What bemused you today?

[jinky]

Notice in the gym changing rooms "Due to unforseen circumstances there is impartial lighting in the shower area". That was good for me - it meant it shone on the wicked as well as the rightous. Though only 7.30 am the receptionist wearily reported I was the 4th person to point out their error. 

[spinner]

Driving around in the 'country' looking for photo opportunities and coming to the realization that electric and cable wires are everywhere!

[ABERS]

I always thought that was the 'charm' of North American landscapes.

[hevans]

WBMT?

The collective iWailing and iMouring of the iFans.

Jobs's death is a personal tragedy for him, and his family. For the ifanboys, it is not; get on with your lives people. The world hasn't changed and Jobs did not do nearly as much to change your life as many other unsung heroes (Bernards-Lee, Torvaldes, Andresseen, Babbage, Kilby, Turing, Logie-Baird, Edison, Watt, etc.).

All Jobs did was to provide the world with pretty little devices. GUI interfaces existed long before the Mac, tablets existed long before the iPad, PDA/Phone combinations existed long before the iphone. All he did was package them into a pretty product and force the world to use iTunes.

And for info on his personal side, read: http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/commentary/cultofmac/2006/01/70072

What is it about society where people feel the need for a collective mourning for someone they've never met. It's like they're looking for a reason to mourn, or are they driven by exactly what Jobs railed against: being a sheep and following the crowd.

It can't be denied that Jobs was creative, driven and built a very large empire. But I doubt this was for altruistic reasons, it was probably for the selfish reason that he found it fun. He was also standing on the shoulders of much bigger and greater giants.

H.

[Jonathan]

He was 56.

And all the money and cool toys in the world couldn't stop cancer killing him.

We're all scared.

[Oldboy]

WBMT?

The collective iWailing and iMouring of the iFans.
H.

Be fair H, thay have lost their God! 

[hevans]

He was 56.

Yea, 56 is young, but he outlived Mozart (35), Diana (25), Hendrix (27), Winehouse (27).  and many many children. In those 56 years, he had a very good innings. Much more so than the vast majority of us on the planet.

And all the money and cool toys in the world couldn't stop cancer killing him.

We're all scared.

So, the collective mourning is a manifestation of the realisation that our existence is ephemeral? Or: we've all got to die sometime, but don't want to be reminded of it?

H.

[jinky]

I`m with you there Hevans - good god I`m fed up of hearing about his massive contribution to culture and Britain - and flowers being left outside the store!!!!!
Sad for his family and friends - no more than a footnote to the rest of us other than the cult followers of Apple.

[Jonathan]

So, the collective mourning is a manifestation of the realisation that our existence is ephemeral? Or: we've all got to die sometime, but don't want to be reminded of it?

Partly.

One of the definitions of charisma is that you can make people feel a connection with you even if you've never met them.  He certainly had that.

Interesting you mention Diana.  By comparison today's outpourings of grief from the uninvolved are very restrained indeed.

[hevans]

So, the collective mourning is a manifestation of the realisation that our existence is ephemeral? Or: we've all got to die sometime, but don't want to be reminded of it?

Partly.

One of the definitions of charisma is that you can make people feel a connection with you even if you've never met them.  He certainly had that.

I think it has to do with people needing to feel connected, and those connections define our own importance, as we are social animals (well, most of you are). It's like autograph hunters - why on Earth would a scrap of paper with someone's scrawl be valuable? It's because it provides a personal connection to someone famous and it's hoped that some of the fame will rub off on the owner...sort of riding the coat tails. "Hey, look, I've got Mark Knopfler's signature¹!, don't you wish you were me!".

With public mourning, it's largely a herd thing: getting connected to the famous guy, with the self perceived importance of the connection amplified by the significance of the personal loss. AKA: it's all about me!

Obviously, there's a difference between this and someone showing respect for the achievements of the deceased.

Actually, it's manifest in pretty much every occasion. How many wedding parties have a participant that isn't the bride or groom that needs to express their importance via connection to the happy couple? Mother of the bride, best friend?

Interesting you mention Diana.  By comparison today's outpourings of grief from the uninvolved are very restrained indeed.

True...but she was a larger icon than SJ.

¹ actually, I haven't. the only signature I have is Douglas Adams's, on a copy of the HHGTTG radio script. And I'm happy to leave it at that.

[Jonathan]

With public mourning, it's largely a herd thing: getting connected to the famous guy, with the self perceived importance of the connection amplified by the significance of the personal loss. AKA: it's all about me!

Yeah - it's 'slebs they get to "comment" on deaths that always bugs me.  Who knew that Baron Sugar and Steve Jobs were so fundamentally similar at heart?

I see Stephen Fry is declining to comment.  Which almost makes up for the disappointment of his new program on words.

[greypoint]

Sadly, although I'm sure I must have heard his name mentioned, I would'nt have had the slightest idea who he was until I heard all the outpourings this morning. 

[Hinfrance]

Well, I understand the points of view here.

I think Mr Job's early demise is very sad for his family and friends, and very probably for many of his employees and associates. I don't get the wailing mob; I see that the world has lost one it's greatest ever salesmen - even Wozniak said that he was a marketeer.

Hugh - you didn't mention Norman Borlaug. Terrible oversight And wasn't Logie-Baird a bit of a failure? - the guy who made TV was Philo Farnsworth.

I think one of Job's heroes must be H L Mencken - 'Nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the (American) public.'

[John Doyle2]

Thought provoking! Or bemusing!
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/tlg/2613342389.html
http://groozi.com/2010/03/12/score-this-photog-1-cheapskate-0/

[ABERS]

Thought provoking! Or bemusing!
http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/tlg/2613342389.html
http://groozi.com/2010/03/12/score-this-photog-1-cheapskate-0/

Marvellous isn't it. A similar message was posted on our club website.

"An email has been received from someone who has just started up a small catering company, working from home, in Isleworth. This person is unable to afford the fees charged by a professional photographer and is looking for an amateur, trainee or student to take 8 - 10 photographs that he can put on his website.

Should anyone be interested in taking this on, please contact Richard Perry whose details are as follows:"

I wonder if he would undertake to feed a few pensioners because they couldn't afford a decent meal!

PS Whilst I'm on, what's a sleb?