non-contradictor Posted October 10, 2004 Report Share Posted October 10, 2004 Hello everyone! I have just discovered this forum. It's great! I have read Atlas Shrugged, We the Living, The Fountainhead, Anthem, The Virtue of Selfishness, The Return of the Primitive, and the Ayn Rand lexicon. Its great to find other people also interested in Objectivism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AwakeAndFree Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Welcome, Non! I recommend Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology as your next step, or perhaps Leonard Peikoff's Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakes Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Howdy non, I go to high school too, though I haven't read all the fiction you listed; I started with the non-fiction. Seeing new people come here continuously reminds me how valuable these forums are; I've yet to meet an Objectivist in real life, yet I've already had long conversations with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Concerto of Atlantis Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Welcome to the forum! May you ask lots of questions and learn immeasurably! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-contradictor Posted October 11, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Right now I've started Philosophy:Who Needs It? I've been meaning to go and buy IOE. Its definetly my next step. Oakes, thats awesome! I had not yet met another high schooler who had the faintest idea what an objectivist was. I've gotten my friend to read Atlas Shrugged, and she likes it. I want to start an objectivist club at my school. It's a residential school, so its a great environment. I recently went to the Teenage Republicans against the Young Democrats debate at my school, and they made a pathetic show of it. They made statements like : " Bush believes in free trade, but we have to force people to compete." and " We don't want to regulate the economy, we just want to give everyone an equal opportunity." Sounds a bit too farmiliar. Then I have a science teacher who actually says "There are no absolutes" with a straight face. I thought Ms. Rand's charachters were exaggerated, I am not pleased to have found that false. My friend and I have started calling this particular teacher Dr. Pritchett and bursting out laughing in the middle of his class in order to keep our sanity. He caught me reading in his class the other day, and ironically said "Ayn Rand can wait." So anyway, what threads do you guys recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommyedison Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Right now I've started Philosophy:Who Needs It? I've been meaning to go and buy IOE. Its definetly my next step. Oakes, thats awesome! I had not yet met another high schooler who had the faintest idea what an objectivist was. I've gotten my friend to read Atlas Shrugged, and she likes it. I want to start an objectivist club at my school. It's a residential school, so its a great environment. I recently went to the Teenage Republicans against the Young Democrats debate at my school, and they made a pathetic show of it. They made statements like : " Bush believes in free trade, but we have to force people to compete." and " We don't want to regulate the economy, we just want to give everyone an equal opportunity." Sounds a bit too farmiliar. Then I have a science teacher who actually says "There are no absolutes" with a straight face. I thought Ms. Rand's charachters were exaggerated, I am not pleased to have found that false. My friend and I have started calling this particular teacher Dr. Pritchett and bursting out laughing in the middle of his class in order to keep our sanity. He caught me reading in his class the other day, and ironically said "Ayn Rand can wait." So anyway, what threads do you guys recommend? Hi, I am a high-schooler too. I too thought that Ayn Rand exaggerated evil characters. I was wrong. Real-life people are sometimes worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakes Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 I thought Ms. Rand's charachters were exaggerated, I am not pleased to have found that false. This sounds like me. Once you read a book like AS, you start seeing prime examples of bad reasoning everywhere. It must be better having a friend along the way to laugh some of it off though BTW there are hundreds of good threads depending on what your area of interest is. Mine is politics and war. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betsy Posted October 12, 2004 Report Share Posted October 12, 2004 Right now I've started Philosophy:Who Needs It? I've been meaning to go and buy Then I have a science teacher who actually says "There are no absolutes" with a straight face. I thought Ms. Rand's characters were exaggerated, I am not pleased to have found that false. My friend and I have started calling this particular teacher Dr. Pritchett and bursting out laughing in the middle of his class in order to keep our sanity. That reminds me of the good humor and moral support I got from friends while I was growing up too. Like you, I was fortunate to have had at least one dear friend or mentor I could confide in, commiserate with, or laugh at the silly and the stupid with. Enjoy and treasure your friend and all your "inside jokes." So, anyway what threads do you guys recommend? Anything that interests YOU. This is an Objectivist forum, so be selfish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-contradictor Posted October 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Yes! Another high schooler! It gives me a little more hope for the future of our generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praxus Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Yes! Another high schooler! It gives me a little more hope for the future of our generation. I'm a Highschooler as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-contradictor Posted October 16, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 So any high-schoolers or college students planning on entering the essay contests? I'm a sophomore so I'll enter the Anthem one, though I'd prefer the one on Atlas Shrugged. That's only for college students, for juniors and seniors it is on The Fountainhead. I was suprised when I saw that at my school they actually have a flyer up for it. Its not anything major, but its a start. At least one teacher realized the value of those novels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Rexton Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 So any high-schoolers or college students planning on entering the essay contests? I'm a sophomore so I'll enter the Anthem one, though I'd prefer the one on Atlas Shrugged. That's only for college students, for juniors and seniors it is on The Fountainhead. I was suprised when I saw that at my school they actually have a flyer up for it. Its not anything major, but its a start. At least one teacher realized the value of those novels. Another High-Schooler here! Me I'm 18 and in my senior year now, though, and am about to enter the irrational/subjectivist world of colleges and universities next year when I finally graduate. You must be lucky to have found other Objectivist friends in your school. All the bright students I know in my school are liberals! And welcome to the forums! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole Posted October 16, 2004 Report Share Posted October 16, 2004 Then I have a science teacher who actually says "There are no absolutes" with a straight face. I hate to break it to you, but it only gets worse if you plan on continuing your education at a public university. A couple of semesters ago I had a Logic professor who admitted to never having heard of the term "epistemology" before the beginning of that semester. That same semester I had a Political Science professor who announced that, before anybody is allowed to own two houses, everybody in the world should first own one house. Later, this same professor stated her opinion that everybody in society should be paid the same wage (she used doctors and janitors as an example), but then had to end the discussion shortly after because too many students in the class began to question the existence of motivational incentives in such a society (however, my disagreement with her on this issue came from the fact that she did not understand where market value came from). This was the same university which houses a "Department of Altruism". Luckily, I've transfered to another college since then. Anyway- I too discovered Ayn Rand's ideas during high school. I hope you do well in your attempts to educate your peers on the subject of Objectivism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-contradictor Posted October 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 I've noticed that. My old high school was a traditional public high school, and everyone there was deadfully boring. The teachers were unitelligent but not particularly immoral. However, now that I've tranferred to a public "laboratory" school for math and science, its different. Some teachers are excellent and some are terrible. The school tries to hide itself. It still has to put on the "public face" to get its funds from the government, but then, it still manages to create a better school than average. And since the governmeent finds it necessary to force citizens to pay taxes for those abominations they call public schools, it is the best option after home school. Anyway, my poimt is that the school I am currently attending is considered higher level education. The government does not quite know what to do with it. (we are not allowed to take the PSAE, which is standard procedure for high-schoolers). Its more like a college than a high school. I've been going to the college fairs trying to get an idea of where I should go. Cal Tech sounds like a good school; their standards are high at least. I would actually have to retake the SAT to get in. One person actaully tried to interest me in going to a catholic jesuit school. This is pretty much what I said: . That kind of private school can stay far away. It is dicouraging though when a lot of colleges only want a 1200 on the SAT. My school's standards now are higher than that! Tom Rexton- Where are you planning to go? Have you found anywhere that seems halfway decent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Praxus Posted October 17, 2004 Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 They are changing the SAT's now. It is out of 2400 instead of the 1600 it use to be. They added in a essay part and got rid of the analogies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
non-contradictor Posted October 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 17, 2004 I know. I hate it. They are only trying to make it more subjective by adding the writing section. Then they got rid of the analogies so the vocabulary won't be as difficult. I'm pretty sure they added Algebra two and trigonometry and got rid of the quantitative comparisons as well. So now my old scores are no good.(sigh) Point is, they can mess with the writing scores all they want, its not as simple as right or wrong. Most colleges ask for an essay anyway, so what's the point? Oh right, its the school system, they don't need a point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selfish Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 I just graduated from highschool. Hang in there, it gets (a little) better. I introduced one of my best friends to Atlas Shrugged, and thankfully she took to it quickly. Since I found Objectivism, i'd definatly say that the state of "Being more alone and yet more alive then every before" applies, and it really helps to have at least one friend who can laugh with you. Micah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Capitalist Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 Welcome. I have to add that reading this makes me feel really old. When I was in high school the internet did not yet exist. I wrote my school essays in longhand or on a manual typewriter. I used a slide rule until grade 12, when the first basic cheap calculators came out. Our computer science course, which was unusual for the time, consisted of writing Fortran programs, coding them onto Hollerith cards, sending them off to a mainframe somewhere to be compiled, and getting a printout back a few days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WorthyLoverOfExistence Posted October 20, 2004 Report Share Posted October 20, 2004 So anyway, what threads do you guys recommend? Both my kids are in high school and like "Hot Topic". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_speicher Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Our computer science course, which was unusual for the time, consisted of writing Fortran programs, coding them onto Hollerith cards, sending them off to a mainframe somewhere to be compiled, and getting a printout back a few days later. Ha! Fortran. You did not realize how sophisticated you were. My first computer was machine language on a basic IBM 1620, where we first had to load the arithmetic tables into low memory from a card deck. The machine handled addition and multiplication through the tables, but I had to write my own divide subroutine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Capitalist Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Yes, I realize I'm not the oldest old-timer in here. Did they even have slide rules when you were in high school, or did you have to use an abacus? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_speicher Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Did they even have slide rules when you were in high school, or did you have to use an abacus? We and the school were too poor to purchase any abaci, so the teacher split the math class into two sections. First Section A assumed the role of learning, using the fingers and toes of those in Section B for counting. Then we would switch. I remember one time becoming very confused when Fred was assigned to me as my counter. He had six fingers and toes. And we were so poor I had to walk five miles to school each day. Uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Barefoot. Carrying my little sister on my back. And her friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
y_feldblum Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 And, I suppose, from that experience you learned the value of being economical with one's electrons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephen_speicher Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 And, I suppose, from that experience you learned the value of being economical with one's electrons. Everything was dark. We were too poor to afford electrons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godless Capitalist Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 And we were so poor I had to walk five miles to school each day. Uphill. Both ways. In the snow. Barefoot. Carrying my little sister on my back. And her friend. I had to do that too, but with wolves and polar bears chasing me. (I actually did walk about a mile each way to school from the age of about 5. I grew up in Ottawa, so the weather was quite cold in the winter, and the schools rarely closed for weather.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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