Koz and Effect

Steve Jobs, 1955-2011

“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

- Steve Jobs, Stanford commencement address, June 12, 2005

I’m sure this quote is pasted all over the internet by now (you can read the full address here) , but it bears repeating. Few had the furor and drive that Steve Jobs had. Whether you liked him or not, or even liked Apple or not, few can argue the breadth of his accomplishments or the passion he had for computing.

If you were born in the 80′s, like myself, think of the first computer you ever used. It was an Apple IIe. I won’t even bother to ask if I’m correct. I am. Our exposure to computers in grade school was because of that man and his insistence on placing them there. His passion for making computers accessible, usable, easy, has more or less been driving by that man. I have not always agreed with his choices, his aesthetic, his bombastic nature or outright militancy for control at times, but I believe his contributions have far outweighed any detriments he had.

Make no mistake about it. The world has lost a great innovator, and he will be sorely missed. For myself, who’s calling in life was sparked by these magical devices, I can barely envision a world without him.

Rest in peace Steve.