Hello everyone. I discovered this forum a few days ago. Looks interesting. I am a grizzled veteran of the humanities.philosophy.objectivism newsgroup (which now has little or nothing to do with Objectivism, which is why I was looking elsewhere). I am already becoming highly annoyed at being called a “newbie.” 
Welcome to the board. And don’t worry, you only have to make two more posts and you will no longer be a “newbie”…you’ll be a “novice.”
Another 495 and you’ll be a “senior member.” Can’t wait, huh?
Another 495 and you’ll be a “senior member.” Can’t wait, huh?
Well, now I am up to “novice.” I feel like a frigging moron.
Don’t worry, only 20 more to “Junior member.”
What part of Texas? I’m from Plano.
Specifically Fort Worth.
Welcome the the forum!
College Station/San Antonio here.
I’ve been lurking this forum for a while, trying to decide if joining would be a waste of time. Apparently there are a number of intelligent people engaging in thought provoking commentary, and I think I would like to join in.
A little about myself: I live in Fort Worth, Texas with my wife, three-year-old daughter, and four cats. I’m a programmer/IA who managed to survive both the dotcom crash and outsourcing. I’m rather new to the Objectivist philosophy, having initially been turned off by the atheistic attributes I dismissed it as just another non-applicable, theoretical thought experiment until my wife suggested I read a fantasy novel by the author Terry Goodkind.
I wasn’t necessarily moved by the writing itself, but the underlying substance portrayed in the main character. After a little research I learned the author was an objectivist, so I decided to read some of Ayn Rand’s works. I first read Anthem and enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until I read The Fountainhead that so many of the founding principles of the story’s hero began to take shape in my mind as true righteousness.
In the past year I’ve read Objectivist Epistemology and Capitalism. I’m now amazed at the level of clarity and simplicity in my life since I’ve adapted to rational thinking and applying the Trader Principle to all aspects of my existence. I had always been a typical conservative in the past, an ardent defender of capitalism, but at the same time I was a defender of mysticism and altruism. A kind of self destructive dichotomy I still see prevalent in my friends and family.
All my life I was warned against the evils of my selfishness, and now thirty years later I’ve learned to embrace it with open arms.
Welcome the the forum!
College Station/San Antonio here.
Thanks. Also thanks for having this forum. Great job!
I used to live in Aransas Pass. Have any of you even heard of that town?
It was terrible. 500 people in the town. All Christians.
Gee - I’m from Fort Worth too. That makes at least 3 of us! Plus someone else from Plano.
Did anyone else here besides myself attend the debate on Virtue of Selfishness that Andrew Bernstein participated in when he was in town a couple of weeks ago?
I used to head up the local Objectivist community club for the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex but it has been inactive for the past couple of years and I no longer have the time to spend on something like that as I once did. However, an Objectivist in the Dallas area is looking to organize a Dallas/Fort Worth area Objectivist social get together of some sort either in the late spring or early summer of this year. If anyone is interested, feel free to drop me a line with your email address and I will make sure that you get an announcement once plans have been finalized. You can contact me through the personal message feature under my membership info or at [email protected]
my wife suggested I read a fantasy novel by the author Terry Goodkind.
Have you read any interviews or comments by him? He talks explicitly about Objectivism, and is completely intolerant!
Have you read any interviews or comments by him? He talks explicitly about Objectivism, and is completely intolerant!
He’s also hated by the speculative-fiction literary elite, which means he’s proably doing something right. B)
He’s also hated by the speculative-fiction literary elite, which means he’s probably doing something right.
As best I can tell, Goodkind is far and away the most commercially successful Objectivist author since Rand herself. His “Sword of Truth” novels pretty consistently hit the NYT bestseller lists. I’ve always been bemused by how many Objectivists seemingly have never heard of the guy.
The early novels in the series don’t show many signs of Objectivist influence, but he really cuts loose in Faith of the Fallen. A lengthy (and in my opinion by far the best) part of the book is an extended concretization of the principle of the harmony of interests, as the protagonist fights his way up from poverty by building and running a black-market business inside a repressive totalitarian state.
On the flip side, I also found the novel jarring because many of the characters started acting in ways that were psychologically inconsistent with what we learned about them in prior novels. That’s poor writing.
I haven’t read the two most recent books in the series, so I can’t comment on the extent to which they express or demonstrate Objectivist principles.
I imagine another reason why he’s hated by the speculative fiction elite is that he reportedly broke into print by sending the manuscript of his first novel to a publisher, who read it and immediately offered him a quarter of a million dollar advance. That kind of seemingly effortless success at becoming a top-tier genre author probably sticks in the craw of the many writers laboring in the mid-list.
I’ve always been bemused by how many Objectivists seemingly have never heard of the guy.
I’d heard of him (good grief, his books are all over the shelves in the fantasy section of every bookstore), but had no idea he was an Objectivist. I’m generally a fan of the idea of the fantasy and sci fi genres, but usually disappointed by the actual, existing books I look at. Sci fi are so often doomsday tomes extolling the evils of technology (man destroys himself, man makes robots that destroy him, etc.), and fantasy can too easily degenerate into deus ex machinas and the like. So, in short, thanks for mentioning it! I intend to check his books out ASAP. While in my experience I don’t always love art created by Objectivists, I always want to see what they’re doing, and hell, it’s a better bet than most of the crap out there.
Aside from that, as a writer, I am encouraged by hearing about his success. I’d want my book published by Tor if it was a fantasy.
I’m generally a fan of the idea of the fantasy and sci fi genres, but usually disappointed by the actual, existing books I look at. Sci fi are so often doomsday tomes extolling the evils of technology (man destroys himself, man makes robots that destroy him, etc.), and fantasy can too easily degenerate into deus ex machinas and the like.
Nominal science fiction can degenerate into deus ex machina as well. A recent and particularly egregious example is Peter F. Hamilton’s “Night’s Dawn” trilogy. The final volume is called The Naked God, and is quite literally a God in the Machine that resolves all the outstanding plot points.
Still, I’m willing to cut a lot of slack to the genre that gave us the works of Robert Heinlein.
Houston here. Glad to hear there are a few Texas Objectivists.
I am a grizzled veteran of the humanities.philosophy.objectivism newsgroup (which now has little or nothing to do with Objectivism, which is why I was looking elsewhere).
kesq–
Glad you mentioned that group. Is that on Google? I went searching on Google early on and found that group (I think). It was apparently controlled almost completely by irrational haters of Ayn Rand! I couldn’t figure out why they were so interested in bashing her (considering that bashing objective reality is futile). I’m glad to see (so far) that this forum is not threatened by those savages.
I imagine another reason why he’s hated by the speculative fiction elite is that he reportedly broke into print by sending the manuscript of his first novel to a publisher, who read it and immediately offered him a quarter of a million dollar advance. That kind of seemingly effortless success at becoming a top-tier genre author probably sticks in the craw of the many writers laboring in the mid-list.
I’ve read in an interview that he also has ADD. I can imagine how this would piss off a lot of the elite writers. I think it’s great that he could overcome such a problem.