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Comment by rhizome | Hacker News Reader

You don't have to be a lit crit to come to a solid conclusion that Rand should not be followed as a life plan. I feel the same way about "The Prince" and "The Art of War," both of which I haven't read because I don't want them poisoning my brain.

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They're excellent. You should read both, critically. You should likely throw in the Fountainhead as well....and for good measure should likely also read Exodus, 1914, The Service: The Memoirs of General Reinhard Gehlen, and likely more fun stuff like the Federalist and Anti-federalist papers. The history, passion, and often hypocrisy found are enlightening. Ayn R. had wonderful insights into the human condition...as a previous author had said, the solutions were often a bit twisted. If you want really interesting, dig into Beyond Good and Evil. I read all of Nietzsche while I was in officer basic a long time ago. Very interesting stuff. I guess my point is, don't discount literature because you disagree with it.

Edit: Apparently I'm not as cultured as I thought. I didn't know Machiavelli had his own version of "The Art of War". Obviously, my previous comment was unqualified.

However, I did read "The Prince" and I think there's a lot most can learn from it. While I find the majority of the book reprehensible, there are many powerful people in our society that seem to think of it as a bible / instruction manual. Given the fact that such ideas still play a significant role in our society; I feel it is worthwhile to learn about them.

Are you talking about "The Art of War" by Machiavelli or "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu?

Edit: Thanks for the clarification.

I didn't know there was a Machiavelli "Art of War" either. I meant the Sun Tzu.

That's like saying "I've never eaten lettuce, but I know I don't like it just from looking at it." What a weird, sheltered approach to life; you should broaden your horizons a bit and read, say, Mein Kampf. Developing critical skills is essential for anyone and it's totally reasonable to read something even when you know you will disagree.

EDIT: I as well assumed you were referring to Sun Tzu. I can't speak to whether my comments hold for Machiavelli's at all.

If you've lumped "The Art of War" into the same category in your mind as Ayn Rand's writings, I suggest you to read it. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised. Aside from being both commonly cited as influential (in greater or lesser unfortunate ways), there's really about zero similarity between the two.

cited as influential (in greater or lesser unfortunate ways)

I definitely mean in the greater of unfortunate ways. That there's zero similarity is irrelevant, they keep showing up in the same places. They're not brothers, they're friends.

You don't trust your ability to critically evaluate the things you read?

It is phrases and words, accumulated to symbols, that form our thoughts. A whole network is being built upon it which will then be your subconcious mind. It is interesting how much of such phrases one might used to get a simple point across. Like an oyster hiding their pearl. To get to the pearl you need to be well aware so you are not trapped in a shell that is not yours.

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