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UC Berkeley commencement: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak gives graduates a happiness equationBERKELEY, May 19, 2013 (The Oakland Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Apple-co-founder Steve Wozniak sent UC Berkeley graduates into the world Saturday with a freewheeling and informal commencement speech -- and two mathematical formulas a fifth-grader could understand: 1) Happiness equals S minus F (smiles minus frowns). 2) Happiness equals F cubed -- food, fun and friends. "I said this once at my high school, and the kids started laughing," he added. "I had to admit there might be a fourth 'F.'" The man who launched the personal computer industry told the 3,900 students seated on the field of Memorial Stadium that they should strive for fulfillment, not money -- a reassuring message, perhaps, for those entering a tight job market -- and to stay true to their ideals. "A lot of us get successful in life," he said. "We get money, we get wealth, we get fame, like I did. A lot of people become different people than they were." In his 15-minute address, Wozniak covered a wide range of topics. He reminisced about his youthful adventures as a Cal student (driving a car packed with friends down to Tijuana on the weekends), touched on pacifism and the roots of conflict, speculated about the nearing reality of the "conscious" computer that knows our innermost thoughts and praised the simple pricing structure at Top Dog, a hot dog joint he frequented as a student. "That inspired me and my computer design so much," he said, noting that he doesn't have to dig into his pocket for pennies there. "It is so simple. It is so nice for the buyer." Wozniak, a Los Gatos resident also known as "Woz," designed the Apple I and Apple II computers, and he and Steve Jobs founded Apple in 1976. Wozniak left the company in the 1980s, but he remains a beloved and well-known figure -- even among those born more than a decade after Apple I. "He started Apple. He's the other Steve, you know " said Alex Poska, a Cal music major from Orange County. After Wozniak's speech, a few graduates said they felt it was too meandering and lacked sophistication, while others said they appreciated its lighthearted, personal and entertaining quality. "It's a long and hot day, and he definitely made the day fun," said Gabriela Chavez, a political economy major from Salinas. Wozniak has never been one for formality. More than a decade after dropping out of college, the engineer and entrepreneur returned to UC Berkeley to finish his degrees -- under the name Rocky Clark. He graduated in 1986, at age 35. "My proudest moment of my life -- I get asked that all the time ... -- it was my graduation day right here at this campus," he said. In 2000, Wozniak was inducted into the Inventors Hall of Fame. Today, he is a philanthropist and the chief scientist for Fusion-io, a computer software and hardware systems company based in Salt Lake City, with an office in Silicon Valley. At UC Berkeley's Soda Hall, which houses the computer science department, a lounge is named for him. Wozniak's address came eight years after a legendary commencement speech about love, loss and death that his former business partner gave at Stanford University. Jobs' address, six years before he died of pancreatic cancer, ended with this famous piece of advice: "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." Wozniak's parting words of wisdom were not nearly as original; he told students to "change the world" and to "think different" -- a former Apple advertising campaign. But he did leave students with a puzzle to solve, now that finals are over: "Is there ever a full moon on the same day everywhere on Earth Think about that on your own time." Follow Katy Murphy at Twitter.com/katymurphy. ___ (c)2013 The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) Visit The Oakland Tribune (Oakland, Calif.) at www.insidebayarea.com Distributed by MCT Information Services |