tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post3670568376458040894..comments2024-03-26T19:10:00.791-04:00Comments on West Coast Stat Views (on Observational Epidemiology and more): Apple's aspect dominanceJosephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10760453165301871031noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-21794235624748428742012-02-08T00:10:40.719-05:002012-02-08T00:10:40.719-05:00A few points:
I was careful with my wording when ...A few points:<br /><br />I was careful with my wording when I said "technology in their homes" and I think it's a fairly safe statement. I didn't say Edison brought electricity to their homes specifically because of the current wars (which also led to the electric chair, but that's another story). <br /><br />There are worse ways of comparing people than lifetime accomplishment (see here http://observationalepidemiology.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-lie-with-statistics-rare-cinema.html) but it can be unfair to those with shorter lives. The point, however, is moot in this case because the post was about the way society perceives Jobs' legacy (and, to a degree, technology in general). <br /><br />The man was at the height of his powers when he died and I have little doubt that, given another twenty-five years, he would have continued to do great things. Someone could write a wonder piece speculating on what might have come next. <br /><br />But my interest in this run of posts is the way we think about technology and it's difficult to discuss that topic without mentioning Apple.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14705408455380402571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-45353179990860499132012-02-07T11:00:47.864-05:002012-02-07T11:00:47.864-05:00I agree with nerdbound that you can't count hi...I agree with nerdbound that you can't count his influence just on the number of iDevices. You have to include the competitors that have emulated them. I'm not sure you can fully count windows in his legacy, although the Macintosh was pivotal. I think you can mostly include any slate form-factor Android phone or tablet.<br /> <br />On the other hand, Jobs didn't really invent any concrete thing the way Edison did. There were hard-drive based music players before the iPod (Creative Nomad, I think). There were PCs before the Apple. There were windows before Macintosh. Nor did he invent the key upgrades that set the Apple devise apart. The click wheel and the concept of foreground windows both came from others within Apple. He understood engineering, aesthetics, usability, and marketing in a way that few can and he pulled together the work of others to create some iconic devices.Marmadukehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08821077486103359942noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6976144462093297473.post-75694177534813308952012-02-07T04:01:48.774-05:002012-02-07T04:01:48.774-05:00While Edison may have been a bigger deal than Stev...While Edison may have been a bigger deal than Steve Jobs, I don't think the metrics you chose above make the case very well.<br />"When Edison died, everyone with electricity or phone service (and many of those without) had his technology in their homes."<br />1) Comparing people at time of death is always very odd: Since Edison lived a quarter century longer than Jobs, of course he seemed to have more influence when he died...<br />2) You're giving credit to Edison for 'everyone with electricity' even though he lost the current wars to Tesla and Alternating Current, but you are only giving credit to Jobs for iProducts and not the entire personal computer revolution? That doesn't seem fair! Either we are crediting people with the success of their companies' products, or we are crediting them with the success of the industries that they pioneered, we can't just switch!<br /><br />Honestly, Jobs probably deserves credit for the concept 'music player attached to large capacity hard disk drive', a device with major market penetration, and while giving credit to any one person for personal computers seems a bit over the top, he and Wozniak and Apple wouldn't be a terrible choice.<br /><br />Edison probably wins the 'inventor' match-up however you slice it, but more because in the era he lived in, one inventor with a lab could do a lot, while Jobs's innovations were often organizational in character. In other words, it's not so much that Edison 'wins' the comparison as that the comparison isn't really all that apt.nerdboundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07804900533433216866noreply@blogger.com