preservation 16 or 2? Sign from Preservation

[Sam Script he/him]

This theory contains not much spoilers, and I'm looking forward to any corrections or discussion:

In HoA, Sazed implied that 16 is a signal Preservation left for mankind and it deeply revolved in the way cosmere functions.

However, is it a conclusion Sazed speculated, or a confirmed information he got? (I prefer to use "he" on Sazed)

The cycle of Well of Ascension is 1024 years. And it's 2^10. So it does not perfectly corresponded with number 16, which is 2^4 (2x2x2x2).

Besides, the Allomantic metals are perfectly paired and distributed. So it's a little different from Shard distribution--- they are not definitely counterpart to specific another, even Preservation and Ruin, they are not absolutely objective to each other.

But we can't confirm this yet, for other 7 haven't been known. However I still feel that Shards can't be paired as Metals do.

So for reasons above, I suggest that what number Preservation represents is 2 rather than 16, though I had no positive evidence on 2. But several objectives on 16. If you think they are convincing.

Any ideas?

[Yata he/him]

The 16 as Preservation's Message to mankind is sure at 100% by in-world Material.
I will not say more because, probably you didn't read this material, but we have a sure proof

[Sam Script he/him]

@Yata I know it's in-world, but is it just Sazed's deduction? It's the core of my theory.

If there's any WoB to confirm that 16 just represents Preservation, I'll be very grateful.

[Yata he/him]

I am not talking of Sazed's deduction. But another dialog in Secret History who removes every kind of doubt

PS: The Sazed's deduction alone would be enough ... It reached that deduction after pick up the Shards, his knowledge and mind was greatly improved

Edited July 6, 2016 by Yata

[Sam Script he/him]

@Yata okay then, thanks for the information:))

Btw Sazed's deduction, to me, is not enough, don't forget at that time he hadn't got the idea of Adonalsium and other Shards, meaning that he's not know-it-all when authoring Words of Founding.

[Argent he/him]

I am pretty sure the significance of the number 16 is one artificially created by Preservation to guide humanity to notice certain irregularities in the world. Ultimately the purpose of this number was for Elend to notice that exactly one sixteenth of the population fell sick, and exactly one sixteenth of that fell really sick; which in turn let him to the deduction that the latter were atium Mistings, and allowed them to burn all of the atium in the Trust, stopping Ruin from getting it. This was, I believe, Preservation's plan - throw the number 16 everywhere he can, and hope the humans notice it, correctly assume that it's weird, and look into it.

I do not believe 16 has a greater significance in the Cosmere (though Leras may have chosen it because it is also the number of Shards).

[TwelfthOfSnackTime he/him]

The question I have is did Leras throw sixteen everywhere because sixteen is the number of Shards/he is Shard number sixteen, meaning he crafted the percentage of snapping perfectly to correspond to this. Or did he throw sixteen around because that is the way the magic system manifested based on some other cause and he just took advantage of that fact.

[Yata he/him]

Leras chose the 16because The Scadrialian have to recognize it for the number of magic metals on Scadrial itself.

I don't think a Shard may change something like that, but Leras is a Special case... He (with Ati) created the whole world who then influence the magic systems... He could made Scadrial ad Hoc... But Ati probably would have similar power on this.

[Oversleep]

Just adding this: the cycle of the Well Of Ascension is 16*16, so it is linked to the "holy number". It also makes me think that it was not arbitraily chosen by Leras, but rather a special number of the Scadrial itself. Since Shards don't create magic systems, but they rather arise from the interaction of the planet and the Shards which Invested in it... I think that the fact that there are sixteen metals mean that sixteen is the number associated with Scadrial itself.

Edit: Ruin changed my post, I obviously know math and that in no way 16*16 is 1024. Storming Ati and his shenaningans.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Oversleep

[Yata he/him]

25 minutes ago, Oversleep said:

It also makes me think that it was not arbitraily chosen by Leras, but rather a special number of the Scadrial itself. Since Shards don't create magic systems, but they rather arise from the interaction of the planet and the Shards which Invested in it... I think that the fact that there are sixteen metals mean that sixteen is the number associated with Scadrial itself.

You have right, but like I said Scadrial is quite a Special case, It's made by Preservation & Ruin. They may have designed it in a way to fit whaterver they want from a Realmatic point of view... I am not saying that Leras actually designed Scadrial to have the number 16 builded in the magics but he probably could did it.

Edited July 6, 2016 by Yata

[Emerald101 he/him]

2 hours ago, Oversleep said:

Just adding this: the cycle of the Well Of Ascension is 16*16, so it is linked to the "holy number". It also makes me think that it was not arbitraily chosen by Leras, but rather a special number of the Scadrial itself. Since Shards don't create magic systems, but they rather arise from the interaction of the planet and the Shards which Invested in it... I think that the fact that there are sixteen metals mean that sixteen is the number associated with Scadrial itself.

16 x 16 is 256, which is only 1/4th of 1024 - the cycle of the WoA. As the OP noted, 16 is 2^4 and 1024 is 2^10. No combination of 16's I can whip up gives you 1024. 

[thegatorgirl00 she/her]

1 hour ago, Emerald101 said:

16 x 16 is 256, which is only 1/4th of 1024 - the cycle of the WoA. As the OP noted, 16 is 2^4 and 1024 is 2^10. No combination of 16's I can whip up gives you 1024. 

It's not that difficult if your willing to use log base 16. That kind of seems like cheating though. 

I also realized that 1024 is 16^2 • 16^(1/2). I think it looks cooler written like that. 

[Sam Script he/him]

2 hours ago, thegatorgirl00 said:

I also realized that 1024 is 16^2 • 16^(1/2). I think it looks cooler written like that. 

That's just drawing target after breaking arrows. It's a tucked answer, which might probably not be Brandon's mean.

Or 1024 was not a original setting, just fit in the setting that "FE had lasted for a thousand years"?

[thegatorgirl00 she/her]

42 minutes ago, Sam Script said:

That's just drawing target after breaking arrows. It's a tucked answer, which might probably not be Brandon's mean.

I didn't mean that that was Brandon's intention. I just thought it ooked cool when written that way.  (I'm a bit of a math nerd.) My post was more about how there were no reasonable ways to get 1024 from 16 without using cheap math tricks, like taking the square root. 

[Jondesu he/him]

I suspect Preservation didn't have a lot of control over the Well taking 1024 years to refill. Some, possibly, but not enough to make it work out as a multiple of 16. Perhaps Scadrial's natural inclination is to exponential numbers, since we know 16 wasn't really a native thing necessarily.

jW

[CaptainRyan he/him]

34 minutes ago, Jondesu said:

I suspect Preservation didn't have a lot of control over the Well taking 1024 years to refill. Some, possibly, but not enough to make it work out as a multiple of 16. Perhaps Scadrial's natural inclination is to exponential numbers, since we know 16 wasn't really a native thing necessarily.

jW

1024 is a multiple of 16; it is 16 x 64. I'm not sure if that matters but there it is haha