Peter Thiel and Alex Karp’s Palantir Applied sciences is likely one of the strongest and mysterious tech firms in Silicon Valley. Its namesake can be probably the most highly effective and mysterious magical objects within the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy collection The Lord of the Rings.
The palantiri of The Lord of the Rings are form of like crystal balls or “seeing stones” that enable their customers to speak throughout huge distances, see occasions from afar, and typically even peer into the longer term. However nearly all people who tries to make use of a palantir in The Lord of the Rings is deceived by it, performing on the visions they’re receiving with out the larger context or knowledge of what’s behind them. So why would the folks behind Palantir need to title the corporate and construct its tradition round these highly effective but simply corruptible magical objects?
J.R.R. Tolkien was famously anti-tech and anti-government, expressing his fears of what would occur when these two forces mixed via his fantasy works and his letters to mates, household, and colleagues. If he have been alive within the age of Palantir, he may not be thrilled {that a} tech firm with profitable authorities contracts is name-checking his creations.
Vox producer Benjamin Stephen went on a quest to search out out the story behind Palantir’s title, what the hyperlink to The Lord of the Rings reveals concerning the firm, and what Tolkien may take into consideration how his phrases are getting used.
Extra about Palantir and The Lord of the Rings:
