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BetTheFarm

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I am surprised that there are not more objectivist inventors, in fact I have never met a single other one.

I would argue that in many cases engineers are inventors.

I have 3 main jobs:

1.) Full time Electrical Engineering student.

2.) Junior Electrical Engineer at a stainless steel mill

3.) Student researcher in the Nanotechnology lab at my university.

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Why? and what qualifies as an "inventor"?

Why am I surprised? Have you ever read Atlas Shrugged? How many objectivist inventors do you know? I was aspiring inventor long before I was an objectivist, and what Rand wrote of inventors in Atlas Shrugged is the greatest tribute ever made to inventors.

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I would argue that in many cases engineers are inventors.

I have 3 main jobs:

1.) Full time Electrical Engineering student.

2.) Junior Electrical Engineer at a stainless steel mill

3.) Student researcher in the Nanotechnology lab at my university.

Of course, but they are not de facto inventors.

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Why am I surprised? Have you ever read Atlas Shrugged? How many objectivist inventors do you know? I was aspiring inventor long before I was an objectivist, and what Rand wrote of inventors in Atlas Shrugged is the greatest tribute ever made to inventors.

Well, one could say that what she wrote of businessmen was the greatest tribute ever made to businessmen. Or even more generally that any man who uses his mind deserves our tribute. That still doesn't tell me why you are surprised specifically at the "lack" of Objectivist inventors.

I know Objectivists of all sorts, but they are relatively few in any population. I know all sorts of inventors, but many of them don't go by that term, which is why I asked what qualified as an "inventor", or what is a de facto inventor?

Edited by KendallJ
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Of course, but they are not de facto inventors.

You say "of course" to my comment that in many cases engineers are inventors, but you also say they are not "de facto inventors." This seems like a contradiction to me. What is the difference you mean between the phrases "are inventors" and "de facto inventors"?

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Well, one could say that what she wrote of businessmen was the greatest tribute ever made to businessmen. Or even more generally that any man who uses his mind deserves our tribute. That still doesn't tell me why you are surprised specifically at the "lack" of Objectivist inventors.

I know Objectivists of all sorts, but they are relatively few in any population. I know all sorts of inventors, but many of them don't go by that term, which is why I asked what qualified as an "inventor", or what is a de facto inventor?

The primary theme of AS and Fountainhead resonate directly with being an inventor, the mentality associated with believing your own judgement to be correct even though many people may present many reasons why it is wrong, of single individuals being able to, and indeed makeing, most of the great differences in the world, most of those greats were inventors.

I don't really care to come up with a philosophical dissertation on exactly what is an inventor at the moment, I would rather spend that time actually working on some projects. I would not consider a programmer an inventor, would you? Even if he writes an original program which does something no other programs do. Do you consider an engineer who 'invents' a slight variation on an existing mechanical suspension system in order to evade the existing patents on a similiar system an 'inventor' ? Certainly a fundamentally new program or suspension system which does a fundamentally new thing, and is not just a slight variation on existing things is an invention, and the person who came up with it an inventor. Since you know many inventors, what do you consider an inventor to be?

By de facto inventor I mean that just because someone is an engineer it does not automatically mean they are an inventor.

I find alot of artists inspired by objectivism, some business minded people, but never inventors inspired by Roark and Galt to be great inventors who seek to change the face of the world, and are willing to spend their whole lives pursuing such activities. Would you presume that all the greatest types of propulsion that could be invented have been? All the most usefull kind of materials that could be invented have been? All the most useful types of mechanical linkages, power generating and transmission systems, etc which could be invented have been? On and on and on, in every field, genre, application, there are no doubt huge gaps of practical technology waiting to be invented. Yet nearly every representation of inventors today are crazy socially malformed maniacs usually bent on taking over the world. In the 1800's and early 1900's inventors were the heroes of the modern world because people knew the direct benefit the technology they came up with brought to their lives, today inventors are derided and scorned. Any guesses on why that is? If you have friends who are inventors, but do not call themselves that, they may give you an insight to answer that question.

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I am wondering what type of careers my fellow Objectivists pursue. I have two basic questions:

1. What is your current job?

2. What is it your goal to become? (if not the answer to #1).

My answers:

1. I work in a local pharmacy (which is a pretty good job for someone my age :) ) I have a lot of duties, my favorite of which is processing and refilling perscriptions;.

2. I want to become a mechanical engineer.

I am a Public Safety (Police) Dispatcher, have been for going on 8 years. I love the work, but the philosophy they have been trying to cram down our throats is just getting worse with all of the new mandated classes. It's a good thing I can test well without actually having to pay attention to some of them or I might vomit. :D Others are very informative.

I am currently working on getting my ducks in a row in order to open my own business. I have three options in the works, depending on circumstances, but I think I'll be able to merge two ideas and make things work out quite nicely. This also includes moving to another state. I am sooooo looking forward to that!

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  • 2 weeks later...
Apart from Styles here, I notice I am the only member of the military to post so far on this forum. I am a specialist in the U.S. Army and will be attending the University of Montana this fall as part of the Army's Green to Gold program to become an officer.

I'm a full time student right now, but I'll commission as an Army 2nd Lieutenant in two months. My first assignment will be running supply convoys for the 1st CAV; keeping the Forward Arming and Refueling Points supplied while fighting off IEDs and ambushes.

In four years I'll either go on to company command or join the Special Forces. I might also write some non-fiction in an attempt to revive western military strategy and foreign policy.

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I'm a Research Scientist in a Plant Biotech company. I work in the Enzymes group which is researching the expression of transgenic proteins in seed. I've always wanted to be a plant scientist (and since I'm just starting) I'll be doing it for a while. I'm going to shool part time to get my Masters in Biochemistry. Also a top life goal of mine is to have and raise children.

Edited by Drew1776
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Hello All,

I run a company called Edge Medcom LLC which provides transcription services to Medical Communications companies. Medical Communications companies put together promotional educational seminars to educate doctors about new drugs. Pharmaceutical companies pay them a lot of money to do this, you see. And they usually want the entire conference recorded and transcribed. That's where I come in. The client uploads the audio to my server or sends me cassette tapes, which I then convert to MP3 format and place on my server. I use remote Independent Contractor transcriptions to complete the transcripts, who download the audio from my server, then upload the finished transcript. A proofreader then goes over the work to ensure accuracy and proper formatting. Finally, the client logs in to the server and downloads the finished product. Whew!

It's a very fun job, though quite taxing since I'm the only employee right now (besides the transcribers). I'm currently looking for a Production Manager to help me out. See the Marketing section of OO for details.

--Dan Edge

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I don't feel particularly one way about military personnels. It's a job just like any other.

Personally I hate living under a system where I'm constantly told what to do, and where I have to follow orders even if I disagree with it or when the order itself makes no sense.

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The primary theme of AS and Fountainhead resonate directly with being an inventor, the mentality associated with believing your own judgement to be correct even though many people may present many reasons why it is wrong, of single individuals being able to, and indeed makeing, most of the great differences in the world, most of those greats were inventors.

I take issue with your last claim. Most of those giants came from all sorts of professions. In fact, what you describe in bold above is true of anyone who does honest productive work, and isn't even close to being the exclusive pervue of inventors.

Many of the titans of the world were professional inventors. However, many if not most were not.

I would not consider a programmer an inventor, would you? Even if he writes an original program which does something no other programs do.

Well that's why I was trying to understand the characterization of "de facto". Yes I would, in the sense of the bold passage above. Why would you not?

Do you consider an engineer who 'invents' a slight variation on an existing mechanical suspension system in order to evade the existing patents on a similiar system an 'inventor' ? Certainly a fundamentally new program or suspension system which does a fundamentally new thing, and is not just a slight variation on existing things is an invention, and the person who came up with it an inventor.

Anyone who makes a leap, innovates. What you say here about fundamentally new, doesn't jive with what you said above about independant judgement. Why does the "distance" of the "leap" matter?

Since you know many inventors, what do you consider an inventor to be?

Well, I don't think fundamantality is the dividing line for being a professional inventor. I've seen many people come up with a patentable idea which I would judge to be "new", but not fundamentally new. To me inventing is new product development. However, I think what you describe in bold above really applies more to innovation which is something that happens in every field. I've met really brilliant people in many fields all of whom match the description above, and all of whom innovate. They just don't necessarily choose to be professional inventors.

I think it is great that you think of yourself as an inventor and aspire to come up with something fundamentally new. More power to you. And I'm glad that you take inspiration from Rand's characters who are inventors.

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Presently I am the Senior Laboratory Technician for an Australian unit of a biotech SBU within the German-based global specialty chemicals business Cognis. Our job where I work is to steal all the Precious Bodily Fluids (natural beta-carotene and mixed carotenoids) out of the cells of the algae Dunaliella Salina. Amongst other R&D things I get up to, it is my great privilege to subject those cells to all manner of high-strength acids, alkalis, and organic solvents. No D.Salina cell is safe, wuahahahaha :twisted:

I'm in my last year of a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investment with the Financial Services Institute of Australia, after which I want to be involved with researching, rating, and funding venture capital projects.

JJM

Edited by John McVey
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  • 2 weeks later...

I am a professional Toronto caricaturist and illustrator. On the whole, I have extensive experience in caricature art, comic art, editorials, game boards, character design, CD covers, print advertisements, etc, etc, etc, etc....

I have also been privately commissioned for live events and commercial events. Wow, I must have drawn over 100,000 faces at these events over the years! (or do I exaggerate?) Really, I have done hundreds upon hundreds of these types of commissions and they do all tend to blur together! But I would like to highlight some proud career experiences.

Some highlights and proud moments would include:

*Teaching caricature, character design and humorous illustration at Max the Mutt Animation school here in Toronto. I enjoyed my stint as a teacher. I became rather close to my students, and it was rather sad to have to say good-bye. (Once, I received a round of applause from the students on the last day of a final semester, and it left me chocked up. That made me feel very proud). :lol:

*Caricaturing actor Fred Ward when he appeared in Toronto for some on location shooting. Actually, the studio needed to hire an artist to paint a caricature portrait of Fred Ward’s character and the painting appeared in the movie for which it was commissioned. (Was it art or a movie prop?)

*I was commissioned to paint Ron Howard’s caricature portrait as a gift for the famous director. I have also been commissioned to paint a head-honcho at the William Morris Agency.

*I have also contributed articles on the caricature genre to magazines such as “Caricature” and “Exaggerated Features”. (This last is published by the NCN—National Caricature Network).

*I am very proud to have been interviewed by many television shows (and print articles) which would include shows like Canada AM, Breakfast Television, News at Noon, etc—and I have been pegged by Canadian Media as being “Canada’s foremost caricature artist.” I don’t know where this started and it does ring of standard media hyperbole, but who am I to argue with the press? What am I, a trouble maker? Nah! :)

-Victor

Edited by Victor
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