Attack of the Context Eating Zombies

I identify myself as an Objectivist, but I've never intended this to be an "Objectivist blog". There are plenty of exceptional spokesmen, and resources, that do a much better job of promoting and advocating the philosophy than I can. But every once in a while there's something so outlandish that even I feel the need to point it out.

The internet is filled with scathing attacks on Ayn Rand. Every single one I've ever read has been written by someone who is either woefully ignorant of Rand's ideas or just intentionally dishonest. Ari Armstrong wrote an outstanding piece that debunks most of the popular smears that is well worth the read. But a tweet this week from Mark Wickens of Randex highlighted a pretty glaring distortion of an Ayn Rand quote published in the Scientific American that deserves review. The article, by Christie Wilcox, seems to be a Halloween inspired and otherwise innocuous report on creepy bugs. Fair enough. But check out the blurb that headlines the article:

“The purpose of man’s life…is to become an abject zombie who serves a purpose he does not know, for reasons he is not to question.” – Ayn Rand

Holy Context Removal, Batman! Is Wilcox quoting Ayn Rand or Anne Rice?

The use of ellipses in this case is grossly misleading. By cutting out two significant words and replacing them with 3 dots, the quote gives the impression that Rand said something contrary to what she did say.

Let's see what happens when we offer some context to the snippet from Galt's speech (emphasis mine):

Man’s standard of value, say the mystics of spirit, is the pleasure of God, whose standards are beyond man’s power of comprehension and must be accepted on faith. Man’s standard of value, say the mystics of muscle, is the pleasure of Society, whose standards are beyond man’s right of judgment and must be obeyed as a primary absolute. The purpose of man’s life, say both, is to become an abject zombie who serves a purpose he does not know, for reasons he is not to question. His reward, say the mystics of spirit, will be given to him beyond the grave. His reward, say the mystics of muscle, will be given on earth—to his great-grandchildren.

Not even morse code uses dots to remove as much context as Wilcox does here. Compounding the error, the link provided in the Scientific American quote directed readers to Wikipedia, hardly a reliable source for Rand, or anything else for that matter.

A charitable interpretation of Wilcox's article lends itself to the impression that she found a cool quote about zombies and ran with it. There doesn't appear to be any political motivation or intentional smearing behind her use of the phrase. But that doesn't excuse employing ellipses to completely distort Rand's words. It's dishonest and amateurish to present the quote in that fashion, especially when she didn't link to a reputable source for the quote in it's entirety. It's curious that this passed muster at the Scientific American and makes you wonder that if perhaps Rand was a more likeable figure, would the distortion have made it to print?

Wilcox would have better served her readers had she followed the advice posted yesterday at Alexander Marriott's Wit and Wisdom:

Only repost a quotation when you know for sure that it is authentic and you are familiar enough with the context in which the quote came about to explain why, where and when it was either said or written.

Marriott highlights several oft-repeated "historical" misquotes and debunks them with ease. He also offers seemingly obvious yet underused tips on spotting the frauds. If more people adhered to Marriot's standards the internet would be a better place, and Rand wouldn't be the zombie promoting monster she's made out to be.