As Arwen Imladris says,
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I don't believe that 'expert' is quite the right word.
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- that's why I used quotes around the word 'expert'!
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He knows a bit about rope-making, but I suspect that compared to the elves he is definatly no expert.
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What I meant was that Sam is apparently (or professes to be) more knowledgeable
than is Frodo when it comes to ropes.
That's why I think it's interesting that Sam believes that the rope is magical, while Frodo does not. I would have expected their opinions to be reversed. (Not accounting for Sam's - well - naïveté. And I suppose by this point, Frodo's world-weariness.)
Sam must be seeing some minute details in the construction and material of the Elvish rope that to the untrained eye is unnoticeable. And although the Elves assured him that they could have taught him how to make this hithlum rope - which indicates only a higher level of craft rather than magic - he continues to believe that these differences should be ascribed to magic. Is the friendly debate between Sam and Frodo a metaphor the (sometimes) debate between religious faith and scientific method?