My Thirty Years With Ayn Rand: An Intellectual Memoir
by Dr. Leonard Peikoff
Total Time: 1 hour, 21 minutes
In the thirty years of knowing Ayn Rand personally and being her student, Dr. Leonard Peikoff experienced a life-changing relationship. In this lecture, he recounts the story of how they met, how he became her student and later intellectual heir, and what it was like knowing her. He relates important insights that he gained, explains Miss Rand’s distinctive approach to ideas, and provides a behind the scenes view of an intellectual giant.
Study Guide
This material is designed to help you digest the lecture content. You can also download a printable PDF version below.
| What distinctive trait of Ayn Rand’s did Leonard Peikoff first notice? |
| What was her distinctive approach to ideas? |
| How did the methodology she employed change Peikoff’s approach to ideas? |
| What two types of thinking did Ayn Rand display a unique talent for? |
| Explain the essence of each one. |
| What did Ayn Rand consider to be her distinctive attribute? |
Q&A Guide
Below is a list of questions from the audience taken from this lecture, along with (approximate) time stamps.
| 1:02:56 | Would you please comment on Ayn Rand’s view of intelligence, whether she considered it genetically based and did she ever take an IQ test? |
| 1:04:20 | Would you please comment upon Mrs. Branden’s book, particularly with reference to her references to Ayn Rand’s alleged affair with Dr. Branden? |
| 1:12:24 | Could you comment on Frank O’Connor’s alleged alcoholism? |
| 1:13:59 | Do you think it is the fate of every authentic genius to feel some degree of isolation from mankind? |
| 1:16:04 | Will Atlas Shrugged be produced as a movie or a miniseries or in some other fashion? |
| 1:17:49 | In view of the anti-reason aspects of our culture, what would you recommend to people who would like to change the course of our culture? |