10 ms·

OP here. What a coincidence, it's precisely Ayn Rand I'm talking about, and I've read every book of hers except For the New Intellectual (by the time I got arou

by hliyan 10y ago

OP here. What a coincidence, it's precisely Ayn Rand I'm talking about, and I've read every book of hers except For the New Intellectual (by the time I got around to it, I had thankfully recovered). I even read most of Nathaniel Brandon. Please, don't try this. Ayn Rand has some great ideas, but they make certain assumptions about human nature that are quite simply not true (which is the same problem with capitalism).

IsaacL 10y ago
I avoided her for a long time, based on her negative reputation, then finally started reading her books a couple of years ago and was blown away. She's much, much deeper than I'd been led to believe. I always make a point to reply whenever I see her mentioned on HN, because her philosophy helped me out of a very messy series of life crises, and I hope someone else struggling to figure things out sees my comment and is inspired to take a look.
- dsacco 10y ago
  Can you comment on your thoughts about Objectivism? What is it that appeals to you about Ayn Rand?
  - IsaacL 10y ago
    Fundamentally, I think Objectivism is true, i.e., it is correct on all the essential points. Ayn Rand is a lot deeper than people give her credit for -- much, much deeper than the strawman "capitalism = good, socialism = bad". What sold me was her non-fiction writings on consciousness and epistemology (theory of knowledge). Click around here if you're curious: http://aynrandlexicon.com/book/conceptual.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/book/conceptual.html.
- cableshaft 10y ago
  If you're talking about a model for how an individual can cultivate a certain attitude pursue achievement and productivity, I'd agree it's a pretty decent one. But as for how the characters behaved and reacted to each other, it seemed too robot-like and lacking empathy that The Fountainhead, for example, literally had me tossing the book across the room multiple times. "Real people don't act like that!" I remembered saying. And that was in high school, when I was Libertarian. I still finished the book though. If someone wants to check her out, I think Anthem is the one to read. You get all of her ideas, pretty much, with the bonus of being able to get through it in a few hours. Her other books are way too long-winded. The Fountainhead, despite being infuriating and having some excessive diatribes, I did think was a good book overall. Personally, of all the high school reading I did, Walden had a much more lasting effect on me than Ayn Rand did.
  - mistermann 10y ago
    Wouldn't a collection of non-fiction essays be a better fit as it avoids a lot of the terrible writing in the novels?

by hliyan 10y ago

IsaacL 10y ago

I avoided her for a long time, based on her negative reputation, then finally started reading her books a couple of years ago and was blown away. She's much, much deeper than I'd been led to believe. I always make a point to reply whenever I see her mentioned on HN, because her philosophy helped me out of a very messy series of life crises, and I hope someone else struggling to figure things out sees my comment and is inspired to take a look.

dsacco 10y ago
Can you comment on your thoughts about Objectivism? What is it that appeals to you about Ayn Rand?
- IsaacL 10y ago
  Fundamentally, I think Objectivism is true, i.e., it is correct on all the essential points. Ayn Rand is a lot deeper than people give her credit for -- much, much deeper than the strawman "capitalism = good, socialism = bad". What sold me was her non-fiction writings on consciousness and epistemology (theory of knowledge). Click around here if you're curious: http://aynrandlexicon.com/book/conceptual.html http://aynrandlexicon.com/book/conceptual.html.
cableshaft 10y ago
If you're talking about a model for how an individual can cultivate a certain attitude pursue achievement and productivity, I'd agree it's a pretty decent one. But as for how the characters behaved and reacted to each other, it seemed too robot-like and lacking empathy that The Fountainhead, for example, literally had me tossing the book across the room multiple times. "Real people don't act like that!" I remembered saying. And that was in high school, when I was Libertarian. I still finished the book though. If someone wants to check her out, I think Anthem is the one to read. You get all of her ideas, pretty much, with the bonus of being able to get through it in a few hours. Her other books are way too long-winded. The Fountainhead, despite being infuriating and having some excessive diatribes, I did think was a good book overall. Personally, of all the high school reading I did, Walden had a much more lasting effect on me than Ayn Rand did.
- mistermann 10y ago
  Wouldn't a collection of non-fiction essays be a better fit as it avoids a lot of the terrible writing in the novels?