Thiel said he believed society's bias toward testing math ability began during the French Revolution, because verbal ability was believed to run in families.

The claim is hedged ('I believe'). It has two parts: an origin (emphasis on testing mathematical ability began in Revolutionary France, for example with École Polytechnique entrance exams from 1794) and a rationale (verbal ability was thought to run in families, so maths was seen as a fairer measure of merit). True: historians of education document that math-based selective testing took hold in Revolutionary France and that the stated rationale was seen at the time as countering inherited, class-linked verbal or classical skills. Mostly true: the Revolutionary-era origin is supported, but the rationale is only loosely documented or is framed differently, for example as meritocracy versus aristocratic privilege. Mixed: maths exams had Revolutionary-era roots, but the bias clearly began earlier or elsewhere, and the rationale is unsupported. Mostly false: the link to the Revolution is marginal. False: historians show math-centred testing began in an unrelated period or place with no such rationale.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Anatomie d’un concours Histoire de l’éducation (OpenEdition Journals) · May 2002

   “Le décret précise que « les élèves seront choisis parmi les jeunes gens qui auront justifié de leur bonne conduite, ainsi que de leur attachement aux principes républicains, et qui auront prouvé leur intelligence en subissant un examen sur l’arithmétique et sur les éléments d’algèbre et de géométrie ».”

2. E2 La préparation aux grandes écoles scientifiques au xixe siècle : établissements publics et institutions privées Histoire de l’éducation (OpenEdition Journals) · May 2001

   “Sous l’Ancien Régime, en effet, l’admission dans les armes savantes (corps du génie militaire, de l’artillerie et de la marine) et leurs écoles s’effectue déjà par voie d’examen. Les examinateurs de chaque arme, après avoir interrogé les aspirants sur les mathématiques, sélectionnent et classent les admissibles,”

3. E3 Mathematics in the Historical Collections of École Polytechnique Part II EMS Newsletter (European Mathematical Society) · March 2019

   “The view that among all the sciences necessary to both civil and military engineers, mathematics has the most considerable rank was already common before the Revolution when mathematical education was considered an integral part of military education.”

4. E4 Peter Thiel's Principles peterl168.substack.com (personal Substack essay) · 31 July 2025

   “A common belief at that time was that mathematical ability, unlike verbal skill, was evenly distributed and more “meritocratic.””

E1 quotes a decree requiring candidates to show "attachment to republican principles" and pass an exam in arithmetic, algebra and geometry, so maths-based selection did exist in the Revolutionary era. But E2 says entry to the scientific military corps was already decided by mathematics examinations under the Ancien Régime. E3 adds that maths already held the top rank in engineering education before the Revolution, so the practice began earlier. The only support for the rationale, that verbal ability was thought to run in families, is a 2025 personal essay (E4), and the quoted passage gives no historical source. None of the historical sources back it, so under the criteria the claim is mixed.