One for the theorists

[Vyree he/him]

Hi, I've got a question for all the theorists on the shard. How many rereads are you through before you start becoming aware of possible theory's.

I've only just finished reading through for the first time and it amazes me how you can come up with such complex theories and how you remember things do well. 

Hope you can help.

[Stormgate he/him]

Well, I read a story, and then just go over the details in my head over and over. I actually rarely reread things, but I'm looking for little details when I do. 

I'm not sure how I remember so many details, I seem to have a somewhat supernatural ability in that regard. If it's important to you in some way, it'd probably be easier to remember.

Rome wasn't built in a day. Start with the basics, like the characters and the worlds, then find patterns, and wonder what would happen if this was applied in a larger scale, or what's the cause of the pattern in the first place.

Basically, take apart the pieces of the puzzles that are Sanderson's books, and see if some of the pieces fit together in a new way.

Practice, young Sharder. Patience.

[Vyree he/him]

I do like puzzles!!  I have learnt so much already from reading through the shard and I'm slowly picking things up and I'd like to start directing things. I think it'll just take time and lots of scouring the books and Coppermind! I'm sure I'll soon be making some crackpot theories.

 

 

[Stormgate he/him]

To be honest...I don't often look at the Coppermind. Try putting together the facts by yourself and then check them, but don't infodump yourself. Piece by piece is how I do it.

[Argent he/him]

I will offer the other side of the argument then - there is only so much you can learn from the books, regardless of how many times you reread them. I feel like the bulk of our knowledge comes from Brandon directly - signings, events, online presence, answers in books' personalization requests. That is how I learn most things - discover a WoB (and sometimes I would just read the Theoryland database for hours), ponder it, try to think how it fits in the bigger picture, form a theory, and let others poke at it. 

The actual books I've read no more than 2-3 times each. I am due for a reread soon though, I find myself forgetting basic details from the earlier ones...

[Vyree he/him]

Ah okay, I've not seen theoryland database. I'll have to check it out. Yeah I noticed that there's so much information that comes from WoB's.  I suppose that's what makes him so great. 

I think I need to spend a long time reading up on years worth of WoB's..