Hitching a Ride with "The Objectivist’s Guide to the Galaxy" by Zoltan Cendes

At first glance readers might assume that Zoltan Cendes’ book, The Objectivist’s Guide to the Galaxy is a philosophical response to Douglas Adams’ cult favorite The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. But from the moment of ignition and liftoff, readers realize they’re buckled in for a much grander journey—exploring the Ultimate Questions of Life, the Universe, and Everything with both the curiosity and confidence of a scholar and engineer, deeply grounded in philosophy, physics, mathematics, and biology.

While The Hitchhiker’s Guide offers whimsy and absurdity as a commentary on existence, providing in Cendes’ estimation, a postmodern “metanarrative” suggesting true knowledge is impossible, The Objectivist’s Guide is based on diametrically opposed premises: that existence exists, that consciousness is the faculty for perceiving reality, and that reason is our means of gaining knowledge of the universe.  Guided by the principles of Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, Cendes tackles 42 fundamental questions—ranging from the metaphysical (“Why is there something rather than nothing?”) to the scientific (“Do we live in a multiverse?”) to the ethical (“How do we know right from wrong?”).  

His family’s personal backstory fleeing authoritarianism eerily echoes Ayn Rand’s own saga escaping Soviet tyranny. His Hungarian parents fled the advance of the Soviet army post-World War II, ending up in a refugee camp in Austria, where Cendes was born.

A professor emeritus at Carnegie Mellon University and a pioneer in engineering simulation software, Cendes brings a unique blend of scientific rigor and philosophical clarity to this work. His background as the founder of Ansoft Corporation, a company that revolutionized electrical design, lends authority to his scientific insights—while his family’s personal backstory fleeing authoritarianism eerily echoes Ayn Rand’s own saga escaping Soviet tyranny. His Hungarian parents fled the advance of the Soviet army post-World War II, ending up in a refugee camp in Austria, where Cendes was born. Eventually the family moved to America when he was 14 years old, a turbulent experience that perhaps inspired him to later seek out first principles from which to build an understanding of the world—and universe—in which we live. 

What sets this book apart is the author’s fearless integration of the hard sciences with philosophy, a combination Cendes dubs the “scientific/objectivist method.” He critiques traditional philosophical views—like Plato’s ideal Forms or Kant’s prioritization of faith over reason—as detached from reality, instead advocating for a reality-based approach where knowledge is derived from observable facts. This method shines in chapters like “What Are Concepts?” where Cendes explains Rand’s theory of concept formation, using relatable examples like a child learning the concept of “length” by comparing a match, a pencil, and a stick. 

Cendes’ ability to weave together historical anecdotes (e.g., the Chauvet Cave paintings as evidence of the Cognitive Revolution) with philosophical insights makes the book a master class in many disciplines.

On another occasion he connects the1999 sci-fi blockbuster The Matrix with Plato’s Allegory of the Cave to elucidate mathematical entities as concepts rather than objects, further illustrating how the human mind derives such concepts through observation of reality. Cendes’ ability to weave together historical anecdotes (e.g., the Chauvet Cave paintings as evidence of the Cognitive Revolution) with philosophical insights makes the book a master class in many disciplines.

Indeed, my personal favorite chapters concern character and aesthetics. Cendes makes a powerful case that character is built through the repetitive choice of where to focus the mind: “Thinking about something modifies the neural connections in the brain, reinforces your thought patterns, and locks in good or bad behavior. Each person is responsible for what they think about and, hence, for the type of person they become.”

It’s a formulation not unlike the old adage: “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.”

Do we live in a chaotic, capricious universe—or one where the right choices can help us ultimately prevail?

Cendes’ chapter on the purpose of art helped me better understand the dynamics behind Ayn Rand’s observation, “Art is the indispensable medium for the communication of a moral ideal”—which I often cite in explaining The Atlas Society’s strategy of artistic content, ranging from graphic novels to animated book trailers to music videos. Cendes gave me a better understanding of why art is indispensable: Because it helps humans grasp normative concepts concerning alternatives on how to behave. For example, in reading a great novel we get to see how villains eventually get their comeuppance, and how persevering heroes ultimately triumph. Such a story also informs our sense of life: Do we live in a chaotic, capricious universe—or one where the right choices can help us ultimately prevail?

It reminds me of Rand’s explanation of James Bond’s mass appeal: “The obstacles confronting an average man are, to him, as formidable as Bond’s adversaries; but what the image of Bond tells him is: ‘It can be done.’”

“It can be done”—and Cendes has done it in The Objectivist’s Guide to the Galaxy, offering a manifesto for rational living. Those who heed it will certainly be rewarded with freer, happier, and more purposeful lives.