“There’s actually very little distinction between an artist and a scientist or engineer of the highest calibre.”
Steve Jobs
Smithsonian Oral and Video Histories: Steve Jobs (Primary source)
A riveting testament to American ambition, capturing Jobs at a pivotal moment—exiled from Apple yet unbroken—reflecting on innovation, entrepreneurship, and the relentless pursuit of excellence that would define his second act.
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“I actually think there’s actually very little distinction between an artist and a scientist or engineer of the highest calibre. I’ve never had a distinction in my mind between those two types of people. They've just been to me people who pursue different paths but basically kind of headed to the same goal which is to express something of what they perceive to be the truth around them so that others can benefit by it.”
Steve Jobs
“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“Most people make the mistake of thinking design is what it looks like. People think it’s this veneer—that the designers are handed this box and told, ‘Make it look good!’ That‘s not what we think design is. It’s not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.”
— Steve Jobs Secondary source“Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense. An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
— Ayn Rand Primary source“The difference between a good software person and a great software person is fifty to one, twenty-five to fifty to one, huge dynamic range.”
— Steve Jobs Primary source“What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“We’ve learned from experience that the truth will come out. Other experimenters will repeat your experiment and find out whether you were wrong or right. Nature’s phenomena will agree or they’ll disagree with your theory. And, although you may gain some temporary fame and excitement, you will not gain a good reputation as a scientist if you haven’t tried to be very careful in this kind of work.”
— Richard Feynman Primary sourceEngineering Art Creativity Competence