You are dead on right except that you have collapsed two important
concepts. What is "valid" is not necessarily what is in your self-interest.
This is of course the major flaw with Rand's philosophy, and ironically the
same thing that makes her simplistic worldview so palatable: she claims
that the more you know objective reality, the better equipped you are to
achieve your goals in life. This is false for two reasons. First, there are
an infinity of maps of objective reality, all equally valid. Second, the
memetic programming that equips you for maximum
enjoyment/fulfillment/success (by your own definition) in life in not 100%
aligned with the Truth (if there were such a thing). We have discussed both
of these problems at length on this list, but they are eternally slippery
for the human (Level-2) mind to grasp.
Richard Brodie RBrodie@brodietech.com http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie
Author, VIRUS OF THE MIND: The New Science of the Meme
http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/votm.htm
Visit Meme Central: http://www.brodietech.com/rbrodie/meme.htm