Tuesday 7 July 2009

Twittering OCON [update 2]

Hey, this is very cool.  The Ayn Rand Institute’s annual Objectivist conference, OCON, is being “twittered” live – which means that even from ten-thousand miles away you can keep up with all the fascinating speakers over the coming week-and-a-bit at Twitter simply by hooking into it all here via #OCON.  Here are just some of the ideas-that-can-save-the-world that you can lap up:

Recent months have poignantly demonstrated the importance of philosophy in human life, as current events seem to spring directly from the pages of Atlas Shrugged. As most Americans look towards government to rescue them, our speakers show what alternative solutions Ayn Rand's philosophy can offer to today's world with presentations such as

  • "The Separation of Church and State," by Onkar Ghate;
  • "Principled Leadership," by BB&T’s John Allison;
  • “'Humanity’s Darkest Evil': The Lethal Destructiveness of Non-Objective Law," by Tara Smith;
  • "Free Minds and Free Markets," by Peter Schwartz; and
  • "Property Rights—and Wrongs," by Thomas A. Bowden.

Other stimulating topics will be available as well, including history, psychology, drama, epistemology, mathematics, and the nature and necessity of friendship.

UPDATE 1: Oh, a few other blogs are summarising the presentations as well, including The Crucible, Titanic Deck Chairs and Noodle Food.  Check them out too, especially if you want to see what you’ve already missed, or you simply prefer your summaries less fractured.

UPDATE 2: An attendee sums up day 3 in 140 words:

Day 3 Recap: Metaphors !=Concepts; Chocolate Fondue = delicious; We are the new intellectuals; I need to start writing; Optimism 4 ARI

And offers a reflection:

If evil is impotent, are good men the equivalent of viagra?

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