Explaining Away Apple’s Success

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John Kirk, writing at Techpinions in response to John Naughton’s the-headline-alone-tells-you-just-how-craptacular-it-is column for The Guardian, “If Steve Jobs’s Death Didn’t Ruin Apple, the iCar Surely Will”:

The author has — as so many have before him — reversed cause and effect. People didn’t buy Apple products because they revered Steve Jobs. They revered Steve Jobs because he created products that people wanted to buy. Similarly, people don’t buy Apple products because they like Apple. They buy Apple products because Apple makes products they like.

Along similar lines, here’s a phrasing/line of argument I’ve been noticing a lot recently: “For now, Apple is doing well…”, employed by writers and pundits who seem to remain convinced that Apple is never more than a misstep or two away from collapse.