Why is Apple Called 'Apple'?...The Hippie Spirit of Silicon Valley [Miracle Letter] - Maeil Business Newspaper. The hippie culture that Steve Jobs immersed himself in. The famous quote "Stay hungry, Stay foolish" was taken from a hippie culture magazine. The influx of creative artificial intelligence startups that flocked to San Francisco after the departure of the hippies. Dreaming of a world without profits. Silicon Valley is a place full of entrepreneurial spirit, where numerous startups thrive. When people think of Silicon Valley, they often imagine big tech companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google, or venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, which manage huge funds. Some people also think of global universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley. I've always been curious about where this entrepreneurial spirit in Silicon Valley came from. Money? Talent? Weather? In fact, money would probably be more concentrated in the East, centered around New York. And in terms of technological capabilities, just 50 years ago, cities like Detroit and Chicago on the coast of Lake Michigan would have been even bigger. The weather in Silicon Valley is actually the best. It has a pleasant Mediterranean climate and clear skies all year round. The famous song "San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie even has lyrics that say, "For those who come to San Francisco, summertime will be a love-in there...." This weather creates a spiritual world that gave birth to the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley today. It's the hippie culture of the 1960s. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to finally organize and share the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley and the world that governs it. The vitality of Silicon Valley actually goes back to the 1930s. It started with William Shockley, who invented the transistor and established a research laboratory in Palo Alto, and Frederick Terman, a professor at Stanford University who began encouraging students to start businesses. Theodore Roszak, a history professor at California State University, Hayward, famous for his book "The Making of a Counter Culture," defines the subsequent hippie culture as a counterculture. He has been teaching a lecture titled "From Satori to Silicon Valley" for a long time. "Satori" is a Japanese term that refers to an enlightened state. It means realizing something before others. Enlightenment? He said something like that during a lecture. "When you think of hippies, you only think of mysticism and funkiness. But in fact, we need to define the deep ambiguity of that movement. The protagonist who sparked the computer industry is none other than the hippies who sparked the counterculture." As the hippie spirit intertwined with the semiconductor industry, the computer industry flourished. In the 1970s, many young people with the hippie spirit, including Steve Jobs, jumped into the computer industry. And at the center of it all was a magazine called the Whole Earth Catalog, which could be translated into the entire world catalog. Douglas Engelbart, who led the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford University at the time, is a very famous person. Do you know what famous invention he made? The computer mouse. Even today, we can use the mouse to move the computer around. And in Engelbart's lab, there was a student named Stewart Brand. Brand was a student immersed in the hippie culture! So he has a unique background, producing rock festivals under flashing lights and even inviting tens of thousands of hippies. In the 1960s, Brand had this imagination. At that time, when satellites were first invented, the US government had never released a photo of the Earth. "What if we could see a picture of the Earth, the star we live on, with our own eyes? People would change dramatically. They would realize how small the Earth is and why we belong to the Earth, not to a country." So he launched a magazine called the Whole Earth Catalog. It was a small liberation movement to enable NASA to release photos of the Earth. After that, the magazine published review-style articles by experts. DIY, camping, tents, gardening, computers, etc. And it gained immense popularity among young people. Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple, was also a big fan of the Whole Earth Catalog. Jobs grew up knowing that he was adopted and was shocked by it, diving deep into exploring his spiritual world. He even did farming at an actual hippie-operated commune called the Apple Farm. It is a famous anecdote that he went to India to study Eastern philosophy. At that time, it was trendy for wealthy hippies to go beyond San Francisco and travel to India. Afterward, he immersed himself deeply in Buddhism. He even met Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Japanese Zen master who was in California at the time, and became his disciple. This Zen master even officiated at the wedding of Lauren Powell and Jobs in 1991. The reason Apple was initially named Apple Computer was also influenced by this. It's because of the influence of this hippie culture. Some hippies believed that computers could bring about human liberation. They believed that computers could free people from government interference, reduce information disparities, and make humans more equal. The reason why Apple later emphasized the principles of Focus and Simplicity is also because of the influence of this hippie culture. Steve Jobs left a very, very resonating quote at the Stanford University commencement in 2005. "Stay hungry, stay foolish." It was advice to proud college students, saying, "You should still be hungry for success and have a lot to learn." However, as Jobs revealed, this sentence was actually on the last page of the Whole Earth Catalog in October 1974. It had such a big impact. At that time, there was another trend. It was the trend of making computers at home! As the era of vacuum tubes faded and the era of transistors emerged, there was a movement to make computers in box sizes rather than large sizes. In Silicon Valley, clubs began to emerge in this trend. The most representative one was the Homebrew Computer Club. In English, it means a computer club that brews at home. It was founded in March 1975 by Gordon French and Fred Moore. They had one purpose: "To make computers easy for anyone to use." At that time, many hippies in Silicon Valley jumped into PC development because the advancement of computers meant human liberation. The Homebrew Computer Club started its club activities in a garage. Steve Wozniak, who later co-founded Apple, recalled, "I was able to invent the Apple I with the ideas and inspiration exchanged at the first meeting." At that time, it was just a gathering of people who loved computers, but looking back now, it can be said to be the birthplace of the PC industry. In particular, the newsletter of the Homebrew Computer Club, which was sent like a Miracle Letter, had a significant influence on the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. Through the newsletter, they shared ideas about PC development with engineers and led debates. In particular, when Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates sent an open letter to hobbyists, saying, "Don't steal software or engage in your hobby activities," it sparked a big controversy. Furthermore, Paul Terrell, a member of this club who went on to found Byte Shop, even purchased around 50 Apple computers. Looking at the entrepreneurial spirit of Ben Cohen, who founded the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, using natural ingredients and giving back to the local community, and Yvon Chouinard, who founded the environmentally friendly clothing brand Patagonia, it makes me clap my hands. You can see why the hippie culture runs so deeply in the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. These hippie CEOs saw business as a tool to change the world, not just a source of profits. Ben Cohen, who founded Ben & Jerry's, left this famous quote: "Business can be a source of progressive change." "When you are led by values, it doesn't cost your business, it helps your business."
Hatched by goodteacher1
Dec 12, 2023
6 min read
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Why is Apple Called 'Apple'?...The Hippie Spirit of Silicon Valley [Miracle Letter] - Maeil Business Newspaper. The hippie culture that Steve Jobs immersed himself in. The famous quote "Stay hungry, Stay foolish" was taken from a hippie culture magazine. The influx of creative artificial intelligence startups that flocked to San Francisco after the departure of the hippies. Dreaming of a world without profits. Silicon Valley is a place full of entrepreneurial spirit, where numerous startups thrive. When people think of Silicon Valley, they often imagine big tech companies like Apple, Tesla, and Google, or venture capital firms like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, which manage huge funds. Some people also think of global universities like Stanford and UC Berkeley. I've always been curious about where this entrepreneurial spirit in Silicon Valley came from. Money? Talent? Weather? In fact, money would probably be more concentrated in the East, centered around New York. And in terms of technological capabilities, just 50 years ago, cities like Detroit and Chicago on the coast of Lake Michigan would have been even bigger. The weather in Silicon Valley is actually the best. It has a pleasant Mediterranean climate and clear skies all year round. The famous song "San Francisco" by Scott McKenzie even has lyrics that say, "For those who come to San Francisco, summertime will be a love-in there...." This weather creates a spiritual world that gave birth to the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley today. It's the hippie culture of the 1960s. Today, I would like to take the opportunity to finally organize and share the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley and the world that governs it. The vitality of Silicon Valley actually goes back to the 1930s. It started with William Shockley, who invented the transistor and established a research laboratory in Palo Alto, and Frederick Terman, a professor at Stanford University who began encouraging students to start businesses. Theodore Roszak, a history professor at California State University, Hayward, famous for his book "The Making of a Counter Culture," defines the subsequent hippie culture as a counterculture. He has been teaching a lecture titled "From Satori to Silicon Valley" for a long time. "Satori" is a Japanese term that refers to an enlightened state. It means realizing something before others. Enlightenment? He said something like that during a lecture. "When you think of hippies, you only think of mysticism and funkiness. But in fact, we need to define the deep ambiguity of that movement. The protagonist who sparked the computer industry is none other than the hippies who sparked the counterculture." As the hippie spirit intertwined with the semiconductor industry, the computer industry flourished. In the 1970s, many young people with the hippie spirit, including Steve Jobs, jumped into the computer industry. And at the center of it all was a magazine called the Whole Earth Catalog, which could be translated into the entire world catalog. Douglas Engelbart, who led the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford University at the time, is a very famous person. Do you know what famous invention he made? The computer mouse. Even today, we can use the mouse to move the computer around. And in Engelbart's lab, there was a student named Stewart Brand. Brand was a student immersed in the hippie culture! So he has a unique background, producing rock festivals under flashing lights and even inviting tens of thousands of hippies. In the 1960s, Brand had this imagination. At that time, when satellites were first invented, the US government had never released a photo of the Earth. "What if we could see a picture of the Earth, the star we live on, with our own eyes? People would change dramatically. They would realize how small the Earth is and why we belong to the Earth, not to a country." So he launched a magazine called the Whole Earth Catalog. It was a small liberation movement to enable NASA to release photos of the Earth. After that, the magazine published review-style articles by experts. DIY, camping, tents, gardening, computers, etc. And it gained immense popularity among young people. Steve Jobs, who co-founded Apple, was also a big fan of the Whole Earth Catalog. Jobs grew up knowing that he was adopted and was shocked by it, diving deep into exploring his spiritual world. He even did farming at an actual hippie-operated commune called the Apple Farm. It is a famous anecdote that he went to India to study Eastern philosophy. At that time, it was trendy for wealthy hippies to go beyond San Francisco and travel to India. Afterward, he immersed himself deeply in Buddhism. He even met Kobun Chino Otogawa, a Japanese Zen master who was in California at the time, and became his disciple. This Zen master even officiated at the wedding of Lauren Powell and Jobs in 1991. The reason Apple was initially named Apple Computer was also influenced by this. It's because of the influence of this hippie culture. Some hippies believed that computers could bring about human liberation. They believed that computers could free people from government interference, reduce information disparities, and make humans more equal. The reason why Apple later emphasized the principles of Focus and Simplicity is also because of the influence of this hippie culture. Steve Jobs left a very, very resonating quote at the Stanford University commencement in 2005. "Stay hungry, stay foolish." It was advice to proud college students, saying, "You should still be hungry for success and have a lot to learn." However, as Jobs revealed, this sentence was actually on the last page of the Whole Earth Catalog in October 1974. It had such a big impact. At that time, there was another trend. It was the trend of making computers at home! As the era of vacuum tubes faded and the era of transistors emerged, there was a movement to make computers in box sizes rather than large sizes. In Silicon Valley, clubs began to emerge in this trend. The most representative one was the Homebrew Computer Club. In English, it means a computer club that brews at home. It was founded in March 1975 by Gordon French and Fred Moore. They had one purpose: "To make computers easy for anyone to use." At that time, many hippies in Silicon Valley jumped into PC development because the advancement of computers meant human liberation. The Homebrew Computer Club started its club activities in a garage. Steve Wozniak, who later co-founded Apple, recalled, "I was able to invent the Apple I with the ideas and inspiration exchanged at the first meeting." At that time, it was just a gathering of people who loved computers, but looking back now, it can be said to be the birthplace of the PC industry. In particular, the newsletter of the Homebrew Computer Club, which was sent like a Miracle Letter, had a significant influence on the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. Through the newsletter, they shared ideas about PC development with engineers and led debates. In particular, when Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates sent an open letter to hobbyists, saying, "Don't steal software or engage in your hobby activities," it sparked a big controversy. Furthermore, Paul Terrell, a member of this club who went on to found Byte Shop, even purchased around 50 Apple computers. Looking at the entrepreneurial spirit of Ben Cohen, who founded the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, using natural ingredients and giving back to the local community, and Yvon Chouinard, who founded the environmentally friendly clothing brand Patagonia, it makes me clap my hands. You can see why the hippie culture runs so deeply in the entrepreneurial spirit of Silicon Valley. These hippie CEOs saw business as a tool to change the world, not just a source of profits. Ben Cohen, who founded Ben & Jerry's, left this famous quote: "Business can be a source of progressive change." "When you are led by values, it doesn't cost your business, it helps your business."
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