Subject: Who indeed is John Galt?

From: "Nadav Har'El" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 13:16:04 +0200

I've seen countless postings here asking the weird question "Who is John
Galt". I never understood what that referred to, but just like the in
Emperor's New Cloths, no one came forward and shouted "Watch'a talkin' about,
Willis!?" to Shlomi (who I think was the most avid user of that phrase).

Today, when randomly browsing amazon.com, I came across Ayn Rand's "Atlas
Shrugged". Apparently John Galt is the protagonist in that book. I still
don't know what saying "Who is John Galt" means, but at least now I know
which (1075 page) book I need to read in order to find out :)

-- 
Nadav Har'El                        |        Monday, Mar 18 2002, 5 Nisan 5762
[email-masked]             |-----------------------------------------
Phone: +972-53-245868, ICQ 13349191 |Entropy: Not just a fad, it's the future!
http://nadav.harel.org.il           |

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From: Shlomi Fish <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 18 Mar 2002 13:59:31 +0200 (IST)

> Willis!?" to Shlomi (who I think was the most avid user of that phrase).

Indeed I was.

> which (1075 page) book I need to read in order to find out :)

A little spoiler if I may:

The saying, as I use it, and as it is used in most of the book means
either of two things:

1. That the sayer indicates despair fighting against the elements of
reality.

2. That something makes no difference this way or the other.

Now, you'll discover it even in the beginning of Atlas Shrugged. I was
told that the phrase outside the context of the book acquired a completely
different meaning, but I like the original one.

I have bought "Atlas Shrugged" and read it, so if you wish I can lend it
to you. My sister started reading, so it may take some time until it is
available.

BTW, someone already queried me for the interpretation of the phrase in a
private E-mail, and turned out she read the book but forgot about it.

Regards,

	Shlomi Fish

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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Shlomi Fish        [email-masked]
Home Page:         http://t2.technion.ac.il/~shlomif/
Home E-mail:       [email-masked]

"Let's suppose you have a table with 2^n cups..."
"Wait a second - is n a natural number?"

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From: "Orna" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 13:03:02 +0200

You dont realy have to read 1075 pages to get what ayn rand is talking
about- you can read "the fountainhead" and get the same ideas for half the
length, though not the point of "who is John Galt?".

And the hero would still have the initials of H.R.

Orna.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Nadav Har'El" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2002 1:16 PM
Subject: [hackers-il] Who indeed is John Galt?

> [email-masked]
|-----------------------------------------

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From: Omer Zak <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2002 15:44:48 +0200 (EET)

> And the hero would still have the initials of H.R.

Nope.  In "The Fountainhead", H.R. is The hero.  In "Atlas Shrugged",
there are more than one hero.  So, expect initials such as D.T., F.D-A,
and R.D.
                                             --- Omer
There is no IGLU Cabal.  It was not relevant when the world was short on
energy, and is not exactly relevant when there is water shortage.  When
every item of information will be owned by MS, it'll be too late to found
the IGLU Cabal.
WARNING TO SPAMMERS:  at http://www.zak.co.il/spamwarning.html

---

From: Oleg Goldshmidt <[email-masked]>
Date: 20 Mar 2002 17:30:03 +0200

> there are more than one hero.  So, expect initials such as D.T., F.D-A,

But no J.G.? 

What's in a name? The name of the hero protagonist in Neal
Stephenson's "Snow Crash" is Hiro Protagonist (HP for you computer
geeks). What I really want to know is, is the book ("Atlas Shrugged")
worth reading? ;-)

-- 
Oleg Goldshmidt | [email-masked] 
[Lisp] is the only computer language that is beautiful. 
                      - Neal Stephenson