Part 5/7:
Jobs famously articulated this perspective, drawing parallels to Alexander Graham Bell’s invention of the telephone. Initially, skeptics asked what they could do with such a device; today, we use the telephone for everything from checking movie listings to ordering groceries or maintaining global communication.
The Short-Term Criticism vs. Long-Term Potential
History demonstrates that early criticisms—whether of light bulbs, bicycles, telephones, or airplanes—were largely right in their assessment of the technology’s shortcomings at that stage. But these shortcomings were only temporary. The true lesson lies in recognizing that short-term limitations do not define a technology’s ultimate value.