Madison, WI OdessyCon

[Argent]

@#$%, that's a lot of questions. Like, "I am legitimately upset" lot of question. I am going to have to start traveling to cons, Chicago signings are no longer cutting it. Mark my words, you keep making me envious, you'll end up forcing me to following Brandon, from city to city, as he travels the US. Then I'll get served a restraining order, and we'll all be sad.

[Oudeis]

Bluntly, and with no offense meant to Blightsong, yes. As I've said, we have the recent example from Texas, I think it was, on the Bands tour, where someone asked him a question, got the answer, and immediately posted it online... and it turns out was completely wrong, confirmed almost immediately via twitter. Paraphrases have been frustratingly imprecise since we've started getting Words of Brandon. However well Blightsong believes he remembers it, it's still something he overheard and is now trying to recall. How easy for him to miss a word or two in the general murmur? "Roshar has some amazing things. I've planted the seeds for FTL. For example, they have an ansible already." Now what if he'd missed just two little words, each a single syllable? "For example, on Sel, they have an ansible already."

I'm not saying he definitely didn't say it, I'm not saying he wasn't talking about spanreeds, I'm not saying I know anything for sure. You, however, said we knew things for sure. You said there was only one possible explanation, and that it had been confirmed. The only part of your post, or Blightsong's, that I disagree with, are those two assertions. I don't think it's the only possible explanation, and I don't think it has been confirmed. Literally everything else you said is fully valid and has my total support.

So... why isn't a pencil an ansible, then? My hand is moving, and the other end of the pencil moves as well. Marks appear on the paper instantly, even though space separates it from my hand. With a long enough pencil, it stops working... but at a great enough distance, so will a spanreed. Is the definition of an ansible that it's instantaneous over some minimum distance that a pencil cannot reach? If someone came up with a carbon nano-rod pencil with no flexibility that would move in perfect unison with my hand and was five yards long, writing things down on a piece of paper faster than light could have traveled from my hand to the paper, would that be an ansible?

(Also I'm kicking myself, I've been waiting literally years for the opportunity to use the phrase "multiplied strain of simultaneous infusion" in an appropriate context, and when the opportunity finally presents itself I goof and call it the diversified strain. I have edited my original post, but opportunity lost. Sad fanboy.)

[Kurkistan]

I think the evidence we have so far is solid enough that there's little need to tip-toe around dissecting levels of reliability, but I won't fault anyone for taking a more rigorous approach, if they feel the need.

 

Moving on...

 

So... why isn't a pencil an ansible, then? My hand is moving, and the other end of the pencil moves as well. Marks appear on the paper instantly, even though space separates it from my hand. With a long enough pencil, it stops working... but at a great enough distance, so will a spanreed. Is the definition of an ansible that it's instantaneous over some minimum distance that a pencil cannot reach? If someone came up with a carbon nano-rod pencil with no flexibility that would move in perfect unison with my hand and was five yards long, writing things down on a piece of paper faster than light could have traveled from my hand to the paper, would that be an ansible?

 

A pencil isn't an ansible because there's no such thing as a rigid body (see this surprisingly-useful StackExchange thread, for further context).

[Oudeis]

I suspected as much... but surely a quill is no more rigid a body than a pencil. However matched the gems are, how can a spanreed be an ansible if the quill isn't?

[Kurkistan]

I'm afraid I don't understand where your concern is?

 

The idea is that you have a matched pair of spanreeds (though really the gemstone is all that matters) in different locations. You move one of them and that causes the other to move as well. The ansible part of it is that the second gem moves at some point sooner after the first than it would have taken a beam of light (in vacuum) to cross the space between the gems. The writing implement the gems happen to be attached to is immaterial: information has just been transmitted faster than the speed of light.

[Ruro272]

@#$%, that's a lot of questions. Like, "I am legitimately upset" lot of question. I am going to have to start traveling to cons, Chicago signings are no longer cutting it. Mark my words, you keep making me envious, you'll end up forcing me to following Brandon, from city to city, as he travels the US. Then I'll get served a restraining order, and we'll all be sad.

 

I hear you man!  When I was at Minicon last year, the dude who I now know as Blightsong was cranking through some questions on his iPad like a machine, and mine felt so few and inadequate in comparison.  Fortunately I am WAY more prepared for JordanCon in Atlanta in two weeks  You should come--there's an entire hour devoted SPECIFICALLY to asking Brandon Cosmere-related questions!

 

I have a ton of respect for the older members of this community (whose knowledge I have benefited from for years despite only joining the forum last year) so if you guys have any specific questions you'd like me to ask just PM me and I'll strongly consider adding them to my personal list.  

[Argent]

@#$%, I don't need the stress of figuring out con logistics two weeks before a con. I do need to up my stalking game though...

[Kaymyth]

@#$%, I don't need the stress of figuring out con logistics two weeks before a con. I do need to up my stalking game though...

 

You knooooow you waaant tooooooo

[Zmann966]

@#$%, I don't need the stress of figuring out con logistics two weeks before a con. I do need to up my stalking game though...

 

I got you covered man.

I don't do nearly as many cons as I used to (12+/year) but I'm still hitting up a few that he's at. It's where I got to sit and hang out and draft and chat for a few hours too, so I can see why he'd allow people to just keep throwing their questions at him.

I'll keep that in mind though, most of my questions are theories of my own, I'm just gonna keep peppering him with them until I get pulled away. XD

[b4dave]

I think it's odd that no one has said anything about the confirmation of Ryshadium being linked to Spren. Last I saw this was a RAFO

[Argel]

Probably because it was expected. If it had been a negative, that would have been a big shock.

[Asperity]

@#$%, that's a lot of questions. Like, "I am legitimately upset" lot of question. I am going to have to start traveling to cons, Chicago signings are no longer cutting it. Mark my words, you keep making me envious, you'll end up forcing me to following Brandon, from city to city, as he travels the US. Then I'll get served a restraining order, and we'll all be sad.

Maaaaaaan, at least you get signings to visit.

 

Here I am, in backwoods nowhere Florida, where nobody in their right mind ever approaches anywhere even remotely near. ;_;

[Ruro272]

Maaaaaaan, at least you get signings to visit.

 

Here I am, in backwoods nowhere Florida, where nobody in their right mind ever approaches anywhere even remotely near. ;_;

 

Atlanta is about as close as you might get

[Argent]

Maaaaaaan, at least you get signings to visit.

 

Here I am, in backwoods nowhere Florida, where nobody in their right mind ever approaches anywhere even remotely near. ;_;

 

Yeah, sorry. I understand that objectively you have it worse. But subjectively, metaphorically speaking, I get to try the appetizer with no hope for dessert. 

 

 

I think it's odd that no one has said anything about the confirmation of Ryshadium being linked to Spren. Last I saw this was a RAFO

Honestly, I am still parsing through all that...

[Oudeis]

A bunch of my Sanderbuddies live in Australia. Your weeping falls on deaf ears.

 

They are definitely the only thing helping me check my sanderprivilege. I live on the East Coast, in the nation's capitol, and I'm used to literally everything coming to me. The fact that we didn't get a tour at all last year when it got cancelled due to the threat of snow, and that the only thing I got to go to this year was a three hour drive away, is not something I have any right to complain about.

[The Invested Beard]

Me: *jokingly* So does this mean we are going to get to see little dragons running around in Dragonsteel?

 

Brandon: Uh, well, in Dragonsteel the dragons are sapient, so when I write Dragonsteel I will put dragons in there, but the dragons are intelligent and uh, can take human form, but there are actual little dragons.

 

Me: Wait, they can take human form?

 

Brandon: Yes, yes, yup.

 

I'm going to go ahead and say it since no one else has. We've already seen dragons in human form and just don't know it yet.

[Asperity]

Yeah, sorry. I understand that objectively you have it worse. But subjectively, metaphorically speaking, I get to try the appetizer with no hope for dessert. 

It's fine. I'm complaining mostly to complain at this point. It would be nice if my area/state got anything nice at all like this but then again I couldn't really afford to go to cons anyway if they began cropping up here often. Ah well.

[HurinThalion]

I'm going to go ahead and say it since no one else has. We've already seen dragons in human form and just don't know it yet.

 

Yeah I posted something on r/cosmere (I think that's the one) a few days ago about this. I was thinking that Hoid could be a dragon, which would be awesome, because Hoid is awesome and dragons are awesome, but alas that probably isn't true because of other WoBs. On the other hand, someone pointed out that in the letter, Hoid addresses Frost as "you old reptlie." So I'd say there's a small chance Frost is a dragon.

 

Here is the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/4ejm04/about_hoid/

[Blightsong]

Yeah I posted something on r/cosmere (I think that's the one) a few days ago about this. I was thinking that Hoid could be a dragon, which would be awesome, because Hoid is awesome and dragons are awesome, but alas that probably isn't true because of other WoBs. On the other hand, someone pointed out that in the letter, Hoid addresses Frost as "you old reptlie." So I'd say there's a small chance Frost is a dragon.

 

Here is the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/4ejm04/about_hoid/

Frost is a dragon

[The Invested Beard]

Yeah I posted something on r/cosmere (I think that's the one) a few days ago about this. I was thinking that Hoid could be a dragon, which would be awesome, because Hoid is awesome and dragons are awesome, but alas that probably isn't true because of other WoBs. On the other hand, someone pointed out that in the letter, Hoid addresses Frost as "you old reptlie." So I'd say there's a small chance Frost is a dragon.

 

Here is the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/4ejm04/about_hoid/

 

I was referring to other characters that have shown up in these books that are dragons and we don't even know. We've known frost is a dragon for a while.

 

For example: What if all the original vessels were actually dragons? Long shot I know, but hey if they can use human form they could be anyone.

Edited April 14, 2016 by The Invested Beard

[Landis963]

I was referring to other characters that have shown up in these books that are dragons and we don't even know. We've known frost is a dragon for a while.

For example: What if all the original vessels were actually dragons? Long shot I know, but hey if they can use human form they could be anyone.

They wouldn't drop human bodies upon death if that were the case.

[Blightsong]

They wouldn't drop human bodies upon death if that were the case.

Since they can take human form then we don't know for sure if they change back upon death. Don't assume.

[The Invested Beard]

This is like the Kandra on Nalthis thing all over again, only bigger.

[Argel]

Yeah I posted something on r/cosmere (I think that's the one) a few days ago about this. I was thinking that Hoid could be a dragon, which would be awesome, because Hoid is awesome and dragons are awesome, but alas that probably isn't true because of other WoBs. On the other hand, someone pointed out that in the letter, Hoid addresses Frost as "you old reptlie." So I'd say there's a small chance Frost is a dragon.

 

Here is the thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/4ejm04/about_hoid/

 

I know Liars of Partinel is not canon, but if he's a dragon in there, then he must have 1) not known it and 2) been stuck in human form. Unless he becomes a dragon later on. Maybe that's what "Topaz" was really about (implying he gave up being a dragon).

[Kaymyth]

Since they can take human form then we don't know for sure if they change back upon death. Don't assume.

 

It...seems unlikely, at best.  While I wouldn't be surprised to see a Shardholder or two turn out to be a dragon, the theory that all of them are is a bit of a stretch.