Lord of the Rings, rated PGP

[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Well, when your fall is more than a certain height (100 ft, I think, though I may be pulling that number from thin air), unless you land juuuuust right, water is as hard as concrete. And I didn't exactly see him and the Balrog stop fighting long enough to make sure they hit the water right! Think about it in terms of the hardest bellyflop in recorded history. They'd snap their spine!

You've got a much higher chance of surviving a fall if a large object falls first and breaks the surface tension on the water before you hit it. It's roughly the same principle as the prow of a boat... only going down and not forward.

Hmm... I wonder what Gandalf could have thrown off the bridge that would hit the water first?

*envisions Istar using large firey (wingless) shield*

Sophia

[Nukapei]

lol! Good point!

[Lathriel]

About Legolas walking on the snow, it even says in the books that he can do that. It's an elvish thing.

Here is another thing. the lighting of the beacons. Do those people live up there in the mountains where a blizzard can easily destroy those miserable huts? Is it a family tradition to keep the holy matches dry in case the beacons need to be lit?
Maybe its tradition to mourn at the guy's funeral not only because he is dead but also because he didn't get a chance to light the beacons!

On the side of mount Doom, where were the gasmasks that Frodo and sam needed.
However when my dad talks about this I always tell him A. It's a movie. B. It's middle-earth

[Assasin]

Science doesn't affect people in Middle Earth.

[Encaitare]

Science doesn't affect people in Middle Earth.

It does to some extent. Sure, some things which our science can't explain occur in Middle-earth, but to their science, it's completely logical. For example, the Mirror of Galadriel shouldn't work according to our ideas of what can and can't be real, but to the Elves it's just a form of technology.

And of course certain basic principles apply, such as gravity -- thankfully!

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Assasin

Science doesn't affect people in Middle Earth.

I appreciate waht you mean Assasin. When it is suggested, for example, that Anglachel (Turin's sword) could never really have spoken, I am the first to say that, in a world of Hobbits, Elves and Palantirs, swords can speak.

But Middle-earth has to have an internal consistency. It has to work according to its own "scientific" laws, otherwise it would not be credible. Admittedly, we can never know the full extent of those laws (just like we are unlikely ever to know the full extent of those within our own world), but I think that we can instinctively tell if something is "not right". So, while I can accept that Legolas can walk on snow, I would find it a little bit strange if Pippin suddenly started flying - unless an internally credible explanation was given as to why he was able to do so.

[Nukapei]

Good way to explain it, SPM! Yes, the basic rules of physics must apply. And, if they're broken, a reason must be given. Like you said, Legolas never would be able to walk on snow in our world; but in Middle-earth, it's just a property of the Elf species, just as much as walking upright is for real humans, or breathing through gills is for a salmon. And Galadriel's mirror, as well as other forms of "magic" such as the palantiri and magic doors, etc., are just forms of technology. Otherwise, again like SPM said, the whole story wouldn't be believable. However, these "rule-breaking" incidences give the story an air of fantasism and other-worldliness that it wouldn't have otherwise. And that's why we love it so much -- it's an escape from reality!