Rotspren and sepsis

[ajotatxe]

Given that in Roshar there are lenses, it seems clear that if there were bacteria, somebody (in Kharbranth, for example, if Lirin doesn't) should know it.

Perhaps the beings that cause infections are the rotspren, and not the other way around (that is, the infections attract rotspren), as I thought initially.

But that doesn't make much sense, does it? Rotspren seem the kind of spren that can't affect the physical realm, and if they caused the infections, they should be attracted by wounds, and this doesn't seem to happen. Moreover, plaguespren are attracted by other kind of infections. (Viral?). 

So, rotspren are attracted by infected wounds and other rotting processes, like in old food and corpses.

So, why has nobody discovered real infection agents? There is plenty of tecnology to develope microscopes.

Perhaps bacteria in Roshar are smaller than in Earth?

[Knight of Iron]

A people with technology for microscopes don't have to know about bacteria. A quick google search reveals that the microscope was invented in 1590, while bacteria was actually discovered as a cause of infections in 1676.

[ajotatxe]

1 hour ago, Knight of Iron said:

A people with technology for microscopes don't have to know about bacteria. A quick google search reveals that the microscope was invented in 1590, while bacteria was actually discovered as a cause of infections in 1676.

Only 86 years. Not much in Roshar history.

[Elithanathile10]

4 hours ago, ajotatxe said:

Given that in Roshar there are lenses, it seems clear that if there were bacteria, somebody (in Kharbranth, for example, if Lirin doesn't) should know it.

Perhaps the beings that cause infections are the rotspren, and not the other way around (that is, the infections attract rotspren), as I thought initially.

But that doesn't make much sense, does it? Rotspren seem the kind of spren that can't affect the physical realm, and if they caused the infections, they should be attracted by wounds, and this doesn't seem to happen. Moreover, plaguespren are attracted by other kind of infections. (Viral?). 

So, rotspren are attracted by infected wounds and other rotting processes, like in old food and corpses.

So, why has nobody discovered real infection agents? There is plenty of tecnology to develope microscopes.

Perhaps bacteria in Roshar are smaller than in Earth?

It might be that the existence of rotspren stymies the progress of the medical field. If you're a doctor and you have an obvious cause of the infection (i.e. rotspren), why bother looking for another cause?

[Knight of Iron]

2 hours ago, Elithanathile10 said:

It might be that the existence of rotspren stymies the progress of the medical field. If you're a doctor and you have an obvious cause of the infection (i.e. rotspren), why bother looking for another cause?

Combined with what I was saying, it took centuries for the existence of lenses to lead to the existence of a microscope, and nearly another century after that before microscopes led to discovery of bacteria. And that 86 years might be longer, even, when rotspren so clearly cause infection.

[ajotatxe]

8 hours ago, Elithanathile10 said:

It might be that the existence of rotspren stymies the progress of the medical field. If you're a doctor and you have an obvious cause of the infection (i.e. rotspren), why bother looking for another cause?

Yes, but scholars know that lower spren are never a cause of anything. All other spren are attracted by the phenomena, like wind, fire, rain...; don't cause them. Why rotspren would be the exception?

Edit: if bacteria are eventually discovered, then there are some sapient being that knows about them. What would happen in Shadesmar then? Billion of bacterium-beads should suddenly appear?

Edited January 4, 2021 by ajotatxe
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[yulyulk]

On 1/3/2021 at 10:45 PM, ajotatxe said:

Edit: if bacteria are eventually discovered, then there are some sapient being that knows about them. What would happen in Shadesmar then? Billion of bacterium-beads should suddenly appear?

Fish and humans (in the physical realm) appear as little flames in shadesmar, so wouldn't bacteria be the same? (That's a lot of little flames.)

[Halyo_Alex]

15 hours ago, yulyulk said:

Fish and humans (in the physical realm) appear as little flames in shadesmar, so wouldn't bacteria be the same? (That's a lot of little flames.)

"THE COGNITIVE REALM IS ON FIRE!!"

Meanwhile Stick is like.. "I told you guys not to become fire"

[MGershone]

16 hours ago, yulyulk said:

Fish and humans (in the physical realm) appear as little flames in shadesmar, so wouldn't bacteria be the same? (That's a lot of little flames.)

I thought only people, with a cognitive element, appeared in Shadesmar. That probably applies to animals as well, but bacteria don't have brains or thought, so they probably would not burn down the Cognitive Realm

[Frustration]

Some people know the enormity of space but the CR does not contain that space, I doubt bacteria will surface, because you don't usually look at something and think

Oh, bacteria

[Knight of Iron]

11 hours ago, Frustration said:

Some people know the enormity of space but the CR does not contain that space, I doubt bacteria will surface, because you don't usually look at something and think

Oh, bacteria

Precisely!