[ExI] General comment about all this quasi-libertarianism discussion

[Damien Broderick]

On 2/27/2011 8:15 AM, Richard Loosemore wrote:

>> Funny coming from you Richard... :-)

> So it seems that you missed the joke completely :-(
<snip>
> So apparently you don't get irony.  That's no fun.

Yes, I winced at Kelly's obtuseness there. But it's hard for Brits (and 
Aussies) to grasp how irony-deficient many USians are. I keep tumbling 
into the same trap.

>> ... Atlas Shrugged. I suggest you go watch
>> the movie when it comes out as the book is very long.
<snip>

Another wince, reminding me that Kelly also asked if Samantha had ever 
heard of Moore's Law. Newbies need to bear in mind that if you're 
excited about X, chances are it's been a much-hashed-over topic here for 
a decade or two.

> ...you cite a horribly bad novel, filled to the brim with naked propaganda,
> written by an egomaniacal, hypocritical cult leader

A lot of extropes are very fond of Rand (while usually avoiding Randroid 
lockstep), so I don't anticipate many nodding heads at this accurate 
thumbnail characterization, or at Damien Sullivan's link to a flowchart 
of "How to succeed as an Ayn Rand character":

<http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e42/MihoshiK/arflowchart2copy.png>

Yes, the flowchart's an unbalanced picture of Rand, but close enough 
that it should make any fan at least slightly uncomfortable.

Damien Broderick