you cannot fake reality

REWRITING REALITY BY AYN RAND AND LEONARD PEIKOFF

“Unable to determine what they can or cannot change, some men attempt to “rewrite reality”, i.e. to alter the nature of the metaphysically give. Metaphysical: I use the word “metaphysical” to mean: that which pertains to reality, to the nature of things, to existence.

The attempt to alter the nature of the metaphysically given is described by Ayn Rand as the fallacy of “rewriting reality”. Those who commit it regard metaphysical facts as non-absolute and, therefore, feel free to imagine an alternative to them. In effect they regard the universe as though it were merely a first draft of reality, which anyone may decide to rewrite.

Ayn Rand also said “you cannot fake reality and A is A.”

THE SOURCE OF THESE QUOTES IS “THE AYN RAND LEXICON, OBJECTIVISM FROM A TO Z; EDITED BY HARRY BINSWANGER. You can read the entire context in this book, which I highly recommend if you are interested in furthering your education in the philosophy of Objectivism or want to start learning about Objectivism, which I also recommend, as it will change your life.

In the outdoor industry companies have been in my opinion faking reality for at least 40 years. Someone in the employ of these companies such as was the case with 3-M who was the mastermind for the creation of Thinsulate. As he told me he was camping using a cheap sleeping bag and froze so he decided that the melt blown (a process used to make polypropylene material) polypropylene would make a wonderful insulating medium. Mind you he did not have any background at the time in insulation number one nor how best to use it. His testing was putting a jacket on either a person or manikin such as the copper manikin used at Kansas State University and using an infrared camera to demonstrate were heat exited the garment. He also I believe made a sleeping bag or two. The bags never worked but 3-M sold thousands of yards to outerwear manufactures mostly high prices skiwear manufacturers. It took a few years but finally went by the wayside because it did not work very well.

The reason it did not work very well was because the micro fibers of polypropylene were not only very densely packed together they had no resilience so they became even closer together eliminating almost all of the trapped air. They originally stated that the micro fibers broke the air up into smaller spaces so in theory it would work better. DuPont who was a major supplier of their Dacron polyester fiber started testing and determined that the lowest thickness of fiber that could be used effectively was 2.5 denier smaller than that is less efficient and micro fibers are useless. I believe the 2.5 denier fiber is the thinnest used by Climashield for the military. I do not know of any outerwear manufacturers who use Thinsulate today or have for many years. Shoe companies still do even though it doesn’t work. Bottom line is you cannot fake reality. But this company is still trying to rewrite it, and still the bulk of boot companies eat it up.

This past week I read an article about an 85 year old shoe manufacturer being licensed to buy Gore-Tex to put in their shoes. The company is Samuel Hubbard, I never have heard of them, but research finds they make quite good shoes. So why now; since they have been around twice as long as Gore! Because they are entering into the outdoor market with a couple of boots and a winterized dress shoe. The say the following; “The popular Founder men’s dress shoe has been “winterized” to include the same breathable, waterproof technology from Gore.” So they have from what I have read 3 models with the Gore-Tex film in them, two boots. I do not know how long they have been making the model the Founder but my question is why changing if there are no complaints? Maybe they are seeing a drop in business so they think it is now time to get on board with Gore. Being licensed sounds to me that they are paying Gore for the privilege of buying their material. Another question that I have for the Hubbard people is “did you do your diligence before incorporating the Gore-Tex component in the footwear you make to make sure it actually does as you have been told?” I believe the answer to that question is a resounding; NO! The reality is that every other shoe or boot manufacturing company did not do any due diligence either. This company has joined the mass of footwear manufacturers who I guess pay Gore for the privilege of then buying a product that “fakes reality”!

With respect to the so called “waterproof breathable” materials available regardless of the brand name they all are exactly the same; they all fit the category of “faking reality”!

You can also include every synthetic material available with one and only one exception and that is the Climashield continuous filament fiberfill. As I have stated on numerous occasions it makes every other form of insulation totally and completely obsolete and of course it is made in America. When it comes to down there are no exceptions, ever quality that is used with or without the water repellent treatment fails.

How about materials that have special additives that will control or manage the moisture coming out of your body and will also eliminate odors. Materials that are claimed to transport moisture away from you so you will have more strength to be active at whatever you are doing longer. All of the dialogs coming from the companies that market these products are “faking reality”.

All of this leads me to think about how jobs can come back to America. If these companies were to use pure finished materials that do not have the additives the costs for the materials would be lower and easily made in America so they would be able to pay workers in America based upon the American standard. But the real savings involved for one of these products would be enormous, boots. If you did as I have and cut a boot in half that is made in China you will see the number of components that it takes to make even the cheapest boot. First you eliminate the film such as Gore-Tex and then the Thinsulate as starters replace it with the Lamilite insulated lining. The cost of manufacture would be so much less to begin with then there is further savings because you would eliminate the cost of shipping finished product from Asia probably China to the America. How about saving the costs of shipping from the port of entry in America to a warehouse distribution center someplace in America. If you look at the prices that I get for my sleeping bags they are similar or less costly to the consumer than other companies that get their bags shipped in from Asia probably China and of course mine are so good that it makes no sense to a purchase of any other brand of sleeping bag since it would be a complete waste of money.

Remember we cannot “REWRITE REALITY” it is what it is.

Just a suggestion when you go into a store to buy one of these products ask who in the store can state unequivocally they have used the product you are interested in purchasing and what their experience has been. Then also ask what their return policy is if you find it doesn’t work as described in the literature with the product or described by the store person verbally. My suspicion is that they will not want to make a sale to you for fear of it coming back. KEEPING THE PERSON YOU GIVE YOUR MONEY TO HONEST IS UP TO YOU!