Poornima Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Hello All, I joined this forum, because its been a long time since I had a good philosophical discussion with anyone! Somehow after college I got so wrapped up in my career that I started to neglect learning more about Objectivism and philosophy. I'd like to consider myself an Objectivist, but I think I'm still learning and growing and have been for about 7 years now. Fundamentally, I'm a passionate person who believes that philosophy is meant to guide your life, and improve the way you live it. I love Ayn Rand's novels and especially the heroic characters; I aspire to be like them everyday of my life. A few details about me: I work for a startup www.mymint.com as a lead software engineer, and I just started a blog www.femgineer.com to dispel common myths about being a female engineer. Check them out when you get a chance. Looking forward to learning for ya'll! ~Poornima Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Welcome to the forum! It it is always nice to meet passionate people that seek to live a good life, with a good philosophy as a starting point, which from my dealings with you on the chat, I suspect might just apply to you :-) It is also nice to meet a software engineer, as many on this forum might be aware, I am quite keen on software myself. Currently I am focusing on web applications, though I am planning a few software applications as well. It is also nice to meet an engineer, as I have recently studied teaching myself electrical engineering, and I am loving it so far (and partially due to my prior mathematical training, I am finding it very easy). I do have one piece of constructive criticism about your site, I do not like the colour scheme, and some of the text is so close to the background colour it can be hard to read. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
softwareNerd Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Welcome to the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KendallJ Posted March 28, 2007 Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Poormina, welcome! You've come to the right place if you want good discussion. Can you tell us a little about how you found out about Objectivisim, and what of Rand's writings you've read? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poornima Posted March 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2007 Originally I read the Fountainhead and Anthem in high school, and enjoyed them immensely, but did not know there was a philosophy behind it until I got to college. In college I joined the Objectivist club to learn more about philosophy. The campus club was at Duke, and it was run very well by my good friend Alex Epstein. I also had a pretty unique experience while I was there, because I learned from two Objectivist professors Dr. Gary Hull (philosophy), and Dr. Eric Daniels (history). They definitely shaped my understanding of Objectivism in terms of ethics and politics. I enjoyed having a structure learning experience, and being able to discuss ideas with people who had a wealth of knowledge about them. I've read all the fiction, and a majority of the non-fiction (CUI, OPAR, VOS, and excerpts from a few others). I've also read some tangential authors such as Craig Biddle book "Loving Life" and Henry Hazletts "Economics in One Lesson". Initially, I was an economics major so I was interested in learning about the foundations and principles behind capitalism, which Objectivism laid out very well. Since changing majors to engineering I've become more interested in epistemology. I plan to start reading ITOE soon. Prometheus - thanks for the feedback, I will make a note to change it. ~Poornima Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMaci Posted March 29, 2007 Report Share Posted March 29, 2007 (edited) Pleased to meet you. I like the idea of a female engineer. It is a part of why Dagny is my favourite of Ayn Rand's female characters. Well, I like the idea of a male engineer as well, just in a different way. Welcome to the forum! It it is always nice to meet passionate people that seek to live a good life, with a good philosophy as a starting point, which from my dealings with you on the chat, I suspect might just apply to you :-) I do have one piece of constructive criticism about your site, I do not like the colour scheme, and some of the text is so close to the background colour it can be hard to read. I will second all of that. Originally I read the Fountainhead and Anthem in high school, and enjoyed them immensely, but did not know there was a philosophy behind it until I got to college. In college I joined the Objectivist club to learn more about philosophy. The campus club was at Duke, and it was run very well by my good friend Alex Epstein. I also had a pretty unique experience while I was there, because I learned from two Objectivist professors Dr. Gary Hull (philosophy), and Dr. Eric Daniels (history). They definitely shaped my understanding of Objectivism in terms of ethics and politics. I enjoyed having a structure learning experience, and being able to discuss ideas with people who had a wealth of knowledge about them. I've read all the fiction, and a majority of the non-fiction (CUI, OPAR, VOS, and excerpts from a few others). I've also read some tangential authors such as Craig Biddle book "Loving Life" and Henry Hazletts "Economics in One Lesson". Initially, I was an economics major so I was interested in learning about the foundations and principles behind capitalism, which Objectivism laid out very well. Since changing majors to engineering I've become more interested in epistemology. I plan to start reading ITOE soon. Sounds like you are ahead of me then. I have read only The Fountainhead, The Virtue of Selfishness, Philosophy: Who Needs It, and up to page 618 of Atlas Shrugged. And I never had an Objectivist teacher or lecturer. They seem to be non-existent here in New Zealand. The best we have is a economics lecturer at Christchurch University that I have just found out about. He teaches the virtues of the free market. Well, welcome to the forum. Oh, and I had a look at the company's philosophy and I love it! If only more companies had it. Edited March 29, 2007 by DragonMaci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 The campus club was at Duke, and it was run very well by my good friend Alex Epstein. I also had a pretty unique experience while I was there, because I learned from two Objectivist professors Dr. Gary Hull (philosophy), and Dr. Eric Daniels (history). Belated welcome to the forum! When did you attend Duke University? One of my good friends at Georgia Tech (who incidentally got me interested in Objectivism) was in the Duke Objectivist Club when Alex was running the show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Actually, DarkWaters question reminded me of something I was going to ask. Why did you choose Duke and what other good engineering schools in America could you suggest? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bold Standard Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Hello All, I joined this forum, because its been a long time since I had a good philosophical discussion with anyone! Hello. : ) I'm curious.. You said it's been a long time since you've had a good philosophical discussion.. But have you had bad ones? What makes a philosophical discussion good or bad, in your view? Welcome to the neighborhood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dan_edge Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Also....you're pretty! --Dan Edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Why did you choose Duke and what other good engineering schools in America could you suggest? What kind of degree are you planning to pursue? I am working towards a Ph.D. in an engineering discipline so I might be able to offer some advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMaci Posted April 11, 2007 Report Share Posted April 11, 2007 Also....you're pretty! Yes, she is. I also quite like the fact that she is an engineer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkWaters Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Also....you're pretty! Yes, she is. I hope that you guys did not make her too uncomfortable! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMaci Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 (edited) Hey, it is a compliment. A well-balanced person would not feel uncomfortable due to such a compliment Edited April 14, 2007 by DragonMaci Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prometheus98876 Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Hey, it is a compliment. A well-balanced person would not feel uncomfortable due to such a compliment Hey! I am handsome! NOT pretty..oh you dont mean me? OOOOOHHH :-P Assumiing it is a compliment that they agree with anyway :-). Yeah she is, and its great to know [somewhat] a more philosophically sound engineer too, quite cool, which is more important to me :-). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonMaci Posted April 14, 2007 Report Share Posted April 14, 2007 Yeah she is, and its great to know [somewhat] a more philosophically sound engineer too, quite cool, which is more important to me :-). Yes, that does make it all the better for me, too, as I am sure you would know by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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