My Introduction

[NewYorkRoark]

Hello,

Brief Biography:

My name is Casey. I'm 22 and live in New York City. I work for a real estate broker in Midtown and will also be working at the Central Park Zoo in the near future. I grew up in a small town in Maine, attended Colgate University and graduated with a degree in Philosophy and Geology. When I was in 8th grade I decided to build a farm on our family-owned 4 acres (I cleared trees, built a barn, put up fences, everything - it was a treehouse gone wild). The "farm" peaked when I was a junior in high school with 8 sheep, 3 geese, and 5 chickens. It wasn't very profitable, but I made enough to buy a car. At Colgate I was a member and business manager (for 2 years) of the Colgate 13 (a capella group), student senator, fraternity Vice President and rush chairman (lame) and eventually, Vice President of the student body. My favorite things in the world are: geology (specifically, the American Southwest), music, philosophy, soccer, and myself.

Why Ayn Rand:

About halfway through high school, I became a social sell-out (think Peter Keating). I stopped caring about the things I once cared about and started caring about the things others cared about. It seemed much easier at the time. One of the first things that went out the window was my desire for knowledge. I started caring only about knowledge as a means to an end (the grade / freedom NOT to know / ability to pass a class / something along those lines). The worst part was that I could get away with it. I got an A- on a 5-page essay I wrote during a 45 minute lunch break (only at a small-town-in-Maine-public-education). That was the norm, though. By sophomore year in college, however, my grades had dropped significantly and I was learning virtually nothing - but my social life was booming. I remember a biology professor took me aside one day and told me that I was perfect waste. I remember my response being something along the lines of, "I'm not interested in what you're interested in (knowledge), I'm interested in other things (social knowledge/ability)." The worst part was that I had no doubt that the two were of equal value. I remember thinking what a perfect waste of a personality the professor was. At that time, I was happy in the same way that a glutton is happy after eating a snickers bar. My social interests were based on a desire for instant gratification. It's not a hard trap to fall into, but I fell in up to my neck. Luckily, my father stepped in at the end of my sophomore year and wrote me a detailed letter. In it, he notified me that from that point on, I would be paying the remainder of my tuition (we had a little financial aid). Faced with real consequences for the first time, I spent the next summer getting my act in together. I started reading on my own, I started learning for my own benefit, I started accomplishing long term goals, I got in shape, etc. I was still happy but it was a different (and better) kind of happiness (the kind of happiness that comes after months of working out, when you feel that your body is reaching its true physical potential vs. the happiness (instant gratification) that comes from eating snickers bars). I became interested in architecture and eventually, The Fountainhead was recommended by a friend. I thoroughly enjoyed her social commentary (as it was my desrie for the approval of others that had left me intellectually comatose for the last few years of my life) and her ideas on ethics and capitalism. The Fountainhead lead to Atlas Shrugged to Philosophy: Who Needs It to The Virtue of Selfishness and it's still going. That being said, I'm not an Objectivist at this point, but I'm actively seeking true knowledge and Objectivism is as close as I think anyone has come (and perhaps I will be convinced in the future that Objectivism, in fact, is what I am seeking). I apologize for misunderstanding the rules of the forum in the majority of my earlier posts. Know that I agree with Ms. Rand on 90% of what I know of her philosophy and have questions on the other 10%. I have little tact and often ask questions by stating alternatives. I will try to ask questions strictly by asking questions and save my objections for the debate forum in the future.

Casey

[Inspector]

Belated welcome, Casey.

Glad to see you're bettering your understanding of both Objectivism and the forum rules. Also glad to see that you understand that those rules do absolutely allow non-Objectivists to both be here and post here (in the form of questions, as you indicated).

So long as you understand and follow the rules I welcome you and people like you and hope sincerely that this site and my posts can be a resource that will help you.

[NewYorkRoark]

Belated welcome, Casey.

Glad to see you're bettering your understanding of both Objectivism and the forum rules. Also glad to see that you understand that those rules do absolutely allow non-Objectivists to both be here and post here (in the form of questions, as you indicated).

So long as you understand and follow the rules I welcome you and people like you and hope sincerely that this site and my posts can be a resource that will help you.

Very much appreciated. I wish it hadn't taken me so long to catch on to the forum rules. It was stupid ignorance. I get caught up in the disclaimer trend ("Click HERE if you've read the terms..."). I didn't expect everything to be so well-run (in fact I was a little angry at first). Plus, i've never joined a forum before, so this is all new to me.

[softwareNerd]

Thanks for the introduction. An introduction is usually helpful.

Welcome to the forum.