Seloun Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 The Basic Lashing works by altering the spiritual gravitational bond to the planet, twisting the energy of the planet itself. Multiple Basis Lashing probably just strenghten this spiritual bond, pumping the Investure provided by Stormlight into it to create a stronger gravitational pull. So when lashing oneself into two direction the process is more like doubling gravity first and then effectively dividing that with two lashings carrying half the effective gravitational pull, just that one of those Lashings still has the strenght of normal gravity. Just calling them (full) Lashings is simply a whole lot less complicated than half-Lashings under double gravity. Well, the point is that there really seems to be two variants of the Basic Lashing, regardless of the exact underlying mechanism. The main thing to note is that for a Basic Lashing of < 1, the net magnitude of the forces don't change. For example, if you do a half-Lashing downwards (or any Basic Lashing <=1), there's no effect.
Edgedancer he/him Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 Well, the point is that there really seems to be two variants of the Basic Lashing, regardless of the exact underlying mechanism. The main thing to note is that for a Basic Lashing of < 1, the net magnitude of the forces don't change. For example, if you do a half-Lashing downwards (or any Basic Lashing <=1), there's no effect. That the net amount of forces don't change is less because the mechanics are different and more because you aren't using all the mechanincs. The basic lashing can essentially do two things, readjust gravity's pull and strenghten it. So half-lashing yourself downward, while under normal gravity, would put you under 1,5 times of normal gavity.
Voidus Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 That the net amount of forces don't change is less because the mechanics are different and more because you aren't using all the mechanincs. The basic lashing can essentially do two things, readjust gravity's pull and strenghten it. So half-lashing yourself downward, while under normal gravity, would put you under 1,5 times of normal gavity. I don't think so, given that a half lashing upwards gives weightlessness. My take on it is that you can add to the spiritual gravitation bond with your own Investiture, hence being able to both redirect the bond and strengthen it but you can't remove the bond that's already there which is why a half lashing just redirects half of the gravity and leaves the other half rather than turning the usual .8 G's of Roshar into .4 if that makes sense?
Edgedancer he/him Posted July 8, 2015 Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) I don't think so, given that a half lashing upwards gives weightlessness. My take on it is that you can add to the spiritual gravitation bond with your own Investiture, hence being able to both redirect the bond and strengthen it but you can't remove the bond that's already there which is why a half lashing just redirects half of the gravity and leaves the other half rather than turning the usual .8 G's of Roshar into .4 if that makes sense? A half-lashing upwards redirects half the gravitational pull upwards and as such makes you effectively weightless, yes. However when you are already under normal gravity you can't redirect half a Lashing downwards, because that's where the gravitatonal pull already is, so if you add another half-Lashing you get 1,5 times gravity. It's the same when someone lashes someone downward and they effectively weight twice as much, just with another multiplier. Edit: I pretty much think of it like this: Everyone normally has one full lashing tying them to the planet. The basic Lashing allows one to change the multiplier and vector (or split it into multiple vectors) of said natural Lashing. Edited July 8, 2015 by Edgedancer
Seloun Posted July 9, 2015 Posted July 9, 2015 A half-lashing upwards redirects half the gravitational pull upwards and as such makes you effectively weightless, yes. However when you are already under normal gravity you can't redirect half a Lashing downwards, because that's where the gravitatonal pull already is, so if you add another half-Lashing you get 1,5 times gravity. It's the same when someone lashes someone downward and they effectively weight twice as much, just with another multiplier. Edit: I pretty much think of it like this: Everyone normally has one full lashing tying them to the planet. The basic Lashing allows one to change the multiplier and vector (or split it into multiple vectors) of said natural Lashing. The problem I have with this interpretation is that you get a weird discontinuity at that downward direction. Think about a half Lashing very slightly behind you but mostly downwards (arbitrarily small amount); this would cause you to 'split' the vector and would work differently than the proposed half Lashing downwards. Since Lashings are of limited precision, such discontinuities would cause unpredictable behavior. It really feels like the first Lashing is mechanically distinct from the latter ones. (obligatory quote about limited precision:) He reached down with his free hand and infused the stone circle with Light, Lashing it toward the northwest section of the sky. Lashing something to a distant point like that was possible, but imprecise. It was like trying to shoot an arrow a great distance. Sanderson, Brandon (2010-08-31). The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) (p. 448). Macmillan. Kindle Edition.
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