All iPhones lead to Rome

If Apple is the Roman Empire, then the barbarians are near. A brief history of the formation and plundering of the greatest marketing empire of modern times.

Whoever has not seen Rome, it is difficult to understand
how life can be beautiful.
Italian saying

Today I have a new smartphone, a mini-version of the flagship of one famous Chinese brand. Of course, the flagship is similar to the iPhone of the latest model, and as wittily written in one article, at least on one side it does not look like an iPhone. I will not specifically name the brand, because the situation for the market is, in general, typical: all the flagships, at least on one side, do not look like an iPhone. What is important here is that, in essence, I am holding in my hands the fragments of the Roman Empire, which is Apple Inc. Apple is our new old Rome, and this metaphor is more frightening than laudatory. In my story, I will not adhere to a parallel chronology, otherwise it would be reversible vangovanie. Intersections at key points that determine the fate of both empires are important.
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Rome is all-pervading. If you think about it, the European (and with it the American) civilization for 15 centuries since the fall of Rome has not been able to find a more solid foundation for itself. Roman law, Roman architecture, Roman parade portrait, Roman capital type, Roman spectacles at Roman stadiums, Latin, after all, the ghost of which can be found in any bad naming or any European language. A complete list would be tall with a pillar, the tradition to put that to commemorate victories also came from there.

American theorist of architecture and design William Mitchell in the book “I ++” consistently proves that the future of big things (such as architecture or industry) will move to a much smaller scale: architecture will become wearable, production will be local, almost on a 3D printer , and all the most important things will happen in the head with some RFID tag or in a jacket pocket made of sensory fabric. In short, what I am leading to: an empire that exists on this level already exists (dramatic repetition). And she has already changed the world in such a way that we will feel the consequences as long as we choose the Senate according to the Roman model.

The habit of poking at everything with your finger, having a player-camera-Internet solitaire in your pocket, seeing the world as icons, and your past as a tape of photos, experiencing lust for aluminum, believing that a computer consists of a monitor, recognize a canonical chamfer angle, use the mouse is something that you no longer take away. Try, take away from yourself for three hours. Or build a state building without columns. Or find a modern computer (phone, tablet, candy bar - it does not matter), not like a canon.

Let's start with Augustus Octavian, the adopted successor of Caesar, from which you can start the real history of Rome. Why not from Caesar? Under Augustus, the empire became stable and prosperous (the wars of conquest and civil war ceased), an active flourishing began. Augustus invented what we now call PR. He first thought of producing in large numbers his own statues, which were sent to all, even the most distant provinces, not least contributing to the strengthening of the "personality cult" and adoration. Already during his lifetime he was canonized - both iconographically and metaphysically. Recall Jobs, who began to die (and therefore canonized) during his lifetime. Canonical photos, ascetic style in clothes, big and small marketing revolutions, books with aspiration or newspaper yellowness revealing the "Steve's code" and other attributes of a top manager who has become a superhero for a target audience. After Jobs' s heavenly retirement, the most creative and well-known corporation managers, also involved in the creation of the Apple myth, became known as "evangelists."

Augustus was not only officially counted among the gods after death, but he was spontaneously worshiped, as a god, in various provincial cities. The poets chanted him, the trading classes found the universal world convenient, and even the senate with which he treated, respecting all external forms of respect, showered him with courtesies and honors at every opportunity.
Bertrand russell

Konstantin. The second major figure in the history of Rome, although Augustus shares them more historical time than Jobs and Cook (spoiler!). It was Constantine who gave Christianity the status of state religion, although not so long before the same Christians hid in the Roman catacombs, wrote the first images of the Virgin Mary on their walls and were mercilessly persecuted. By the time of Constantine's rule, already 40% of the soldiers in the army were Christians, and the emperor followed the rule “If chaos cannot be stopped, he should be headed”. In the history of Apple, it was Tim Cook who led the chaos: on the one hand, coming out, on the other (more important) - Apple first began to be led by the crowd and the market, without fear of secondary nature: versions of cult gadgets appeared in the “big” and “ mini versions, budget plastic and "elite" golden devices appeared, etc. In short,

In Rome, each sect and each prophet were represented, and they sometimes won sympathy in the highest government circles.
Bertrand russell

The empire was huge. So much so that the language preserved swear words, calling the most remote parts of it, where entire armies were sometimes banished after civil wars. Distant provinces needed to be effectively managed, the fate of Rome depended on this: the huge capital and the adjacent cities needed to be fed and paid for, which was done by the conquered provinces. Now this role is fulfilled, for example, by China, producing components for Apple and collecting devices right there on the spot. Design by Apple in California Assembled in China. Well, well ...

The transfer of power to local leaders has become a common practice in order to strengthen the loyalty of the empire. It was this mistake that became fatal: the barbarians decided that it was wiser to protect their interests than to fight for the Roman master. I hold these barbaric consequences in my hand: on one side my phone is not like an iPhone, and a YouTube review promises me that the camera is even a little better. The funniest version of the seizure of Rome by the barbarians for Apple, who I managed to think up, is that the president is appointed by the Chinese. For example, Richard Y.

But the most important thing is not the end, but what it all began with. Rome grew out of Greece, its culture was maintained and maintained, bringing to the sample, which ousted all the rest. Where did Apple come from? A company so rich in innovations, patents, technical discoveries and originality in general. Our designer helped me to formulate the idea very briefly, and the idea coincides with the title of the book “Naive. Super". Apple stands firmly on Tetris, on brilliant chocolate wrappers by Willy Wonka, on throwing knives at the gingerbread man - Apple stands firmly on kidalts. Have you ever wondered why the buttons or icons of iOS seem to you stylish, and not caramel scattered on the plane? Have you ever wondered why the fashionable flat illustration today does not seem to anyone to be a reference to the mosaic by the pool in a pioneer camp? Have you ever thought about why the object that we hold in our hands most of the day was created for perfectly pure hedonistic entertainment and consumption, although in fact it serves as an indicator of “status” and “continuous employment”? A subtle coincidence here seems to me that the most courageous steps and discoveries are made by children, who are sufficient on both sides of the iPhone.

Rome has a special atmosphere, naive and incomparable. In Rome you can become the main character in the drama of your own life.
Robert Sheckley

Post Scriptum

... Sometimes I think about the intergalactic competition "Invention of the Year", in which the guys from Betelgeuse and Centauri represent the regenerator of the limbs, then the ruler for 10-dimensional space, and the Solar System, which makes the smartphone even thinner for a year. And this is our Rome, in the sky of which - the LED apple.