Thread by @then_there_was

It's a shame Peter Thiel keeps his most controversial ideas to himself.

I've listened to about ~13 interviews—he rarely deviates from the script.

He really is like a chess master, planning his moves several steps ahead.

That being said, he does make mistakes.

I've tried to track them.

1. Peter Thiel believes evolution is false.

To be fair, from what I can gather, Peter likely believes certain evolutionary parts but seems to be skeptical.

I don't know what he's specifically skeptical of.

2. Peter Thiel believes the words we use to describe the world are immensely powerful.

He intentionally avoids certain phrases. He intentionally avoids hypotheticals.

He doesn't allow anyone to implant an idea of himself he disagrees with even if it's a compliment.

I believe Peter does this because he realized how language can alter behavior in fundamental ways.

It's why Peter looks at businesses more like a good story than an organization trying to make a profit.

The most compelling story wins.

I want to emphasize this point.

Because I feel like people might underestimate the importance Peter Thiel places on words.

He doesn't allow anyone to alter his perception of the future in a way he disagrees with.

People always ask him how old he thinks he'll live.

He'll give bounds but he intentionally keeps the range open-ended.

He always give himself room for a better future.

When people ask him to participate in hypotheticals, especially if they involve himself, he rarely participates in the way the speaker intended.

He doesn't allow people to reprogram his mind.

He's incredibly wary.

3. Peter Thiel is a religious man

This one is easy. The Bible is a set of principles that guide human behavior and abstract the complexity of reality to stories we can nearly understand.

I just wonder what's his favorite Bible verse.

When I say "easy" I mean, it's easy to see why Peter is religious.

Peter believes humans are mimetic creatures.

The Bible is a collection of stories handed down through the generations.

Humans passed down the most useful ones.

Ergo, the Bible is distilled wisdom for humans.

...and our lives would dramatically improve if we followed the filtered experiences of our ancestors.

So bam, Thiel is a practicing Christian.

4. Peter Thiel probably intentionally forces himself to believe things other people don't believe to be true.

Then he sees where it leads.

I mean that literally.

I'm pretty sure he forces himself to literally believe things most people don't believe are true.

For fun.