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Thiel actually explained this in a talk when I worked there. It comes from Lord of the Rings which Peter Thiel is very fond of. Apparently the Palantiri aren't
by manfredo 6y ago
Thiel actually explained this in a talk when I worked there. It comes from Lord of the Rings which Peter Thiel is very fond of. Apparently the Palantiri aren't inherently good or bad, it's just that power's impact reflects the people who use it. The ancient elves or wizards or whatever used them for good. But Sauron got his hands on one and used it for bad. The sinister potential was a deliberate choice, to remind people to be sure that power isn't abused. Actually kind of a good message for the tool Palantir builds, but probably not good for PR.
Also Thiel is very consistent on using Tolkien's pronunciation. It's not PA-lan-tir. Or Pa-LAN-tir. It's pa-lan-TIR with emphasis on the last syllable. There's actually a written accent in the books: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Palant%C3%ADri http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Palant%C3%ADri
Regardless everybody at the company sad PA-lan-tir.
- st1ck 6y agoI find it hilarious that Thiel is a fan of Tolkien, yet he seems to embody Saruman's ideology (if not worse), while Tolkien's philosophy is more of Gandalf's. Tolkien was generally against technology, but especially against something so easily abusable (if not abused already) by malevolent power.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- manfredo 6y agoIs Thiel seeking to build an army of ressurected elves to destroy all life in the planet? And what did you have in mind for "if not worse"?
- st1ck 6y agoNote that I meant Saruman, not Sauron. Unlike most of LOTR characters, Saruman is a very modern and enlightened kind of person striving for "Knowledge, Rule, Order", but using Machiavellian means to achieve this purpose. Maybe Sauron was also initially led by good intentions, one would have to look it up in Silmarillion.