I am having trouble seeing how this doesn’t just, one way or another, filter for people unfamiliar with both the literary and philosophical merits of Atlas Shrugged.
Possibility 1: A too-enthusiastic reaction. Filtered.
Possibility 2: A too-negative reaction. Filtered.
Possibility 3: a neutral-enough reaction to not get filtered, but at least some parts of their opinion just shifted toward the negative and wary. If not filtered, at least now distant for some time.
Possibility 4: a neutral-enough reaction because they have low familiarity with the book. Only pairing that passes unscathed.
I’d recommend saying Twilight instead. It doesn’t come with garbage-politics implications (at least, simply liking the book doesn’t)
[edit] hm. But then people being enthusiastic fans of it isn’t as useful a filter. This is tricky. Having it be something big fans of which are usually unpleasant is a benefit for filtering the other people, but sends false negative signals about yourself.
I agree. "Atlas Shrugged" isn't "Mein Kampf", but if someone told me MK was their favorite book, I'd back away slowly without stopping to figure whether they were making some clever commentary on open-mindedness and subtlety of thought. Now, if you told me you'd read Atlas Shrugged or Mein Kampf and found a nonzero set of ideas worth thinking through, at least to evaluate whether or why your own personal philosophy was able to determine they were bad ideas, let's have that conversation! But your favorite? Uh, I think my wife needed something in another room.
Possibility 1: A too-enthusiastic reaction. Filtered.
Possibility 2: A too-negative reaction. Filtered.
Possibility 3: a neutral-enough reaction to not get filtered, but at least some parts of their opinion just shifted toward the negative and wary. If not filtered, at least now distant for some time.
Possibility 4: a neutral-enough reaction because they have low familiarity with the book. Only pairing that passes unscathed.
I’d recommend saying Twilight instead. It doesn’t come with garbage-politics implications (at least, simply liking the book doesn’t)
[edit] hm. But then people being enthusiastic fans of it isn’t as useful a filter. This is tricky. Having it be something big fans of which are usually unpleasant is a benefit for filtering the other people, but sends false negative signals about yourself.