Thucydides Posted June 11, 2011 Report Share Posted June 11, 2011 I was writing up a theory when I realized that I was relying on an assumption which is actually a bit of a theory in its own right. That being the case I thought it might be wise to write this here in a separate thread to avoid trying to explain a theory within a theory, so here goes. We know that the Cosmere is comprised of three separate realms, namely the Physical realm the Cognitive realm and the Spiritual realm. We also have this from the ascended Sazed: I have come to see that each power has three aspects: a physical one, which can be seen in the creations made by Ruin and Preservation; a spiritual one in the unseen energy that permeates all of the world; and a cognitive one in the minds which controlled that energy. Which tells us that magic in the Cosmere is also comprised of a physical, spiritual and cognitive aspect each corresponding to the respective Cosmeric realm. My theory is that every living entity in the Cosmere has three aspects as well, these are: Body - Physical Mind - Cognitive Life force - Spiritual Let us run it against some of the things in the Cosmere we know are alive. Humans are obvious. Seons have an Aon that acts as both a body and a connection to the Shard Formerly Held by Aona (SFHA) which is their life force. I don't know where their mind comes from but it is quite obvious they have one. Nightblood has a sword for a body, breath for life force, and a command that gives him his cognitive aspect (he is also, apparently, moving towards sentience, but irregardless of his sentience, he is certainly alive). Animals are the same as humans, they have less sentience, but no one can deny that, unless Cosmere animals differ greatly from (insert name of our universe here) animals, they certainly have the ability to think. Spren are one of the more interesting things to apply this to; They obviously have bodies, and this: Windspren were devious spirits who had a penchant for staying where they weren't wanted.....Windspren often played pranks like that. ...seems to indicate they can think, albeit not (excepting Syl) on a sentient level. You might say that the above quote is no good because it is about Syl, but these observations are made by Kaladin who obviously has had similar experiences with other spren so that is what I am basing this on. So they have bodies, though I don't know of what they are made, they have minds as evidenced by the fact that they can think, and they have life force as evidenced by their existence and movement. Plants are the only living thing that don't seem to me to be, to coin a phrase, "intuitively obvious". They have bodies, they have life force, and according to my theory they have a cognitive aspect as well, but I don't know what it is, regardless they must have one. This theory really seems straightforward and almost obvious too me, but that does not mean it can't be wrong. Anyway I needed to write it so I could use it in another theory, so I guess I will post this and go finish writing that one. Feel free to dissect. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrazyRioter Posted June 12, 2011 Report Share Posted June 12, 2011 Something else I noticed is that when Shallan ended up in Shadesmar (the Cognitive Realm), she was holding one of the little spheres in her hand, without having picked it up, and she was also touching the goblet in the physical world. I think that even inanimate objects have some kind of reflection or representation in the Cognitive and Spiritual realms. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Thucydides, this theory seems like a good place to start. Basic, but well-supported by what we've seen, and nailing down the basics is important. I have to second CrazyRioter. It seems that in the Cosmere, even inanimate objects have a cognitive aspect, which in turn implies that plants definitely have one. (Of course, on Roshar, that hardly comes as a surprise. But it seems likely that even in Shin, the plants have a cognitive aspect.) I would add that the Aons in Elantris are probably connected to the realms as well. After all, they reflect the physical world around them, and if I'm reading the Annotations right, they are also connected to either the spiritual or cognitive realms. Probably all through. (Maybe on Sel, the Cognitive realm is flooded with the Dor. Could make life uncomfortable if you were to go there physically.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FellKnight Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Something else I noticed is that when Shallan ended up in Shadesmar (the Cognitive Realm), she was holding one of the little spheres in her hand, without having picked it up, and she was also touching the goblet in the physical world. I think that even inanimate objects have some kind of reflection or representation in the Cognitive and Spiritual realms. Tel'aran'desmar? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thucydides Posted June 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 Something else I noticed is that when Shallan ended up in Shadesmar (the Cognitive Realm), she was holding one of the little spheres in her hand, without having picked it up, and she was also touching the goblet in the physical world. I think that even inanimate objects have some kind of reflection or representation in the Cognitive and Spiritual realms. You're right, I guess it is pretty obvious that everything, even the inanimate, is three part, after all this is the Cosmere! But I think it still needed to be stated because it implies some questions that I haven't seen people asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaos Posted June 13, 2011 Report Share Posted June 13, 2011 I completely agree with this theory. There's no counterexample I can think up, and seems to make sense. Things like, say, a rock would just have a much weaker Cognitive and Spiritual aspect, I'd imagine. Since we know so little about Realmatic theory, this seems like a great place to start. I totally want to use the acronym SFHA for Shard Formerly Held by Aona. Let's start doing that, to differentiate between Aona the Shardholder and the power itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FellKnight Posted June 14, 2011 Report Share Posted June 14, 2011 I totally want to use the acronym SFHA for Shard Formerly Held by Aona. Let's start doing that, to differentiate between Aona the Shardholder and the power itself. How about this? Fell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 I found something curious as I was searching through Brandon's site. It was an early chapter from Final Empire Prime (a book that was combined with Mistborn Prime to make the book we know). Now, from what I can gather, this book was originally intended to be a part of the Cosmere, and so I found this excerpt... interesting. (The Conquerer is an early form of The Lord Ruler, and Sha is an early form of Ruin). Now, the Sha was content to stay back, playing with its priesthood, being the unseen God of which the Conqueror was the Incarnate. They could not be rid of one another--without the Sha, the Conqueror would die. Without him, the Sha would be a mindless force, for the portion of his soul he had given to it had granted sentience. So, they stayed together, but worked apart. The arrangement suited both of them, for both knew who had ultimate rule of Eternal Khol. Now, I know this isn't canon, but I think it gives us an insight (a little) on how Shards/Dor/Splinters? work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman Posted June 20, 2011 Report Share Posted June 20, 2011 The more I think about this, the weirder it feels. It's correct, but Shallan's experience with Shadesmar is sorta bizarre. I mean, she talked to the goblet? Either goblets are way smarter than we give them credit for, or she instinctively "understood" things about the goblet, and her mind interpreted that as words. I lean strongly towards the second idea: she instinctively understood how long the goblet had been unchanged (from her contact with it's Cognitive aspect) and interpreted its desire and her power in terms of a conversation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Scientist Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Adding more evidence to the idea that everything has a cognitive aspect, even apparantly inanimate objects, we have these lines from Elantris. "Correct," Galladon said. "Now, a different question. What makes the water want to flow?""I wasn't aware that it needed to." "It does, and the Dor is its motivation," Galladon said. Elantris, page 276, mass market paperback. Interestingly enough, Galladon's words imply the possibility that the Dor is somehow controlling/manipulating the cognitive aspect of every lifeform (except for man) and every inanimate object in existance on Sel. Wonder if this has something to do with Shadesmar being dangerous there. Just what is the Dor? Well, that's a topic for another thread I suppose. The main point I wanted to make was that even as far back as Elantris, we had references to things like rivers wanting to do things. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earendil Posted July 4, 2011 Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 I like this idea. I think it also fits in well with Chaos' Theory of Intent in that so far, all of the magic that we really understand seems to be intent, working on the spiritual aspect of people. Feruchemy (Ruin) requires that you take someone else's life force, Allomancy (Preservation) gives you a buffer around your life force, and Awakening involves endowing things with a part of your life force. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thucydides Posted July 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2011 Feruchemy (Ruin) requires that you take someone else's life force, You mean Hemalurgy, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zas678 Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Adding more evidence to the idea that everything has a cognitive aspect, even apparantly inanimate objects, we have these lines from Elantris. Elantris, page 276, mass market paperback. Interestingly enough, Galladon's words imply the possibility that the Dor is somehow controlling/manipulating the cognitive aspect of every lifeform (except for man) and every inanimate object in existance on Sel. Wonder if this has something to do with Shadesmar being dangerous there. Just what is the Dor? Well, that's a topic for another thread I suppose. The main point I wanted to make was that even as far back as Elantris, we had references to things like rivers wanting to do things. Perhaps the Dor is a synonym. Perhaps instead of being an aspect in the Cognitive Realm, it is the Cognitive Realm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyman Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Perhaps the Dor is a synonym. Perhaps instead of being an aspect in the Cognitive Realm, it is the Cognitive Realm. Perhaps. But it is interesting to note that the theory that the Dor is in the cognitive realm, rather than being the cognitive realm, would agree strongly with Brandon's statement that you wouldn't want to go to Shadesmar on Sel. It would probably fry you like you were in a microwave, assuming the Dor is something extra that's only in Shadesmar around Sel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe ST Posted July 5, 2011 Report Share Posted July 5, 2011 Perhaps. But it is interesting to note that the theory that the Dor is in the cognitive realm, rather than being the cognitive realm, would agree strongly with Brandon's statement that you wouldn't want to go to Shadesmar on Sel. It would probably fry you like you were in a microwave, assuming the Dor is something extra that's only in Shadesmar around Sel. aha!, the effects of Elantris on the Dor and thus Shadesmar, ooooooh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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