RoR: Forum

Chris,
Well done. Minor question: Why is Oism not capitalized? Is this just an editing issue or is there some legal restriction against even using the word without approvals from certain quarters?

Addtional question: How much of Rand's and Branden's influence would you say was due to The Objectivist Newsletter and The Objectivist as distinguished from the lectures, NBI etc. (In my own case, I attended few lectures but read every issue of those and the Ayn Rand Letter many times over while studying Oism.)

(Edited by Jeff Perren on 6/03, 12:09pm)

Post 1

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 12:16pm

Good stuff Chris :-)

Although, the lack of capitalisation bugged me too...

MH

Post 2

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 12:40pm

"Objectivist" is spelt with a capital "O". Maybe there is a false - noun/ title dichotomy going on there :-)

I didn't realize that NY is known as the "empire state".

Thanks for posting that Chris. Great work :-)

Post 3

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 2:32pm

Hey, gents, thanks for the comments.

Jeff, when I submitted the piece to Syracuse University Press, I did, in fact, capitalize "O" in Objectivist. It is capitalized in all of my published work, and it is a matter of stylistic policy in The Journal of Ayn Rand Studies to capitalize the "O"--so that we don't confuse it with the more generic "classical objectivism" in philosophical discourse, which Rand actually renamed "intrinsicism."

Alas, I never saw proofs on this article---so that stylistic change was made without my knowledge, or approval. Small price to pay, I think.

It's very hard to say what the respective influence has been of the lectures v. the publications. The publications certainly have a life of their own far outlasting the live lectures and sit-around discussion groups. But those live and audio lectures had a major impact on the early development of an "Objectivist movement" in the 1960s.

Oh, and Marcus, the NY nickname is indeed "The Empire State" (see here) ... as is the famous building in NYC that King Kong climbed in 1933. :)

Post 4

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 4:19pm

And may I put in a little plug for NY here with a bit of trivia. The Empire State building was, at the time, one of the most extraordinary construction projects in the history of the world. Just two small examples: it was constructed at the rate of 4 1/2 stories per week - about 4 times faster than typical, and survived the impact of a B-25 Bomber (in 1945) with only minor damage.

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/art/photo/hinex/empire/about.html

Even in 1930, Man Rose quickly and to dizzying heights. A good thing to balance against some of the 'doom and gloom' (which I also rather enjoy) described in Rand's novels.

Post 5

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 5:10pm

Excellent points, Jeff. Today, it takes committees and committees of small-minded political mediocrities in New York to debate every inch of every new construction project, laced with regulations, controls, prohibitions, and endless public hearings. If this had been the atmosphere in the early 30s, the Empire State Building would have taken a century to build.

UGH.

Post 6

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 5:51pm

Chris,
True, but what is really extraordinary is that even for the times the construction was fast, the building ultra-stable, and the design breathtaking. And, even today, it's still one of the tallest, most efficient buildings in the world. It may be the most successful commercial project in the history of the world when you consider that it's been continuously rented for 75 years.

For a more modern example of similar greatness see my article at Atlasphere.
Man Rises: Building the Hong Kong Airport
http://www.theatlasphere.com/columns/050520-perren-manrises.php

where there was not one major structure built, but a dozen -- in some cases on land that didn't exist when the project started.

Post 7

Friday, June 3, 2005 - 11:07pm

Chris,

I tried to read your article from the viewpoint of one who was not familiar with Ayn Rand's work or ideas (of course, with that little Voice Who Knows monitoring inside my head, though). I found it to be an amazingly concise, informative and interesting article.

Knowing all about Objectivist infighting, it is wonderful to see work like this being done by someone like you who just lets the facts fall where they may, highlights the important ones, and does not take partisan sides on minor issues in order to omit or mischaracterize the people and events.

As you said, a capital "O" is a small price to pay for the kind of quality information you provided on Ayn Rand being available to the kind of audience that will use this publication.

Congratulations on a job extremely well done.

Michael

Post 8

Saturday, June 4, 2005 - 9:22am

Jeff, I read that really fine article of yours when it was posted. Excellent points here and there.

And Michael... what can I say except: Thank you very much for your very kind words.

Post 9

Monday, June 6, 2005 - 2:04pm