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No big, mind-blowing (or head-scratching) theory from me this time, just some genuine curiosity. It's explained during SA that cut gemstones hold stormlight better. And at first glance, with gut feelings, that makes sense. Of course putting effort into making the gem smooth and well-shaped would make it hold stormlight better. But why? Is it because it reduces the number of facets that stormlight could "emerge" through, as if each facet can only support a certain flow rate? If that's the case, why aren't all stormlight-holding gems cut as triangular prisms (the shape of a d4)? That would limit the number of facets to 4, obviously, but we don't see that. Is it then a function of the surface area of each facet? In that case, all gems ought to be polished into a spherical shape (much like the name "spheres" would imply, for their currency). That would make numerous small facets, which would bottleneck the stormlight flowing out, if that were the case. I think the real answer is that it's both, to an extent. The number of facets and their surface area. In that way, it would take skill and precision to cut the right amount of facets in the right shape in a gem to find the optimal balance; and that balance, when struck perfectly, is what a Perfect Gemstone is. In fact, perhaps the relative angle between the various facets is another factor. In that sense, other shapes with the same number and size of facets would still hold stormlight differently. So there may be an ideal shape, with specifically sized facets in a specific number that lead to no stormlight leaking at all. It may, indeed, require the skill and power of a Radiant to properly shape a gemstone into that shape with enough precision to truly strike that perfect balance and make a perfect gemstone. So what do you guys think? Am I just crazy?
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