Since the announcement of the new iPad Pro and the fact You can buy a stylus/pencil to go with it, there has been a Steve jobs quote flying around that would make anyone believe Steve must be rolling in his grave:
If you see a stylus, they blew it.
At first glance you can’t come to any other conclusion than Steve jobs hated styli completely and thought they were a waste of space. How on earth could be want such a thing on his beloved iPad. That’s certainly the impression many tech journalists, some Apple fans and people who hate all things Apple have been saying.
Well the truth is more complex and it reminds me of how people look at the Bible.
You see when you look at Steves quote in its proper context, he wasn’t saying that styli are always bad, just as a primary navigation tool they are bad. Funnily enough, that was the system most Windows tablets were using at the time and doesn’t that make sense. To make a cheap indirect jab at a competitor.
This is just like the Bible.
If we read things out of context we can miss the message or at least the bigger picture. Critics and sects will us this to say that it means one thing when it really means the other. Sure, it can be abused as well to say that everyone at the time would know Jesus meant X not Y, but that’s why we have to be careful.
Simon L Smith says
Man, I love this. As a Mac guy (as I can afford to be), as a Steve Jobs fan (not fan-boy, but fan), and as a Bible teacher, this is a great way to illustrate the Bible College 101 statement:
Context, context, context….
Well done on a great observation!
Chris Wilson says
Thanks Simon.
I’m glad it hit a note with you 🙂
Eric Dye says
So good.