 Thinking for yourself doesn't mean thinking about everything. Some things I don't think about. I don't think about how an automobile works. I mean, if I do, then I'll get a book, I'll gain an understanding to the extent that I need it, but only to the extent that I need it in my life, or quite as it, that that knowledge is a value to me. So being a being of reason, thinking and thinking from oneself does not mean one needs to know everything, to think about everything, to conceive of everything. First super chat question. Whoops, something went wrong there, sorry. Let me just copy paste it. Think about, think about, you know, probably the best literary example of independence versus dependence. Anybody can think, anybody can think about, in Heinren's writing, what is the pair of characters that best represent the issue of dependence and independence? Second, to think about it, all right? We can, and think about, think about what it is in Heinren's literature in her novels, but then think about cases of, in real life, who do you know, who is a public figure out there, that you can identify who is independent versus dependent? But in Heinren's literature, the obvious example is, let's see, rock and meeting, I assume you mean Keating, yeah. Howard Rock versus Keating, right? Peter Keating, Howard Rock. Howard Rock is a man of independence. Thank you, guy. Howard Rock builds based on his own standards. He thinks, he creates, he designs his own career. He pursues a particular career based on his own chosen values. He does not seek other people's permission. He does not seek other people's approval. Other than in what sense? Other than as traders. Now that does not mean that Howard Rock knows everything. He seeks another architect, Cameron, who I admire, as he respects, who he knows he can learn from and learns from him and trades with him through being employed by him. He seeks knowledge, he goes to university, doesn't get much knowledge there, and he ultimately leaves or he's kicked out or drops out, but he seeks knowledge. He reads books, I assume, he observes other architecture, he tries to learn everything he can about the field that he wants to focus on and that he wants to specialize, he applies his mind and then he trades with those who have something to offer him. So that's one sense in which he interacts with other people. The other sense is, while he doesn't seek other's approval, he seeks clients. He seeks people who will trade with him, not trade with him blindly, but trade with him because they value him, they value his mind, they value what he will create, they value the value that he represents. So even though Rock is a person, so even though Rock in some sense financially depends on his clients, he's not dependent on them. He trades with them as a complete independent thinker and when they don't recognize the value he represents, when this satisfaction would require him to compromise on his own values, what does he do? Well, he basically walks away. He walks away. He refuses to compromise. Why? Because he's an independent thinker. He values his own mind. He values his life and he will not compromise on his mind, on his values. So he walks away. He walks away because what he would create if he listened to the client would be an essential compromise to his own life, to his own values, to his own thinking. He would compromise his thinking. He would undermine his independence. And the whole idea of independence as a virtue is you take full responsibility for the thinking, the consequences, the outcomes of your thinking and you won't tolerate. If you take this seriously, you don't tolerate sloppiness, compromise, and just bad products, bad outcomes. It's you. It represents you. It's your life. It's who you are. Now, you know, this also fits in with integrity, right? He's a man of his words. He wants to make sure the product of his mind is consistent with his values, with his ideas. I mean, all of Inran's virtues, all of the objectivist virtues integrate. They all connect. They're all, in a sense, one whole. There's a section we'll get to at the end when we've talked about all the virtues, which is called unity of the virtues. All the virtues are united under one. I mean, in a sense, that one is rationality. What we need today, what I call the new intellectual, would be any man or woman who is willing to think. Meaning, any man or woman who knows that man's life must be guided by reason, by the intellect, not by feelings, wishes, whims, or mystic revelations. Any man or woman who values his life and who does not want to give in to today's cult of despair, cynicism, and impotence, and does not intend to give up the world to the dark ages and to the role of the collectivist brought. All right, before we go on, reminder, please like the show. We've got 163 live listeners right now. 30 likes. That should be at least 100. I figure at least 100 of you actually like the show. Maybe they're like 60 of the Matthews out there who hate it. But at least the people who are liking it, I want to see a thumbs up. There you go. Start liking it. I want to see that go to 100. All it takes is a click of a thing, whether you're looking at this. And you know the likes matter. It's not an issue of my ego. It's an issue of the algorithm. The more you like something, the more the algorithm likes it. And if you don't like the show, give it a thumbs down. Let's see your actual views being reflected in the likes. 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