Difference between revisions of "Steve Jobs"
| Line 36: | Line 36: | ||
=== References === | === References === | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:2020New]] | ||
| + | [[Category:2020Person]] | ||
Revision as of 13:43, 17 March 2020
| Birthname | Steven Paul Jobs |
| Date of Birth | February 24, 1955 |
| Birth Place | San Francisco, CA, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Designer, Businessman |
| Biography | Best known as the CEO and Co-Founder of Apple and CEO Pixar |
Steve Jobs was an American entrepreneur, investor, and designer born in February 1955. He was the CEO and co-founder of Apple with Steve Wozniak and was the CEO of Pixar Animation studios. He is known for spearheading the personal computer revolution and creating the Macintosh, iPod, iPad, and iPhone. However, despite his colossal successes, Steve Jobs has been openly criticized for his casual use of drugs, parenting, and leadership style.
Drug Use
Jobs was no stranger to marijuana and LSD, and heavily attributes LSD to the creation of Apple. In a government security clearance interview with the Pentagon, Jobs revealed that he used to smoke and eat pot brownies with friends multiple times a week from 1973-1977. Additionally, he used LSD approximately ten to fifteen times from 1972-1974.[1] Claiming drugs helped him relax and made him more creative, Jobs once famously said, "Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. [...] It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money."[2]
Many wonder if Apple would've been so successful, creative, and innovative, if Steve Jobs hadn't been a heavy advocate for certain drugs. Steve Jobs himself accredits his LSD trips as a large source of inspiration, and his inspiration is seen in the close parallels and similarities between LSD and iPhones. Most strikingly, both "feel profoundly artificial yet deeply real", in other words the use of either feels transcendent. Additionally, both have positives and negatives effects that users must weigh before deciding to use either. Drugs and computers both "make us feel divinely connected to our environments and other people, they lift mood and bring us joy". However, they also can create distance and trigger addiction and consequently destroy human connection.[3]
Another ethical issue that stems from Jobs' drug use is that it has become the inspiration for "microdosing", a popular practice in the Silicon Valley where people consume a small quantity of drugs every few days. Many claim that "microdosing" helps them get ahead by staying productive through exhaustion or by sparking creativity. This becomes problematic because the manufacture of illegal drugs does not have rigorous regulatory controls -- in other words, people don't always get what they are told they are getting.[4] Although it was not his intention, Jobs' support of LSD may have caused young tech entrepreneurs to explore dangerous, unchecked drugs as well.
Parenting
In a 2018 interview with Vanity Fair, Lisa Brennan-Jobs, Jobs' daughter revealed what her relationship with her dad was like. To begin, she described how Jobs wasn't at the hospital when she was born, and only saw her for the first time a few days later. Upon laying his eyes on Brennan-Jobs, he claimed "it's not my kid" and walked out of the room.[5]
Then, in 1980, the district attorney of San Mateo County, California sued Jobs for un-paid child support payments. In response, Jobs denied paternity, claiming he was sterile, and demanded a DNA test. When the test came back 94.4% positive, Jobs agreed to pay $385 per month and medical insurance until Brennan-Jobs turned 18. Four days after trial, Apple went public and Jobs was worth more than $200 million overnight. Jobs then agreed to increase his child-support payments to $500 monthly.
Many people claim that Jobs only paid $500 monthly because he was trying to ensure his daughter didn't grow spoiled and entitled. However, others claim that Jobs simply wouldn't pay more because he refused to acknowledge his daughter as his own. This could be because he had her out of wed-lock or because of his poor relationship with her mother. No matter the case, even Brennan-Jobs claimed that she was "not compelling enough for [her] father, [...], to unequivocally own".[5] Later, in an interview for 1982 Time Person of the Year, Jobs publicly questioned the reliability of the paternity test and argued that "28% of the male population of the United States could be the father". The Time article's title was later changed from "Person of the Year" to "Machine of the Year".[6]
Many years later, after Jobs left Apple, he apologized many times to Lisa and attempted to reconcile with her. Lisa forgave him and legally changed her last name from Brennan to Brennan-Jobs.
