Me:
Quote:
I feel like anyone who thinks it's not for them needs to just try it for a little bit. If they still think they don't want it, there's a good chance at that point they're just confused or lying to themselves.


I spent a very long time one night typing a very long post that I thought might be helpful, entertaining or at the very least interesting. I then go away for a few days and return to find that a few people have gotten hung up on two sentences out of the many I actually wrote and use them as the basis for some rather snotty replies.

I stand by what I said, but maybe not exactly as I said it. I feel the need to clarify what I said for the benefit of those who took umbrage. If what you understood is different from what I intended you to understand, I as the writer bear full responsibility for my failure to articulate the thought in a manner that would make my meaning clear, and for that, I apologize.

One overarching theme of my post was how I had changed over time, and how I was a little confused over what I thought I wanted or needed, and how it's different than what I've since come to realize I actually do want and/or need. Another theme of the post was that this is a product that works on me on an emotional level, not a rational level, and that my emotional reaction to the product is no different than that of someone who's been consumed by hype or fanboy-ism or the RDF or whatever, and that I don't care that my positive experience is indistinguishable from blind faith.

So, the operative word in what I wrote is feel. "I feel like anyone who..." My point being that my experience has made me feel like anyone else who doesn't share my positive view must be simply deluded, because there surely could be no rational reason why someone wouldn't want to have this phone. It's the point of view of the religious zealot who can't understand why everyone wouldn't believe the same way as he, and who explains it to himself by thinking "surely they have been deceived."

I know that not everybody wants this phone. I know that a lot of people have a lot of very good reasons for not ever wanting this phone. I know that if I were to stand here and say "I truly and firmly think that everyone who doesn't want this phone is either confused or lying to themselves" I would be laughed out of here for having lost all grip on rational thought. I know that's not a rational position. However, this phone or its marketing or something has caused me to feel the same way as someone who would think that that was a rational position, even if I don't actually think that way myself.

That was my point, that that's a terrific achievement for Apple to be able to act emotionally on someone when they're ultimately just selling a phone. It's a perfect case of hitting a target market that's just so primed to hear the message. If you're not part of that target market, that's fine. But, the ones who are in that target market are receiving this message very well indeed.

(Note: I said "there's a good chance". Even if I rationally thought what I said to be true, I still left enough room for you all to be in the other side of that good chance. Also, my first draft of that section included a lot more language that basically said "I concede that there are a lot of situations and people for whom this might not be a good solution, blah blah blah", but my post was way too long as is, and I cut it, figuring, "I'll leave it as the borderline hyperbole. People will understand what I'm talking about." I guess that didn't work so much.)


wfaulk:
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Wow. How remarkably arrogant.



Yeah, it's an arrogant statement, which was kind of the point, to show the depth and breadth of my conversion, so to speak. It was arrogant to demonstrate the exact level of religious zeal this has the chance and ability to inspire in people.


tonyc:
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"Think they don't want it?" How about actually not wanting it?
...
but it borders on haughtiness to say that people who don't like the device are likely to be confused or lying to themselves.


Doesn't just border on. Fully crosses into the realm of haughtiness, if you ask me. See above. And yes, I will concede that there are many who actually shouldn't want it because it doesn't suit any of their needs or fit with any of their desires, just as there are many who aren't giving the iPhone a fair shake because it doesn't do something on their list of needs that they may not actually need anyway.


tman:
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Yesterday I played about with an iPhone that my friend bought just before he came over on holiday and whilst neat, I won't be buying one. Or was it the day before... I'm not too sure about it now as I'm confused and obviously lying...


The other 2 were posted almost a full 24 hours before yours and already made the point, so you're just piling on at this point.


wfaulk:
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(Maybe if you're in church playing with your phone you don't need to be in church in the first place?)


This one I don't even understand. I think I'm offended, but I don't know why, because I don't even know how to parse the meaning out of this. Bitt, you've already apologized for the case of your post coming across as uncivil, and I appreciate that, but I don't really get whether this part would be uncivil, or where you're going with this.

For the sake of context, I'm at church for four straight hours each Sunday, in various meetings and functions. I've got downtime between them, and I now have an option for doing something with that downtime other than just sitting or walking around outside (which are both still perfectly valid options). Now, I can do internet type things even at the church, where doing those sorts of things would have previously been unconceivable due to not having internet access or not wanting to bring a laptop just to use for the five minutes I had available to me.

I'm thinking that you were perhaps under the impression that I'm surfing the web from the pew during the service or some such? If so, my fault for making the statement without giving the context. Even so, that doesn't mean I don't need to be in church. I probably would need to be there even more so I could better learn things like reverence and humility. And, if anyone was surfing the web during the service, your response to them should be even harsher, something more like "Maybe if you're in church playing with your phone..." followed by some command to shove the phone up something and an entreaty for the deity of their choice to personally do the shoving.
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-Aaron