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I never made that connection. The Palantiri in LOTR were neither inherently good nor evil, they were "seeing stones" with both communication and remote-viewing

I never made that connection. The Palantiri in LOTR were neither inherently good nor evil, they were "seeing stones" with both communication and remote-viewing capabilities, equivalent to a what an iPhone, CCTV cam, or spy satellite can do today. It's an appropriate and cool name for a company whose whole mission is "intelligence gathering". (Yes, it is true that Sauron corrupted Saruman while communicating to him via his Palantir, but this would be tantamount to blaming Apple because someone called my iPhone and told me to be evil.)

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago
> The Palantiri in LOTR were neither inherently good nor evil, they were "seeing stones" with both communication and remote-viewing capabilities, equivalent to a what an iPhone, CCTV cam, or spy satellite can do today. Within the context of LOTR's narrative, they were tools that were corrupted by evil and employed to unambiguously evil ends. A weapon such as a warhammer is also just a tool, and Morgoth had his hammer Grond. If a company names themselves after Grond, it's safe to surmise that they're trying to be dark/edgy and convey a certain posture or attitude. It would be silly for them to say, "well ackshually it's just a warhammer, and a warhammer is an ethically neutral tool, whether it's good or evil is down to its wielder, and ultimately it's no big deal."
- deleted 2y ago
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- vermilingua 2y ago
  To be fair, the landmark use of the Palantiri in LoTR is when Aragorn uses the stone to bait Sauron into confrontation; an action which ultimately won the war for the good guys.
- dudeinjapan 2y ago
  Again the Palantiri were communication and surveillance devices used in times of peace. A warhammer by contrast is weapon whose sole purpose is to create violence. (Perhaps a better counterexample here is Palmer Luckey's company Anduril, named for Aragorn's sword, a "weapon clearly for good".) Yes Sauron hijacked the communication channels, but Sauron also corrupted literally everything he touched--he would have caused the same evil if he was doing morse code on a telegraph.

A_D_E_P_T 2y ago

> The Palantiri in LOTR were neither inherently good nor evil, they were "seeing stones" with both communication and remote-viewing capabilities, equivalent to a what an iPhone, CCTV cam, or spy satellite can do today. Within the context of LOTR's narrative, they were tools that were corrupted by evil and employed to unambiguously evil ends. A weapon such as a warhammer is also just a tool, and Morgoth had his hammer Grond. If a company names themselves after Grond, it's safe to surmise that they're trying to be dark/edgy and convey a certain posture or attitude. It would be silly for them to say, "well ackshually it's just a warhammer, and a warhammer is an ethically neutral tool, whether it's good or evil is down to its wielder, and ultimately it's no big deal."

deleted 2y ago
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vermilingua 2y ago
To be fair, the landmark use of the Palantiri in LoTR is when Aragorn uses the stone to bait Sauron into confrontation; an action which ultimately won the war for the good guys.
dudeinjapan 2y ago
Again the Palantiri were communication and surveillance devices used in times of peace. A warhammer by contrast is weapon whose sole purpose is to create violence. (Perhaps a better counterexample here is Palmer Luckey's company Anduril, named for Aragorn's sword, a "weapon clearly for good".) Yes Sauron hijacked the communication channels, but Sauron also corrupted literally everything he touched--he would have caused the same evil if he was doing morse code on a telegraph.