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We were young and stupid, and the world told us we were the super-exceptional people that Jobs apparently believed he was until he died. That's what makes this
by seanmccann 15y ago
We were young and stupid, and the world told us we were the super-exceptional people that Jobs apparently believed he was until he died. That's what makes this so hard to read. We weren't that special.
Dave Winer is an exceptional person but I don't like how he writes as if he was a complete equal to Steve Jobs. Just because Dave Winer doesn't think of himself as special, doesn't mean Steve Jobs wasn't special.
The people that think they are super-exceptional, are often the ones that end up being super-exceptional.
- davewiner 15y agoOf course when he was alive we were complete equals. Do you know of a mathematical formula that allows you to compare two whole human beings? To think otherwise is an exceptional form of hubris. And of course that extends to you and to everyone else who comments here. And now that he's gone, I'm more of a person than he ever will be. I believe that's the sad truth of what death means, Sean. Gone is gone.
- AllenKids 15y agoOh, the temptation to evoke the godwin's law... To facilitate a mature conversation, one might want to set the tune first.
- OpieCunningham 15y agoI'm not very familiar with you, so perhaps there is some context missing. But those statements are extraordinarily odd. No one is equal - or perhaps you know of some physical or natural law that demonstrates this supposed equality? If anyone was equal to another they would be identical and indistinguishable. I know of a mathematical formula that allows me to compare to whole human beings: what value have I received from your existence vs. another's existence? It's an imperfect formula, no doubt, but it's not equivalent to null. Specific people have far greater influence on any given individual than all people have influence. Therefore, they are superior people from the perspective of that individual. The last statement lacks sufficient context for me to comment: "And now that he's gone, I'm more of a person than he ever will be" - I can't determine the meaning. I suppose it's something like: any person that is alive at this moment is better than any person that has ever lived and died. And that's not supreme hubris? (Perhaps there is some indication you're referring to the potential of a person living vs. the potential of a person dead, though that ignores the reality of continuing influence and inspiration that some dead people retain while a living person likely never achieves at a similar scale.)
- tptacek 15y agoEven the conviction that any two people are "complete equals" does not lead to the conclusion that any two people's legacies will be equivalent. It's not difficult to see why a biography, romanticized or not, was written about Steve Jobs. But of course there's really no such thing as "complete equals". Put me in a foot race with any other healthy 35 year old, or compare my oil painting output with that of any trained artist, and you'll quickly see why.
- lionhearted 15y ago> But of course there's really no such thing as "complete equals". Put me in a foot race with any other healthy 35 year old, or compare my oil painting output with that of any trained artist, and you'll quickly see why. Ah, well that's a bummer. You know, it's funny, when you only read someone online without any face to face context, you kind of mentally fill in a profile of them that probably has no bearing on reality. I had you mentally pictured as something from the Age of Pericles, a mix of track and field style athletics, a little painting, a little sculpting, a little philosophy, a little music, a strong understanding of people, a thorough writer of both poetry and practical arts, a solid craftsman, a strong orator with a bent for rationality and a nuanced sense of justice, and successful in commerce and trade. This is how you've come across in writing, to me at least.
- tptacek 15y agoPicture Pericles after a lot of beer and pork. Take away any artistic talent. Don't let him shave.
- lionhearted 15y agoMy mental picture did indeed have a robust, Antiquity-style beard.
- tptacek 15y agoA beard involves grooming. Ratchet your expectations down even lower.
- camworld 15y agoIf there were a biography of Dave Winer, I would read it. I might not like it all that much, but I would certainly read it and probably garner some great insight from it.
- shareme 15y agoev hear the joke about the Winer Number? same concept..for both of them D Winer and S Jobs..