Peter Thiel is a well-known Tolkien buff, naming his companies (and company locations!) after Tolkien lore. My guess is that other companies wanted to get (his?) attention and form some kind of association with his success by following suit. For example, after Palantir skyrocketed as a "software" firm, Anduril likely wanted to be seen as the corresponding "hardware" firm. And so it goes. As you've noted, Tolkien would have hated this development. I imagine him saying, in a low Marlon Brando voice, "Look how they massacred my boy."
On the other hand, "Flame of the West" is a pretty fire name for a weapon, and by extension, for a weapon developer who sees their mission as literally protecting the West. Maybe it's that simple.
Very nicely done, Nik. I've wondered the same thing. Your notes to Tolkein's letters are quite helpful in underscoring the bitter absurdity of our situation. Thanks.
Anduril, like many other Thiel-involved military hardware firms, does a lot of drones because it is an area traditional primes don't have an advantage and because it works on the modern battlefield. Don't overestimate the Trump family's influence. In fact Anduril's most notable product is Lattice, its command-and-control system bridging hardware and software (preferably Palantir) and they have been selling this system long before any connection with Donald Jr.. They have also been selling Sentry Tower surveillance systems to states since at least 2018. They develop that way because the company is designed that way, and because Thiel builds an ecosystem for Anduril. For example SpaceX's former engineer Tom Mueller now leads Impulse Space, a company which build space interceptors for Anduril. In 2022 Anduril bought Dive Technologies and since then have been developing Ghost Shark with Australia - there in Sydney they are heavily supported by the Australian Royal Navy and local supply chains, and Australia armed forces also help them to develop groud and air systems. And certainly Palantir has long been embedded in Australian foirces, and also has extensive Sydney connections.
Peter Thiel is a well-known Tolkien buff, naming his companies (and company locations!) after Tolkien lore. My guess is that other companies wanted to get (his?) attention and form some kind of association with his success by following suit. For example, after Palantir skyrocketed as a "software" firm, Anduril likely wanted to be seen as the corresponding "hardware" firm. And so it goes. As you've noted, Tolkien would have hated this development. I imagine him saying, in a low Marlon Brando voice, "Look how they massacred my boy."
On the other hand, "Flame of the West" is a pretty fire name for a weapon, and by extension, for a weapon developer who sees their mission as literally protecting the West. Maybe it's that simple.
Yes the Thiel-signalling hypothesis is definitely the best explanation
Very nicely done, Nik. I've wondered the same thing. Your notes to Tolkein's letters are quite helpful in underscoring the bitter absurdity of our situation. Thanks.
I appreciate especially the highlighting of how *sharp* Tolkien got about it… his was not a tepid opposition!
Thank you so much David!
The great thing, for these companies, and the puzzling thing for everyone else, is that Tolkien made his Christianity only implicit in his stories.
He should have appended a couple of those letters, just to make sure every one was aware
Anduril, like many other Thiel-involved military hardware firms, does a lot of drones because it is an area traditional primes don't have an advantage and because it works on the modern battlefield. Don't overestimate the Trump family's influence. In fact Anduril's most notable product is Lattice, its command-and-control system bridging hardware and software (preferably Palantir) and they have been selling this system long before any connection with Donald Jr.. They have also been selling Sentry Tower surveillance systems to states since at least 2018. They develop that way because the company is designed that way, and because Thiel builds an ecosystem for Anduril. For example SpaceX's former engineer Tom Mueller now leads Impulse Space, a company which build space interceptors for Anduril. In 2022 Anduril bought Dive Technologies and since then have been developing Ghost Shark with Australia - there in Sydney they are heavily supported by the Australian Royal Navy and local supply chains, and Australia armed forces also help them to develop groud and air systems. And certainly Palantir has long been embedded in Australian foirces, and also has extensive Sydney connections.