Think Different vs. Think different

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
On all the official Apple stuff I've always seen them spell it as "Think different." Why do I keep on seeing "Think Different" writtten by people?



This is a wrong spelling, right?

Alan Deutschman in 'The second coming of Steve Jobs' also spells it incorrectly.



Why do people do this? Is there legal issues involved?
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 35
    i hope you realize that uppercase and lowercase letters do not constitute misspelling. and that you spelled both the same [aside from that capitalizing].



    also, i'm pretty sure that in the old t.v. spots, apple would capitalize both words. i'm not sure tho.
  • Reply 2 of 35
    emaneman Posts: 7,204member
    Who cares?
  • Reply 3 of 35
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    It's nice that mods can delete their posts.

  • Reply 4 of 35
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    Shouldn't it be "Think Differently" :confused:

    It seems very bad grammar <img src="graemlins/hmmm.gif" border="0" alt="[Hmmm]" />
  • Reply 5 of 35
    bellebelle Posts: 1,574member
    [quote]Originally posted by BRussell:

    <strong>It's nice that mods can delete their posts.

    </strong><hr></blockquote>

    Heh. Well, I realized it was entirely irrelevant.



    It isn't now, as RodUK has made it very relevant. Shame I deleted it.
  • Reply 6 of 35
    As I recall, It´s Think different, like in think in a new way, a different way. Not like having the word different ind your mind, - thinking about the word "different". - Did I nail it ?
  • Reply 7 of 35
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    [quote]Originally posted by Belle:

    <strong>

    Heh. Well, I realized it was entirely irrelevant.



    It isn't now, as RodUK has made it very relevant. Shame I deleted it. </strong><hr></blockquote>I won't tell anyone about the awful things you said. Believe me, I would have deleted it if I had posted that, too.

    :eek:
  • Reply 8 of 35
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    [quote]Originally posted by BRussell:

    <strong>I won't tell anyone about the awful things you said. Believe me, I would have deleted it if I had posted that, too.

    :eek: </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Psst, just let it go. It's probably, you know, that time of the month.
  • Reply 9 of 35
    [quote]Originally posted by thuh Freak:

    <strong>apple would capitalize both words.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    nope. stevegongrui was right, only Think was capitalized, different was left lowercase with the period(.) at the end.



    So in the tv ads it looked like | Think different.
  • Reply 10 of 35
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    [quote]Originally posted by tholdk:

    <strong>As I recall, It´s Think different, like in think in a new way, a different way. Not like having the word different ind your mind, - thinking about the word "different". - Did I nail it ? </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Nope, you got it backwards.



    Say it in your head as: "Think.... 'different'." Like, "Think.... 'bunnies'."



    'Different' is an adjective, 'differently' is an adverb. An adjective can also be considered a concept, like 'different', 'hot', 'spiny'. "What did her hair look like?" "Think spiny."



    The confusion here comes from the fact that the adverb 'differently' can apply to the verb 'think' in a natural way. So folks who find it difficult to think differently think that 'Think different' is grammatically incorrect.



    'Think differently' would be thinking in a different manner.



    'Think different' is about considering the concept of 'what is different'?



    The latter is the meaning of the phrase.



    The phrase is exactly the same, grammatically, as Dow-Corning's pink fiberglass ad campaign from the 70s and 80s that featured the Pink Panther: 'Think Pink." Pink is also an adjective.



    [ 11-24-2002: Message edited by: Kickaha ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 35
    spartspart Posts: 2,060member
    <a href="http://www.apple.com/thinkdifferent/"; target="_blank">Confirmation</a>.



    Look at the title.
  • Reply 12 of 35
    sdw2001sdw2001 Posts: 18,015member
    [quote]Originally posted by Kickaha:

    <strong>



    Nope, you got it backwards.



    Say it in your head as: "Think.... 'different'." Like, "Think.... 'bunnies'."



    'Different' is an adjective, 'differently' is an adverb. An adjective can also be considered a concept, like 'different', 'hot', 'spiny'. "What did her hair look like?" "Think spiny."



    The confusion here comes from the fact that the adverb 'differently' can apply to the verb 'think' in a natural way. So folks who find it difficult to think differently think that 'Think different' is grammatically incorrect.



    'Think differently' would be thinking in a different manner.



    'Think different' is about considering the concept of 'what is different'?



    The latter is the meaning of the phrase.



    The phrase is exactly the same, grammatically, as Dow-Corning's pink fiberglass ad campaign from the 70s and 80s that featured the Pink Panther: 'Think Pink." Pink is also an adjective.



    [ 11-24-2002: Message edited by: Kickaha ]</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Thank you! Even though this is the 5,000,000th thread on the topic. I wonder how many more people will ask why "Think different" is not bad grammar.



    On the legality issue, a simple capitalization would not render one legally immune if imposing on copyright.
  • Reply 13 of 35
    stunnedstunned Posts: 1,096member
    This thread is very different from usual, and really make u think <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />



    Who cares
  • Reply 14 of 35
    brussellbrussell Posts: 9,812member
    I still don't think it's grammatical. Do I care? No. But technically I don't think it is.



    They don't mean "Think (about) different (things)," they mean "Think different(ly)." It was an obvious play on IBM's "Think." Calling it an adjective is just finding a way to retrofit grammar onto the phrase.



    About 10 years ago, grammar went out the window in written ads, especially Apple's ads. It was a way of catching attention and being concise. Their copy would go something like: "Apple. The coolest computer. Ever. More power. For less money." Yadda yadda. This "Think different" was just another example.
  • Reply 15 of 35
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    Apple is telling you what to think not how think. It's that simple.
  • Reply 16 of 35
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    [quote]Originally posted by BRussell:

    <strong>I still don't think it's grammatical. Do I care? No. But technically I don't think it is.



    They don't mean "Think (about) different (things)," they mean "Think different(ly)." It was an obvious play on IBM's "Think." Calling it an adjective is just finding a way to retrofit grammar onto the phrase.</strong><hr></blockquote>



    No, it's simply looking at the phrase and thinking about it grammatically.



    I'm not just *calling* the word 'different' an adjective, it *IS* an adjective. Here, let Webster's illuminate it for you:



    <strong>different



    \\Dif"fer*ent\\, a. [L. differens, -entis, p. pr. of differre: cf. F. diff['e]rent.] 1. Distinct; separate; not the same; other. ``Five different churches.'' --Addison.



    2. Of various or contrary nature, form, or quality; partially or totally unlike; dissimilar; as, different kinds of food or drink; different states of health; different shapes; different degrees of excellence.



    Men are as different from each other, as the regions in which they are born are different. --Dryden.



    Note: Different is properly followed by from. Different to, for different from, is a common English colloquialism. Different than is quite inadmissible.</strong>



    Adjective.



    Now, let's take a look at what The American Heritage Dictionary has to say about the word 'think':



    <strong>think Â*Â* Â*PÂ*Â*Â*Pronunciation KeyÂ*Â*(thngk)

    v. thought, (thôt) think·ing, thinks

    v. tr.



    1. To have or formulate in the mind.

    2. a. To reason about or reflect on; ponder: Think how complex language is. Think the matter through.

    b. To decide by reasoning, reflection, or pondering: thinking what to do.

    3. To judge or regard; look upon: I think it only fair.

    4. To believe; suppose: always thought he was right.

    5. a. To expect; hope: They thought she'd arrive early.

    b. To intend: They thought they'd take their time.

    6. To call to mind; remember: I can't think what her name was.

    7. To visualize; imagine: Think what a scene it will be at the reunion.

    8. To devise or evolve; invent: thought up a plan to get rich quick.

    9. To bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation: He thought himself into a panic over the impending examination.

    10. To concentrate one's thoughts on: Â?Think languorÂ? (Diana Vreeland).



    </strong>



    Note example 10.



    Furthermore, WordNet gives:



    <strong>think



    n : (informal) an instance of deliberate thinking: "I need to give it a good think" v 1: judge or regard; look upon; judge; "I think he is very smart"; "I believe her to be very smart"; "I think that he is her boyfriend"; "The racist conceives such people to be inferior" [syn: believe, consider, conceive] 2: expect, believe, or suppose; "I imagine she earned a lot of money with her new novel"; "I thought to find her in a bad state"; "he didn't think to find her in the kitchen" [syn: suppose, imagine, reckon, guess] 3: use or exercise the mind or one's power of reason in order to make inferences, decisions, or arrive at a solution or judgments; "I've been thinking all day and getting nowhere" [syn: cogitate, cerebrate] 4: recall knowledge from memory; have a recollection: "I can't remember saying any such thing"; "I can't think what her last name was"; "can you remember her phone number?" "Do you remember that he once loved you?"; "call up memories" [syn: remember, retrieve, recall, call back, call up, recollect, remind] [ant: forget] 5: imagine or visualize; "Just think--you could be rich one day!"; "Think what a scene it must have been!" 6: focus one's attention on a certain state; "Think big"; "think thin" 7: have in mind as a purpose; "I mean no harm"; "I only meant to help you"; "She didn't think to harm me"; "We thought to return early that night" [syn: intend, mean] 8: decide by pondering, reasoning, or reflecting; "Can you think what to do next?" 9: ponder; reflect on, or reason about; "Think the matter through"; "Think how hard life in Russia must be these days" 10: dispose the mind in a certain way; "Do you really think so?" 11: have or formulate in the mind; "think good thoughts" 12: be capable of conscious thought; "Man is the only creature that thinks" 13: bring into a given condition by mental preoccupation; "She thought herself into a state of panic over the final exam"

    </strong>



    Note example 6.



    Let's take a look at the objects in each example: 'languor', 'big', 'thin'...



    All three are indeed states of something... languor is a noun, (a state of laziness or quiet reflection), big and thin are adjectives.



    Different is an adjective.



    Different is a state than an object can be in.



    Different is a concept.



    'Think different' is grammatically correct, and when taken as such obviously means 'ponder on that which is different'.



    There's no need to retrofit anything, just to read the phrase, know the definitions of the words and their grammatical roles, and put 1 and 1 together to get 2.



    Of course, it's also obvious that the ad folks weren't grammatically incorrect morons... quite the opposite. *HOW* much talk about Apple has been generated by people thinking that the phrase was incorrect? (Though that may be more of a sad commentary on our school system than the intellect of the ad folks, now that I think about it...)
  • Reply 17 of 35
  • Reply 18 of 35
    scottscott Posts: 7,431member
    It also follows on the "Think Mink" and "Think Pink" from the 60s. A time that was ten years gone before most of you were born.
  • Reply 19 of 35
    [quote]Originally posted by stevegongrui:

    <strong> Why do I keep on seeing "Think Different" writtten by people?



    This is a wrong spelling, right?

    Alan Deutschman in 'The second coming of Steve Jobs' also spells it incorrectly.



    Why do people do this? Is there legal issues involved?</strong><hr></blockquote>



    Guys, have sympathy, he's from Italy, where they spell their words phonetically, yes, that's right, their spelling scheme actually makes sense! Spelling classes are (generally) not really necessary over there, and that's hard for us English types to get our heads around ...



    And of course, English spelling is hard for everybody to get their heads around, especially for those who encounter such wonders as "Through" and "Consciousness" (amongst many others) later in life. If it weren't for the Holy Spell Checker (surely proof of the existence of god) , I think most of us would be seriously screwed.



    Thus, a fascination for "getting it right" might be understandable to a person who encounters "psychiatry" with intent to grok.



    Rock On

    OT
  • Reply 20 of 35
    [quote]Originally posted by OverToasty:

    <strong>



    Guys, have sympathy, he's from Italy, OT</strong><hr></blockquote>





    Actually, I'm Chinese, from Red China. I've just lived in Italy all my life.



    Yes, Italians are dumb



    <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
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