I really don't think people here understand history or the definition of influence. I seem to seem a few reoccurring themes:
To be influential, you have to do good things, or be a good person. Not true.
To be influential, you have to do things alone, in a vacuum of ideas. Not true.
To be influential, if doesn't count if you are spreading someone elses idea. Not true.
Look at all the people on the list, and the influence they are known for is nothing they did alone or in a vacuum. Was George Washington the first to come up with the idea of Democracy? No. Did he fight the way against the British alone? No. Was fighting the British even his idea? No. Was he one of the best Military minds of the last milleniam? No.
But did he take what he knew and what he believed in, stand up, and spread those ideas? Causing change in the way people think for hundreds of years to come? Yes.
Okay, how about Lewis and Clark. Did they do it alone? No, they had a crew of like 40 people. Were they the first ones to the west coast? Of course not, disregarding the natives, the Spanish had been there long before. Could they have done it without the natives? Rather unlikely. But did they take what they knew and what they believed in, stand up, and spread those ideas? Causing change in the way people think for hundreds of years to come? Yes.
I've already spouted off about Abe Lincon and Henry Ford, so let's go to Thomas Edison. Well there is a prick if you've met one. The man could rival Jobs in arrogance and self righteousness with ease. Did he invent the Lightbulb? Nope. Did he may it commercially viable? Yep. From the Times article:
"Edison’s true genius lay in his ability to bring mass brainpower to the process of invention. The laboratory and workshop he established in Menlo Park, N.J., in 1876 — his “invention factory” — put him at the center of a critical mass of assistants with backgrounds in multiple areas of science, engineering and skilled labor. It was essentially America’s first industrial R&D facility, the forerunner of a modern-day geeks-in-a-garage skunkworks."
Does that sound like a guy that worked in a vacuum? Pulling out of thin air the ideas that influenced generations, and working them alone? Nope. But did he take what he knew and what he believed in, stand up, and spread those ideas? Causing change in the way people think for hundreds of years to come? Yes.
Did Martin Luther King come up with his ideas himself? Was he the first to say "Hey guys, I have this strikingly new idea!" ? Did he cause change all by himself? No. Was he the only one to get up infront of crowds and speak for change? No. But did he take what he knew and what he believed in, stand up, and spread those ideas? And did he succeed? Causing change in the way people think for hundreds of years to come? Yes.
Not American, but let's take another popular historical figure, Hitler. Was he a good man? Did he work alone? Were all his ideas his own? Was he the first man in history to think the way he did? The answer to all is no. But he was influential because he actually stood up and took action, and
succeeded. That man sparked a lot of (negative) change, and because of it we would consider him "influential" even if he didn't influence the world the way he wanted to.
For Jobs to be on this list he doesn't need to have worked in a vacuum. He doesn't need to have worked alone, or on new ideas. He only needs to have sparked the change, and devoted his life to his passions and ideas, and succeed at them. No one works in a vacuum.
If you haven't seen it yet, I would suggest you go watch the "Everything is a remix" video series. It'll take you all of 30 minutes to watch. However if you only have 10,
check out Part 3 (of 4). I promise you'll be entertained
