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Palantir is clearly a mind-boggling on-the-nose, but terrible name to those familiar with the book. The Palantiri consistently provided their users technically
by timoth3y 3mo ago
Palantir is clearly a mind-boggling on-the-nose, but terrible name to those familiar with the book.
The Palantiri consistently provided their users technically accurate intelligence that lead to disastrous strategic decisions.
Denethor committed suicide out of despair, after a palantir showed him the black fleet approaching, but he did not know that it was actually Aragorn who had captured the fleet and was coming with reinforcements.
We don't know specifically how the palantir deceived Saruman, but it's pretty clear it was one of the key factors in his corruption and downfall.
And even Sauron himself was misled in this way! The palantir showed him, correctly, that a hobbit and Aragorn were at Helm's Deep, and he concluded that Aragorn had the ring. So he prematurely moved his armies out of Mordor and left the plains and Mt Doom unguarded, which permitted the destruction of the ring.
I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making.
- WhatIsDukkha 3mo agoSaruman was already rotted by lust for the ring when he began to use the Palantir and then came into the presence of a dominating and corrupting will. So yeah... plenty of real world versions of that.
- usrnm 3mo agoDo you have a citation for that? I read the books a long time ago, but I was sure that he was corrupted through the palantir
- AndrewKemendo 3mo agoAs though the ego of Peter Thiel has any grounding in reality or ironic metaphor
- antonvs 3mo agoI can think of a worse name: Peter Thiel. Oh wait I'm confused. That's a better name for this.
- BLKNSLVR 3mo agoI've pointed this out before, but there's an interview clip of Alex Karp saying that Trump won the election in a landslide[0]. If you look at the actual numbers, no one, with any idea of mathematics or statistics or even just basic analysis skills, would call Trump's election victory a landslide. It calls into question the fundamental raisin d'etre of Palantir. It makes Palantir look like a pure propaganda tool. Therefore, also entirely useless for strategic decision making. Interesting analysis of Palantir and Alex Karp: Part 1, Palantir: https://youtu.be/PpEg0XIeFtA https://youtu.be/PpEg0XIeFtA Part 2, Alex Karp: https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I [0]https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I&t=1119s https://youtu.be/6YWFDhOps6I&t=1119s
- holistio 3mo agoIt's _raison_, but "raisin d'être" would make an excellent name for a haute cuisine dessert.
- BLKNSLVR 3mo agoThanks, damn. I usually look up that phrase so I can copy and paste it with the proper accents (and, uh, spelling).
- delis-thumbs-7e 3mo agoWell you could just say ”purpose” rather than ”reason of existence” in French. Some expression of course only exist in French - about 70% of English language - but the purpose of this francoism I never quite understood. And yes, I’m fully aware I am annoying.
- warumdarum 3mo agoIts cellphones ? They show the rulers accurate predictions of human behaviour after the the fall of the towers proofed that the left only had enbarassing cofabulations to explain behaviour at scale. Thats the most valuable thing you can gain out of social network sensor data.
- teravor 3mo agosomeone will name their company Ashnazg, probably an AI company
- LargoLasskhyfv 3mo agoAlready happened. Ashnazg Enterprises LLC https://ashnazg.com https://ashnazg.com No AI though, just fully stacked...
- GolfPopper 3mo ago>I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making. Yet the choice is very effective at telling those with eyes to see that the one who chose the name possesses only a surface-level understanding of what appears to be his favorite piece of literature.
- themafia 3mo agoOr he's broadcasting his intention to destroy world governments and institute a new global order under technocratic control. He's banking on a US General not understanding the deeper lore behind of the name.
- GolfPopper 3mo agoIn folklore, supernatural monsters are often compelled to show their true selves in non-obvious ways.
- anonymars 3mo agoHe literally considers Saruman the good guy, Mordor the good place, and Gandalf the bad guy (holding back technological progress) Discussed previously e.g. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45901389 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45901389
- bluefirebrand 3mo agoWait seriously? I'm pretty sure Tolkien would be furious at the mere idea. He could not have written more thoroughly black and white morality if he tried...
- icantevenhold 3mo agoIt’s based on a retelling of the story that isn’t as black and white and more based around the idea that technology and progress are good. I haven’t read it but the premise is quite cool. Of course having Thiel as a fan kinda ruins it but I still wanted to read it sometime. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Ringbearer
- pdonis 3mo agoWell, Aragorn used the information he got from the Palantir of Orthanc to make a correct and very important strategic decision, to take the Paths of the Dead so that he could stop the Corsairs in time to save Minas Tirith. So the lesson is that you have to use the intel you get wisely, or else very bad things will happen. I'm not sure if that makes the name any better for the tool it's applied to, though.
- jltsiren 3mo agoThe actual lesson was that you need to be the trueborn king who can claim the palantiri by birthright if you want to use them for good. Even then, it requires great effort. Bad things will happen if anyone else tries to use the palantiri, no matter how great and powerful they are.
- lukan 3mo agoSo .. who is the trueborn king today? I believe there is no shortage of aspirants.
- close04 3mo agoEasy. Nobody. The extreme power this gives will corrupt anyone in the real world.
- lukan 3mo agoSo fantasy novels aren't a great playbook for actual government? Too bad that too many people are still heavily influenced by this.
- comfysocks 3mo agoA bullied kid finds refuge in sci-fi and fantasy books. This kid builds a mental fantasy world where they get revenge on their tormentors. In this mental fantasy world, every self-serving thing they do is “righteous”, because it undoes the harm that was done to them. Their manifesto is a mish-mash of ideas from the books, but twisted to make them into the good guy. Some of these kids eventually grow up and meet people who are kind to them. They find positive lessons in real human social interactions. They leave their protective fantasy bubble behind. They eventually learn to seek justice where there was injustice. Others never grow up. They end up seeking to fight injustice with a new form of injustice. Only this time, they get to be the tormentor.
- randycupertino 3mo ago> I honestly can't think of a worse name for a company that provides intel for strategic decision making. Well their motto is basically "Be Evil and Get Rich" so I think the name fits. Peter Thiel routinely defends Mordor - "they had technology! The rest of the world was just agricultural luddites."