Conversations at Gordon: The Passing of Steve Jobs, and an Era

I am a computer science major, but if it wasn't for Apple, I probably wouldn't be. 

Growing up with Macs, I was always amazed by what they could do. There was always something new to discover—I especially loved trying out those strange applications in the Utilities folder! 

I see great beauty in thoughtful design, and Apple showed me that computers could be beautiful.

Thank you, Steve Jobs, for making me passionate about technology.

Peter Story '14

iMourn . . .

To call Steve Jobs a leader in technology is as much a misnomer as calling Socrates a leader in philosophy. Both, rather, remade culture and carved out a new and better landscape for humanity.

Brian Glenney, associate professor of philosophy

I’ve been using Macs since they first emerged . . .

and it was Steve Job’s vision of a beautifully designed “user-friendly” personal digital device that got me to move from a typewriter to a PC. So much of modern technology is inhospitable to human life—and profoundly awkward and tastelessly designed. Steve Jobs saw to it that everything that left Apple’s production lines looked beautiful, was easy and intuitive to use, and supported the things we all need to do: draw, write, connect, communicate, and share.

We’ve lost a true visionary—but not one whose vision was indifferent to persons or focused on technology for its own sake. Quite the reverse. Steve’s heart was that the word “personal” in personal computers was real—and he set the standard for this, believing that eventually Apple would surpass the competitors whose products almost uniformly force the user to adapt to the machine, rather than the other way around.

Bruce Herman, professor of art 

This is something that doesn’t happen very often.

It’s not just about timing of death/information (although that’s a factor). I have done a lot of research on this—popular culture and popular news media’s reaction to the death of celebrity figures.

I tracked celebrities on the covers of Time, People, and TV Guide for a ten-year period, for a book project I put on pause for eight years while doing my doctoral work in international film. When I get back around to the work (hopefully this summer), Jobs will be added to a small group of cultural figures whose deaths have sparked this kind of response—even in the non-immediate forms of communication.

One of our alumni wrote that she's not sure if she's more grateful for her MacBook or for Toy Story, but either way, thanks Steve Jobs. Even in his time away from Apple, his cultural influence was massive. 

Rini Cobbey, associate professor of communication arts 

I have enjoyed the integrity and accessibility of his design...

I enjoyed watching Microsoft and others spend decades and billions of dollars to create software that consumed huge storage capacity in order to imitate the elegant simplicity of a Mac. 

Dan Russ, Academic Dean 

The loss of both Ken Olsen (February 6) and Steve Jobs in 2011...

accentuates the fact we are entering a new phase in computing. Just as Gutenberg’s printing press increased access to the written word (enabling the Renaissance and scientific revolution); Ken Olsen's minicomputers laid the technological foundation that made personal computing possible; and Steve Jobs' innovative emphasis on user experience greatly accelerated access to computer technology for the masses. They have changed the world for all generations that will follow.

Robert Van Cleef '94, Director of Strategic Project Management and Web

Steve Jobs had the rare sensibility to know what people wanted before they knew themselves.

I remember clearly the first time I sat down with a Macintosh SE in 1985. I was overwhelmed with frustration since I was well accustomed to using computers that didn’t have icons on the screen or menus or (for heaven’s sake) a mouse. About a month later I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed using an Apple. It saddens me to realize that there are many other tools that we all will want and perhaps never know, because of the early loss of Steve Jobs.

Irv Levy, professor of chemistry and computer science 

When I started in the Computer Center in 1989 . . .

I had a Digital VT420 and a Mac Plus, with a tiny nine-inch screen. After having worked with VMS for a few years, I loved the beauty of the Mac interface—simple, easy to use and unlike any of the other technology at the time. The everyday clunky forms with mono-spaced type on green bar paper gave way to the possibility of documents that looked like they were professionally designed with attractive fonts and graphics; it was a brand new world! It was not long until Apple’s competitors tried to copy the Mac interface, but we are all better off for the competition; otherwise we might all still be typing cd\windows or del *.*;* and looking at boring, ugly reports on green bar paper. And we might not have our favorite individual songs, photos, books and movies in our pockets at all times.

Apple (and the brilliance of Steve Jobs) made technology accessible and desirable to everyone. Here is a lovely example of a woman who was given an iPad for her 100^th birthday and was quickly reading books and composing  limericks on it.  

June Bodoni '82, Executive Director of Admissions & Advancement Operations

There are few people in life I have an affection for without ever meeting them. 

Steve Jobs must be one in a handful. As a designer I feel Steve Jobs has shaped so much of what I do and created a precedent for the kind of design I believe in—the kind of design that isn’t just about how something looks, but what it does. I will forever be indebted to his inspiration, his passion and his brilliant execution of design. I have this deep awareness that no matter what I do in design, I will be standing on the shoulders of people like him.

Amy Harrell '07, graphic designer

Steve Jobs’ vision and approach to the creative process . . .

was unique in that he was so focused on quality and purity of concept while many of his contemporaries focused on spec sheets and feature lists. That kind of mindset is applicable to so many fields, and in my own, I particularly found his following quote on design to be very insightful:

“Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. The design of the Mac wasn’t what it looked like, although that was part of it. Primarily, it was how it worked. To design something really well, you have to get it. You have to really grok what it’s all about.”

Stephen Dagley '08, webmaster

On this day of reflection . . .

when everyone is wondering about the future of Apple minus Jobs, I say: Long live the Mac OS, with its built-in security features, intuitive file system, curved edges, and notable lack of garish colors.

Everybody who knows me is fully aware of my commitment to and love for Gordon College on many levels and over decades. But if I were not allowed to have a Mac computer here, I think I might seriously consider going on strike or something equally rash. 

Craig Story '89, associate professor of biology 

Great to have all these paeans of praise, including mine, for Apple and its dreamer . . . but one last word on this:

if you listened to the TV or radio yesterday, undoubtedly you heard over and over Steve Jobs saying the "death is nature’s very best invention"—clearing away the old and making room for the new.

Here is the hidden reef that saddened me even more than the death of a creative genius. The lie at the heart of the world’s wisdom. I could not let this go unchallenged. Steve was right in lots of things. Dead wrong in this most important statement of his creed.

Bruce Herman, art professor