Collected Reddit WoBs

[Pagerunner]

EDIT: Okay, kids. I'm super pumped to see you all using this database and finding good stuff. But please don't tag me whenever you post something from it. Instead, link to the Excel sheet itself, or to this post with instructions on how to filter. Or just link straight to the reddit comment in question.

It's my 1000th post, so I figured I'd do something special. Like many of us, I've been concerned with notable info from Reddit that is difficult to find. So I decided to go on the hunt and pull together as much as I can. The following link is to an Excel sheet (you don't need Excel, it will work completely in the browser) with 749 WoBs, some of which were quite hard to find.

https://1drv.ms/x/s!AplGxH8o0rfpnV1bJxqsi4NxrKMC

I know there are some mistakes in my data; I have a couple WoBs without dates, a few where I mistyped dates and have a WoB from the future, apparently. If you see any of them, feel free to point them out to me in this thread. Also, I only concerned myself with cosmere-relevant stuff, no Reckoners, no WoT, no general writing advice, none of Brandon's terrible jokes. Many of the quotes from the AMAs will already be in Theoryland, but I haven't done a cross-reference to check on the exact extent. Brandon has a habit of returning to an old AMA to keep on answering stuff after people have stopped watching to catalogue it, so the 2015 AMA especially has a lot of stuff that didn't make it to Theoryland. The earlier ones, maybe not so much.

I don't have any tags in here. I am working on tagging them in my own database, but that doesn't carry over well to a simple Excel sheet. So, the best way to find something is using a keyword search. If you click the arrow on the right of the first column header, you can use text filters to search for particular words or phrases. Oh, and I did break up any comment that had multiple questions, which should make it easier to skim through stuff when you've run a search.

You can also look by specific thread. If you go to the right, you will see many columns for events: 5 AMAs, 6 Oathbringer updates, one Secret History update, and a single column to capture anything that isn't in one of the threads Brandon started. To select all from a particular event, click on the arrow, select "Filter..." and unselect Blanks. (If there's an "x" in that column, it means it was from that event.) This is useful for two reasons: first of all, I think the best way to become familiar with WoBs is to look through an event report, rather than look by subject. And second, this should make it easy to add to Theoryland. (Heyo, @WeiryWriter and @Ted aka WinespringBrother.) It's a little scrappy, but it's functional. Hopefully this will all make it into Theoryland, in which case it doesn't need to look nice here. And anyone else can feel free to download a copy or take this data to use in your own WoB catalogue. But, for now, it's not too complicated to search through here.

That being said, I waited way too long to start doing this, and I am missing a good chunk of stuff. Theoryland did a good job cataloguing Brandon's WoBs up through 2013. Due to how Reddit lets you view past comments, I can only look back to April 2016 for anything that isn't a topic Brandon himself started. So, there are just over two years of Brandon's random comments on other peoples' threads that we're missing. I hope he was doing most of his WoB-dropping in the 2015 AMA and in his various Oathbringer updates. But, if you have anything that I am missing from that time period (looking at you, @Kurkistan), please send me links, so I can include them.

So, there you have it. Happy 1000th post to me, and good hunting to all of you.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Pagerunner

[Blightsong]

You legend.

[+Extesian]

This will change my life. That's some Shardic work there Pagerunner!

[Jedal]

If you are not already the Shard of Knowledge, you soon shall ascend to that position because of the sheer amount of WoB's you have collected.

 

EDIT: I...I just... I just looked through the whole thing...749 WoBs... all cited properly...

Edited May 8, 2017 by Jedal

[Lightning]

There's always another secret, but you just helped us uncover a lot of them!  Thanks!

[Jofwu]

I'll try to remember to highlight this post on the next /r/cosmere WoB Roundup!

Edited May 9, 2017 by jofwu

[Ted aka WinespringBrother]

14 hours ago, Pagerunner said:

It's my 1000th post, so I figured I'd do something special. Like many of us, I've been concerned with notable info from Reddit that is difficult to find. So I decided to go on the hunt and pull together as much as I can. The following link is to an Excel sheet (you don't need Excel, it will work completely in the browser) with 749 WoBs, some of which were quite hard to find.

https://1drv.ms/x/s!AplGxH8o0rfpnV1bJxqsi4NxrKMC

I know there are some mistakes in my data; I have a couple WoBs without dates, a few where I mistyped dates and have a WoB from the future, apparently. If you see any of them, feel free to point them out to me in this thread. Also, I only concerned myself with cosmere-relevant stuff, no Reckoners, no WoT, no general writing advice, none of Brandon's terrible jokes. Many of the quotes from the AMAs will already be in Theoryland, but I haven't done a cross-reference to check on the exact extent. Brandon has a habit of returning to an old AMA to keep on answering stuff after people have stopped watching to catalogue it, so the 2015 AMA especially has a lot of stuff that didn't make it to Theoryland. The earlier ones, maybe not so much.

I don't have any tags in here. I am working on tagging them in my own database, but that doesn't carry over well to a simple Excel sheet. So, the best way to find something is using a keyword search. If you click the arrow on the right of the first column header, you can use text filters to search for particular words or phrases. Oh, and I did break up any comment that had multiple questions, which should make it easier to skim through stuff when you've run a search.

You can also look by specific thread. If you go to the right, you will see many columns for events: 5 AMAs, 6 Oathbringer updates, one Secret History update, and a single column to capture anything that isn't in one of the threads Brandon started. To select all from a particular event, click on the arrow, select "Filter..." and unselect Blanks. (If there's an "x" in that column, it means it was from that event.) This is useful for two reasons: first of all, I think the best way to become familiar with WoBs is to look through an event report, rather than look by subject. And second, this should make it easy to add to Theoryland. (Heyo, @WeiryWriter and @Ted aka WinespringBrother.) It's a little scrappy, but it's functional. Hopefully this will all make it into Theoryland, in which case it doesn't need to look nice here. And anyone else can feel free to download a copy or take this data to use in your own WoB catalogue. But, for now, it's not too complicated to search through here.

That being said, I waited way too long to start doing this, and I am missing a good chunk of stuff. Theoryland did a good job cataloguing Brandon's WoBs up through 2013. Due to how Reddit lets you view past comments, I can only look back to April 2016 for anything that isn't a topic Brandon himself started. So, there are just over two years of Brandon's random comments on other peoples' threads that we're missing. I hope he was doing most of his WoB-dropping in the 2015 AMA and in his various Oathbringer updates. But, if you have anything that I am missing from that time period (looking at you, @Kurkistan), please send me links, so I can include them.

So, there you have it. Happy 1000th post to me, and good hunting to all of you.

Noted, adding to my to-do list! Nice work!!

[Pagerunner]

4 minutes ago, jofwu said:

I'll try to remember to highlight this post on the next /r/cosmere WoB Roundup!

It's kind of ironic that I don't have a Reddit account to post this over there myself.

[Kurkistan]

Here's some more (just word-searching some key terms from WoBs I have bookmarked and not finding any matches):
https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/3tfao1/so_how_do_the_exact_mechanics_of_feruchemy_in/cx6kgg0/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/3suo4l/oathbringer_i_think_flashback_dalinar_is_based/cx1nfdk/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/3y83cl/mistborn_trilogy_spoilers_question_about_the_lord/cyj8cj6/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/5b66wg/no_spoilers_kwaan_might_have_understood_realmatic/d9njbqq/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/5dpic4/oathbringer_spoilers_stormlight_three_update_5/da6ifpc/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/3va8fw/day_4_group_ama_in_support_of_worldbuilders/cxmy70t/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Cosmere/comments/5li5yl/all_monthly_wob_roundup_december_2016/dc2fjd3/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/3npd4h/im_ben_mcsweeney_illustrator_for_the_stormlight/cvq32i2/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/3n2qv7/could_a_shardblade_cut_through_a_steel_or_iron/cvkwbvv/

https://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/3l1i3m/randland_vs_scadrial_wheel_of_time_vs_mistborn/cv363iz/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cuu7w0c/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/3eb3ml/jared_of_pornokitsch_has_a_few_issues_with/ctdomw0/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/3d0rqj/brandon_sanderson_the_accidental_trilogy_a/ct1ypqs/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/2ytg2h/im_novelist_brandon_sanderson_ama/cs8qy4c/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/whowouldwin/comments/37yn6r/a_full_shardbearerstormlight_vs_a_space_marine40k/crstw70/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/1exfc6/melting_down_metalminds/

https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/2ppyvg/two_mistborn_books_next_year_shadow_of_self_and/cn3j7sk/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Mistborn/comments/2sjqz5/is_hoid_in_shadows_for_silence_in_the_forests_of/cnqlfll/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/2ctcdj/spoilerscosmerewas_at_the_liverpool_signing/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1ced7z/iamstilla_novelist_named_brandon_sanderson_ama/c9ftdsn/?context=3

https://www.reddit.com/r/Stormlight_Archive/comments/1a3fj0/discussion_of_the_week_shadesmar_truthspren/
-Multiple answers here

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy_Bookclub/comments/oji9u/the_alloy_of_law_qa_with_brandon_sanderson/c3huhis/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/1ced7z/iamstilla_novelist_named_brandon_sanderson_ama/c9fwqrl/?context=3

I have what has to be a hundred from his first AMA, didn't check those.

----

To reiterate, this all from essentially going into my bookmarks and opening a tab for everything from Reddit, then word-searching through your spreadsheet for key phrases. I may have missed/duplicated something, and there may be one or two less relevant links in there. There's also some WoPs and WoIs.

[Pagerunner]

1 hour ago, Kurkistan said:

Here's some more (just word-searching some key terms from WoBs I have bookmarked and not finding any matches):

<snip

I have what has to be a hundred from his first AMA, didn't check those.

----

To reiterate, this all from essentially going into my bookmarks and opening a tab for everything from Reddit, then word-searching through your spreadsheet for key phrases. I may have missed/duplicated something, and there may be one or two less relevant links in there. There's also some WoPs and WoIs.

Thanks! I'll get to work on pulling those in.

I actually went through all of his AMAs and expanded every comment chain, so if it's in one of those, either I have it, or I decided it wasn't relevant, so no need to post all 100 of those. Looks like most of what you just shared is from other threads, which is indeed the stuff I'm looking for. I'm on the fence about including WoP and WoI, mostly because of one instance where I'm almost confident Peter interpreted a line from the Diagram incorrectly.

EDIT: I tracked down where the WoP I was referring to seems to have originally come from. There is some really interesting stuff in there, like confirmation Vax is indeed a planet and that the Element referred to in the Letter is indeed the lerasium bead; but there are other things that Peter is definitely speculating on (the meaning of "the gemstone" from the Second Letter, whether the Dawnshards are the Honorblades), so again, I'm hesitant to take his answers as gospel.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Pagerunner

[Kurkistan]

Well that saves me some time.

Regarding WoPs/WoIs:
Yeah sometimes they can be wrong (I think Peter and Brandon publicly jousted over whether Hoid was in SSFH for a year or two there), but usually they're right and they're always better than nothing. Just marking that it wasn't Brandon himself who said X or Y is usually enough in my books.

There's also topic where not-Brandon is really the best authority. Like Isaac for symbols or Peter for anything involving math. Having it all available is for the best, rather than making judgement calls one way or the other and possibly excluding relevant info.

EDIT: *sees edit*

Hm, interesting. I've never seen that link from @Botanica before. I'll maintain that it's better to have the info than not. Even with a "possible blatant speculation" asterisk it's still better to go off than nothing.

EDIT 2: Actually wait I believe I recall something like this being mentioned before. These look like Botanica's translation notes and have some info that it looks like Peter might not have expected to become public.

Edited May 10, 2017 by Kurkistan

[The Sovereign]

I just finished reading through the entire document. That was magical, there were probably 20 WoBs that I had never seen before. Thank you @Pagerunner!

[King Cole]

This is great

[Herald]

8 hours ago, Pagerunner said:

I actually went through all of his AMAs and expanded every comment chain, so if it's in one of those, either I have it, or I decided it wasn't relevant, so no need to post all 100 of those.

Outstanding work Pagerunner!

If you intend to keep adding more WoBs in the future into this excel sheet, it will be easier for you to visit https://www.reddit.com/u/mistborn , go through the comments Brandon made in reverse chronological order and look at the context to determine if you should record it.
I shamelessly admit to stalking Brandon on Reddit in this way.

[Pagerunner]

Just now, Herald said:

Outstanding work Pagerunner!

If you intend to keep adding more WoBs in the future into this excel sheet, it will be easier for you to visit https://www.reddit.com/u/mistborn , go through the comments Brandon made in reverse chronological order and look at the context to determine if you should record it.
I shamelessly admit to stalking Brandon on Reddit in this way.

Yeah, I do that, too, and it's how I got all the random stuff from various threads going back through 2016. It only goes back 1000 comments, so the entire 2015 AMA was unavailable through that method, and I had to actually visit that thread and open everything up the old-fashioned way. Thanks for the heads up, though.

[Steeldancer]

Wow @Pagerunneryou are amazing. I just finished reading them all, and there are several I intend to look into more deeply. I've been worried about those Reddit WoB for a while, and you just solved that issue. Time to go theorize on the 4th law of thermodynamics

[The Sovereign]

23 minutes ago, The Flash said:

Wow @Pagerunneryou are amazing. I just finished reading them all, and there are several I intend to look into more deeply. I've been worried about those Reddit WoB for a while, and you just solved that issue. Time to go theorize on the 4th law of thermodynamics

Zeroth's law <3  It's fun because at it's base you can look at it as If A=C & B=C, then A=B; BUT YOU CAN'T!

[Steeldancer]

55 minutes ago, The Sovereign said:

Zeroth's law <3  It's fun because at it's base you can look at it as If A=C & B=C, then A=B; BUT YOU CAN'T!

I have no idea what you are talking about. And now after looking it up, I do not understand your logic...

Edited May 16, 2017 by The Flash

[The Sovereign]

50 minutes ago, The Flash said:

I have no idea what you are talking about. And now after looking it up, I do not understand your logic...

It was a bad joke, basically If A is in thermal equilibrium with B AND B is in thermal equilibrium with C then via Zeroth's law (4th law of Thermodynamics) you know that A is in thermal equilibrium with C. The "BUT YOU CAN'T" was me poking fun at Bill Nye; basically in a demonstration with Neil Degrasse Tyson a couple of years ago Bill Nye messed up the law saying that if A=B and B=C, then you still can't know that A=C and Tyson looking quite embarrassed had to stop him mid lecture/demonstration and tell him actually Bill...

Edited May 16, 2017 by The Sovereign

[Steeldancer]

Just now, The Sovereign said:

It was a bad joke, basically If A is in thermal equilibrium with B AND B is in thermal equilibrium with C then via Zeroth's law (4th law of Thermodynamics) you know that A is in thermal equilibrium with C. The "BUT YOU CAN'T" was me poking fun at Bill Nye, basically in a demonstration with Neil Degrasse Tyson a couple of years ago Bill Nye messed up the law and Tyson looking quite embarrassed had to stop him mid lecture/demonstration and tell him actually Bill...

Ok then. Makes sense. Although I'm assuming that has nothing to do with Adonalsium. And I swear some of these laws seem like the most OBVIOUSLY laws ever. 

[The Sovereign]

4 minutes ago, The Flash said:

Ok then. Makes sense. Although I'm assuming that has nothing to do with Adonalsium. And I swear some of these laws seem like the most OBVIOUSLY laws ever. 

Well, not nothing as for the most part the Cosmere follows the actual laws of physics, thermodynamics, etc. but generally speaking yes nothing to do with Adonalsium. As for their obviousness, in theory, often yes. In practice, flip a coin .

[Kered]

As the kids are saying nowadays "You the real MVP".

[Spoolofwhool]

@Pagerunner
You do not appear to have the WoBs from this topic.
https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/3wtis8/new_wob_finite_amount_of_investiture/

Edit: Sorry, not the one in the OP, but the ones by /u/Mistborn in the comments below. Here are direct links.

https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/3wtis8/new_wob_finite_amount_of_investiture/cxz8yjc/

https://www.reddit.com/r/brandonsanderson/comments/3wtis8/new_wob_finite_amount_of_investiture/cxzxwfp/

 

Edited May 17, 2017 by Spoolofwhool

[The Sovereign]

@Chaos, could you pin this thread?

[Pagerunner]

4 hours ago, The Sovereign said:

@Chaos, could you pin this thread?

Honestly, I don't think this should be pinned. (And not just because that would mean I'd need to update it on a regular basis!) By the time this falls off the first page (which will probably be by the Oathbringer tour), all this stuff should be in Theoryland or one of the several WoB database projects going on right now. Sure, I've provided a few more WoBs than a typical signing would get. But I don't see any reason this thread would be more relevant than, say, the three recent Europe tour threads.