Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

[DMBFan23]

it's a great book. it is very long winded and a lot of time you're like "ok, thanks, I get it, next..."

but it will defintely change the way you think about things, whether or not you agree with all the principle it presents - I, for one, don't. But I certainly look at things differently having read it.

[maryfield48]

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So apparently allegory is over your head. Doesn't mean the book sucks.

It's a great book.

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Yeah this is a good illustration of the effect it seems to have on some people.

Grow the [censored] up. Someone not sharing your view that a work of literature (such as it is) is awesome is not sufficient grounds to question their intelligence.

[7ontheline]

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The Fountainhead is much better IMO.



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Ayn Rand's philosophies sound great when you're a teenager who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and that people should respect you for it. As you get older, you realize this isn't how the world works. The Fountainhead is much better because it is more about how you should personally strive to be a great, talented person. Atlas Shrugged is kind of about how society should get out of the way of these great people and let them run things, which is ridiculous in reality because even smart people are motivated by self-interest.

[jakethebake]

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The Fountainhead is much better IMO.



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Ayn Rand's philosophies sound great when you're a teenager who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and that people should respect you for it. As you get older, you realize this isn't how the world works. The Fountainhead is much better because it is more about how you should personally strive to be a great, talented person. THe Fountainhead is kind of about how society should get out of the way of these great people and let them run things, which is ridiculous in reality because even smart people are motivated by self-interest.

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You completely missed the point of these books.

[7ontheline]

How so? Care to explain what I'm missing? Obviously I'm overgeneralizing but I'd like to hear what you have to say. I haven't read these books in years, so I admit my recollections could be off.

[SmileyEH]

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The Fountainhead is much better IMO.



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Ayn Rand's philosophies sound great when you're a teenager who thinks he's smarter than everyone else and that people should respect you for it. As you get older, you realize this isn't how the world works. The Fountainhead is much better because it is more about how you should personally strive to be a great, talented person. Atlas Shrugged is kind of about how society should get out of the way of these great people and let them run things, which is ridiculous in reality because even smart people are motivated by self-interest.

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The other thing is that when Rand wrote The Fountainhead she was still flesching out her personal philosophy. I agree that the Fountainhead is much more about personal growth, self esteem etc. and less about the grand implications of how she thinks people should behave and her subsequent hero worship of the top 2% or whatever. I found Fountainhead uplifting but Atlas Shrugged made me much more jaded.

-SmileyEH

[Dr. Strangelove]

There are too many great and/or important works to waste time digesting Ayn Rand's mental vomit.

[jakethebake]

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How so? Care to explain what I'm missing? Obviously I'm overgeneralizing but I'd like to hear what you have to say.

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1. The books are not about how the world works. We all realize this isn't how the world works. The books are about how the world should work.

2. The Fountainhead is not about getting out of anybody's way and letting them run things. And a major point, if not the major point, is that these people should look out for their own self interest. Everyone should. This is not a problem that is ignored by the philosophy. It is the cornerstone of it.

I'm not arguing the validity of the philosophy, just your take on the books seemed a little off. Maybe it was just the way you communicated it, or maybe I misunderstood what you were saying.

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I am naming my first born Roark after the main character in the Fountainhead.

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Your kid better get used to hearing:
Ha Ha! Your dad's an [censored]!

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

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I am naming my first born Roark after the main character in the Fountainhead.

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Not for Roark's Formulas for Stress and Strain? This would be much better. This book rules.