Confirmed: Apple is a cult

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Apple causes ‘religious’ reaction in brains of fans, say neuroscientists

In a recently screened BBC documentary, UK neuroscientists suggested that the brains of Apple devotees are stimulated by Apple imagery in the same way that the brains of religious people are stimulated by religious imagery.

People have often talked about “the cult of Apple”, and if a recent BBC TV documentary is to be believed, there could be something in it.

The program, Secrets of the Superbrands, looks at why technology megabrands such as Apple, Facebook and Twitter have become so popular and such a big part of many people’s lives.

In the first episode, presenter Alex Riley decided to take a look at Apple. He wanted to discover what it is about the company that makes people so emotional. Footage of the opening of the Cupertino company’s Covent Garden store in central London last year showed hordes of Apple devotees lining up outside overnight, while the staff whipped up customers (and themselves) into something of an evangelical frenzy. This religious-like fervor got Riley thinking – he decided to take a closer look at the inside of the head of an Apple fanatic to see what on earth was going on in there.

Riley contacted the editor of World of Apple, Alex Brooks, an Apple worshipper who claims to think about Apple 24 hours a day, which is possibly 23 hours too many for most regular people. A team of neuroscientists studied Brooks’ brain while undergoing an MRI scan, to see how it reacted to images of Apple products and (heaven forbid) non-Apple products.

According to the neuroscientists, the scan revealed that there were marked differences in Brooks’ reactions to the different products. Previously, the scientists had studied the brains of those of religious faith, and they found that, as Riley puts it: “The Apple products are triggering the same bits of [Brooks'] brain as religious imagery triggers in a person of faith.”


“This suggests that the big tech brands have harnessed, or exploit, the brain areas that have evolved to process religion,” one of the scientists says. A meeting with the Bishop of Buckingham, who reads the Bible using his Apple iPad, appeared to back up this assertion. He pointed out how the Apple store in, for example, Covent Garden has a lot of religious imagery built into it, with its stone floors, abundance of arches, and little altars (on which the products are displayed). And of course, the documentary doesn’t fail to give Steve Jobs a mention, calling him “the Messiah”.

Secrets of the Superbrands also looks at the likes of Facebook, which has enjoyed phenomenal success in just a few years. “Like Apple, mobile phones and social networks offer an opportunity for us to express our basic human need to communicate. And it’s by tapping into our basic needs, like gossip, religion or sex that these brands are taking over our world at such lightning speed,” Riley says. He concludes: “That’s not to say that clever marketing and brilliant technical innovation aren’t also crucial, but it seems that if you’re not providing a service which is of potential interest to every one of the 6.9 billion human beings on the planet, the chances are you’re never going to become a technology superbrand.”
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I think that small minded people will look at Steve Jobs as a messiah. The unhealthy obsession that some people have with Apple devices can be contributed to the fact that most of them have NO life outside of the tech devices they own. Even South Park has touched on the APPLE madness :D
 
bex.cpt said:
I think that small minded people will look at Steve Jobs as a messiah. The unhealthy obsession that some people have with Apple devices can be contributed to the fact that most of them have NO life outside of the tech devices they own. Even South Park has touched on the APPLE madness :D
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Some of the smartest people are taken in by cults. I believe we should not scorn and belittle our Appleist brothers and sisters. Now more than they need our help and understanding if ever we hope to release them from the clutches of this group.
 
And just like other cults/religions, they get extremely angry and/or defensive when you question their ludicrous beliefs.

OP, you should have maybe put this thread in another forum though, if you wanted serious discussion. Here all you'll get is the cultists raining down an ungodly ****ing firestorm upon you, Tropic Thunder style. Not to mention it makes me feel dirty posting here...
 
I own a couple of apple products, but I think Jobs is an ass. The thing is these days, if you own a couple of apple devices, you get labeled a fanboy. I own windows and android devices as well. Apple makes some nice products, that is all there is to it (for me).
 
They're just the best and most profitable phone, computer and tablet company out there by far. Those aren't small industries either so quite an achievement. Their products are worth obsessing over. I can honestly say every Apple product I've owned the last few years has delighted me with the attention to details and user experience.
 
Synaesthesia said:
They're just the best and most profitable phone, computer and tablet company out there by far. Those aren't small industries either so quite an achievement. Their products are worth obsessing over. I can honestly say every Apple product I've owned the last few years has delighted me with the attention to details and user experience.
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Hallelujah Brother!

Can I get a amen?!
 
Fanboys and haters are both equally obsessed and annoying.

I have loads of Apple products, though I've only personally purchased their computers, and they're great but you won't find me standing in anything but the shortest of queues to buy anything let alone an Apple product.
 
Same can be said of android/AMD/Nvidia/intel/PS3/Xbox/Linux/Microsoft/PC/blackberry fanboys. If a brand means this much to you then you need to pay a little less attention on marketing.

Btw I flipping love my iPhone..
 
Nuro said:
I own a couple of apple products, but I think Jobs is an ass. The thing is these days, if you own a couple of apple devices, you get labeled a fanboy. I own windows and android devices as well. Apple makes some nice products, that is all there is to it (for me).
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Good. There are sane, normal people with Apple products out there, but they are few and far between.

doobyscoo said:
Same can be said of android/AMD/Nvidia/intel/PS3/Xbox/Linux/Microsoft/PC/blackberry fanboys.
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It could, yes. If they existed. Liking something != being a fanboy. I've never seen one of those being as absolutely rabid as the iTards.
 
TJ99 said:
It could, yes. If they existed. Liking something != being a fanboy. I've never seen one of those being as absolutely rabid as the iTards.
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Yeah, I've encountered fanboys, but no other brand generates them as strong as Apple. Its insane.
 
Synaesthesia said:
They're just the best and most profitable phone, computer and tablet company out there by far. Those aren't small industries either so quite an achievement. Their products are worth obsessing over. I can honestly say every Apple product I've owned the last few years has delighted me with the attention to details and user experience.
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Pure tolly :p
 
Why the name "Apple" and the bitten apple logo? The religious connotation/intent is intentional ... it was meant to be this way. Knowing, understanding and exploiting man's desire for that juicy apple and the promise of more god-like-ness (power, prestige, etc) when taking that bite is what Apple is about. You know this already, don't you?
 
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