Why some Shards are better at forseeing the future - theory

[Eri she/her]

…yes, another one.

 

We know that:

• Cultivation is better at it than Honor, Preservation was better than Ruin
• the future may be changed only by those who see it (mentioned somewhere in Warbreaker or the annotations)

My theory: All Shards can basically see the future equally well, but those more inclined to action are immediatly willing to mess with it, which causes their future-vision to blur.

 

Cultivation doesn't seem a very active Shard; Preservation was significantly more long-term planner and less impulsive to action than Ruin (I think. Ati must have been pretty impulsive, he got tricked quite easily). That is why they can see future more clearly. Ruin and Honor were willing to mess up with the future.

 

It's a bit like catching a fish with your hand - if you shake the water, you don't see the fish. You need to either wait patiently and make one perfect strike or move slowly and steadily, to not disturb the water. (At least that's how I imagine it. I'm not good at catching fish.)

Edited February 15, 2014 by Eri

[Green Hoodie Mistborn he/him]

This is a very interesting theory!

I wonder if the location of other shards doesn't impact it as well?

Much like an Atium misting or Mistborn burning Atium, you see all the possible actions and reactions of the other people around you. If someone else burns Atium, it causes a multiplicity of shadows which are impossible to interpret for either burner.

[bartbug he/him]

Ooh! I like your addition! It could explain why Preservation, who had isolated himself by removing Ruin, was great at it while Ruin, who was surrounded and imprisoned by Preservation, had issues. Also, Odium is separated and lonely on Braize, just like Cultivation is (possibly) isolated in Shinovar. Meanwhile, on Sel, far off Wyrm, in his unDevotional land, is excellent at piercing the future.

[Kurkistan he/him]

This is fairly plausible, and basically in line with a pretty widely-espoused theory on the matter.

[Moogle]

This theory works well with the mechanics of atium. It would also work rather well with Honor's description:

 

It’s as if the future is a shattering window. The further you look, the more pieces that window breaks into. The near future can be anticipated, but the distant future… I can only guess.

 

This is fairly plausible, and basically in line with a pretty widely-espoused theory on the matter.

 

I disagree slightly that it's in-line with that theory.

 

My interpretation of this theory is that how active the Shard is determines how effectively they can see in the future. If the Shardholder is more inclined to act more often or be more active, then they will be incapable of seeing the future as well (because the possible paths the future can take will increase at a huge rate based on their actions to each possible path of the future).

 

Each Shard has only a limited amount of computational power to see the future, and if the Shard is active and will change its actions based on that information, it will effectively be limited because it has to keep recursing into looking at the results of its own actions based on the future it calculated. Sort of like how when two atium users look at each other, they each have to take into account the actions of the other person (which will be based on the action they themself do), resulting in an almost infinite loop of atium shadows being created. If a Shard is apathetic about the world though, and won't act based on the information about the future they receive, however, the future will effectively be 'set in stone' and thus the Shard will be able to see farther in the future.

 

My interpretation of the linked theory is that how future-centric the Shardholder's interpretation of the Intent of the Shard is determines its ability to see the future. I think the two theories are only slightly related. If a Shardholder has a future-centric interpretation of the Intent of their Shard, I see no reason why they cannot also constantly act in the present in order to maximize the utility of the future.