Ayn Rand Institute

The future belongs to those who dare to think deeper.

The Atlas Prize for Independent Thought challenges young minds to think deeper, argue better, and prove that their ideas can withstand real scrutiny. Winners walk away with big prizes and incredible opportunities.

If you’re capable of confidently ranging off the beaten mental track, then get the details and compete here: https://hubs.la/Q04kz9xx0

In the second century, Roman anatomist Galen of Pergamon discovered a small network of blood vessels at the base of the skull. This “wonderful net” became central to theories of the soul stretching back to Plato and forward to Christianity. For nearly 1,500 years, the wonderful net was considered an unassailable fact of anatomy. Until 1540, when a young medical student named Andreas Vesalius was tasked with demonstrating the structure in a public dissection. And he couldn’t find it. This is the story of what happens when a diligent student has to choose between the authority of the ages, and the evidence of his own eyes.

Register today » https://hubs.la/Q04kpkP60

A new intellectual arena is open for those aged 16 to 22. It’s for those:

* Curious enough to question the status quo
* Disciplined enough to follow the evidence rigorously
* Courageous enough to examine controversial truths
* Driven enough to compete at the highest intellectual level

It challenges young minds to think deeper, argue better, and prove that their ideas can withstand real scrutiny. Winners will walk away with big prizes and incredible opportunities.

If you’re capable of confidently ranging off the beaten mental track, then get the details and compete here: https://hubs.la/Q04k9jWC0

After the sudden death of Marilyn Monroe, Ayn Rand paid tribute in a newspaper column, with two main themes: the courage of Marilyn Monroe as an artist, and the evil of the envious attacks on her. She quoted from Marilyn Monroe’s last interview: about the secrets she shared in her performances, and the secrets she withheld from public view. Ayn Rand, moreover, was drawing on secrets of her own: her friendship with a journalist who knew Marilyn well and her association with a pro-capitalist screenwriter/director who had featured Marilyn in a film (Ayn Rand offered advice and attended the preview). In this talk at OCON 2026, Shoshana Milgram will explore Rand’s view of Marilyn Monroe, and her tribute to her, which was at once ethical, esthetic, and personal.

Register today » https://hubs.la/Q04k18Kc0

The Atlas Prize challenges exceptional young minds to engage deeply with the ideas of Atlas Shrugged and demonstrate the power of their reasoning before a global audience for the chance to win up to $100,000. Get the details at https://hubs.la/Q04jLK7v0.

We need your help finding the right creators and influencers to promote our new $100,000 competition, which challenges 16–22-year-olds to analyze, question, defend, or critique the ideas in Atlas Shrugged.

Details on how you can help are in the first comment👇

Blake Scholl founded Boom Supersonic in 2014 with the audacious goal of making supersonic flight commercially feasible. He spoke at OCON 2017 with a talk—“Who Killed Speed?”—describing the decades-long stagnation in aviation and the prospects for a renaissance. This year, we’re excited to welcome Blake back to the OCON stage to tell us about the significant milestones that Boom has recently achieved—and about the political and philosophical lessons he’s learned building a jet and changing the laws around supersonic flight.

Register today » https://hubs.la/Q04jfVf20