but even 'geniuses' must exist within the context of their society and world.