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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 1288391" data-attributes="member: 177">Huh.&nbsp; I don't dismiss it out of hand, and I note Tolkien's words.&nbsp; Or lack thereof - I mark that there's no explicit statement backing you up in any document of which we are aware.&nbsp; Anything else is interpretation.&nbsp; Interpretation is not knowledge, as any teacher of literature will tell you.&nbsp; Interpretation is a process in your mind, not the mind of the author.&nbsp; Interpretation might tell you how you might have written it, or how it seems to you would be most consistent with what else is present in the text.&nbsp; But it does not tell you anything about the author's mental processes without question - so you cannot be sure of answers to &quot;what if?&quot; questions.The very statement that &quot;any other interpretation is patently absurd&quot; is itself absurd, especially when you're faced with folks who have already voiced other interpretations.&nbsp; Again, interpretation is a process within the reader's mind - many minds means many interpretations.This is an informal forum, so I chose to point out the nonsensical notion that interpretation equals knowledge with a bit of my own nonsense.&nbsp; Sorry if it offended.&nbsp; The basic notion is still sound, though.&nbsp; You don't know Tolkien's mind better than anyone else here.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 1288391, member: 177"] Huh. I don't dismiss it out of hand, and I note Tolkien's words. Or lack thereof - I mark that there's no explicit statement backing you up in any document of which we are aware. Anything else is interpretation. Interpretation is not knowledge, as any teacher of literature will tell you. Interpretation is a process in your mind, not the mind of the author. Interpretation might tell you how you might have written it, or how it seems to you would be most consistent with what else is present in the text. But it does not tell you anything about the author's mental processes without question - so you cannot be sure of answers to "what if?" questions. The very statement that "any other interpretation is patently absurd" is itself absurd, especially when you're faced with folks who have already voiced other interpretations. Again, interpretation is a process within the reader's mind - many minds means many interpretations. This is an informal forum, so I chose to point out the nonsensical notion that interpretation equals knowledge with a bit of my own nonsense. Sorry if it offended. The basic notion is still sound, though. You don't [i]know[/i] Tolkien's mind better than anyone else here. [/QUOTE]

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