I've completed "Atlas Shrugged". I think I more completely understand Ayn Rand's view of man, the universe and everything than I did after completing "The Fountainhead". Ayn Rand's heroes and villains are high-contrast with not much nuance and in fact Mr. Thompson, one of the bad guys, goes on for some length about what a reletivist he is.
Ayn Rand is a technologist that doesn't like mysticism (which, I believe translates into religion of any sort), charity, mercy or compromise. She also is a bit of a bigot and is not shy about referring to Indians (both the Long Island, USA and New Delhi, India variety) as uncouth savages although this is probably a reflection of the mode of her era as "Atlas Shrugged" was published in 1957.
Of the heroes of Atlas Shrugged, I find Hank Reardon the most interesting. He's an entrepreneur and an engineer and he happily works really long hours. His employees respect him for his honesty and unwillingness to compromise, and his wife despises him for his unwillingness to socialize.
Of the villains, Jim Taggart intrigues me. He is a schmoozer of the first order and is adept at gaining power and prestige by co opting others' efforts. Most fascinating though, is his behavior near the end of the book, when he is witnessing the torture of John Galt. Ayn Rand says that he wants to destroy success, that he hates John Galt because Galt is alive and won't be dominated, controlled or intimidated. I know that there are hateful, spiteful people in the world who derive perverse satisfaction from hindering the efforts of others or even harming them, but I need to think more about how well Jim Taggart maps to those people (for example, how about Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel movement during Siera Leone's brutal civil war?)
On May 23rd Slashdot published a review of a book called "The Myths of Innovation" by Scott Berkun. This book is interesting in that (according to the review) it argues that most disruptive new techologies have not been invented by managers. Perhaps this reflects back to Ayn Rand's culture of the mind--schmoozing and engineering are perpendicular to each other.
Ayn Rand is a technologist that doesn't like mysticism (which, I believe translates into religion of any sort), charity, mercy or compromise. She also is a bit of a bigot and is not shy about referring to Indians (both the Long Island, USA and New Delhi, India variety) as uncouth savages although this is probably a reflection of the mode of her era as "Atlas Shrugged" was published in 1957.
Of the heroes of Atlas Shrugged, I find Hank Reardon the most interesting. He's an entrepreneur and an engineer and he happily works really long hours. His employees respect him for his honesty and unwillingness to compromise, and his wife despises him for his unwillingness to socialize.
Of the villains, Jim Taggart intrigues me. He is a schmoozer of the first order and is adept at gaining power and prestige by co opting others' efforts. Most fascinating though, is his behavior near the end of the book, when he is witnessing the torture of John Galt. Ayn Rand says that he wants to destroy success, that he hates John Galt because Galt is alive and won't be dominated, controlled or intimidated. I know that there are hateful, spiteful people in the world who derive perverse satisfaction from hindering the efforts of others or even harming them, but I need to think more about how well Jim Taggart maps to those people (for example, how about Foday Sankoh, leader of the rebel movement during Siera Leone's brutal civil war?)
On May 23rd Slashdot published a review of a book called "The Myths of Innovation" by Scott Berkun. This book is interesting in that (according to the review) it argues that most disruptive new techologies have not been invented by managers. Perhaps this reflects back to Ayn Rand's culture of the mind--schmoozing and engineering are perpendicular to each other.
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