In The Lord of the Rings, the Palantíri are magical crystal balls that let people see things happening far away, but they’re dangerous because someone stronger can control what you see. That’s how Saruman got fooled by Sauron through the Palantír of Orthanc, and why Pippin got into trouble when he sneaked a look. The stones stand for knowledge and power, but also the risk of being tricked. The real world company Palantir Technologies is named after them because its software can find patterns in huge amounts of data, but people warn it can also be misused, just like in the stories. Even in Magic: The Gathering, there’s a card called Palantír of Orthanc that makes your opponent choose between giving you more cards or taking damage, showing the same idea that the stones can help you or hurt you.