The Fredösphere

Talk of a space elevator built within 15 years is fascinating, in that it could impact a remake of the film version of The Fountainhead.  I can imagine the final scene (with Dominique rising above the New York skyline in an open elevator) different in the new version, with Howard Roark in a space suit standing atwart a satillite of his design, with no wind to blow his clothes around in some kind of cheesy tape loop.  Oh, and Dominique travels 62,000 miles in the elevator, so the whole scene lasts a couple of weeks.

And while they're taking the trouble to do a remake, I hope they fix the film's one flaw and shoot it in color this time.

Speaking of her Aynness, I wonder how she would react to the news that individuals are often dumb, but acquire wisdom when they are subsumed into the mob, er, I mean a group.  What you notice when you have watched The Fountainhead more than 10 times (as I have) is that in that bizarre but fascinating world I will call the Randösphere, whenever a decision is made by any group, committee, board, commission, or the public at large, the result is always the worst possible.  (The odd exception is the jury that finds Our Hero not guilty at the end.)  Good decisions can only be made by loners (usually arrogant entrepeneurs) who swim against the current.

To be fair, if we read past the title we find out that groups work best if their members retain independence of opinion.  Otherwise, the dreaded groupthink becomes a real possibility.  Read the whole thing for details, but it seems the ideal is a subtle blend of individualism and collectivism working together to produce the wisest outcome.  Ayn Rand is half-right, which is what I suspected all along.