Apple Computer Chief to graduates

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PALO ALTO, Calif. - Apple Computer Inc.'s CEO Steve Jobs told Stanford University graduates Sunday that dropping out of college was one of the best decisions he ever made because it forced him to be innovative — even when it came to finding enough money for dinner.

Jobs, 50, said he attended Reed College in Portland, Ore., but dropped out after only eight months because it was too expensive for his working-class family. He said his real education started when he "dropped in" on whatever classes interested him — including calligraphy.

Jobs said he lived off 5-cent soda recycling deposits and free food offered by Hare Krishnas while taking classes.

He told the graduates that few friends could see the value of learning calligraphy at the time but that painstaking attention to detail — including mastering different "fonts" — was what set Macintosh apart from its competitors. "If I had never dropped out I might never have dropped in on that calligraphy," Jobs said.

maybe we should all drop out and try to become just like him, even Bill Gates dropped out and looked wat happened to him. people say if u work hard in America u get the America Dream, yeah right. of course i know it may not work for everybody but think of this as a lottery ticket where u could be an instant millionaire or billionaire. just like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs.

Many people who have never attended college have been successes in their fields. Richard Branson, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs are just three of the most notable examples that come to mind. It must be remembered, however, that these three individuals possess what can be truthfully called genius, a quality that is not defined by either IQ or formal education.

In the case of Jobs and Gates, both were able to learn what they needed for success on their own or working for others in an industry that was being defined at the time and timing, hard work, and specialized knowledge trumped a degree any day of the week.

Suggesting that others should forgo a college education because a handful of individuals have been successful despite having dropped out is, well, ill-advised. Plenty of people can do just as well in life without a college degree, but a college degree does enhance most peoples earning potential.

The benefits of formal education are, however, not limited to money. In my view, an education is its own reward, enriching one's life by providing the basic understanding of many disciplines so that they can be more fully appreciated.

It is true that many people become well-educated without acquiring degrees and that many manage to earn degrees without becoming well-educated, but for the vast majority, institutions of higher learning are the quickest most sure way of gaining an education.

I agree with Jobs in some respects. Poverty can be a good educator, if one doesn't become embittered by limited means. Most of my life has been spent in extreme poverty and I learned much that is indispensable from those experiences. I often tell people that I have been blessed by having been poor. But, those experiences, in no way, made a formal education more or less valuable. Each is the source of completely different bases of knowledge.


[edit on 05/6/14 by GradyPhilpott]

Yeah but would you quit your whole future for a thing that might not even ever happen?

It is highly unlikely that Steve Jobs would have succeeded if he had not known Steve Wozniak, the inventor of the Apple computer. But of course thats history, so who knows.

Bill Gates would not have succeeded if he did not lie to IBM about the operating system
that he did not make, but bought for $57,000 from some other guy.

Moral of the story, success in America tends to require ruthlessness and dishonesty.

Capitalism! Capitalism is like a pool full of sharks. The more agressive ones live on for they tear the **** out of everyone else even for the smallest scrap of meat.

The sharks that eat anything, from meat to metal to ANYTHING live longer for they are more agressive, they eat first, second, and third, and ask no questions.

In Capitalism the ones who think about their actions fail, the ones who go out and do whatever they need to do win.