On the expression of love in the building of products.
(Previous post available at https://lnkd.in/drjymPw8)
The previous post had begun with a discussion on how science had become ‘spirit-less’. I also mentioned how this idea is not just limited to science or academia but to other fields as well.
There are often very deep and beautiful feelings behind why we do things that we do. The reason, however, falls short of understanding them. Words too fall short in being able to express them.
However, this applies not just to science or math or arts but to whatever we may be doing. This idea can be best represented by a clip from Steve Jobs’ interview (https://lnkd.in/dH3qRvrj ). Wherein he was asked whether he was a nerd or a hippie. He selects ‘hippie’ for himself and also for those who used to work with him (in terms of having an artistic/spiritual touch).
He talks about how there is something ‘beyond’ our daily lives that is at play. Something that is beyond our work, our family, our cars, and so on. There is another side to the coin of our lives and being. Something that the mystics delve into. It is hidden.
But it makes itself known to us when there are holes and gaps in our lives. The moments of extreme anguish or elation. When we experience something in our hearts that wants to express itself with full force. And we know that we are only being a carrier for it. Jobs says that people who have set off to write history do find out what that was!
What are the practical lessons hidden in the above?
Steve, later on, describes how this spirit can be put into products. An example is Macintosh. If we can recall the love that the people had for it, it’s as if it was alive. It’s the feeling of using and being able to experience that spirit that made it so special. For a lot of people, Apple products are still a part of the dream of gadgets that they’d want to purchase at some point in their lives.
It is this spirit, the feeling, and the experience of something beyond that attracts us to great products. And if more people who are responsible for building and developing products are able to tap into that zone then guess what? We’ll have more products that have this magic of creating an experience of love and beauty that takes the best out of people. This may increase the desire that people have to do great work by a large margin!
