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Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

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Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#21

Post by oh_sigh »

thecompilr wrote: post #7

> Jobs: Computers are actually pretty simple. We’re sitting here on a bench in this café [for this part of the Interview]. Let’s assume that you understood only the most rudimentary of directions and you asked how to find the rest room. I would have to describe it to you in very specific and precise instructions. I might say, “Scoot sideways two meters off the bench. Stand erect. Lift left foot. Bend left knee until…

This is sort of how I was introduced to programming in 1996. The teacher told the class she needed instructions to make a PB&J sandwich, and basically kept interpreting things incorrectly until everything was super precise.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#22

Post by agumonkey »

thecompilr wrote: post #7

> Jobs: Computers are actually pretty simple. We’re sitting here on a bench in this café [for this part of the Interview]. Let’s assume that you understood only the most rudimentary of directions and you asked how to find the rest room. I would have to describe it to you in very specific and precise instructions. I might say, “Scoot sideways two meters off the bench. Stand erect. Lift left foot. Bend left knee until…

Jobs wasn't Woz level, but he was no fool either.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#23

Post by tim333 »

leejoramo wrote: post #10

> [the information] revolution will dwarf the petrochemical revolution. I remember people thinking this was a crazy idea, but his forecast was largely correct: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?source=frontpage-immediat...

And it still has a ways to go.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#24

Post by valuearb »

marcell wrote: post #5
valuearb wrote: post #2

I'm amazed at how mature he sounds in this interview at age 29, like far more direct, honest, confident and smart than say, Zuckerberg. He was very prescient and when wrong (he didn't anticipate the clone makers, saying there wouldn't be another $200M+ PC company) it was an area he really didn't care to be involved in.

Not to take away from your point but people have different strengths. Zuckerberg is bad at social skills but (evidently) a great hacker and amazing at business strategy. It took Jobs a long time to master business management that allowed Apple to become a hugely successful company. Zuckerberg (and others, e.g. Bill Gates) got it right away.

I think the interview makes it clear he had mastered a great deal about business management already.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#25

Post by overcast »

oh_sigh wrote: post #21
thecompilr wrote: post #7

> Jobs: Computers are actually pretty simple. We’re sitting here on a bench in this café [for this part of the Interview]. Let’s assume that you understood only the most rudimentary of directions and you asked how to find the rest room. I would have to describe it to you in very specific and precise instructions. I might say, “Scoot sideways two meters off the bench. Stand erect. Lift left foot. Bend left knee until…

This is sort of how I was introduced to programming in 1996. The teacher told the class she needed instructions to make a PB&J sandwich, and basically kept interpreting things incorrectly until everything was super precise.

That PB&J coding lesson has been used forever. It's a good learning tool.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#26

Post by mturmon »

eradicatethots wrote: post #13
thecompilr wrote: post #7

> Jobs: Computers are actually pretty simple. We’re sitting here on a bench in this café [for this part of the Interview]. Let’s assume that you understood only the most rudimentary of directions and you asked how to find the rest room. I would have to describe it to you in very specific and precise instructions. I might say, “Scoot sideways two meters off the bench. Stand erect. Lift left foot. Bend left knee until…

I don’t know, should it be special to be able to explain things? I think it should actually be normal

Every so often I review the iPhone introduction keynote, and marvel at how Jobs crafted such an engaging and compelling hour. It's a very special talent.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#27

Post by PoachedSausage »

Sangermaine wrote: post #14
eradicatethots wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know, should it be special to be able to explain things? I think it should actually be normal

Most people are actually pretty bad at explaining things in a clear, concise, helpful way, very often especially people well-versed in the field they are trying to explain. Communicating complex concepts to non-experts is indeed a fairly rare skill.

I once had a job interview that had a task where only one person was allowed to view an object made of random Lego bricks, they would communicate the structure to another person, that person would communicate it to a builder. The idea being to replicate the object. It's not easy.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#28

Post by csomar »

valuearb wrote: post #2

I'm amazed at how mature he sounds in this interview at age 29, like far more direct, honest, confident and smart than say, Zuckerberg. He was very prescient and when wrong (he didn't anticipate the clone makers, saying there wouldn't be another $200M+ PC company) it was an area he really didn't care to be involved in.

Very different circumstance. Jobs at that stage was a mini-celebrity and a multi-millionaire. Zuck right now is one of the most famous people in the world, hold incredible power (maybe even more than some of the worlds governments) and is a multi-billionaire.

Most people think Zuck is evil or abnormal. He is a regular dude. He is just sitting on a couple million of hydrogen bombs ready to explode. Facebook is very influential today and the parties it affects are not just companies but governments. These are not easy entities to deal with.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#29

Post by IBM »

agumonkey wrote: post #22
thecompilr wrote: post #7

> Jobs: Computers are actually pretty simple. We’re sitting here on a bench in this café [for this part of the Interview]. Let’s assume that you understood only the most rudimentary of directions and you asked how to find the rest room. I would have to describe it to you in very specific and precise instructions. I might say, “Scoot sideways two meters off the bench. Stand erect. Lift left foot. Bend left knee until…

Jobs wasn't Woz level, but he was no fool either.

Jobs was on another plane entirely. One where having more than technical acumen was necessary to actually have impact in the world.

Re: Playboy Interview: Steve Jobs (1985)

#30

Post by barrkel »

leejoramo wrote: post #10

> [the information] revolution will dwarf the petrochemical revolution. I remember people thinking this was a crazy idea, but his forecast was largely correct: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?source=frontpage-immediat...

The petrochemical revolution is more than the market cap of an oil company. The petrochemical revolution guides the way we've built our cities for the past 100+ years, how we ship our goods and how we travel the world. The entire transport system - cars, trucks, ships, planes - almost all petrochemical. And the negative side too. Vast fields of tarmac (petrochemical) parking lots (petrochemical) for strip malls. Urban sprawl. Well over a million people killed on roads every year. Millions more affected by chemical byproducts. Acid rain. Global warming.

Computers are only getting started. They'll get there eventually though; computers are to the brain what engines are to the body.

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