Steve Jobs’ alleged final words have sparked debate for more than a decade
Steve Jobs' passing was an immense loss for the world of tech, as the Apple co-founder was among the industry's most prominent figures and helped turn Apple from nothing into one of the world's most valuable companies.
Even though he might not have always seen eye to eye with everyone, and even had several notable rivalries with contemporaries like Bill Gates, nobody can deny the impact that Steve Jobs had on the advancement of technology from the moment that Apple was founded until his death.
As he was considered a visionary by many, the tech leader's final words before he passed have been of great interest, with plenty of speculation surrounding what he actually uttered to his loved ones.
It has been nearly a decade and a half since Jobs passed away following a battle with pancreatic cancer, yet only a handful of people actually know the truth behind what he said right before his death, with everyone else left merely to cling to allegations and conjecture.
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What we know for sure are the words, as his sister, Mona Simpson, revealed them in her eulogy, which was later published in The New York Times.
According to Simpson, Jobs uttered simply: "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow."
These certainly aren't the final words you'd typically expect from a man many consider to be a genius, as people tend to expect great wisdom or sage advice from people on their deathbed who have their whole life to look back on, although many wonder whether there could be something more to this lexical triptych.
One commonly-held belief is that Jobs saw something just before he passed that left him in awe, whether that be something in the room with him or perhaps a vision that many people tend to be greeted with before death.
Others opt for a more literal interpretation of events, with this exclamation relating to the feeling of joy or relief that could have been prompted by medication entering his system, relieving him of pain.
Mona Simpson herself has her own beliefs, offering up an answer when met with this very question back in 2011: "Do we know it was a 'happy' oh wow? Perhaps it was more a, 'Oh wow, this is it. I know this is death now as it feels final' or something like that.”
That's certainly a more melancholic way to view the words, but we'll never quite know for sure who is really correct in their interpretation of Steve Jobs' elusive final words.