Are glyphs like Aons?

[Lilamal he/him]

Does anybody else think it's suspicious that nearly every magic system has strange symbols that represent the different abilities? Maybe Glyphs and... whatever the Mistborn symbols are called are like Aons.

[Pathfinder]

Well the metal's molecular structure is what acts as the "aon" for which preservation's energy flows. Now regarding the symbols itself, I  personally (with no concrete facts to back it up, so please do not take this as a negation to your theory) feel the allomantic symbols is more world building where something in the past which is very important, works its way into every day life. Same thing with stormlight. The symbols of the radiants were seen as powerful and important, so the symbols worked their way into the language, symbols of the highprinces and so on. But that's just my interpretation. 

[Uilos he/him]

Well the metal's molecular structure is what acts as the "aon" for which preservation's energy flows. Now regarding the symbols itself, I  personally (with no concrete facts to back it up, so please do not take this as a negation to your theory) feel the allomantic symbols is more world building where something in the past which is very important, works its way into every day life. Same thing with stormlight. The symbols of the radiants were seen as powerful and important, so the symbols worked their way into the language, symbols of the highprinces and so on. But that's just my interpretation. 

It's a very good interpretation. It's probable that they were taken up for their popularity and their status of power, and nothing else.

If it IS a part of their magic, I wonder if that would have something to do with the nature of Adonalsium. That whatever system was used by the first humans (if any) was Glyph based like the Aons and that Aona inherited it with her Devotion Shard. 

[natc]

We have symbols for every element on the periodic table in our world, and for mundane things like stars, hearts (<3), commonly used variables for physical forces like gravity and acceleration.

Allomancy is an important aspect of their world, culture, even science. There would be symbols of those. There is even a steel alphabet symbol for Kredik Shaw. Glyphs for Orders would basically be logos more than anything else, and more mundane glyphs are for symbolic purposes from what I can tell.

None of those actually seem to mean anything or do anything in particular.

Aons, on the other hand, are not a language script first and foremost. Aons are symbols meant explicitly for access to and control of a magic system, that due to versatility was simply adopted as a writing system. Nothing suggests these for the others.

[Stormgate he/him]

I have a theory that on every Shardworld, there are two methods of writing. One can be read--and changed--by Shards and one cannot. This explains the artisan's script on Nalthis, which consists of colored dots, or colored words, as well as Aons as a form of writing in Raoden's study books. It is the basis for my personal theory of Roshar's focus being symmetry, since the glyphs are and must be symmetric. This breaks down on Scadrial, where words are just inscribed in metal to make them invisible. I think that maybe the metal symbols are also invisible to Shards?

[Oversleep]

To change writing and such Shard have to be more Invested in the Shardworld. Ruin could change writing because he was heavily Invested in Scadrial (he helped create it) and Odium cannot because he isn't as much Invested and also sits on another planet.