But Thiel now believes that Gawker’s impression of its own strength is based on the quirks of past events and not the fact of law. This belief is an edge, hardly a black one, but a real edge nonetheless. And he’s going to test it. “Given the same amount of intelligence, timidity will do one thousand times more damage in war than audacity” is the dictum from Clausewitz. The reverse is true as well. It’s Thiel’s investment strategy: with the right conditions, a little boldness will make much more progress than timidity will ever protect. So here Thiel finds his first edge: a willingness to try.
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