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    The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs: Mike Daisey Says Technology Is ‘New Religion’

    Since Steve Jobs' death last month, the airwaves and Internet have been filled with tributes to Apple's co-founder, including here. (See: Apple Founder Steve Jobs Dies: Reflections on His Legacy)

    In addition, Walter Isaacson's authorized biography of Jobs became an overnight sensation, topping bestseller lists here and abroad.

    Another tribute of sorts can be found at New York City's Public Theater in the form of a one-man show: The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs.

    Created and performed by monologist Mike Daisey, the show is, in part, a hysterically funny love letter to Jobs from a self-described tech "geek" and Apple aficionado.

    "I've grown up with Apple, love the devices and love the design," Daisey says. "I loved Steve Jobs and the way he was able to meld a human sense of taste and editing in creating these incredibly effective devices."

    As the title of the show infers, there's also a religious element to Jobs and Apple, at least according to Daisey, who makes a compelling case that technology is a form of religion in modern life.

    "Religions traditionally were ways of seeing the world -- a system for understand the universe," he tells me in the accompanying video. "That's literally what an operating system is for us today. When I wake up in the morning...the first thing I reach for is not my wife, it's my iPhone."

    If technology is a religion, then Steve Jobs was clearly a deity, or certainly an extremely powerful prophet, Daisey says.

    "The way he was able to chain all of Apple to himself, to make Apple a reflection of his tastes and desires...makes him sort of a saint," he says. "Jobs was a very powerful figure [and] Apple will have to wrestle with that legacy."

    Apple will also have to wrestle with the less saintly aspects of Jobs' drive and passion, including its controversial labor practices, as Daisey and I discuss in part two of this exclusive interview. Stay tuned.

    Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @atask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

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    133 comments

    • Ultra-Humanite  •  6 months ago
      I think the religion is Capitalism, Mike.
    • gullablesheeple  •  6 months ago
      A saint? No. He is a distraction.
    • David Roberts  •  6 months ago
      If the first thing Mike Daisey reaches for in the morning is his iPhone and not his wife, then he is a sad little nothing of a man.
      • Robert 6 months ago
        CAN read ANY n all into Mr.Mike's comment on THAT....maybe NOT...ENOUGH divorces,civil wars w/in 4 walls,etc.I DO agree w/MR.DAVID's comment above....in REALITY...I DONT even think even Mr.JOBS reallllllyyy REEaally toook it to the full monty....if paid ANY attention to ANYTHING...get KEYLESS LIGHT keyboards,VC software, AI,etc.
      • Stevo 6 months ago
        So true.... Could not have said it better. Sad little man...
      • Heat Wave 6 months ago
        I think his wife is busy reaching for the mailman. Why get laid when u got iphone
    • femlin  •  6 months ago
      well I for one think it terribly sad that he sees no problem with reaching for his iPhone before reaching for his wife . . . I wonder where she ranks in his "serve me" list?
      • fredh 6 months ago
        If its any consolation I reach for my wife always first. However, I do reach for my Iphone a very close second to check for texts and missed phone calls and the weather.
    • AmoAmerica  •  6 months ago
      The Woz is the genius of Apple and a decent man. He is the tinkerer, the wiz, who connected the wiring and made a fortune. Now, he helps people. That is a legacy to admire.
      • - 6 months ago
        I agree, Woz WAS the man. Jobs was the greedy pig...
      • Daniel Suzuki 6 months ago
        In the 80s when I knew about Apple´s origin in a garage, i thought of Woz as the hero of the story. Being an engineer myself I feel close to him becasue at that time I was involved in a hardware project.

        Later Jobs took the leading in the play. And became more popular that Woz.

        I still think the real hero in Apple's history is Woz.

        Jobs was the business man. An of course he succeed in that roll.
    • Kurt  •  6 months ago
      Technology is simply a tool for work or play; a necessary tool to be able to compete in modern society (since now most of our competitors use it). However, we shouldn't elevate it to more than a tool. But we're free to do so, at our peril.
    • Mike  •  6 months ago
      I’m not that religious but I believe in many of the values given to us by religion. Like treat thy neighbor like you would like to be treated and such. What values do you get from tech. Sick world we are becoming when we start believing tech is a religion!
      • Stock Market is FRAUD 6 months ago
        Yes, it is sick. It's totally emblematic of our disgusting "culture"......
      • pizzaslinger 6 months ago
        The culture can be changed. Don't let the tech establishment bring people into disparity. If Apple would allow sweatshops to do their bidding in China, It's definitely not a religion - at least not a good one.
    • -  •  6 months ago
      This dude Daisey is twisted if he gets more comfort from a piece of technology than other human beings especially his wife, I don't care how tongue in cheek it is. That is a testament to how twisted people's priorities are today.

      Technology is a tool no different than a hammer or screwdriver. Steve Jobs was NEVER a humanitarian eithe;, Apple's profits were first and foremost with him. And if you idiots think any different then why did he TOTALLY STOP all of Apple's philanthropic work when he resumed as CEO???

      Why did he tell obummer his anti-business policies were destroying business and our economy as well as threatened obummer's re-election chances if he thinks "big corporate America" isn't paying their fair share??

      No, Jobs was the epitomy of the hypocrite libloser democRAT; he knew best for all and everyone else were the greedy ones not paying their fair share....
    • gullablesheeple  •  6 months ago
      If Jobs was so great why did he waste all of his time pushing for a new kind of cell phone? He should have been using all of that energy pushing for a cure for cancer! God knows, the cancer industry needs a swift kick in the pants to find a cure already and end the suffering.
    • gullablesheeple  •  6 months ago
      Is there technology after death?
    • Samuel F  •  6 months ago
      technology lol.. i mean no offense but what has apple really done.. the computer, the cell phone.. invented by other companies.. apple took it and added a little flair. That's all.. and this new 'technology wave'.. a buncha myspaces and twitters.. and coupon clipping sites? Come on. We used to cure polio, invent laser beams, and fly to the moon.. THATS technology what we have now is a buncha fanboys thinking fanboyism is a religion
    • A Yahoo! User  •  6 months ago
      Ecstasy, isn't that something only people who don't abandon their children and treat their employees with respect feel.
    • Shaun  •  6 months ago
      Bill Gates, was antisocial and vicious businessman but also a better person than Jobs. Jobs did a lot of good things in the tech world and was successful but was not a very nice person.

      Anyone who thinks a iPhone is an acceptable companion has something wrong going on. It is a gadget, a very useful gadget that may change the way we live our lives on some level but a gadget nonetheless.
    • larry  •  6 months ago
      ironic the appleheads have become what the 1984 macintosh ad was against.
    • Walter  •  6 months ago
      A religion? Really? When you look at a picture of a supernova or two colliding galaxies or even the surface of the sun, does having an iPhone in your hand make you feel more powerful?
    • Dave  •  6 months ago
      More like a narcotic and form of escape.
    • Stock Market is FRAUD  •  6 months ago
      What an idiot and clown. He exemplifies what is wrong with the world today. The so called "technology" has people more disconnected than ever in the real and personal sense.

      Everyone has a love affair with their computer or other mobile device today, but barely acknowledges another human being in their vicinity.

      WE HAVE BECOME A PATHETIC AND USELESS SOCIETY!
      • Mike 6 months ago
        I think not yet but were on our way. Following this duche bag is the quickest way there.
      • littyluv 6 months ago
        That's progress.
    • RICHARDR  •  6 months ago
      Jobs was a "fashion designer" who worked in technology.
    • Tom  •  6 months ago
      More than anything else, technology is a distraction that takes us away from what we should be focusing on -- our faith, family and fellow man.
    • Don in Dallas  •  6 months ago
      Wonder what Jesus would say to this Techo-Geek. "Sorry but I never knew you".! Watch what you worship. This stuff is known as "false idols". Not a good idea to have 'FAITH" in them. A power failure or a dead battery and you on your own.

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