Soon we’ll be publishing Debi Ghate’s new tribute to the (selfish) meaning of Thanksgiving. With that in mind, a new column by David Hawpe in the Louisville Courier-Journal, titled “Atlas shrugged, but thousands of volunteers boost Every1Reads,” caught my attention.
Hawpe writes partly in response to Ghate’s op-ed, which — like all of ARI’s op-eds — was distributed to media outlets throughout the country.
Ayn Rand has many dissenters, and I’ve developed an interest in the way that people disagree with her. Some dismiss her outright. Some are rude.
Others, though, respectfully acknowledge her position — while respectfully disagreeing. Hawpe’s column is an example of the latter, and I tip my hat to him for that.
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
Category: Culture
Rand-inspired Non-mathematician Discovers Hypercomplex Numbers, with Possible Implications for Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science
I haven’t the foggiest idea whether this would bear scientific scrutiny, but he certainly deserves an A for creative self-promotion.
From a new press release which appears to have been authored by Atlasphere member Rodney Rawlings:
(PRLEAP.COM) A Toronto, Ontario, writer and editor has arrived at a system of creating hypercomplex numbersâ??numbers that extend the complex number system to more dimensionsâ??using only high school algebra, as viewed through the lens of Ayn Randâ??s philosophy of Objectivism. He contends that this has implications for mathematics and the philosophy of science.
Rodney Rawlings calls his multidimensional numbers â??RADN numbersâ?â??for â??rotating any-dimensional numbers,â? because they have a property of rotation exactly analogous to that of the complex numbers. They are also commutative and distributive like them.
He says that he arrived at this result by asking himself what exactly numbers are, how they arise in the human mind, and what their relationship to reality is. But these questions were only so fruitful because he used a correct philosophy, he claimsâ??Ayn Randâ??s. Any other philosophy, such as the currently influential one of Karl Popper, he says, would not have led to such a result. â??This has two implications: first, that Randâ??s philosophy has a strong element of truth, at least in the area of epistemology; and second, that the type of numbers I discovered must have a special significance, seeing as how they are intimately related to the basic nature of numbers.â?
Continue reading “Rand-inspired Non-mathematician Discovers Hypercomplex Numbers, with Possible Implications for Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science”
Russian Translation of "Crosspoints" Hits Top Sales
The Russian translation of Crosspoints: A Novel by Choice by Alexandra York is a front runner in Russia, where it was featured at the Moscow Book Fair. Praised by Moscow publisher Mir Knigi as “Beatiful and Deep” with “High Style and Spirit,” Crosspoints broke the language barrier with over 10,000 copies sold.
Crosspoints was reviewed on The Atlasphere in 2004, when it was first published.
Read the announcement on Alexandra York’s web site.
Nigeria through the Lens of Atlas Shrugged?
AllAfrica.com has a new article in which a Nigerian native sizes up his country, and its politicians, somewhat through the lens of Atlas Shrugged.
When I read the article at lunchtime, I stumbled over the phrase “disintegration of rational inquiry” — but I think the author is referring to the modern era’s decreasing respect for rational inquiry.
An excerpt:
One of my favorite authors, Ayn Rand, taught the virtue of selfishness and the disintegration of rational inquiry. Her best seller Atlas Shrugged is however one book that I return to every now and then. The book was written in 1957. Ayn Rand, a Russian migrant that lived in the USA and became a house-hold name for her teachings on objectivism, was probably the best known and perhaps widest read philosopher of the 20th century. She was a woman of substance.
Years ago when I first read Atlas Shrugged I immediately contextualized it in Nigeria . But little did I know that a stalemate would result from a warped definition of objectivity, a dire need for a political philosophy and a shrug by an Atlas – Umaru Musa YarAdua. Atlas Shrugged is for me a book for all times. It groups objectivism, self-interest and capitalism all in one. In plain text, according to Ayn Rand herself – nature is to be commanded and must be obeyed, or wishing won’t make it so; you can’t eat your cake and have it too; man is an end himself; give me liberty or give me death.
Nigeria witnessed the disintegration of rational inquiry recently when Patricia Olubunmi Etteh’s power rangers insisted that she would be judge in her own case. Looking at what transpired in that dark period of the House of Representatives that culminated with the death of Dr. Aminu Safana, one would expect nothing to follow but recall, to rid the house of the pea brains that turned it into a house of horror. To think out of the box is one thing. But to think stupidly out of the box in order to justify the unjustifiable, for whatever reason, is sure enough reason for an elected representative to be shown the way out.
See the full article for more.
Greg Zanetti Cites Ayn Rand on Consuming vs. Producing
Fellow New Mexican (woo hoo!) Greg Zanetti cites Ayn Rand in his market report his week. Some excerpts:
In America, we have adopted the philosophy that consumption is more important. 70 percent of our economy is consumption based. After the 9-11 attacks, President Bush told us to go shopping. Alan Greenspan even went so far as to say we were doing the world a favor by consuming their goods and thereby acting as the worldâ??s growth engine. …
A contrary opinion, however, comes from the brilliant free market thinker and author Ayn Rand.
To Ms. Rand, â??consumersâ?¦ are irrelevant to economics.â? She believed the title of consumer must be earned by first being a producer. She goes on to say that â??wealth represents goods that have been produced but not yet consumed.â?
Think of it this way: Imagine you are a farmer and winter is approaching. You have had a good year though and you have plenty of food to last you until the next harvest. Beyond this, you have seed to plant for next spring. In short, you have saved, you have produced wealth that has not yet been consumed.
And here is where Ayn Rand will say we in America have turned economics on its head. Today, in order to consume, you do not first have to produce; all you have to do is borrow. Thus, you are reaching into the future and pulling demand into the present. Thus, you are using wealth that has not yet been produced. Or to continue our farmer analogy, we are consuming our seed stock.
Keep reading for the punch line.
WSJ: Ayn Rand on Armagnac
Today’s Wall Street Journal contains an interesting reference to Ayn Rand’s view of (the alcoholic drink) armagnac, as evidenced in her characterization of Guy Francon in The Fountainhead.
The article is titled “Cognac’s Cousin From Gascony.” Below are some relevant excerpts.
Armagnac has an image problem. To start with, not that many people seem to be sure exactly what it is. …
[T]o the extent most folks have heard of armagnac, the impression they have been given is that it is a pompous quaff for phonies and poseurs and heavies — characters such as Senator Planet, Guy Francon, Sheridan Ballou and Eugene Lopwitz.
… A few years later, Ayn Rand picked up the theme. The novelist prided herself on penning caricatures of phonies such as Guy Francon, who in “The Fountainhead” embodies everything her architect hero Howard Roark despises. A rich and successful architect, Francon is intellectually lazy and stylistically derivative. Francon “hasn’t designed a doghouse in eight years,” but when he did, he was fond of such touches as “Corinthian columns of cast iron painted gold, and garlands of gilded fruit on the walls.” And what does Francon like to drink? Armagnac.
Rand seems to associate armagnac with the most contemptible sort of self-satisfaction. The paragraph that ends with Francon declaring he has fired Roark (because “the insolent bastard” refused to mock up a simplified Doric design for an office building) begins with the boss bragging about how he buys his favorite armagnac for “a hundred dollars a case!”
Poor armagnac.
C-SPAN This Weekend: Atlas Shrugged & Business
C-SPAN will be broadcasting the “Atlas Shrugged and Business” panel discussion from the Atlas Society’s recent 50th Anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C.
Of this discussion, moderator Robert Bidinotto writes “It’s a fascinating hour-long overview of the appeal and applicability of Rand’s ideas to the world of business.”
I lead off with brief remarks on the reasons for the widespread hostility toward business and businessmen, and how Rand’s philosophical ideas not only repudiated that popular view, but led her to romanticize businessmen in Atlas Shrugged.
Younkins gives a superb presentation on the brilliant economic insights that Rand incorporated into her visionary novel.
Ed Snider reads revealing correspondence between himself and Ayn Rand, in which he first approached her with the idea of setting up a new organized effort to promote her ideas.
Rob Bradley takes on modern university teaching of “business ethics,” as seen through the filter of Rand’s own ethical thinking, and then demonstrates exactly what ideas led to the collapse of the Enron corporation, where he used to work.
It’s scheduled for broadcast on Saturday, October 20, 2007 at 3:00 pm Eastern time, and on Sunday, October 21 at 3:00 am Eastern.
See Bidinotto’s full announcement for more information.
Taunted by John Galt in Indiana
Ayn Rand is incredibly popular in India, but not so much with (presumably Indian) Indiana University student Indira Dammu:
On my daily walk to class, I am taunted by chalkings that declare obscure statements such as â??Who is John Galt?â? Undoubtedly the handiwork of some pretentious â??free-thinkingâ? student group, these chalkings echo a disturbing trend among college students to identify themselves as libertarians.
Apparently “the promotion of social and economic freedoms” is not very “charming” to her.
I wonder what is. Communist bread lines? Socialized dental plans? Inquiring minds want to know.
I say keep up the taunting, guys, until we can get to the bottom of this.
UPDATE (10/18/2007): Thanks to Ryan Kraus at the University of Indiana for alerting me to the fact that this happened in Indiana, not India. 😛
The Uncompromising Ayn Rand Is Still Relevant
This choice quote appeared in today’s Washington Times, drawn from Brian Doherty’s recent subscribers-only article on Ayn Rand and the right in the Wall Street Journal:
[Ayn] Rand was, despite her exile from the conservative movement, a fan of Barry Goldwater, the modern Right’s first serious presidential candidate. She told him, ‘I regard you as the only hope of the anti-collectivist side on today’s political scene, and I have defended your position at every opportunity.’ For his part, Goldwater said that ‘I have enjoyed very few books in my life as much as ‘Atlas Shrugged.’
Why does she matter to modern politics? It’s not like she is around for conservatives to seek her endorsement. But it is worthwhile for political activists to remember that Ayn Rand was utterly uncompromising on how government needed to respect the inalienable right of Americans to live their own lives, and of American business to grow, thrive, innovate and improve our lives without niggling interference.
Zogby Poll: 8% of USA Has Read Atlas Shrugged
This just out, instigated by Atlasphere member Logan Darrow Clements:
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) October 17, 2007 — A Freestar Media/Zogby poll found that 8.1 percent of American adults have read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. The poll of 1,239 adults was conducted by Zogby International between October 10 and October 14, 2007 at the request of Freestar Media, LLC. Among the poll’s 80 questions was “Have you ever read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand?”. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Atlas Shrugged chronicles an America where government has taken control of nearly all aspects of the economy. As society collapses the heroine follows a trail of clues surrounding the disappearance of innovators and the rise of a mysterious phrase “Who is John Galt?” Last week Ayn Rand fans celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first publishing of Atlas Shrugged.
Have you ever read the book Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand?
It’s influence is rising. A 1991 poll by the Library of Congress and Book of the Month Club found that Atlas Shrugged was the second most influential book after the Bible. 2008 Presidential candidate Ron Paul often quotes the author and even named his son “Rand”. Next year a movie version of Atlas Shrugged will be produced with Angelina Jolie in the lead role.
Could reading Atlas Shrugged promote financial success? The poll found that 14% of those earning $100,000 a year or more have read Atlas Shrugged while only 2% percent of those earning less than $35,000 a year have read it.
About the same percentage of men and women have read Atlas Shrugged, 48.2% men vs. 51.8% women. However, respondents living in the east (11%), west (10%), and south (9%) are about twice as likely as those living in the central/Great Lakes region (5%) to say they have read the book. Among the poll’s other findings: 38.7% of passport holders have read it, as have 10.8% of people who visit YouTube.com a few times a month.
Freestar Media, LLC was created by Logan Darrow Clements to produce media applying Ayn Rand’s philosophy of reason, individual rights and laissez-faire capitalism to current events. The company’s most popular project was The Lost Liberty Hotel, a rebellion against eminent domain abuse that involved applying the Supreme Court’s Kelo vs. City of New London ruling to one of the justices who voted in favor of it. Mr. Clements is currently producing two documentary films, one about socialized medicine, the other about eminent domain abuse.
Only 92% left go go….
We interviewed Clements a few years ago about his thoughts on entrepreneurship and his participation in the California 2003 recall election.