Steve Jobs on God
WALTER ISAACSON: I remember sitting in his backyard in his garden one day and he started talking about God. He said, “Sometimes I believe in God, sometimes I don’t. I think it’s 50-50 maybe. But ever since I’ve had cancer, I’ve been thinking about it more. And I find myself believing a bit more. I kind of— maybe it’s ‘cause I want to believe in an afterlife. That when you die, it doesn’t just all disappear. The wisdom you’ve accumulated. Somehow it lives on. The he paused for a second and he said ‘yeah, but sometimes I think it’s just like an on-off switch. Click and you’re gone.’ He said—and paused again, and he said, “And that’s why I don’t like putting on-off switches on Apple devices.”
I started reading Isaacson’s Steve Jobs biography last night, and so far it’s fantastic. I suspect part of the reason Jobs decided to go ahead with the biography and give Isaacson unfettered access was his unsureness about what happens after death. This way, some of his wisdom can live on, regardless.
