When Steve Jobs died at the peak of his career in 2011, an amusing comment appeared in the media with the caption of the three apples that changed the world. The first apple was a reference to the forbidden fruit of the holy scriptures which the First Parents Adam and Eve ate, resulting in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (We may note that this is a piece of popular imagination since ‘apple’ is not mentioned in the Bible and it is unlikely that apple was known to the writer of the Old Testament. The Bible only says ‘fruit of the Tree of Knowledge’). The second apple referred to is the legendary one that fell on Isaac Newton’s head, which led to the discovery of gravitational force (This incident is a legend and there’s no evidence for the fruit actually landing on his head!). The third Apple is the company named Apple co-founded by Steve Jobs in 1977, which introduced path-breaking electronic products, the latest at that point being the touch-screen mobile phones. The phrase “three apples” highlighted the contribution of Steve Jobs, equating it with the other two that initiated revolutionary changes in human history.

Three apples as symbols of change makers of human history

Take the first apple; though not specified as an apple, it has been mentioned in the first chapter of the Bible, the Torah, and the Quran, holy books of Christians, Jews, and Muslims respectively. The first apple referred to may be broadly considered to represent the religions that had and have vital influences in the shaping of human history.

The second apple may be said to symbolise the beginnings of the revolutions that ushered in the modern age of science, technology, and philosophies -all scientists and philosophers of the modern age whose investigations shaped our world. Apart from Newton, these include the virtually endless list of scientists and inventors James Watt, Gregor Johann Mendel, Charles Darwin, Albert Einstein, Thomas A Edison, the Wright Brothers, and Stephen Hawking…. On the side of philosophy, there are of course those such as Voltaire and Rousseau, David Hume, Karl Marx Noam Chomsky, Michel Foucault, Slavoj Zizek, and Yuval Noah Harari to give a very brief indicative list. Let us not forget that the roots of both modern science and philosophy trace back in history to Anaximander, Archimedes, Aristarchus, Aristotle, Confucius, Plato, Brahmagupta, Euclid, Pythagoras… you name them! It is humbling to know that the achievements of modern civilization are not singular; i.e. we owe a lot to the ancients in many ways!

According to Jeffrey S. Young and William L. Simon’s unauthorized biography, iCon: Steve Jobs, The Greatest Second Act in the History of Business (1997), Steve Jobs is an Icon that stands for entrepreneurship. Thus the third apple symbolises entrepreneurship which now is taking the world into the culmination of the information revolution.

Thus the three apples may be thought to symbolise religion, science/philosophy, and entrepreneurship which are the templates upon which human civilization is built. Their role and dominance have been changing from time to time. It appears that entrepreneurship has the upper hand these days.

Three apples as a representation of the attitudes on Entrepreneurs:

The three apples can be also considered as the three attitudes the public has had and has on entrepreneurs. The first apple is a symbol of sin, resulting from the act of Adam and Eve.  In our time entrepreneurship is/was considered to be evil, a sin. Entrepreneurs were/are seen as exploiters and hence considered the class enemy to be fought and eliminated.

The second apple symbolises entrepreneurship as something accidental. It sees entrepreneurship as an inheritance and hence a domain of a few. It considers entrepreneurship as a quality bestowed on some persons and not accessible to others. The average man may lustily look up to such entrepreneurs.

In the popular imagination, the third apple surely recalls Steve Jobs. Jobs, a college dropout rose despite his travails and shone like a star at his death. The brand Apple is adored and held in high esteem, reflected by the exorbitantly high price the customers are willing to pay for its products. The Entrepreneurs’ power and position are of a new kind, but surely attainable by common folks around the world. Modern entrepreneurs like Jobs are placed on a pedestal and command celebrity status.

India’s stance on entrepreneurs: The world, especially the so-called matured economies, has moved to the “third apple attitude” of entrepreneurs. As reported by the World Bank, India’s rank for Ease of Doing Business rose from 77th in 2018 to 63rd among 190 countries. India was one of the top countries to improve moving 14 positions in one year. We witness the growth of entrepreneurs in legions. India is for sure steadily moving from the second-apple to the third-apple attitude.

Kerala’s perspective on entrepreneurs: The RBI report on Ease of Doing Business among Indian States, shows that Kerala has moved down from 18th rank in 2015 to the bottom 28th rank out of 29 states in 2019. Quite recently Kerala is witnessing a feud that erupted between the political class left and right on the one side and a successful entrepreneur with the support of his employees and local people on the other side. The attitude of the political establishment (in this there is a strange unity of purpose displayed by the whole spectrum of the political class!) is questionable. Is it political jealousy? That’s interesting to investigate! Kerala seems to be holding on to the first apple mindset while the other states are upholding and offering the third apple.

We are awaiting the fourth apple, which will bring a significant change to the world