May 272010
 

Some FormSpring Questions and Answers related to the Objectivist community:

Why does there seem to be a shortage of Objectivist women?

Shortages are merely opportunities to make money under capitalism. So… get cracking!

More seriously, men outnumber women in political activism, academic philosophy, and the like. Most women simply aren’t interested in seriously intellectual pursuits. (That’s for good and bad reasons, I think.)

Happily, the sex-imbalance in Objectivist circles seems to be diminishing. I suspect that’s because the movement is far healthier — more social, more fun, less repressed — than it used to be.

I’ve seen a big change (for the better) at OCON in recent years, partly due to the rise of social media. Many people new to the conference aren’t strangers: they’re old friends that you’re finally seeing in the flesh. That’s awesome.

I hope that my various OLists — where people get to know each other based on mutual interest in optional values, rather than arguing about philosophy — help too.

When you started OBloggers, did you have any idea that there would be so many Objectivist bloggers who write about so many different topics? Did you realize you’d be creating a community of sorts?

When I began creating OList e-mail lists, my original focus was on the OAcademics list. I really wanted to talk with other Objectivist academics about what I was hearing, reading, and teaching as a graduate student. To my surprise and annoyance, that list has been a near-total failure. (It’s mostly silent. I’ve got some suspicions as to why that is.)

OBloggers, on the other hand, has been a fabulous success. The list — particularly with the blog carnival, and now in conjunction with Twitter — has created a genuine community, at least among the active Objectivist bloggers. (The list currently has 145 subscribers, but I’m not sure even where all those people are blogging.) I didn’t foresee that completely, but I hoped for something like it!

I’m also really pleased with OActivsts, OGrownups, and most especially OEvolve. Those lists — along with social media — have helped create a vibrant Objectivist community… and that was very evident in the super-intense socializing at the last OCON.

I’m looking forward to more at Vegas in July!

Oh, and if you don’t know what the heck all these OLists are, visit www.OList.com/.

[Note: I wrote that before the creation of OProducers, OGardeners, and OShooters.]

Is America ready for a sitcom about Objectivists living it up?

OMG, that would be so intensely boring. We’re not exactly “Jersey Shore” material.

Although… Robert Mayhew, Eric Daniels, and Greg Salmieri can be damn funny, in a geeky academic way. Still, no.

   
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