Producer of the Week: MikeMarotta
Michael Marotta is a technical writer and author of 300 magazine and newspaper articles spanning business, technology, and culture as well as the creator of the blog NecessaryFacts ( http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/ ). As Producer of the Week, he shares with us his rather unique favorite Ayn Rand character as well as how the works of Ayn Rand have impacted his life.
Gulch Profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/mikemaro...
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QUICK FACTS
*Favorite Ayn Rand book:
While “Atlas Shrugged” is the more complete work, both philosophically and aesthetically, “The Fountainhead” remains my favorite because of its positive sense of life.
*Favorite Ayn Rand character:
My favorite character is the movie version of Jeff Allen. Jeff Yagher's work there was outstanding. He gave us a man who was competent, honest, and benevolent, as at ease with himself as he was puzzled by the events around him. Rand was keen observer and therefore a master of characterization. Coming to the screen via make-up, Yagher wore this role well.
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Q & A
*When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
In the 11th grade in the winter/spring semester of 1966, passing one of my friends as his algebra class was leaving and mine was entering, he handed me “Anthem”. I read “The Fountainhead” next, and then FNI [“For the New Intellectual”] and VOS [“The Virtue of Selfishness”] before tackling “Atlas Shrugged”. That fall, I took the "Basic Principles of Objectivism" lecture series. During the same time, I met a girl; and we lived the books.
*How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
As a teenager, Rand gave me a set of heroes and a philosophical context for understanding them. Her non-fiction provided an intellectual framework for perceiving world events and integrating them into a consistent narrative with predictive success. From the debasing of the coinage, through the tragedy of Vietnam, the success of the space program (and its abandonment), the Nixon Wage and Price Freeze, through to the Reagan-Clinton years, and up to today, I am only waiting for “Anthem” to become non-fiction.
Professionally, as a writer and teacher, I have profited from “Introduction to the Objectivist Epistemology”. My criticisms of that work appear here in the Gulch in appropriate discussions, but the bottom line is that in order to teach a concept, you must know what a concept is. The wider social context for me, professionally, is that I am usually far more productive with a high-tech start-up than I am under contract to a government agency, though there have been some exceptions. The deepest truth from Ayn Rand's works, both fiction and non-fiction, is that productive people deserve to understand the true importance of their self worth.
*What passion project are you working on right now?
My blog, NecessaryFacts ( http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/ ), is my opportunity to write about whatever interests me.
For example, I will write about the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival. This was my third year as a judge for junior and senior high school projects in behavioral and social sciences. My bachelor's is in criminology; my master's is in social science. Also, this year, I judged both upper and lower elementary school submissions. It was a great opportunity to meet a couple dozen really bright kids.
*How did you hear about Galt’s Gulch Online?
As a lifelong Objectivist, I followed the movie, and attended the local premiere when we lived in Ann Arbor. The movie website brought me to the Gulch.
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ON THE WEB
In addition to my blog, http://NecessaryFacts.blogspot.com, I have a site that I created for middle school students who were interested in careers in criminal investigations. http://CSIFlint2011.blogspot.com is about fraud in scientific research, including junk science in the courtroom, and police laboratory misconduct.
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K’s Q & A
*What are you wearing to the Atlas Shrugged III premiere?
I will be wearing my 20th Century Motors cap and Utah Institute of Technology t-shirt.
*What is the one phrase Ayn Rand wrote that stopped you in your tracks?
Ego.
*If you could be the tycoon of an industry, which industry would you pick?
Private security is severely under-exploited. Today, it is a business of management with few entrepreneurs because it is heavily regulated, and dominated by retired police and military. To me, protecting others is a business service. You are there to make their lives easier, not to punish them for breaking the rules. Your clients and their customers are not an occupied belligerent population. In business, we profit by predicting the future, calculating risks, and paying for opportunities. From conflict avoidance, mitigation, and management, to industrial safety (including fire prevention and firefighting), large profits will be earned by the first generation of true capitalists in security.
*What do you pack in a sack lunch?
I usually pack my own lunches with a sandwich of mixed meats and sprouts on whole bread, a whole fruit (usually an orange, often an apple), a small bottle of mixed vitamins and supplements, a bar of high-cocoa chocolate, and sometimes a small bottle of milk. I also bring my own Earl Grey tea bags.
*Favorite current song?
Of all the music that I enjoy, Chopin's "Heroic" Etude (No. 53 in A flat major), lives deepest within me. Of the many versions, this one by Vladimir Horowitz stands out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGi49Bng...
*Pretzels or chips?
Pretzels
*Crab or shrimp?
Shrimp
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Read how you can be featured in Galt's Gulch as Producer of the Week: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/51...
Gulch Profile: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/mikemaro...
- - - - -
QUICK FACTS
*Favorite Ayn Rand book:
While “Atlas Shrugged” is the more complete work, both philosophically and aesthetically, “The Fountainhead” remains my favorite because of its positive sense of life.
*Favorite Ayn Rand character:
My favorite character is the movie version of Jeff Allen. Jeff Yagher's work there was outstanding. He gave us a man who was competent, honest, and benevolent, as at ease with himself as he was puzzled by the events around him. Rand was keen observer and therefore a master of characterization. Coming to the screen via make-up, Yagher wore this role well.
- - - - -
Q & A
*When were you first introduced to Ayn Rand?
In the 11th grade in the winter/spring semester of 1966, passing one of my friends as his algebra class was leaving and mine was entering, he handed me “Anthem”. I read “The Fountainhead” next, and then FNI [“For the New Intellectual”] and VOS [“The Virtue of Selfishness”] before tackling “Atlas Shrugged”. That fall, I took the "Basic Principles of Objectivism" lecture series. During the same time, I met a girl; and we lived the books.
*How has Ayn Rand influenced your life?
As a teenager, Rand gave me a set of heroes and a philosophical context for understanding them. Her non-fiction provided an intellectual framework for perceiving world events and integrating them into a consistent narrative with predictive success. From the debasing of the coinage, through the tragedy of Vietnam, the success of the space program (and its abandonment), the Nixon Wage and Price Freeze, through to the Reagan-Clinton years, and up to today, I am only waiting for “Anthem” to become non-fiction.
Professionally, as a writer and teacher, I have profited from “Introduction to the Objectivist Epistemology”. My criticisms of that work appear here in the Gulch in appropriate discussions, but the bottom line is that in order to teach a concept, you must know what a concept is. The wider social context for me, professionally, is that I am usually far more productive with a high-tech start-up than I am under contract to a government agency, though there have been some exceptions. The deepest truth from Ayn Rand's works, both fiction and non-fiction, is that productive people deserve to understand the true importance of their self worth.
*What passion project are you working on right now?
My blog, NecessaryFacts ( http://necessaryfacts.blogspot.com/ ), is my opportunity to write about whatever interests me.
For example, I will write about the Austin Energy Regional Science Festival. This was my third year as a judge for junior and senior high school projects in behavioral and social sciences. My bachelor's is in criminology; my master's is in social science. Also, this year, I judged both upper and lower elementary school submissions. It was a great opportunity to meet a couple dozen really bright kids.
*How did you hear about Galt’s Gulch Online?
As a lifelong Objectivist, I followed the movie, and attended the local premiere when we lived in Ann Arbor. The movie website brought me to the Gulch.
- - - - -
ON THE WEB
In addition to my blog, http://NecessaryFacts.blogspot.com, I have a site that I created for middle school students who were interested in careers in criminal investigations. http://CSIFlint2011.blogspot.com is about fraud in scientific research, including junk science in the courtroom, and police laboratory misconduct.
- - - - -
K’s Q & A
*What are you wearing to the Atlas Shrugged III premiere?
I will be wearing my 20th Century Motors cap and Utah Institute of Technology t-shirt.
*What is the one phrase Ayn Rand wrote that stopped you in your tracks?
Ego.
*If you could be the tycoon of an industry, which industry would you pick?
Private security is severely under-exploited. Today, it is a business of management with few entrepreneurs because it is heavily regulated, and dominated by retired police and military. To me, protecting others is a business service. You are there to make their lives easier, not to punish them for breaking the rules. Your clients and their customers are not an occupied belligerent population. In business, we profit by predicting the future, calculating risks, and paying for opportunities. From conflict avoidance, mitigation, and management, to industrial safety (including fire prevention and firefighting), large profits will be earned by the first generation of true capitalists in security.
*What do you pack in a sack lunch?
I usually pack my own lunches with a sandwich of mixed meats and sprouts on whole bread, a whole fruit (usually an orange, often an apple), a small bottle of mixed vitamins and supplements, a bar of high-cocoa chocolate, and sometimes a small bottle of milk. I also bring my own Earl Grey tea bags.
*Favorite current song?
Of all the music that I enjoy, Chopin's "Heroic" Etude (No. 53 in A flat major), lives deepest within me. Of the many versions, this one by Vladimir Horowitz stands out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZGi49Bng...
*Pretzels or chips?
Pretzels
*Crab or shrimp?
Shrimp
- - - - -
Read how you can be featured in Galt's Gulch as Producer of the Week: http://www.galtsgulchonline.com/posts/51...
