I’d love to understand how much of a role psychedelics in the creation of Apple’s story arc. Does anyone have information about where this has been discussed? Thanks!
It might be useful to understand early Apple Inc -- as an Apple II company, then secondly as a Macintosh company. The former was very 'California' with health and folksy undertones, but later came money-at-a-large-scale and waves of corporate hires that enabled the corporate side. So you have the California folksy (plus yes, psychedelics/art/education core) base in Phase I, adding large, expensive structure and people who were professionals at doing that, in Phase II. The fuels of market success add to the constant growth, yet the California core is still in the fabric of the culture -- that was the Macintosh era. In Phase II, 'creatives' now have modern cubicles to work with computers -- HyperCard, typography and desktop publishing, awareness of the media business (LA) and some interaction with LA, but definitely print itself, worldwide. The printed word had a significance that is hard to explain if you only know a post-Internet world. So Apple was in education, print, media, and also (they thought) business.
You might ask similarly, what was the role of psychedelics in Hollywood? of course it was there, but to be a business, you had the business people, who were not-at-all about expanded consciousness, but competitive and territorially aggressive, ego-driven, etc. Same but different at corporate Phase II Apple. By the time of the Macintosh, a feeling of Big Corporation was in the air already, and the tie-dye was not often worn on the outside. Steve must have taken psychedelics, but was way too arrogant, aggressive and lets say it, dangerous (he was at NeXT in Fremont by then). Steve personally traded tie-dye for scary and intimidating black luxury cars early on. So how do you categorize that ?
Jobs did speak up about his LSD use at some points, but I think he probably transcended that and followed the practices outlined in one of his favorite books: "Autobiography of a Yogi", which I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in consciousness.
“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” Steve Jobs
mistrial9|6 years ago
You might ask similarly, what was the role of psychedelics in Hollywood? of course it was there, but to be a business, you had the business people, who were not-at-all about expanded consciousness, but competitive and territorially aggressive, ego-driven, etc. Same but different at corporate Phase II Apple. By the time of the Macintosh, a feeling of Big Corporation was in the air already, and the tie-dye was not often worn on the outside. Steve must have taken psychedelics, but was way too arrogant, aggressive and lets say it, dangerous (he was at NeXT in Fremont by then). Steve personally traded tie-dye for scary and intimidating black luxury cars early on. So how do you categorize that ?
davebryand|6 years ago
“Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life. LSD shows you that there’s another side to the coin, and you can’t remember it when it wears off, but you know it. It reinforced my sense of what was important—creating great things instead of making money, putting things back into the stream of history and of human consciousness as much as I could.” Steve Jobs
lioeters|6 years ago
What the Dormouse Said: How the Sixties Counterculture Shaped the Personal Computer Industry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_the_Dormouse_Said
flir|6 years ago
lioeters|6 years ago