Peter Thiel & ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Peter Thiel says he is a fan of The Lord of the Rings. According to a recent interview in the Atlantic, the enigmatic tech billionaire has read the work “at least ten times.” There is reason to believe, however, that those many readings have not been very careful. Thiel is one of those Silicon Valley types who wishes to live forever. His Atlantic interviewer asked if perhaps this dream traced back to The Lord of the Rings:

These few sentences contain drastic misinterpretations of the world Tolkien created, specifically about the natures of elves and men, the differences between them, and the consequences of trying to overcome these natures. It is worth examining each in turn and assessing what these misunderstandings might reveal about Thiel.

Peter Thiel says he is a fan of The Lord of the Rings. According to a recent interview in the Atlantic, the enigmatic tech billionaire has read the work “at least ten times.” There is reason to believe, however, that those many readings have not been very careful. Thiel is one of those Silicon Valley types who wishes to live forever. His Atlantic interviewer asked if perhaps this dream traced back to The Lord of the Rings:

These few sentences contain drastic misinterpretations of the world Tolkien created, specifically about the natures of elves and men, the differences between them, and the consequences of trying to overcome these natures. It is worth examining each in turn and assessing what these misunderstandings might reveal about Thiel.