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Comment by axiom | Hacker News Reader

Rumor has it that John Carmack is an Objectivist, which puts this statement into context.

His wife, Anna Kang, definitely is (started Fountainhead Entertainment). That practically guarantees that Carmack is, because it's highly unlikely an Objectivist would marry a non-Objectivist.

What baffles me is, how on earth do id and Fountainhead games exemplify Objectivist ideals?

Why can't an objectivist marry a non-objectivist? If Carmack were a socialist, it would be unlikely: to an objectivist, socialist views would suggest moral decay. That could hurt a marriage. But if Carmack's views are not too far off, she could simply view him as mistaken. Why not marry him under those circumstances?

(Note: I really don't know the social details of objectivism, e.g. how cultish it really is in practice. Just the basic philosophy.)

It's possible, but Objectivism's different from your average ideology in that who you take as your significant other must itself be determined by Objectivist ideals. (That's how Rand wrote it, at least.) In practice, there are probably Objectivists who don't take it that far, but I'm betting Anna Kang isn't one of them.

By the way, noticed you're at Courant. Do you know Adi, by any chance?

I realize that; Dagney's railroad skillz are what give Rand's fantasy men a boner, and vice versa for Galt. I totally understand that, and have similar tastes. John Galt is the ideal, but Carmack comes pretty close, I'd expect. Even if his reasoning isn't perfect, I suspect the rest of his resume would make up for that.

Don't know Adi.

Really? I don't know what he's done aside from id and Armadillo, and he's obviously a mathematical genius, but I can't quite see Doom, Quake, etc. and their underlying technology as "prime mover" material. And I actually think it's kind of hilarious that Fountainhead Entertainment would make "Doom RPG", or even be an entertainment company to begin with. Rand, I'm sure, is rolling in her grave.

What is an objectivist? (I read wikipedia but I am not sure what this refers to).

Ah, thanks, that does shed some light.

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