Rebel magician and entertainer Penn Jillette's new book Presto!: How I Made Over 100 Pounds Disappear and Other Magical Tales came out today. He gave a talk this evening at a Manhattan bookstore to promote it.
I asked him if he was an Objectivist, and without hesitation or elaboration he said yes. Just to be sure, I asked him again, and he replied the same. I then asked him if he was an Objectivist "with any adjectives". He paused to think, and then said no. I told him I was a "free-thinking and non-cult Objectivist". He said yes to this, as if it described him too. I then asked him if he had ever taken any philosophy classes from Leonard Peikoff or David Kelley -- as I had previously heard -- but he said no. However, he said his magic partner Teller had, from Peikoff. I got the distinct impression that Teller was an Objectivist too. I finally asked Penn if he was a transhumanist, and he immediately said yes.
