Steve built Heathkits, which helped hobbyists build devices
such as this oscilloscope.
understanding of what was inside a finished product and
how it worked because it would include a theory of opera-
tion, but maybe more importantly, it gave one the sense that
one could build the things that one saw around oneself in
the universe. These things were not mysteries anymore. I
mean you looked at a television set [and] you would think
that “I haven’t built one of those but I could . . . ” It gave a
tremendous level of self-confidence, that through explora-
tion and learning one could understand seemingly complex
things in one’s environment. My childhood was very fortu-
nate in that way. 8
Pulling Pranks
Spending time with his dad and Larry Lang kept Steve occupied
at home. But school bored him. Intellectually, Steve was far ahead
16 Steve Jobs