Why do people who love technology also love The Lord of the Rings?

youtube.com/watch?v=Q__3R5aUkWQ * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Libertarian "No Rules" Mindset: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Technologists tend to be "disruptive" unconventional thinkers that reject popular beliefs and limitations. The internet tends to be disproportionately Libertarian in nature. It is a haven for free thinking people who can create anonymous identities and conduct themselves however they like.

All that really matters is your skills, abilities and achievements. The programmer in the next cubicle from you might be a real a-hole, look like the world's biggest nerd or be a suave muscular Adonis and it doesn't matter. If he writes great code and can provide innovation in a timely manner then you want him for your ally no matter if you like him or not.

People like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates were famous for being blunt, rude and disagreeable to their colleagues and staff, yet they rose to the pinnacle of tech wealth, power and prestige because they had the skills to succeed in their industry (admittedly as much of a business example as a tech example). In LOTR, Gandalf talks disdainfully to royalty, generals and mighty wizards as if they were ignorant users misbehaving on his computer network. S power and arcane knowledge trumps their social positions and traditional rules don't apply to him.

The great "Hacker Crackdown" of the 1980's showed that tech geeks don't mind hacking their way into a system to learn something new, gain access to information or change the world to their liking. Even to this day, technophiles tend to support file sharing, create things like The Pirate Bay and invent ways to circumvent government surveillance (TOR, encryption, proxies, etc. ). The will to know something has been trumping rules and limitations throughout the age of reason and technology.

This ties in nicely with LOTR because the story is an epic struggle to control a technology (the ring) that would afford the possessor the ability to defy rules and alter reality. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Fantasy and Escape: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Both the internet and LOTR offer escape into a fantasy world. A frail and timid 12 year old can go online from the safety of his mother's basement and threaten to use his L33T hax0r skillz to pwn the "noob" who clearly was cheating because he was able kill a Level 19 Ogre Paladin in spite of the Obsidian Splint Mail and Sacred Sword of Stabbing.

This is as much of an escape from reality as reading about a child sized Hobbit using a magical blade to defend himself against orcs and goblins while trying to destroy a magical ring. When that 12 year old grows up, there is a good chance that his love for the technology that affords such escapes will lead him to work with technology for a living. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Nothing Is Impossible: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "That's impossible!

" is an interesting challenge for a tech geek. When Microsoft, Google, Apple, Myspace, YouTube, Twitter and other major technology brands were developed I doubt that most of the world expected them to succeed or even saw value in their efforts. Now these tech brands are ubiquitous and have changed our way of life simply because some geeks (and businessmen) refused to accept limitations.

Frodo constantly has powerful people telling him to hand over the ring so that they can put it to better use rather than "waste it" on a doomed fool's errand. In spite of this, he stubbornly sticks to the plan and *SPOILER ALERT* accomplishes his mission after resisting governments, allies and enemies alike. S refusal to accept something as impossible ultimately saves the day and ensures him a place of honor amongst relentless geeks.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Technology = Magic * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Arthur C. Clarke wrote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Wizards and geeks are usually associated with years of studying arcane languages and doing things that others don't care to comprehend.

To the uninitiated, technology might as well be magic and computer geeks might as well be Gandalf using magic to influence reality. When I solve a tech problem for the average person they usually are no more interested in the details of how I did it than Gandalf's allies were when he *SPOILER ALERT* cast Saruman out of Théoden, broke Saruman's staff and turned night into day to stop some trolls. Geeks and wizards are simply supposed to do such things and no explanation is desired.

Gandalf vs Saruman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBW5P8c6_cs Boromir's Idea (profanity in subtitles) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EWfllJ6kNw How the LOTR Should have Ended: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqVD0swvWU.

I'm a good example of how this goes together. I'm old enough to be a pre-computer, pre-D&D, pre-Tolkien (at least popularity) nerd who likes that sort of fantasy. So I started out as a science nerd (non computer) who played board games (Avalon remember them?) and read Sir Nigel, The White Company, etc by Conan Doyle (read them if you haven't).

So when my equally nerdish board gaming friends introduced me to the Fantasy Supplement to the Chainmail miniatures rules I jumped on them and designed my own dungeon (D&D was later). That inspired me to read Tolkien, and then Sprague de Camp and who knows how many others in that vein. About that time I discovered Star Trek on the university computer (card deck needed) and soon after Radio Shack came out with an affordable computer so I saved up for one and taught myself to program some games.

So what all this shows is that it really is a personality thing not just following a niche tradition. Exactly what the traits are I'm not sure, but it runs to science, math, and history, with a big dose of scholarly imagination and humor.

According to Scott Bennie, the producer of an early '90s game based on the LOTR trilogy, the programming and tech community became enamored with LOTR because J.R.R. Tolkien's epic was "laced with the two factors that geeks admire most: sustained escapism and obsessive attention to detail. " He further cites and compares the minutiae of the LOTR Numenorean genealogies or Elvish syntax rules to that faced by a programmer dealing with assembler code or lining up a graphic's pixels correctly. It is not so much the fictional subject matter, rather the complexity and depth of LOTR which many programmers could relate to and eventually assumed as part of what, in its early stages could have been termed a cult, into a sub-culture, the present day geek culture.

Bennie further stipulates that the seminal work for this sub-culture was in fact LOTR. It is therefore not surprising, that certain individuals, who were exposed to LOTR prior to this paradigm cohesion taking place, may not harbor such strong attachment to LOTR; while the vast majority of those who came into the field after it, hold LOTR in close esteem, not so much for its literary or cinematographic attributes, but rather as an act of communion with their contemporary tech and programming colleagues.

I think it boils down to this Imagination and Creativity fantasy and Sci-Fi often are popular with tech loving people who are always looking for new ways to look at things and new ways to do things. I think Dungeons and Dragons helped greatly as that was a Tolken-esque creative endevor that melded aspects of acting, fantasy, and war gaming. (Play it!

It is pretty fun) Also the movie release had deepened the love as the film used fantastic technology to produce the CG war sceens.

After all, part of the point of J. R.R.Tolkien's Ents is to decry industrialization. Look at how bleak Mordor is, compared to the forest, or for that matter, the Shire.

You'd think people would recognize the cognitive dissonance there. But then, everyone has boatloads cognitive dissonance. The fact is that Tolkien is pretty well-entrenched in the geek community now.(It isn't just entrenched there, of course, especially when the movies had such a huge audience and so much critical acclaim -- Oscars!

-- but I digress. ) And so is technology.It isn't a correlation thing, then, but more of an "A likes B. A also likes C" thing.

It isn't just Tolkien, either; it's fantasy literature in general. And a lot of geek culture is influenced by fantasy/sci-fi. Dungeons and Dragons, for one, gets a lot of its creatures from Tolkien.

1. Ability for a “small guy� To contribute to something big (saving mankind, fight evil force etc. ) Hobbit (small size, not strong, no magic) can contribute a lot against big, strong evil force.

Most scientists, technologists start small, work hard, hoping to do something big (contribute to mankind), break big companies monopoly etc.. 2. Quest quest to destroy the ring is a lot similar to quest on technology. Lots of obstacles, bigger enemies/competitors, uncertainties, hopes, unknowns, surprise factors.. The “adrenalin push�

Is similar.3. Teamwork Hobbit and allies’ (formal and informal) teamwork is similar to teamwork in technology project. Different characters, abilities of team members, joy and sorrow of teams, comradeships, betrayals.. 4.

Strategy how to fend off attacks, path to avoid enemy, how to fully utilize different “components� (in LOTR: abilities, weapons, magic, environment) to make it more robust….. these are common things of LOTR and science/tech projects.5. Temptation to succumb to “evil�

(ring: enjoyment, power, money), whether the quest is worthwhile Most scientists, technologists can relate to these easily: Should I give out on the difficult project? Should I just opt for the easy way of life? Are these all worthwhile?

What if the two are related only because they share a common motivating force of the observer. Each require us to be open minded. Nerds and artists (Tolken may have been both) are often motivated by a disappointment of the world around them and thus driven to recreate it.

I think we see LOTR and Star Wars and Final Fantasy and appreciate the work someone put in to how they prefer to build the world and are they inspired to at lest think about how we would do it. I think most of us would leave out the glamorized singing contests and governmental bafoonery in favor of a light dusting of elves here and there.

I think that Science fictions and fantasy go hand and hand the techies. I know that I loving keeping up with technology and love both Science fiction and fantasy. For me though LOTR wasn't my favorite though although I do enjoy other fantasy like TWOT.

Technology also give me the oportunity play in these universes which is one of the biggest reasons I like techology.

Hmm... I love technologies but I'm not into the Lord of the Rings. XD But I know someone techie who loves Lord of the Rings, and then there's you, so maybe I'm just a bit unique? Or maybe because I'm a girl and the other person I know and you are both males?

Don't get me wrong, I think it's because most techie people are a bit nerd in some way (and too bad, cause I'm a techie person too). Lord of the Rings is a great story but most part of it comes of a little boring and one more thing, costume! Most geek likes unique, out of this world costumes and strange looking characters.

Lord of the Rings characters could also be compared to those characters we can find on some computer games we have so far. With Lord of the Rings, the story could bring you in a different world, unlike some typical stories out there that sticks with the same world we live in. Oh, it reminds me of an acquaintance.

He's such a nerd, he's a techie, and he keeps on editing his pic to make him look like a character in a game, he also acts out of this world... So maybe that's it. Techie people are looking for something that could bring them somewhere extraordinary. Like the gadgets and new stuff they like, they want something new, something that could satisfy that craving for a new world.

Please don't bash me if I said something wrong or something that could offend you... :(.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.