shifty

I <like> that fact. What happened to the word "like"? Should have drank the coffee first .

I that fact.

Your brazen comment caused me to laugh out loud (I felt a bit of fleeting shame to that lol). Out of curiosity, what did you find funny and what tipped you of that it was imminent?

In my CC I was majoring in Mechanical Engineering, and had a decent amount of intro calculus and one semester of physics completed. I'm sure I'll eventually go back, I think I love school to much not to try again, but am trying to become financially independent before I can make a serious attempt. Also, I have to be sure I can consistently not fall behind, in other words I don't want to go back if I'm going to procrastinate. All in good time . I must be proof that people can change lol, and I'm sure my commie friend didn't intend for the book to have that kind of influence . Edit: To elaborate a bit, some time before that I began to keep a journal to help me figure out how to be more productive. I was sure that Tolle's philosophy made me happy in the sense that I started going to the movies and acting on whatever other whim I felt with my friends, but I noticed that it constantly conflicted with my school studies. To make matters worse, whenever I noticed this conflicted or contradiction I tried to find a solution by blanking out my mind and ego through meditation (which was often). As it turned out, the journal served as a link to the past that helped mitigate my "crimestop" exercise. By the time I read Atlas I had a suspicion that becoming one with the world and in tune with the present wasn't as intrinsically intelligent as conscious thought (which was prone to the parasitic ego).

Shifty, Welcome to OL, Question 1, you can start here: Selective timeline and links of the Kelley-Peikoff schism. Question 2, it's complicated, not broken. Won't be installed for a while. Michael Thank you for the thread Michael, and the chat feature would be cool . -Alex

Alex: Welcome aboard. I think you will find OL right for your purposes. Out of curiosity, is your last name of Mexican origin? Also, were you a student when you were discussing economic issues with your "Red" friend? Adam I have to say yes since my father was Mexican, other than that I have no other info on the family background. It is unusual, and I think there aren't that many Yepiz around. Yes I was a student at a community college when I was discussing this with my commie friend. I still need to get back to him after reading Atlas Shrugeged though. -Alex

Thank you for the thread . Also, If you have the podcast or if you can direct me towards it, I'd like to listen to it too . -Alex Alex it was quite some time ago that I heard the podcast you can go to itunes and search objectivist. there are some things he has said that I dislike or disagree with however I was beyond outraged. Telling someone in the prime of their formative years something like that is absurd. Yes, I remember that podcast. Unfortunately, Peikoff is against having his podcasts indexed for content - something he announced in a podcast. But what he said was pure nonsense. Bothering to track it down would be as enlightening as translating L Ron Hubbard into Latin hexameter verse. Point taken, I'll limit my search to around 10 min lol. -Alex

Thank you for the thread . Also, If you have the podcast or if you can direct me towards it, I'd like to listen to it too . -Alex

Is that what happened? So much animosity and contempt in the chat room forced the admins to shut down the service? Or am I being presumptuous lol. Thanks

Some time after I read Atlas Shrugged, I thought of looking for other objectivists around, an "lo and behold" (is that right?) I found this site. I like to give you I bit of my philosophical background: I was pretty depressed at around 2-3 years ago, and one day I woke up in my room listening to an audio cd of Eckhart Tolle's "The Power of Now" that my mom had placed there. It was one of the most liberating experiences I've ever had. It had given me the answer, I thought; All I have to do is to not think or listen to my "ego" and my instincts (whom were far more intelligent than my "ego") would take care of everything. So I spent the next 2 years trying to adhere to this doctrine. Fortunately a communist friend of mine suggested that I read Atlas Shrugged after a heated debate over my pro laissez-faire capitalism which included ideas of Ayn Rand that picked up from George Reisman's "Capitalism: A Treatise on Economics" (so I can better understand the nature of Ayn Rand's ideas lol). I read it and now find myself free from my self impose blissful ignorance. That's that; I got a few questions: Were can I find more on the nature of the ARI vs TAS debate, and why is the chat feature on the site broken?