Going For Galt's Gulch

The Autonomist ^ | 05/27/05 | David MacGregor

[jackbob]

This article is a typical secondhander's exaggerating advertisement starting with the claim that "internet is like an alternative society" in light of what had been written prior in the article. After that it is nothing more than a typical get rich quick and avoid taxes advertisement. In fact, the entire article is an insult to all the freedom loving readers at FreeRepublic.

[MarkL]

I was wondering who serves as the garbage men and sewer workers in Galt's Gulch? Even free, technologically gifted supermen produce human waste.

If you want to see a city breakdown quickly, stop the pickup of garbage. While it's been many, many years since I read Atlas Shrugged, I believe that he was getting everyone who society depended on and who was good at what they did. But I could be wrong.

Mark

[A. Pole]

A.S. alone took 12 years of 16-hours-a-day intensity, and she explained that, since such productivity was her goal, that it would have been unwise, let alone unfair, to have kids in the face of all that.

I guess the Randian supermen/superwomen would rather leave the task of raising children to the stupid and unproductive breeders.

BTW, there are many better books writen in much shorter time by people with children. I feel sorry for Mrs. O'Connor.

[A. Pole]

There is no Galt's gulch. And if there was the government would find it and Waco them all.

You forgot about the invisiblity shields. Ayn Rand came from Russia and she must have been so impressed by the Russian story of invisible city Kitezh that she decided to create atheistic version of it.

[FreeKeys]

Good point.

[Honcho Bongs]

Is there a brewery in Galt's Gulch?

If there isn't, then start one. If there is and you think you can do better, compete with it.

Sorry, didn't know you were humor impaired.

Maybe you're just not as funny as you think you are...

Well, in the new spirit of senatorial compromise, I'll try to be funnier if you try to be more polite.

Excuse you, but you were the first to be impolite in this exchange. But, in the "spirit of compromise", I'll be less anal if you'll be less rectal.

If you don't even know how you come across there isn't much point in continuing this. But you seem like one of those "last word" kind of guys so go ahead with your last shot. Personally, I'm moving on to more interesting things.

[Nowhere Man]

BTW, there are many better books writen in much shorter time by people with children. I feel sorry for Mrs. O'Connor.

I can think up of one right off the bat, J.K. Rowling with her series on Harry Potter. I believe she has 2 or 3 children IIRC, too lazy to google, almost time for bed anyhoo. B-)

[Nowhere Man]

You forgot about the invisiblity shields. Ayn Rand came from Russia and she must have been so impressed by the Russian story of invisible city Kitezh that she decided to create atheistic version of it.

IIRC, I think Dagny's plane got too close to Galt's Gulch, her engine conked out, probably due to the electromagnetic interference (EMI) from the invisibility field interfered with the ignition system. I got the impression the field was generated with a lot of power, ala "The Philadelphia Experiment," and it worked much the same way using high intensity RF (radio frequency) fields. I think Galt's Gulch would have its cover blown at some point, with all that EMI, someone, most likely the FCC, would be snooping around and then things would happen after that.

A side note, I'm an amateur radio operator and into electronics so I'm weighing in on the technical side.

[B-Chan]

Atlas Shrugged: One Hour Later

[JohnathanRGalt]

'Atlas Shrugged' is listed as the 2nd most influential book of all time.

Here's a sidebar from USA Today's article: Scandals lead execs to 'Atlas Shrugged' which attempts to prove that Ayn Rand's philosophy was behind the Enron Tyco, and Worldcom scandals ...

Influential books
Top books that made a difference in people's lives: 1. The Bible* 2. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand 3. The Road Less Traveled, M. Scott Peck 4. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee 5. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien * — a large gap exists between the No. 1 book and the rest; based on 2,032 responses from Book-of-the-Month Club members,1991, in survey co-sponsored by Library of Congress' Center for the Book

[gorush]

"I was wondering who serves as the garbage men and sewer workers in Galt's Gulch? Even free, technologically gifted supermen produce human waste."

Anyone who takes pride in his work would be welcome at Galt's Gulch...at least that is what I took from the book (the only book I have read/enjoyed multiple times)

[Nowhere Man]

I love the cartoon, says it all and it had me laughing so hard. Here is another one showing the inspiration for "The Fountainhead."

The Fountainhead

[B-Chan]

LOL!

In case anyone cares, here's my two cents: Ayn Rand was an awful writer, and her philosophy is unchristian and incompatible with human nature.

That is all.

[Nowhere Man]

I can't remember who posted that drawing of "The Fountainhead." I was wondering if it was you or maybe A. Pole (pinging you) who posted it. I do agree with you on Ayn Rand though plus her version of utopia working well has about as much of a chance as Karl Marx's utopian world working well, we have proof of that already.

[antidisestablishment]

it has the capacity to be as private as you want it to be

Talk about an alternate reality. Numerous combinations of just three letters can beat PGP!

NOTHING on the net is private. Public encryption is sufficient only against the public. States are not restrained by law, economics or technology.

[A. Pole]

Public encryption is sufficient only against the public. States are not restrained by law, economics or technology.

You mean they can use rubber-hose cryptanalysis?

[sarasmom]

LOL!
Unable to answer a simple question and quite irate that it was even asked!
Check your own six, you are quite vulnerable to any and all simle attacks.

[Tailgunner Joe]

"Galt's Gulch" always exemplified to me the errors promoted by objectivism. "Atlas Shrugged" is all about how commies want to ruin civilization, and what ingenious plan do the objectivists come up with in response? They shrug their shoulders and let the commies win. Real smart.

[Netheron]

Best that I can remember, John Galt himself was the one working on the sewers and such. He was specifically in charge of the electricity and it wouldn't be much of a stretch to believe that he was running the other utilities as well. Sewers and water treatment plants require a fair amount of motor power at certain points, thereby also making him the best qualified. He described himself as the local handyman. His main job of course was running and maintaining the power systems, so he probably contracted out the labor rather quickly to someone else. He also had that physics course he was teaching (50 dollars gold for the subscription.)

Children are addressed in the book, since Dagny meets two as well as their mother. The mom says a few pithy sentences that points out the Objectivist view of kids, which others on this board have already mentioned. Many discussions of specific issues such as children are only alluded, although they are intentionally alluded, since the book is already over a thousand pages long. She assumes that the reader is intelligent and can fill in the rest of the discussion, so she just touches on the broad outline. Reading the book all the way through will answer nearly all of your questions.