Great Minds

Raise your hand if you remember typing a report on a typewriter...

Then being amazed when you saw the first computer with a word processor or spreadsheet.  

That would be my generation.

I remember trying to explain a word processor to my parents in the same excited tones my children use to describe the technology that could make a world of holographic technology possible.

Which is why, today, I'm a little lost in thought about the loss of an incredible guy whose life started here:

And saw the release of the iPhone 4S the day before his death.

I've loved reading all the Steve Jobs quotes floating around facebook yesterday and today.  This is one of my favorites:

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do." ~ Steve Jobs

About the same time Steve Jobs was working away in his garage tinkering with technology and selling his VW to finance the release of the monstrosity of a computer pictured above, President Spencer W. Kimball said this:  

“It's not possible that the problems of this world be resolved by the pesimists and sceptics whose horizons are guided by the obvious realities. We need men and women who think of things that have never been thought of and who dream of things that have never been dreamed of, and who ask, "Why not?" 

I remember hearing that quote as a teen, but it wasn't until years later anyone could comprehend the impact computer technology would have on our world.

For sure the world will miss the genius of Steve Jobs.

At the same time, I can't help wondering what emerging minds out there will transform our world again?

Will it be:

Or could it be one of these great minds?

It makes me think about my job as a parent.  My children are sure I'm a wash when it comes to progression and technology, but for someone who remembers submitting reports typed on typewriters, I think I'm doing ok.  Still, my children are amused at my attempts to keep up.  Yesterday I bought my first iPhone.  This morning Nate said, "Mom, you killed Steve Jobs.  He couldn't believe that Mary Jarman bought an iPhone."

Teenage humor aside, the world will miss Steve Jobs.  At the same time we can also be thankful that such a great mind compels our own minds to think forward and to think of the future, whatever that brings.