I like to imagine Gandalf has some sort of magical crystal ball that tells him the probability of different events.
- Like, when he wanted to help Thorin and Company take their home back from a dragon, he first spent weeks with his crystal ball spinning different probability scenarios, such as:
Gandalf: Okay. What if Thorin goes to fight Smaug with a small army of Dwarves? Likelihood of success?
Magic 8 Ball: 0%
Gandalf: What if he has a gigantic army of Dwarves?
Magic 8 Ball: 0.000001% chance of success
Gandalf: Hrrrmm... what if I unite all the forces of Middle Earth to stand side by side against the dragon?
Magic 8 Ball: 0%
Gandalf: How is it lower now?!??
[Weeks Later]
Gandalf, increasingly frazzled: okay okay. What if I accompany Thorin and 12 Dwarves on the quest?
Magic 8 Ball: .... 0.2% [the highest so far]
Gandalf, getting desperate: fine... how about me, Thorin, 12 Dwarves, and uhhhhh..... a Hobbit?
Magic 8 Ball: 60%
Gandalf: I'm sorry WHAT
----
Decades later, when the events of the trilogy are about to begin and force Middle Earth to face an even greater challenge than a dragon in a mountain, immediately Gandalf is just like,
"Oh we are gonna need at LEAST two hobbits for this one . . . "
