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in a perfect world, the inventors would be making the money that the capital providers do now...small startups prize their engineers, Big Business keeps their engineer/inventors down. If regulations were reduced and some really bad laws like Sarbanes Oxley, you would see startups blossom again-invention steam-rolling. we're in an age of moderate advancements to me-too tech

yes.

Must be because we inventors have screwed the world up so badly...lowering the standard of living, lowering average lifespan and instituting boredom.

Communal, yep, like "free" software. Patents should be eliminated, but we should fund and protect art and literature.

He used ...sarcasm...

Way too many patents were filed by companys for inventions and the employee never recieved recognition or monetary compensation.

apparently you've never grabbed a cab at the St. Louis airport...

I was NOT instrumental in making you the dark lord...seriously, you like it anyway or you would open another account

yes, Temlakos..here is db's talk recently given at the Atlas Summit.
http://hallingblog.com/why-did-rand-choo...

It's been a long time since inventors were generally acclaimed for making money from their inventions. People generally view them as a sort of communal resource, like a well from which ideas can be taken with no thought as to who dug it.

looks interesting. I think db would enjoy this series. My father collects radios. Vacuum tubes have always held a place of honor in that household. My home growing up was "decorated" floor to ceiling with breadboards to fancy Crosleys. don't get me started on concussions caused by not nimbly dodging horn speakers when you rounded the corner into a room..

You are doing your own advertising just like I like to do. Fine by me, khalling. If we can't be excited by what we are doing, no one else will be excited.

teh concept I had sketched out was more of a teen mystery solver who used invention as a tool-or reverse engineered villian's inventions to expose crimes. I hadn't thought about the stealing invention part...If i was to have continuity with the other novels, the stealing part wouldn't work, or else an adult Rangar would always have that on his radar and of course, he was blindsided by it. It's a tough call, because fans are critical about details like that...that was WAY more than you were interested in hearing about, huh j? lol

My earliest heroes were inventors and remain so. Tom Swift, Jr. was a favorite read, and since, I have read a few of the original Tom Swift books, which appeared around 1920 ("Tom Swift And His Electric Bicycle", "Tom Swift And His Wireless Message"). The storylines and writing are standard "series book" fare, but reading stories where problems were solved by science and invention....it never ceased to fascinate. I recall one incident where he and an associate were locked in a room with aluminum bars on the window. Tom got a mercury thermometer from somewhere and used the mercury to melt through the bars. Far-fetched, sure. But scientific.

Come to think of it, a lot of the old-time series books for young people had some thought behind them. The Hardy Boys were crime fighters, but they were also detectives and had a lot of MacGuyver in them. The same goes for "The Three Investigators" (in my day, featuring Alfred Hitchcock--they've been through several incarnations since).

There was a somewhat obscure children's series in my day which featured Mark and Rich, two outdoorsmen who tended to find themselves in the middle of mysteries (some historical) and survival situations, usually in some exotic and/or historical setting. They thought on their feet, used the tools they had at hand, and invariably solved whatever problem or problems they faced. Several of the books led to me developing an interest in the locations they explored, which led me to other things, and so on and so on....

The "Mark And Rich" authors did other series as well. One involved a racing team--all of the stuff about mechanics was accurate. I believe there was another about explorers or treasure hunters as well.

I assume there are still books for young people out there which inspire curiosity and have heroes worthy of the name. At least, I hope so. Am I the only one who is tired of seeing reams of books about zombies and vampires on store shelves? I don't see the appeal.

Ordered, and, yes, it fits the AS theme well. In fact, for a moment I suspected the main character's name might be a Rearden/Danneskjöld tribute. Still might be - I'll have to read the book to find out. :-)

Did not Ayn Rand say, and give to John Galt to say in that radio speech, that inventors were the last profession to emerge in a civilization and the first to fall when the savages take over?

My most non-humble thanks to all of you in the Gulch who are taking advantage of the current .99 special on our thriller, NOW #8 IN BESTSELLERS:VIGILANTE JUSTICE!! Please share with your friends!

Hank Rangar as a teen inventor could be very interesting.

Excellent. Yes, was there was an old radio show about Tom Swift? We were actually thinking about starting a young adult group of books following Hank Rangar as a teen inventor. Hank is the main character in our thriller.