Dissecting the Lyrics of Steve Jobs’ Think Different Campaign

In this article I want to dissect the text of Steve Jobs’ Think Different campaign, to illustrate Jobs’ understanding of the phenomenon Genius. Of course Jobs has a deep understanding of the phenomenon, because he is a Genius himself.

• Here is to the crazy ones — (Geniuses tend to behave differently than other humans and are oftentimes perceived as “crazy”)
• The misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes — (Geniuses tend to be very independent and rebellious and don’t easily fit in within the crowd. They are often labeled as troublemakers)
• The ones who see things differently — (Geniuses tend to think independently and have their own, independent views. They also literally see things differently, because their brain processes reality differently)
• They are not fond of rules and they have no respect for the status quo — (Geniuses tend to disagree with rules and the status quo, because they usually are their own authority and capture stuff about reality that others can’t)
• You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them — (Genius tend to get a lot of attention, but also a lot of negative attention and pushback, and are often vilified, but many of them persevere, unfortunately not all)
• Because they change things, they push the human race forward — (Geniuses usually change the status quo and don’t just add to the status quo, hence they push the human race forward, instead of just amplifying the old)
• And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius — (This is about the fact that Geniuses are very good at recognizing other Geniuses, while others think of them as crazy)
• Because people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones that do — (This is usually true because if one does not dare to change the world, one will not change the world. But unfortunately many geniuses are unable to handle the pushback and therefore succumb)
• Hence we need to protect geniuses and try to understand them — (This is my addition to this campaign text. Rest in peace Steve!)

And here is something I call The Genius Rights Manifesto, in case you want to read it.