Ripheus23 Posted August 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 (edited) But what makes a Godmetal a metal? I know there's more to molecular structure than raw atomic geometry, but I still think the following (again from, "Metal," on Wikipedia) is pertinent: Quote The atoms of metallic substances are typically arranged in one of three common crystal structures, namely body-centered cubic (bcc), face-centered cubic (fcc), and hexagonal close-packed (hcp). This calls to my mind the fact that some of the Rosharan/Surgebinder polestones are roughly the same element, so it's their impurities/resultant divergent coloration, that ties them to different magical effects, or whatever. That is, aluminum and gold are both fcc-ordered (as such) but this is not enough to make them identical, either in nature or magical effect. EDIT: Another broad possibility is that the permutations of the basis constants involved in Investiture might be so convoluted and numerous that at the end of the day, Team Cosmere will never actually resolve all the possible "plot holes," so to speak, hereof. But I don't think this will necessarily be a narrative/literary/storytelling flaw, at the end of that day. Edited August 22, 2018 by Ripheus23 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calderis Posted August 22, 2018 Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 I think your looking at "structure" a little too strictly. Aluminum and gold may be similarly ordered (maybe identically for all I know) but they are also separate elements. We've been told that an atium lerasium alloy and Harmonium are not the same thing in that one is an alloy of the two, and the other is a new element. There's more going on than just the arrangement of molecules. The molecules themselves matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanghur Rahl Posted August 22, 2018 Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 (edited) Is this even a fruitful conversation to have? I mean this isn’t the real world were talking about, this is a fantasy world where magic exists in a fundamental way. Do atoms and fundamental forces even exist as such in this world? Or is everything basically a manifestation of Investiture? Edited August 22, 2018 by Fanghur Rahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripheus23 Posted August 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 Sanderson has said that this is "science fantasy" and that there is matter and energy in the Cosmere, I think. Now, he might (for all I know right now) be illustrating the very interesting philosophical possibility that the laws of chemistry, which IRL are supervenient on our theory of atomic laws, are in the Cosmere-universe supervenient on an "Investiture field," if you will. That is, Sanderson might appeal broadly to know chemical information but posit a quite different subchemical layer. I would have to know more WoBs on this topic, though the SA quasi-reference to quantum mechanics points me in the direction of, "Yes, IRL physics, not just chemistry, is present to some degree in the Cosmere." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanghur Rahl Posted August 22, 2018 Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 Well it’s not only that, but also the fact that the physical realm does not seem to be the most fundamental realm in this universe, or at the very least that’s the implication that I’ve got from the books I’ve read so far. The implication seems to be that the Spiritual Realm is it in some sense fundamental whereas the Cognitive Realm and the Physical Realm (which would include matter) are in some sense emergent from that. Maybe I’m just completely misinterpreting what’s been said about the Spiritual Realm, but if not then that would absolutely change the focus of this entire discussion, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripheus23 Posted August 22, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2018 Realmatics add a whole other level to the questions, that's for sure... well, 2 more levels but anyway I am not sure that Sanderson would be averse to at least partly explaining that in quasi-theological/philosophical terms. I mean the Cognitive Realm seems like an Alice-style Wonderland, so far as it has been described, but that could be chalked up to the role of Investiture in the Cosmere. Sanderson might claim that the real world has a Cognitive Realm but that due to our cosmos lacking the Investiture tangent in the category of matter/energy/w/e, ours doesn't "look like" Shadesmar* (for example). *I think the relationship between the beads and the spren and the objects in the Physical Realm, amounts to quantum Perpendicularities. That is, the beads are miniature warps in space-time that are tied to the spren of specific objects, allowing the "Soulcaster circuit," if you will, to be completed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Artemos Posted August 23, 2018 Report Share Posted August 23, 2018 2 hours ago, Ripheus23 said: *I think the relationship between the beads and the spren and the objects in the Physical Realm, amounts to quantum Perpendicularities. That is, the beads are miniature warps in space-time that are tied to the spren of specific objects, allowing the "Soulcaster circuit," if you will, to be completed. I would rather think that the connection between the beads and the Physical Realm is made through the Spiritual Realm, where space and time don't really matter. Capital-C Connection already provides an easy framework for this, so a bunch of tiny perpendicularities seems unnecessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripheus23 Posted August 23, 2018 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2018 @Artemos, I'm just speculating on how Investiture and gravity and quantum-mechanical spren might tie together, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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