The usage of the word cult has expanded beyond mere expressions of religiosity but, even viewed from that perspective, it's not too hard to make an argument that Mac fanatics are almost religious in their fervor.

Mac is the only god and Jobs is his prophet. It's the truth, just accept it for fuck's sake. It's weird to a lot of us, but it is who a lot of these people are.

Sqube

It's summed up by Lam's comment, "it's faith of the most practical sort." That is the rationalization. Apple cultists simply think they're fundamentally _on_ to something. Something great and useful. And these people, often intelligent, well-trained, can't _imagine_ that they're as susceptible to "cult-like" behaviors.

Lam's entire response reads like _any_ defensive response to accusations of being in a cult. "Oh, no. It's not a cult. I'm a smart and rational being. And my decision to follow [X] is the result of rational thought processes." _Everyone_ in a cult thinks the same thing, "those morons following that _other_ cult are NUTS. I'm the smart one."

Lam writes, "Does that make it religious? Maybe, but only so much as anything human does." Yet another rationalization. More of a slippery slope argument. "I'm a rational being that likes Apple, and other people like things for rational reasons, therefore, they're as religious as me."

He completely ignores Kuo's points that spell out how "the cult of Apple" is not the same "as anything human does."

A_B

Get right of this new design, stop linking to tags in your posts, and stop posting stupid shit to avoid this fate. Your future is in your hands.

Michael

It is now on the FOURTH page. WTHades?

hypereric

bigTrue

egojab

Contrary to most comments of this post, I don't see Giz as heavily biased towards Jobs. Maybe a littel biased, but big deal, its mostly in fun (eg, "The Jesus Phone").

I see Giz as a mostly balanced site. OF COURSE it will be "unbalanced coverage" in the week to come. As it would be if MS was dropping a hyped product.

At the end of the day, Giz can be relied on to be a constant source of fun, harmony and truth.

P.S. Can I be inducted a second time into the CHoF?

hypereric

roche

In the last paragraph I said:

And if you rely on iPod's marketshare to prove a point, then you have to concede that Windows is a better OS. Logic dictates it.

In the interest of clarity (as if that really helps a cultist to understand he/she is part of a cult) that paragraph needs to be re-worded as thus:

And if you rely on iPod's marketshare to prove a point that it is the "bible", or cornerstone of its' market, then you have to concede that Windows is a better OS or "bible/cornerstone" of its' market. Logic dictates it.

hypereric

Please for to pull Steve Jobs' d**k out of your mouth.

AUA

Gizmodo has become really stale and precious.

There's a difference between liking gadgets and worshipping a consumer goods corporation.
And the public sucking at Apple's corporate tit while brwon nosing and giving a reach around all at the same time is just gross.

hooptycritter

hypereric

I also had a great comment that apparently isn't going to show up.. I'm too lazy to retype it, I just wanted everyone to know that they missed out on some ol' fashioned apple bashing. good day

reality.check

The good thing about most cults is that they are short lived, the other ones last longer and become religions...

/My opinion so pre-emptive STFU!

Selcouth14: Add 28 for the answer

uraphake

Damn you Giz.

Anyway, lets try and remember it:

I can see how this works in some views. In the Catholic religion (one, I unfortunately was brought up in), you're supposed to tithe 10% of your earnings to the church. Some have said this is sort of like buying your enlightenment/salvation, since the new phenom of MEGA churches + televangelists basically bilk millions of people out of hard earned money for the same reason, so they can buy their way into some carrot of heaven. Now, on the opposite side, let's say Buddhist Monks, you have a view that salvation can only be had through years of study and meditation, learning how to manipulate the world around you and your own body to achieve a higher plane of existence.

Now, we look at Apple vs PC (linux) and you can see a similarity. Apple folks always claim how easy a Mac works. You turn it on, it's perfect, it's balance, anyone can use it and it costs an arm and a leg because of this. Sort of like the mega churches, where you're buying your salvation (salvation here being a computing experience that gets the basics done, email, web, word processing, etc). Now, PC's can be hacked together for pennies on the dollar compared to Macs, but are buggy and temperamental. Some could say that this is more the monk line of thinking, because yes, it takes much skill and knowledge to use a PC. You can't click on every pop-up, you have to have a working knowledge of networking and computers. The highest level of Buddhist Monk's can achieve that transcendental plane whether they are in a sanctuary shrine or in a busy subway terminal. This could be shown as a top of the line system vs a garage parts system still getting to that same basic computing experience (internet, email, word processing, etc).

So, in that light, I can turn fanboyism into a side by side argument with religious zealots. I also expect some apple fanboy to claim that the balance Apple gives you for your money is closer to Zen then a crappy PC, but you can't buy enlightenment, it has to be earned and learned.

bigTrue

night_sky

rc28

daath

Deoki

Ok, so they have a cool design and high prices but is it something to live by? And feeling bad about having to work in another OS because you CANT rely on a Mac to do things a Win/Linux OS can? And comparing some CEO to a God?

Unless there is something really wrong with your perception of religion, I think you guys should seek serious medical care ASAP.

Also, as a reader from long ago, "Gizmodo" started to kiss Apple´s ass and now we have to deal with iPhone here, and iPhone there over and over again, Apple users or not! Rename the site to "Applemodo - The Apple Guide... oh, and sometimes we talk about gadgets too..." for all that I care.

Technology world shows its beauty when you give something and receive something else in return, and that, my friends, will never be possible in a commercial "religion" such as this stupid "Appleists" column writer notion.

"...the respect we have for Apple is grounded in secular reasoning"... you are just end-users. You pay, you are in charge. Whats the big deal?

Deoki

Joseph