So does Bob like Rand? I think he mentioned her in a positive way sometime before.
Nah, he says he dislikes her:
And yeah.. I mean, it's hard to "defend" a bunch of what Rand says, or even discussing Objectivism. I find it to be is a useless efort either way, nowadays Ayn Rand is just "the bioshock game book thing" anyway.
But if I'm allowed to play internet armchair psychologist for a second, most likely Robert was groovy to the whole objectivist shit at one point, I would say that every teenager has that phase, every little dipshit has the ego to think they have what it takes to be the ubermensch at on point in their lives, and seeing how Robert still holds onto the notion of superior and inferior people, most certainly he held some of Rands beliefs.
He shits on Rand now, beacause everybody does, but she is seen as a right-wing philosopher now, and Robert found a new route for his superior man credentials:
like Rand, Robert champions Science and knowledge, but instead of them serving oneself, for Robert the true virtue is intelligence, and that is combined with ultra empathy, or emotional intelligence, meaning, you needs to have put the interests of minorites and the marginalized before yours.
And that would be a nice, if albeit a naive sentiment. But we all know that is bullshit, these self-rigthous internet displays serve no one besides the self-rigthous himself, a pile of empty platitudes and shallow indignation for people they clearly don't care besides the status that "caring" for them can provide inside their own clique.
Robert might have a different route, but same destination as Rand's, and that is a position that will validate their "I'm better than you" certainties in their heads.
Now for the really funny part, is that both Rand and Robert claim to be very much unique individuals when it comes to their personal philosophies, but it is clear to everybody that they are just taking others thoughts putting them on very selfish and rather dumbed down lenses, be Rand's overblown Adam Smith's ideas, or Robert using both Rand's idea of a superior society man but instead of being selfish with his superior intelect, he needs to be almost Zealot like with the ideas of equality and social justice regardless the economic and societal enviroment related to those issues.