Compare and Contrast Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and Leonardo De Vince - Coursework Example

Teacher Compare and Contrast Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da Vinci Without doubt the three s mentioned Steve Jobs, Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da Vinci could be considered as one if not the best thinker of their time. All of them pushed the boundary of creativity and invention during their time and being such, were ahead of their times. Their genius bettered the lives of the people not only during their lifetime but on generations ahead of them. To better know these men, it would suit us well to compare and contrast each of them to know not only how they are similar and differ from each other, but also to highlight their genius. Steve Jobs Perhaps Steve Jobs is a recent genius that is still fresh in the memory of this generation considering the accolades that were given to him during and after his death in October of 2011. He was considered a genius and a visionary who revolutionized consumer electronics in today’s generation which included products such as iPhone, iTouch, iMac, iTunes, iPod,  and iPad and on the services side, the companys Apple Retail Stores, such as iTunes Store and the App Store. Jobs was considered a genius not only in technology but also in design who was known to be meticulous and perfectionist. The genius and vision of jobs translated to Apple’s becoming as the most valuable publicly traded company in 2011 from a near bankruptcy when Jobs took over as interim Chief Executive Officer in 2000 (Bilton 2011). Despite of his genius, Jobs is not known to work well with people. This was evident when he staged a leadership coup against John Sculley whom he believed was not fit to lead Apple. Instead of ousting Sculley from his CEO post, Jobs was instead fired from Apple. According to Jobs in a speech he gave at Stanford University graduation, his initial termination from Apple proved to be good for him. A bitter medicine to swallow according to him but nevertheless he needed it to have the breather of being creative again. This statement of Jobs may prove to be true because his termination from Apple prompted Jobs to found Next Computers. Although Next Computers was a technical breakthrough during its creation, its cost was prohibitive and did not make much money as it was expected. What was more significant with Next Computers however is not the profit aspect but its contribution to the creation of the World Wide Web or Internet. The platform that was used by the internet creator Tim Berners-Lee was the Next Computer at CERN due to the advance technological specification of the computer. As a product creator, Steve Jobs was known to be revolutionary and as if he can see the future on how the market would react to his products. Perhaps this the most unique quality of Jobs compared to Thomas Edison and Leonardo Da Vinci because Jobs was doubted with the products that he launched unlike the other two men whose ideas were readily accepted by the public. This was the case of iPod which were criticized on its launching only to realize later that such product revolutionized the music platform industry as it miniaturized music storage and eventually made the other music players such as walkman obsolete leading to their phasing out. The same was the case with iPad where analysts doubted if there is a market with an expensive computer tablet. There was indeed no market for computer tablets when iPad was launched which Jobs exploited to create the market which he initially monopolized. What happened was that Jobs created an industry for computer tables where its competitors followed suit. In a way, Steve Jobs share the same circumstance of his birth with Leonardo Da Vinci. Both were born out of wedlock. Jobs was born on February 24, 1955 in San Francisco to unmarried couple Joanne Carole Schieble and Abdulfattah "John" Jandali and was put to adoption because the parents of Jandali’s fiancé opposed their relationship. Steve was then adopted by Paul Reinhold Jobs and Clara Jobs, hence is his last name of “Jobs” (BBC News 2011). Just like Steve Jobs, Da Vinci was also born out of wedlock from a well to do legal notary Messer Piero Fruosino di Antonio da Vinci to a peasant girl Caterina. Da Vinci’s father never married his mother. Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847 – October 18, 1931) is a typical inventor who did not have any hobby or any sense of amusement as Nicola Tesla would criticize him. This may have been proved to be beneficial to his Edison’s vocation because this lack of other diversion made him the fourth most prolific inventor of all time. He was able to invent the phonograph, the camera, the commercially used light bulb as among the 1,093 inventions he had made during his lifetime. Of the three, Thomas Edison may be considered to have the most number of inventions even surpassing Da Vinci. This does not mean however that Edison surpassed Da Vinci in terms of genius. Edison, unlike Da Vinci was a one tracked inventor whose specialty was to invent and was unaware of any amusement or arts. Da Vinci was well rounded and multi-faceted who was equally talented both in science and the arts. Da Vinci can wear both the hats of an inventor or scientists and artist with equal proficiency unlike Edison who can only get his hands in invention. Edison may be compared to Steve Jobs during his day. The incandescent lamp may have been Thomas Edison’s version of Steve Jobs iPhone, IPod, iTouch and iPad where the technology already existed but only revolutionized it. In the case of Thomas Edison, the bulb was already invented only that he made it more commercially viable by making it last longer. But unlike Jobs, Edison was not that good at methods and design which Jobs excelled. Nicola Tesla criticized him for poor methodology due to Edison’s disregard for scientific process. Taking it in this light, Thomas Edison’s famous adage that genius is “"one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration."” is not really a positive maxim but is reflective of Edison’s inefficiency in conducting his experiments. Despite of Edison’s seemingly inefficient methodologies in his experiment, he was still credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory with the establishment of his Menlo Park which was dedicated to a constant research development through a perpetual technological innovation and improvement (Bryan 2010). Leonardo da Vinci (April 15, 1452 – May 2, 1519) Of the three men that are subjected for contrast and comparison in this essay, it can be safely concluded that it is Leonardo da Vinci who held the greatest talent. It is not that because Steve Jobs or Thomas Edison lacked talent or genius only that they were compared to the man who is considered to be the most diversely talented human being that has ever lived. Such, any man who would be compared to Leonardo would naturally pale in comparison with the breadth and extensiveness of what this man can do. Da Vinci was not only an inventor and innovator but was also an artist. He dabbled on the scientific fields such as geology, botany, anatomy, engineering, even military tactics and architecture. He was also an artist that rivaled Michelangelo and did painting and sculpting whose works such as Mona Lisa and Last Supper are still admired centuries after his death and still perplexed its audience with its depth even today (Anon nd). What is startling about Da Vinci was his vision to create concepts that was unthinkable during his time but is useful in the modern generation. He gave birth to the concept of motor vehicle, helicopter and scientific study of the anatomy which is now being used today. But unlike with the other men, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison, Da Vinci was not known to have a mercurial temper such as Steve Jobs. He also gets along well with people unlike Edison who had a big issue with Nikola Tesla for not honoring and compensating justly the latter’s work. He was known to be compassionate and a true humanist which was evident with the observation that Da Vinci often buys caged birds to release them later. Da Vinci however is not without flaw. He may not have the shortcoming of Steve Jobs in terms of temper or Thomas Edison’s lack of social skills, his gender orientation however was a suspect. He was charged with sodomy and although the case was dismissed for lack of evidence, the doubt on his sexuality continued to haunt him especially when there was no woman that was known to be romantically attached to him. Nevertheless, this shortcoming did not impede Leonardo Da Vinci’s contribution to mankind with his genius. References Anon, (nd). Leonardo da Vinci. http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/vinci.html [accessed April 19, 2012] Bilton, Nick (August 9, 2011). Apple Is the Most Valuable Company, New York Times, Beals, Gerald (1999). The Biography of Thomas Edison. http://www.thomasedison.com/biography.html [accessed April 19, 2012] Tributes for Apple visionary Steve Jobs, "BBC News.", 6 October 2011. [November 22, 2011]. Walsh, Bryan (July 5, 2010). "The Electrifying Edison." Web: Time  Anon (nd). Steve at Work. http://allaboutstevejobs.com/persona/steveatwork.php [accessed April 19, 2012] Read More