Apple started it of course, claiming that it took courage for them to remove the headphone jack from the iPhone. Then folks on the forum started using the term, either to make fun of Apple, to claim other recent Apple hardware moves were similarly "courageous" or to adopt the word and claim they were now showing courage by jumping ship to a different OS.
Look. We all know what courage is, and many of us have seen it upfront. Friends who deployed overseas, sometimes taking years to recover from combat injuries. Family or friends who fought against serious health issues, regardless of if they overcame them or not. Colleagues who did the right thing even though it cost them their job or a promotion. First responders who run towards the fire, the chaos, or the crime.
Apple's use of the word as marketing is forgivable. I think it's in bad taste and makes them look foolish, but they have a long history of this type of "magical" nonsense. But when we adopt the term and start using it as a descriptive term within the context of what computer we use, or don't, we not only justify this type of hyperbolic marketing gibberish, but the word itself suffers some loss of meaning in the process.
Look. We all know what courage is, and many of us have seen it upfront. Friends who deployed overseas, sometimes taking years to recover from combat injuries. Family or friends who fought against serious health issues, regardless of if they overcame them or not. Colleagues who did the right thing even though it cost them their job or a promotion. First responders who run towards the fire, the chaos, or the crime.
Apple's use of the word as marketing is forgivable. I think it's in bad taste and makes them look foolish, but they have a long history of this type of "magical" nonsense. But when we adopt the term and start using it as a descriptive term within the context of what computer we use, or don't, we not only justify this type of hyperbolic marketing gibberish, but the word itself suffers some loss of meaning in the process.