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Possible WoB Contradiction


VirtuousTraveller

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On 12/2/2016 at 5:02 PM, Lhyonnaes said:

A bonus piece of information - my poor friend that I dragged along with me (who had only read Warbreaker) asked about the specific naming of Bio-Chromatic Breath, and Sanderson confirmed as part of his response that at least some the Five Scholars had visited worlds who had gone through the Industrial Revolution (and therefore would have more of a sense of scientific theory, that the Scholars would have picked up on). Again, not sure if that's new or not.

This quote came from the signing on December 1st, but I'm curious to get some feedback about it, as it seems to contradict the information Brandon gave us recently about the Five Scholars on Nalthis.

Quote

QUESTION (from November 22, 2016)

In the signing line, I asked him what would have been included in a hypothetical Nalthian essay had there been one.

BRANDON SANDERSON

He said it would have talked about how close the scholars there were to being Cosmere aware, and how they knew more than anyone who wasn't a worldhopper. He also said he would have given clues to where the pool was. Also, he wrote "Are you listening?" In my book, although I have no idea what was meant by that.

How could the Five Scholars be close to being cosmere aware, knowing more than anyone who wasn't a worldhopper (meaning they likewise were not worldhoppers), and yet also be a group that worldhopped to worlds that had gone through Industrial Revolutions?

So, were the Five Scholars cosmere aware and/or did they worldhop when they were the Five Scholars?  Obviously, Vasher/Zahel figured it out by the time we see him in TWoK (which takes place after Warbreaker).

What do we know people?

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Well, Cosmere aware and worldhopping are used pretty synonymously but they are different things, technically.

Come to think of it, there are some highly aware people that aren't Worldhoppers, I.e. Frost. I would bet that since it is paraphrased and he was likely tired, we shouldn't take it to mean they knew more than Frost, but it is still an interesting line of thought.

We know for certain that Vasher Hopped to Roshar because he modeled Nightblood after Shardblades. This was before they stopped being the five scholars, so them hopping to other more industrial planets wouldn't be the least bit surprising.

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He said it would have talked about how close the scholars there were to being Cosmere aware, and how they knew more than anyone who wasn't a worldhoppers.

I'm pretty sure this is referring to "regular" scholars, not the Five Scholars.

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8 minutes ago, jofwu said:

I'm pretty sure this is referring to "regular" scholars, not the Five Scholars.

Particularly since it isn't clear whether Khriss is aware of the Five Scholars; she mentions Nalthis so very briefly. 

Also, I can't tell who wrote the original quote with the question from November 22, but "Are you listening?" is in reference to Edgedancer

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7 minutes ago, jofwu said:

I'm pretty sure this is referring to "regular" scholars, not the Five Scholars.

It seems that this is a paraphrased comment, but using the phrase "the scholars" while referencing the planet Nalthis would be a really unfortunate use of a generic term.  This quote's use of "the" scholars leads me to believe it refers to Vasher and company.

If the Five Scholars were close to being cosmere aware, then it wouldn't make sense that they'd worldhopped, unless they did it without realizing the scope of what they were doing.  That they visited multiple worlds though would make this interpretation shaky.

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38 minutes ago, VirtuousTraveller said:

It seems that this is a paraphrased comment, but using the phrase "the scholars" while referencing the planet Nalthis would be a really unfortunate use of a generic term.  This quote's use of "the" scholars leads me to believe it refers to Vasher and company.

If the Five Scholars were close to being cosmere aware, then it wouldn't make sense that they'd worldhopped, unless they did it without realizing the scope of what they were doing.  That they visited multiple worlds though would make this interpretation shaky.

"the scholars there" seems to be generically referring to scholars on Nalthis, not the Five Scholars. There would be no need for the term "there" if he were referring to the Five Scholars, since they are only based on Nalthis. In addition, he probably would've referred to them as the Five Scholars if he were actually talking about them. Yes, "how close scholars there were to being Cosmere aware" could've been said, but it sounds really awkward, since you are using "scholars there" to refer to a particular group of scholars, those on Nalthis. Therefore, the use of "the" in front seems to be correct.

Overall, I don't see a contradication in WoB. The Five Scholars were Cosmere-aware and could worldhop. The regular scholars are not, and cannot, but they are close to being so. 

 

 

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16 minutes ago, Djarskublar said:

Well in this context, I would take Cosmere aware to be aware of the Shards. So they could be Worldhoppers, but not know why things are the way they are.

That's also a possibility. I was taking Cosmere-aware to be aware that there is more to existence than just the physical world you're on. So awareness of the three realms and that there are other worlds. I don't think it necessarily requires being aware of shards.

EDIT: Found something which seems to more or less state Brandon's definition of Cosmere-aware

Quote

QUESTION

In your mind, what would constitute a Worldhopper? Is it someone who makes a single trip between worlds (for example, the exodus from Yolen—not that it was an exodus, but a single trip), multiple trips between worlds (such as Hoid), or simply leaving a particular world?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Here's the thing. I would call anyone who is aware that there are multiple worlds in the Cosmere and has visited more than one a Worldhopper.

QUESTION

Do they actually have to have made it to a second world?

BRANDON SANDERSON

I think that…You’re getting at people like- I would say that they are a Worldhopper kind-of, but not fully. They’re kind of...

KURKISTAN

The Doctor's companion?

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yeah, the Doctor’s companion type thing. I would define a Worldhopper as someone who has been to another world. I would call someone who has not actually been to another world “Cosmere-aware,” but not necessarily a Worldhopper.

QUESTION

I was thinking more along the lines of the Shard who does not have a planet.

BRANDON SANDERSON

Oh, Shards transcend these definitions.

ARGENT

They're kind of Worldhoppers by default.

BRANDON SANDERSON

Yes.

[Source]

He seems to be saying what I thought. Cosmere-Aware is knowing that other worlds exist in the Cosmere. Doesn't say anything about realmatics theory, though I imagine that factors in slightly.

Edited by Spoolofwhool
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It's also possible that Khriss visited Nalthis just when the Five Scholars were on the verge of Cosmere awareness (i.e. just before learning how to Worldhop). We've already seen an essay by Khriss about a planetary system written before the actual story set on that system, namely the essay on the Drominad system (although to be fair, Sixth of the Dusk is set waaay into the future relative to other cosmere stories).

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10 hours ago, skaa said:

It's also possible that Khriss visited Nalthis just when the Five Scholars were on the verge of Cosmere awareness (i.e. just before learning how to Worldhop). We've already seen an essay by Khriss about a planetary system written before the actual story set on that system, namely the essay on the Drominad system (although to be fair, Sixth of the Dusk is set waaay into the future relative to other cosmere stories).

Very true, nor do we know if each essay is set around the same time as each book or if Khriss wrote them all in one go

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