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Kim Gotoh
The meaning of the word "Versus" in this interview of Steve Jobs
In an interview, Steve Jobs says
"It's to shake off this uh... this uh... erroneous notion that life is.. is there and you're just gonna live in it versus embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it."
https://youtu.be/kYfNvmF0Bqw?t=69
I think 'versus' is used as a proposition like 'against' only, and I haven't met a sentence like this before. I can get he just used it with the meaning of "on the contrary, in contrast, etc" though.
I hope someone can explain more about it in detail.
Thank you very much in advance.
Sep 21, 2019 9:49 AM
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Answers · 4
He is using versus here to compare two different ideas/concepts, versus is often used to compare two ideas, especially when discussing a choice between them.
Rather than/as opposed to also work well in that sentence:
"It's to shake off this uh... this uh... erroneous notion that life is.. is there and you're just gonna live in it rather than embrace it, change it, improve it, make your mark upon it."
September 21, 2019
You are right about the meaning of the word versus, but it also means "as opposed to; in contrast to".
So what Steve Jobs is saying is that some people just live their life as it comes, apathetically, as if there are no other options. Opposite to this choice in life, you could take charge, try to improve your life and make decisions to that effect. That's the kind of approach he encourages people to have.
September 21, 2019
