Last Shard Name

[Scars of Hathsin]

I was rereading through the Way of The King's again, and in the end of the book, Wit is talking about three things, Creativity, Acumen and Invention. We know Invention is a Shard

SP3 Spoilers:

Spoiler

and that Creativity is Virtuosity

Meaning Acumen could be the last Shard, but with the name Intellect. As on the next page he talks about Intellect.

 

Is this correct?

[alder24]

14 hours ago, Scars of Hathsin said:

I was rereading through the Way of The King's again, and in the end of the book, Wit is talking about three things, Creativity, Acumen and Invention. We know Invention is a Shard

SP3 Spoilers:

  Reveal hidden contents

and that Creativity is Virtuosity

Meaning Acumen could be the last Shard, but with the name Intellect. As on the next page he talks about Intellect.

 

Is this correct?

The quote form WoK epilogue:

Quote

“I once asked this question of some very wise scholars. What do men consider the most valuable of talents? One mentioned artistic ability, as you so keenly guessed. Another chose great intellect. The nal chose the talent to invent, the ability to design and create marvelous devices.”

“Aesthetic genius,” Wit said, “invention, acumen, creativity. Noble ideals indeed. Most men would pick one of those, if given the choice, and name them the greatest of talents.” He plucked a string. “What beautiful liars we are.

Acumen, definition: the ability to make good judgements and take quick decisions.

And that fits with WoBs about Wisdom and Prudence.

Wisdom definition: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.

Prudent definition: acting with or showing care and thought for the future.

Spoiler

Paleo (paraphrased)

Is Wisdom a Shard? If so, how bad does it want to survive?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

There is a Shard with a similar intent. The Shard has realized that survival might not be the most desirable/important.

Footnote: Paleo later asked Brandon for clarification on this one because he couldn't quite remember the survival part when he wrote it down. Brandon stressed again what the Shard has realized.
Stuttgart signing (May 17, 2019)

 

Spoiler

Paleo

All right, regarding the 'Wisdom Shard' again. We have one quote where Hoid... I'll just cite it: "Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes." Is he referring to that Shard there... or the Vessel?

Brandon Sanderson

*thumbs up, grins* ... Yes.

Prague Signing (Oct. 26, 2019)

 

Spoiler

Paleo

In May, in Germany, you told me that... or I asked whether Wisdom was a Shard, and you said it was or something like it, and that wisdom was close to an intent of a Shard, and you also told me that it has realized that survival isn't necessarily the most important thing for it. I wanted to ask whether it has realized that over time or was it from the get go?

Brandon Sanderson

Over time.

Paleo

Okay, so then naturally, my next question: Is it the survival Shard?

Brandon Sanderson

RAFO.

Paleo

And then somebody actually came up with another good probable name. Is Prudence close?

Brandon Sanderson

Prudence sounds an awful lot like a Shard name. That's some excellent theorizing there.

Prague Signing (Oct. 26, 2019)

 

So yes, I think you're spot on. The WoK predicts names of 3 Shards. Good catch.

[Underwater_Worldhopper]

I've thought about this too, but I'm not sold that the last Shard is actually called Acumen. It fits the theme, but Hoid has previously also given a hint about the last Shard as "Wisdom", so I take that last bit with a grain of salt.

[Leuthie]

I thought, per one of the WOB quotes above, that Wisdom was already a known Shard name. He literally answered "Yes" when someone asked if Hoid was talking about a Shard when he referred to "wisdom and he being at cross purposes". The answer wasn't even hedging or obfuscated. The question doesn't have much wiggle room in it. Hoid mentioned "men", "age", "wisdom", "cross-purposes", and himself. There's only two of those that could be Shard names, and "cross-purposes" just doesn't roll off the tongue.

Edited June 12 by Leuthie

[IlstrawberrySeed]

7 hours ago, Leuthie said:

I thought, per one of the WOB quotes above, that Wisdom was already a known Shard name. He literally answered "Yes" when someone asked if Hoid was talking about a Shard when he referred to "wisdom and he being at cross purposes". The answer wasn't even hedging or obfuscated. The question doesn't have much wiggle room in it. Hoid mentioned "men", "age", "wisdom", "cross-purposes", and himself. There's only two of those that could be Shard names, and "cross-purposes" just doesn't roll off the tongue.

The question asked if he was refering to a shard, which doesn't neccessarily mean it's name. Aditionally, Shard names are capitalized, and these aren't. Another WoB stated that "Prudence" sounds more like a shard name than "Wisdom." I personally think that wisdom is the name of the intent (at least as Hoid sees it).