Changes

Two incidents connected with his job at the State Science Institute, occurring following the collapse of the economy of [[Colorado]], made him realize that his post as Director was a sick joke. Though he had a budget for virtually any line of experimentation he wished to pursue, and was nominally in charge of the Institute's budget, he discovered that at least one project was unaccountable to him and even hidden from him, in the sense that he never once saw an itemized statement from the officer(s) in charge of that project or even any statement of what the project was about. That project was [[Project X]]. When he later asked Floyd Ferris about it, Ferris was evasive. Ferris said only that the letter ''X'' stood for ''Xylophone'' and that the project had to do with [[sound]].

Two incidents connected with his job at the State Science Institute, occurring following the collapse of the economy of [[Colorado]], made him realize that his post as Director was a sick joke. Though he had a budget for virtually any line of experimentation he wished to pursue, and was nominally in charge of the Institute's budget, he discovered that at least one project was unaccountable to him and even hidden from him, in the sense that he never once saw an itemized statement from the officer(s) in charge of that project or even any statement of what the project was about. That project was [[Project X]]. When he later asked Floyd Ferris about it, Ferris was evasive. Ferris said only that the letter ''X'' stood for ''Xylophone'' and that the project had to do with [[sound]].

Worse than that incident was Floyd Ferris' publication in May of 2018, through the State Science Institute Press, of a book of practical philosophy titled ''Why Do You Think You Think?'' In it, Ferris urged his readers to forget any notion that they were actually capable of independent thought, and learn to accept the pronouncements of those superior to them in their understanding of the physical or political world.

Worse than that incident was Floyd Ferris' publication in May 2018, through the State Science Institute Press, of a book of practical philosophy titled ''Why Do You Think You Think?'' In it, Ferris urged his readers to forget any notion that they were actually capable of independent thought, and learn to accept the pronouncements of those superior to them in their understanding of the physical or political world.

Stadler was appalled. Critical thinking is a necessary faculty in any scientist, a principle that Stadler had lived by at PHU and never thought to see questioned, much less directly contradicted. As he later said indignantly to Ferris, he would sooner have expected to see such a book written by "a drunken lout" than by "a man of science," and worse yet, under the ''imprimatur'' of the State Science Institute.

Stadler was appalled. Critical thinking is a necessary faculty in any scientist, a principle that Stadler had lived by at PHU and never thought to see questioned, much less directly contradicted. As he later said indignantly to Ferris, he would sooner have expected to see such a book written by "a drunken lout" than by "a man of science," and worse yet, under the ''imprimatur'' of the State Science Institute.

== John Galt makes a speech ==

== John Galt makes a speech ==

On November 22, 2019, Robert Stadler found himself at [[Madison Square Garden]] to attend a live broadcast, on [[radio]] and [[television]], of a speech to the nation that Mr. Thompson had scheduled. But at five minutes to the scheduled airtime (8:00 p.m.), the technicians announced that all the radio and television stations were jammed. Mr. Thompson and several other officials started threatening mass firings if the problem was not corrected, all to no avail. Then, abruptly, a man's voice began to speak:{{cquote|Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Thompson will not speak to you tonight. His time is up. I have taken it over. You were to hear a report on the world crisis. That is exactly what you are going to hear. For twelve years you have been asking, "Who is John Galt." This is John Galt speaking...}}

On November 22, 2019, Robert Stadler found himself at [[Madison Square Garden]] to attend a live broadcast, on [[radio]] and [[television]], of a speech to the nation that Mr. Thompson had scheduled. But at five minutes to the scheduled airtime (8:00 p.m.), the technicians announced that all the radio and television stations were jammed. Mr. Thompson and several other officials started threatening mass firings if the problem was not corrected, all to no avail. Then, abruptly, a man's voice began to speak:{{cquote|Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Thompson will not speak to you tonight. His time is up. I have taken it over. You were to hear a report on the world crisis. That is exactly what you are going to hear. For twelve years you have been asking, "Who is John Galt." This is John Galt speaking...}}

Robert Stadler gasped in horror as he recognized that voice: it was the voice of his third student. And even if Stadler had not been able to make the instant intuitive leap of realization that this same John Galt was responsible for the disappearances of men of the mind, and the overall breakdown of the national economy, John Galt fairly ''boasted'' of playing exactly that role, and gave his reasons for so acting, for the next three hours. He also boasted that he had invented an electrostatic motor, and perhaps then Stadler realized that this could only have been the prototype that Dagny Taggart had asked him about.

Robert Stadler gasped in horror as he recognized that voice: it was the voice of his third student. And even if Stadler had not been able to make the instant intuitive leap of realization that this same John Galt was responsible for the disappearances of men of the mind, and the overall breakdown of the national economy, John Galt fairly ''boasted'' of playing exactly that role, and gave his reasons for so acting, for the next three hours. He also boasted that he had invented an electrostatic motor, and perhaps then Stadler realized that this could only have been the prototype that Dagny Taggart had asked him about.