WoB Discrepency

[+Keeper Exile he/him]

So I have discovered a discrepancy concerning two WoB’s. They concern Hoid and his Feruchemical powers, so this may not be appropriate here. Sorry.

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Lamguin (paraphrased)

Hoid is regularly around when important events take place. How does he know where to go?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

He uses Feruchemy. Part of it that will show up in later books.

Footnote: Brandon has later said that Hoid uses the same underlying principle as Chromium Feruchemy, not necessarily the same thing. 
A Memory of Light Chicago signing (Jan. 9, 2013)

Here is the second one:

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Skaiiwalker (paraphrased)

Does Hoid use his Feruchemical abilities with the atium to see the future?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

Ah ah ah, I haven't confirmed that Hoid had Feruchemical abilities.

Skaiiwalker (paraphrased)

You haven't?

Brandon Sanderson (paraphrased)

*grinning slyly* No, but most people think he has Allomancy.

Teen Author Boot Camp (April 11, 2015)

 

[king of nowhere]

cut him some slack, he can forget stuff every once in a while. especially something he said to a fan two years prior.

[+Keeper Exile he/him]

I wasn’t accusing him of anything, I thought that myself when I found this first. I am just wondering what, if anything, should be done. Should it be changed or left as it is?

[Pagerunner he/him]

You'll notice that both of these are paraphrased. We don't have the audio of the actual interactions, just someone's summary of what went down. The questioner in the first one must have misinterpreted what Brandon said. The footnote will provide more info and links if a WoB has been contradicted; in this case, it already includes a link to one that clarifies it.

[+Harrycrapper]

Yea, Brandon mispoke in the first one, the footnote clarifies it. Fortune is a Cosmere wide phenomenon and Feruchemy is one of the only confirmed magic systems that has it at the moment. Hoid uses some form of Fortune that allows him to determine somewhere he needs to be to see or do something important. The only other place we've seen it used on Sel in Elantris, spoilers below for that;

Spoiler

Wyrn placed Fjon where Hrathen would be in Teoras at the end of the book to have him assassinated. Somehow Wyrn used Fortune to determine that Hrathen would betray Shu-Dereth and knew where he'd be after that betrayal happened.

It seems to involve knowing the future or somehow gives you guidance/direction based on the future. But yea, always read the footnotes, there are a number of WoBs that seem contradictory until you read those. 

[king of nowhere]

3 hours ago, Keeper Exile said:

I wasn’t accusing him of anything,

wasn't accusing you of accusing. it was more of a "well, of course there will be a few small contradictions here and there"

 

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I thought that myself when I found this first. I am just wondering what, if anything, should be done. Should it be changed or left as it is?

IIRC, WoBs are not considered strictly canon (though they are the next best thing) specifically because there may be something like that. brandon goes from memory when answering at conventions. he may get something wrong. the fans may get something wrong. or, he may decide to change something because a new book requires it.

so, nothing should be done, because wobs have some uncertainty in the first place

[Sixth_of_the_Dusk]

Hey - I don’t think theres necessarily a contradiction in what Brandon said.

The first response from Brandon is generic, just saying that Hoid uses feruchemy. And the second questioner specifically asks If Hoid uses “his feruchemical abilities”. 

If Hoid used an unkeyed metalmind, he could be using feruchemy without having feruchemical abilities. 

Edited April 17, 2020 by Sixth_of_the_Dusk