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Hello! I'll just quickly introduce myself. I've read Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, The Virtue of Selfishness, and Anthem. Of all those, Fountainhead is easily my favorite. I'm a computer geek/gamer, enjoy playing sports, and I love going to the beach. I reside on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, the greatest place on the face of the earth (so says me!). Oh yeah, for that guy who always asks, I found this site by typing "Ayn Rand" and "forum" into Google.

Now I would not say that I am an Objectivist because all my thoughts and ideas and the conclusions that they have brought me to are my own. Also I can't think of any benefit to calling oneself an Objectivist. For one, people seem to take you less serious when you associate yourself with political/philisophical groups that they have never heard of. And two, if you define yourself as an Objectivist, I think that subconsciously you may be more prone to follow a fork in your path of reason that will steer your thought process into the parameters of objectivism instead of where you may have ended up had you not defined yourself as an Objectivist. Though with all that being said, I will say that my philosophy and Objectivism are pretty much identical :thumbsup:

What brought me to this forum? Well I've always thought a little bit different than most people I've come across. I've never really met anybody that was quite on the same wavelength as me. I used to seriously question my logic and maybe even my sanity hehe. Then I read Fountainhead and very shortly thereafter, Atlas Shrugged. It was like everything I had ever thought or imagined to myself all clarified, expanded, edited, and conveniently available in paperback! Everything she wrote just hit the nail on the head for me. A few things in particular (her views on money and what it represents, her thoughts on compromise and moral "grey areas") just really hit home with me. I thirsted for all the Ayn Rand I could get my hands on. More urgently I found that I needed to share my discovery/experience with someone else. But with who though? Certainly no one I knew at the time could appreciate my discovery. Then it dawned on me. The answer to everything, the internet, of course! I scanned through half a dozen sites and then settled on this one (because of its layout I suppose). Like I said, while I was scanning for forums, my primary motivation was to get my new discovery and feelings of vindication off my chest, but then another thought occured to me. What will these Objectivist people be like? I'd say after reading a good chunk of the posts here that yall seem like a pretty intelligent, level headed bunch of gents. That was expected though. But I also expected, I don't know, a more lively bunch, what I mean is it can get just a wee bit stuffy in here occasionally. ;) A great example, I read this one the other day...

What defines a recreational activity? What purpose do they serve? When is it moral to engage in one? Should it have to enhance your productive life in some way in order to be moral?

lol oh man...for this one I'll have to steal a quote from Superintendant Chalmers on the Simpsons, "Good God! The rod up that man's butt, must have a rod up it's butt!!" I'm often accused of overanalyzing things, but that's just taking it to a whole new level!! hehe But hey, here nobody seems to take anything for granted and they start their arguments from the base and reason their way to a conclusion instead of just blurting out the first gut feeling that comes to mind like most people do. I just don't take it to quite the level that yall do here. I think I'd have a heart attack if I had to debate the morality of my actions every time I went to the pool hall or played football at the beach! ;)

Unfortunately I don't think I have much to add to this place. I'll tell you though, because of my line of work, I've been around the world and back a few times and dealt with the broadest spectrum of people from many different races, religions, and socioeconomic backgrounds. I'm talking from third world inhabitants living knee deep in their own feces all the way up to businessmen and politicians, and no matter the who, what, where, when, why and how, the principles of Objectivism, reason, and reality always hold true so don't ever doubt yourself. You know I used to jump at the chance and get all fired up when debating politics and philosophy, and now, hell, I don't even vote anymore. It's all just a bunch of hullaballoo. You can only have the same argument so many times and watch people reach the same illogical conclusions over and over until you see the futility of it. Anymore I don't have the energy to waste on such things, so I pretty much just go about my business and let the rest of the world go about whatever nonsense they desire.

Anyway, it's difficult for me to convey emotions through text, but let me reiterate the feelings of relief and vindication I've felt while getting all this off my chest to seemingly like minded people. Just the simple fact that I know now that there are people like you out there, will give me a little extra boost as I go about my daily business. Let's see, I believe there's about 6 billion people in the world now and ~1500 members on this forum, that makes the chances of me running into one of yall pretty slim, so go ahead and shake your own hand and pat yourself on the back for me. Thanks for listening :)

PS I purposely left the word "Objectivist" uncapitalized throughout this post just to p1ss off all the capitalization nazis out there lol ;):P

[Edited to purposely capitalize the word "Objectivist" throughout this post just to make sure that unambiguous forum rules are followed lol ;):P]

Edited by Groovenstein
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PS I purposely left the word "Objectivist" uncapitalized throughout this post just to p1ss off all the capitalization nazis out there lol :thumbsup::)

Violating a very clear forum rule openly and mockingly is no way to start off. I welcome you to the board, but insist that you come to a different conclusion when deciding whether or not to flagrantly ignore the rules. If you wish to challenge the rules, try discussing them, not breaking them.

Oh yeah, your nazi remark might be okay as a colorful term for Hillary Clinton or something, but in this context it's just stupid. Careful.

[Edited to add second paragraph.]

Edited by Groovenstein
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Violating a very clear forum rule openly and mockingly is no way to start off.  I welcome you to the board, but insist that you come to a different conclusion when deciding whether or not to flagrantly ignore the rules.  If you wish to challenge the rules, try discussing them, not breaking them.

Oh yeah, your nazi remark might be okay as a colorful term for Hillary Clinton or something, but in this context it's just stupid.  Careful.

[Edited to add second paragraph.]

Yikes! I wasn't aware that it was a rule of the forum. I was just trying to yank some people's chains. I thought the laugh out loud, wink, stick my tongue out smilies at the end conveyed that. No harm intended.

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A great example, I read this one the other day...

lol oh man...for this one I'll have to steal a quote from Superintendant Chalmers on the Simpsons, "Good God!  The rod up that man's butt, must have a rod up it's butt!!" I'm often accused of overanalyzing things, but that's just taking it to a whole new level!!  hehe  But hey, here nobody seems to take anything for granted and they start their arguments from the base and reason their way to a conclusion instead of just blurting out the first gut feeling that comes to mind like most people do.  I just don't take it to quite the level that yall do here.  I think I'd have a heart attack if I had to debate the morality of my actions every time I went to the pool hall or played football at the beach! :thumbsup:

That's not necessary once you've settled on a conclusion. Until then, who wouldn't want to understand the reason behind their actions? It is not necessary to ask yourself why you're performing every action you perform (that's what principles are for); but if asked, you should be able to give the reason for it. The alternative is whim-worship.

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Greetings Username. Glad to have you here.

You mentioned that in your line of work you've been all around the world. What do you do?

Also, regarding your comments that you don't try to discuss philosophy with other people anymore, as it's futile, I half agree with you: it's futile to discuss ideas with those over 30 years old -- that's an overgeneralization of course, but I see much more receptivity to ideas among younger people.

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I wasn't aware that it was a rule of the forum.

Now you know. And knowing is half the battle. G I Joe!!

But seriously, you should probably give all the forum rules a read or reread just to be safe.

As a law student, I find your sig particularly funny.

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