Ayn Rand and Chess

Glad to have relit the fuse of this post.

It's testament to Rand's tenacity that twelve publishers turned down The Fountainhead till someone saw the light, and risked his job to get it published. No matter, it was the act of writing and distributing that was the making of her.

Ouspensky, I think of as Gurdjieff Made Easy, not the real thing. Beelzebub's Tales by the man himself is deliberately hard but can be waded through slowly. Very slowly.

The treacle in some areas of life exhibited by communism can happen anywhere. Tonal classical music flourished behind the iron curtain but not so here in Western Europe.

That's what's so good about chess. You can't fake chess quality by awarding a patzer a prize or academic post. We know Carlsen is the real thing.

I liked The Fountainhead...in high school.  Even then though, the misogyny came through and I could not figure out why the man, Howard Rourke, was good enough to do anything or be anything...but the female protagonist was only good enough to be his "partner" (and I use the term loosely).

This is a book that does appeal to immature men.  I won't say young men, because some of them never do grow out of it .  It's idealistic in a way that conservative authors rarely are.  Quite the opposite, in fact:  conservative authors are supposed to be realistic and practical, and liberal authors are supposed to be the dreamers.  Right?

The Fountainhead is a pipe dream.  It paints the world with a simplistic brush and then draws its conclusions from the dumbed down version of reality it has painted, and those conclusions are attractive.  It's black and white:  Rourke is a creative genius and everyone else is just in his way.  He takes everything he wants to, including an unwilling woman.  He steps over all the 2D cardboard cutout opponents that face him.  It appeals to narcissists, and says you can conquer the world if only you are true to yourself.

If only the world actually worked that way.  So, let's say the world is full of Rourkes...exactly what happens and whose grandiose visions and ideals win the day when they all start clashing?  Answer me that, oh objectivism devotees ...

This book also appeals to American individualist values.  It's the same reason that Americans love quarterbacks and pitchers.  Everyone wants to be the hero, and celebrity is king.  Topical since Trump just won the election.  

P.S. I will just say I completely disagree with the notion that men need to feel just as safe from "false accusations" as women need to feel safe from unwanted advances.  Statistics show that "false accusations" in sexual assault and rape cases run about 3%-8%, so...men need to feel an entire order of magnitude less "safe".   Not to mention that there is seemingly a world of difference between feeling insulting or offended that someone has accused you of something you didn't do versus, you know, actually suffering a real physical assault/violation?  

Let's not perpetuate rape culture any more than society already does...

Ayn Rand was an utter fool.  

... based on .. ?

@btickler - who's perpetuating rape culture?  when/how/where is it ever ok or promoted?  I have not read the Fountainhead so I cannot comment on this Rourke character.  Perhaps I should go grab a copy.

"there is seemingly a world of difference between feeling insulting or offended that someone has accused you of something you didn't do versus, you know, actually suffering a real physical assault/violation?"

I'm referring to 'groping' in my above statment.  I was NOT refering to rape in public spaces like elevators, busses, and trains.  You know, being felt-up or fondled without consent verus having one's livelihood destroyed because of an insecure female standing next to you.  Who knows, maybe during a bump in the road, standing next to a woman your briefcase accidentally rubs against her bosom.  'Society' has conditioned her to feel shame and remorse for such unwanted touches, that her bosom is precious and feels that she needs vindication.  It matters not to her that you have no nerve endings in your briefcase to have potentially 'enjoyed' the moment, even if you politely apologize.  Next you know you're in court facing civil charges and your entire vocational career teeters on the outcome of a She-said versus He-said case.  Trust in you from your wife, kids, and extended family & friends is called in to question regardless of the judgement.  Seems to be a world of difference there, yes?

I would love to see an example of this briefcase scenario in an actual court case.  First, that case would never stand up if it even made it to court.  Second, if your partner and family lose trust in you in such a scenario...then you need a new partner, kids, and a new family .

It's easy to pretend that there's a world of women waiting to jump on your merest hint of a transgression.  The reality is far from that.  If you think women are conditioned to respond in certain ways, then why don't you also understand that many if not most women are actually more likely to remain silent in such a case and blame themselves for any untoward behavior men toss their way?  

You probably should read The Fountainhead.

Give me a bit, I'll dig up the actual case of such in Japanese..  happened 8-10 years ago.  Guy falsely accused in a train incident.

Ok, I couldn't find the case in my 5-minutes of research, but I came up with this one:

http://takanolaw.jp/bigcases/chikanenzai/  (all in Japanese)  -- summary:  guy's been drinking after work, gets on a crowded train home, some woman asks him to stop groping, he denies it, but gets arrested anyway.  After 2 years of litigation, his name is finally cleared as forensic evidence and other information proved otherwise.

Here, if you run this, you'll see a plethora of cases dating back years of just such occurances of "a world of women waiting to jump on your merest hint of a transgression": http://search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=痴漢の無罪

And, don't try to pass the argument that Japan is not the same as the United States.  You'd be surprised how similar the two countries actually are.

(http://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2016062000698&g=soc) Here's another case from 2014 where a drunk guy was using public transportation to get home and a woman was upset that he was 'touching her right legging with hands and bags'---pretty close to what I described.  The penalty would be a 4-month sentence in jail.  The judge ruled in favor of the defendent stating the plaintiff could not prove her case beyond reasonable doubt.  The judge called in to question whether in a drunk condition the man could truly be in control of all bodily functions, including sitting up straight.

A Japanese documentary was made back in 2004 about a young girl who was using her phone, talking loudly with her friend while riding a public train.  A business man nearby asked her several times to end her call.  She basically flipped him off and reported him to the police as a 'groper'.  Again, after a long litigation process he finally cleared his name.

There are numerous cases of 'false accusations', btickler.  Your faith in women to behave as angels is commendable--as feminists around the world want you to believe--but women can also do wrong.

Can not.

You're biased...

batgirl wrote:

Can not.

*you're funny!

FWIW, I loved the Fountainhead when I read it at age 23. It's been many years since and I can't claim to remember every single scene in the book... but was there actually a rape scene there? Was the woman unwilling?

I remembered (perhaps wrongly, after all these years) that it was a woman who loved and respected him, and that it was rough and forceful lovemaking - which the author praises - but not an act of coercion.

Did I remember wrong? Can anyone quote that specific scene from the book?

<GMBongholio> Please explain how Nietzsche is spiritually richer and/or less intellectually handicapped than Ayn Rand?

I read them both and can find many similarities in both their style and content... I wonder what your take is. 

Yes, he is.

solskytz, I remember that scene, it was the culmination of months of drama between two extraordinary people, whose love is a theme throughout the book. A central scene in the movie with Gary Cooper and Patricia Neal. I have met people who remind me of the heroes and villains. As good a time as any to show the trailer.

Exactly this.

LOL !!!! 

Didn't know you could dodge so well!!!