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    By Mark Milian, CNNMay 19, 2011 -- Updated 2233 GMT (0633 HKT)May 19, 2011 -- Updated 2233 GMT (0633 HKT) | Filed under: Gaming& Gadgets

    At product launches, Apple store employees cheer for the first customers to buy the company's latest gadgets.

    (CNN) -- Next time Grandma asks why you're going to the mall onSunday morning instead of church, tell her you're going to AppleChapel.

    For Apple fans, the brand triggers a reaction in the brain that's notunlike that of religious devotees, according to a BBC documentaryseries that cites neurological research.

    The neuroscientists ran a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test onan Apple fanatic and discovered that images of the technologycompany's gadgets lit up the same parts of the brain as images of adeity do for religious people, the report says.

    The first episode of the documentary shows Apple employees"whipped up into some sort of crazy, evangelical frenzy" at the recentopening of an Apple store in London.

    Observers and Apple critics have long accused fans of the techcompany of taking their infatuation to an extreme.

    People have gone to great lengths to prove their love of Apple withtattoos, bumper stickers and home shrines to outmoded Maccomputers. Apple's cult-like following was highlighted in a 2009documentary called "Macheads."

    A blog, aptly titled Cult of Mac, wrote on Thursday about Oakland,California, resident Gary Allen's cross-country pilgrimage to Apple's

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    Apple triggers 'religious' reaction in fans'brains, report says

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    STORY HIGHLIGHTS

    Apple fans' brains react similarlyto religious people's, a BBCreport says

    Neuroscientists say Apple'sgadgets can trigger areas of thebrain associated with religion

    Pope Benedict has warnedtechnology cannot replace God

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    Apple Inc.ReligionPope Benedict XVI

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    first store in Virginia to celebrate the retail chain's 10th anniversarythis week.

    In speeches, Pope Benedict XVI has said technology consumptionposes a threat to religion and the Roman Catholic church. The holyleader told a Palm Sunday crowd last month that technology cannotreplace God.

    However, apparently it may inspire god-like devotion.

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    knicks727 3 years ago Well at least Apple exists

    118

    Darthlawsuit 3 years ago knicks727Apples are very juicy, sweet, and tasty.

    I once tried biting into my Apple it tasted metallic, hard, and gave me ashock. I will never buy that over priced apple again!

    20

    Freespeech12 3 years ago knicks727 Thank God, err.... uh.... someone.... that Forest Gump invested in a Fruitcompany...

    5

    minnysotaboy 3 years ago knicks727really Xugos? its a comment section.... and yes i forgot the '

    Xugos 3 years ago knicks727L2 SPEAK ENGLISH.

    You need to put "an" before a noun that begins with a vowel, or "a" beforeone that begins with a consonant!

    BigLebowskii 3 years ago"Apple triggers 'religious' reaction in fans' brains, report says" Actually this is theresult of genius marketing strategy (something the church has been doing

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  • result of genius marketing strategy (something the church has been doingsuccessfully for thousands of years)

    140

    makingcents 3 years ago BigLebowskii I think the Pope should be more concerned about his Catholic priestsbeing attracted to young boys than about technology. You think thatmight have anything to do with the downfall of the Catholic church??

    18

    Freespeech12 3 years ago BigLebowskiiIf god knew that Eve was going to eat the apple...

    12

    sam9999999 3 years ago BigLebowskiiSome people have so little going for them that they have no choice but tolet their choice of electronics define who they are.

    5

    willmatrix 3 years agohence iCult

    60

    FillFFill 3 years agoAh fresh fodder for the Apple haters. You could have the same study forNASCAR fans, but Apple is too easy of a target.

    59

    ModXell 3 years ago FillFFillAngry, dude. You are wrong. It's not because it's more complex. OSX is aunix-based system. The only reason because WinOS is target is becauseit's more common than MacOS. I am not going to sit down and write avirus to infect 3% of the computers when I can write a virus that infects93% of the computers!

    30

    HAL9THOUSAND 3 years ago FillFFillNascar is dierent. It's about people who like watching cars go in circleswhile they stu their faces. That's worse in my opinion! I still think it'sfunny how Apple people think their computers are superior to PC's whenApples are starting to use the same hardware now to compete with PC's.It's just the operating system (which by the way is no worse or better...justdierent!) Both PC's and Apples are awesome.

    24

    Darthlawsuit 3 years ago FillFFillApples all have inferior hardware when compared to their PC equivalents.

    16

    AdmrlAckbar 3 years ago FillFFill Apple snobs are just as bad as self-righteous religious and atheist zealots(a lot more of the later on these forums as of late). The US has sadly givenbirth to a generation of idiots who need to spam their opinions likeinfomercials... only more annoying...

    4

    AngryAtGov1 3 years ago FillFFill HAL-if the operating systems are no worse or better, then why do PC'scontinue to get viruses at every turn? Could it be the programminglanguage Apple uses is more complex, thus making them more secure? (Iunderstand more people use PC's, thus making them a bigger target forviruses).

    2

    Freespeech12 3 years ago FillFFill Hey look, LEFT turn up ahead! 1

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  • 1

    KsuFan 3 years ago FillFFillYeah probably, but this is the tech section of the website...

    riotriot27 3 years ago Yeah, Jobs kinda creepd me out when he called his gadget "magical" andeveryone didn't burst into laughter. I mean, thats like saying "its powered byunicorn blood"...

    57

    76rico 3 years ago riotriot27I think its actually powered by Intel.

    Disney is powered by fairies and magic dusts. 2

    Natch2 3 years ago riotriot2776rico, that's what Disney gets, for being headquartered in California!

    1

    TauMyx 3 years ago Back when the first iPhone was just a rumor, many people said it couldn'tsucceed because cell phones were a mature technology and their was no way forApple to create a distintive product! Today, practically everything is an iPhoneknocko. Apple has earned the respect of it's fans.

    52

    CNNAPPLEFAN 3 years ago I'm going to start a blog about CNN staers cult like following of needing tocome up with an Apple news story everyday. Talk about sheep.

    42

    anon123421 3 years ago CNNAPPLEFANGotta love that big bright Apple logo visible from the homepage withouteven scrolling.

    1

    norcalmojo 3 years ago CNNAPPLEFAN Jobs is a marketing genius

    Hernan1520 3 years agoI hear that the Mac followers are going to start a jihad against nonbelievers.

    40

    Tulok 3 years ago Hernan1520 May be they did. No one knows how many viruses for Windows waswritten by Apple fanatics, no doubt there many. Just to clarify, when I say"Apple fanatic" that does not include all Apple product users, only thosewhom that description fit.

    13

    SitNSpin 3 years ago Unlike God, Steve Jobs exists.

    37

    MiamiMike 3 years ago SitNSpinHe loves you anyway.

    9

    TheBossSaid 3 years ago SitNSpin...until God pulls the plug on him.

    6

    wzrd1 3 years ago SitNSpin

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  • wzrd1 3 years ago SitNSpin Pity Steve Jobs doesn't INVENT anything or DEVELOP anything. He's theCEO, not the chief developer!

    6

    JohanStrauss 3 years ago SitNSpinIf only through the next 5 years. That dude is pretty much falling apart,and getting organs replaced every couple of months.

    5

    Danget 3 years ago SitNSpinHey Wzrd1, actually Steve Jobs did create the first Apple machines alongwith Steve Wozniak.

    Danget 3 years ago SitNSpin And that makes worshiping Steve Jobs okay? You know, David Koreshwas real too...

    oddjob3422 3 years ago SitNSpinHey SitNSpin, the atheist who professes to know that there is no God isno less acting on emotion and faith than the theist who professes to knowthe opposite. Neither group has the intellectual honesty to admit that theyactually do not know, and cannot know.

    vexatious 3 years agoWow. Why am I not surprised?

    36

    Rich12 3 years ago religious...as in based on myth and mass Delusion? Maybe there is something tothis...

    26

    flipnap2112 3 years ago Rich12Um.. You're not as smart as you think you are.

    17

    dkm1964 3 years ago Wow, and I thought I just liked my mac because unlike the Dell PC I owned, ithas never broken down or gotten a virus or forced me to spend eight hours at atime for three consecutive days on the phone with tech support.

    24

    Hernan1520 3 years ago dkm1964Dell? See, there's your problem.

    33

    matrakas4 3 years ago In the name of the Woz, the Jobs, and the holy Mac. iMen

    24

    Thorny 3 years ago matrakas4And now for my once-in-my-lifetime pilgrimage to Cupertino...

    3

    Kyokai 3 years agosad, there is nothing more that can be said of it.

    23

    inc0gnit0 3 years agoI have no problem with Apple, especially their iPad or iPod products which I own. I don't care what memory or processor speed it has. The interface is veryresponsive and seamless. Most people including kids can pick it up can use itright away, and familiarize themselves in minutes.

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    The biggest problem I have is with iTunes. Having to connect to a PC to updatesoftware or transfer data is downright antiquated. People who love the iPad'suser-friendliness are stumped with the clunky iTunes interface. Why can't Appledo over-the-air updates or online storage? My Kindle is light years ahead is thisregard. This is a glaring flaw that mars an otherwise great product.

    23

    IRANVATAN 3 years agoSo basically apple fans are brainwashed just like religious fanatics.

    The day will come when an Apple fan blows himself up in a bus filled with xboxfans.

    23

    Jezzmn 3 years ago IRANVATANI doubt it. Apple users seem to be chicken sh1ts.

    5

    rettiroen 3 years ago IRANVATAN HA! Like we'd let them. Our bus would get the red ring of death and we'dnever leave the lot. :P

    1

    SirNny 3 years ago Does that make PC users "infidels"?

    23

    JeColorado 3 years agoThis article is pretty accurate from my own experience. Apple fanatics dont seemto place as much importance on things likes "options" or 'functionality". They likeApple because of its image and supposed "philosophy".

    It is kinda ironic that Apple has turned into the face on the screen of their 1984Mac commercial. They have become what used to be the "enemy'.

    22

    DHarry 3 years ago JeffColoradoAs someone who uses both sytems (and others) I can honestly tell youthat Win7 is the better of the two. Faster, more secure (look it up) and hasmore open options. All of that besides the double the cost of a MAC. ButI know people who hate their MAC's and I know people who hate theirPC's. The dierence is the basis of this article. The MAC folks are militantin their response and behaviour.

    12

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