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Consider then this:

Steve Jobs had a huge impact across numerous fields.

Computing and tech, from the hardware side.

Business. Wall Street doesn't much like being told it's wrong, but there's one refutation that it will accept: taking a loser and making a winner out of it. When much of the world (myself included) was writing off Apple in the late 1990s, he lit off a rocket that's still burning bright.

Music: iPods, iTunes and more.

Movies: Pixar and Disney, as well as presentation on his devices (Macs, laptops, tablets, handhelds).

Design: much of the creative world literally couldn't operate without their Macs.

News: Apple's pretty well represented there as well.

Popular culture: Because of all of the above, and the huge success of his products, he's among the most recognized of tech/business leaders.

There are a few holes. He wasn't an engineer himself (though he had a very strong grasp of what good engineering was), and he wasn't publicly philanthropic to the extent some (notably Gates) are (though I don't know what he's done on a private front).

But across a large swatch of contemporary popular culture, he was recognized as a leader.

Again: the HN headline smash was organic. I think it's fair to say that it accurately reflected the interest of the day.



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