[OB] Wisdom Shard

[red032]

When Wit is talking to Shalam on Kholinar for the first time (in the tavern), he says something that caught my ear: As I do not have the book now, I will not write it verbatim

Me and Wisdon are, often, at cross purposes.

And I still did not learn the language she speaks

 

It looked to me that he was talking about a person (or shardic entity... you get my drift).

Do we know about a Wisdom Shard?

[Weltall]

He's just being poetic in his manner of telling Shallan what sort of person he is and isn't. So no, we haven't gotten a 'Wisdom' Shard confirmed.

[Llarimar]

@red032 I think this in an interesting idea.  I don't think we've heard about a Wisdom shard so far, but there are many Shards that haven't been mentioned or named, so it's definitely possible.  I wouldn't think twice about this quote if it was said by someone else, but coming from Hoid it could definitely mean something, especially if he really does use a "her/she" pronouns to refer to Wisdom during his conversation with Shallan. Considering that the next two books Brandon is planning on writing (from what I understand) are The Lost Metal and Nightblood, it seems we'll have to wait some time before discovering a new planet or reading about a new shard, so anything that could potentially hint at worlds or shards we don't know anything about is definitely worth exploring.

As a side note what kind of planet would the shard Wisdom rule over?  It would probably be much more peaceful and civil than Roshar or any of the other planets we've encountered so far.

[JoyBlu]

17 hours ago, red032 said:

Me and Wisdon are, often, at cross purposes

Here is the quote from the kindle version

page 678 in OB is where it starts

 

Quote

“Are you one of them?” Shallan blurted out. “Are you a Herald, Wit?” Pattern hummed softly. “Heavens no,” Wit said. “I’m not stupid enough to get mixed up in religion again. The last seven times I tried it were all disasters. I believe there’s at least one god still worshipping me by accident.” She eyed him. It was always hard to tell which of Wit’s exaggerations were supposed to mean something and which were confusing distractions. “Then what are you?” “Some men, as they age, grow kinder. I am not one of those, for I have seen how the cosmere can mistreat the innocent—and that leaves me disinclined toward kindness. Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes, and I have yet to learn the tongue in which she speaks. Some men, as they age, grow more cynical. I, fortunately, am not one of those. If I were, the very air would warp around me, sucking in all emotion, leaving only scorn.” He tapped the table. “Other men … other men, as they age, merely grow stranger. I fear that I am one of those. I am the bones of a foreign species left drying on the plain that was once, long ago, a sea. A curiosity, perhaps a reminder, that all has not always been as it is now.” “You’re … old, aren’t you? Not a Herald, but as old as they are?” He slid his boots off the chair and leaned forward, holding her eyes. He smiled in a kindly way. “Child, when they were but babes, I had already lived dozens of lifetimes. ‘Old’ is a word you use for worn shoes. I’m something else entirely.” She trembled, looking into those blue eyes. Shadows played within them. Shapes moved, and were worn down by time. Boulders became dust. Mountains became hills. Rivers changed course. Seas became deserts. “Storms,” she whispered. “When I was young…” he said. “Yes?” “I made a vow.” Shallan nodded, wide-eyed. “I said I’d always be there when I was needed.” “And you have been?” “Yes.” She breathed out. “It turns out I should have been more specific, as ‘there’ is technically anywhere.” “It … what?” “To be honest, ‘there’ has—so far—been a random location that is of absolutely no use to anyone.” Shallan hesitated. In an instant, whatever she seemed to have sensed in Wit was gone. She flopped back in her seat. “Why am I talking to you of all people?” “Shallan!” he said, aghast. “If you were talking to someone else, they wouldn’t be me.” “I happen to know plenty of people who aren’t you, Wit. I even like some of them.” “Be careful. People who aren’t me are prone to spontaneous bouts of sincerity.” “Which is bad?” “Of course! ‘Sincerity’ is a word people use to justify their chronic dullness.” “Well, I like sincere people,” Shallan said, raising her cup. “It’s delightful how surprised they look when you push them down the stairs.” “Now, that’s unkind. You shouldn’t push people down the stairs for being sincere. You push people down the stairs for being stupid.” “What if they’re sincere and stupid?” “Then you run.”

 

[Toaster Retribution]

It sounds like he is just referring to the attribute of wisdom. Furthermore, I doubt Brandon would name a Shard Wisdom. It seems like a too "normal" word. I think something like Enlightenment is more likely.

[Ciridae]

I have to admit I thought about it too, especially because he seems to reference Odium in the same breath:

Quote

Some men, as they age, grow more cynical. I, fortunately, am not one of those. If I were, the very air would warp around me, sucking in all emotion, leaving only scorn.

It might just be a nod to a shard that isn't actually Wisdom but maybe something similar. He does seem to personify wisdom more than would be normal, but Hoid is anything but, so who knows.

[red032]

Quote

21 hours ago, Llarimar said:

especially if he really does use a "her/she" pronouns to refer to Wisdom

 

Yeah.. he uses the SHE.

I am reading it from audible and for a second time. The first time I did not spare another thought. The secod time, tough, I tought I hear a different tone when Michael Kramer said "She". Maybe its just me... but... 

[Weltall]

Anthropomorphizing concepts is nothing new, 'Mother Earth' being perhaps the most obvious. If that expression were used on Roshar it might have a bit more validity than elsewhere but used just about anywhere else in the Cosmere it would be just an expression, and even on Roshar it's not literal as the world was there long before Cultivation arrived. Just to give an example everyone's likely to be familiar with. Nietzsche similarly opened his Beyond Good and Evil with the line 'Supposing that Truth is a woman, what then?' and expanded on the anthropomorphizing for a couple of sentences before moving on. With a bit of digging I could probably find other examples in Brandon's writings but none spring immediately to mind.

Also, if it were really a Shard we would expect the name to be capitalized. Even when a bit of dialogue is from the point of view of a character who doesn't know that something is a proper noun, we've seen Brandon do that as long as the speaker is aware of it. See, both Vivenna and Rayse using Fortune (which we know isn't a Shard, it's an underlying  principle of the Cosmere) in capitals when talking about it even though the people listening to them (Shallan and Taravangian respectively) don't know enough about the Cosmere to grasp the full implications. Same thing happens in Secret History all the time, for example.

Edited January 14, 2018 by Weltall

[digitalbusker]

Obviously this is confirmation that the language of Yolen is Greek, so Hoid thinks of wisdom as "sofia".

Edited January 18, 2018 by digitalbusker
Spelling

[wynnefox]

Sorry to Necro this thread. Came across it in a google search. Wisdom is a shard. In the text, the word is written as a proper noun and capitalized. 

 

Also this WOB

Paleo

All right, regarding the 'Wisdom Shard' again. We have one quote where Hoid... I'll just cite it: "Some men, as they age, grow wiser. I am not one of those, for wisdom and I have always been at cross-purposes." Is he referring to that Shard there... or the Vessel?

Brandon Sanderson

*thumbs up, grins* ... Yes.

Prague Signing (Oct. 26, 2019)