Kurkistan

Perhaps Breaths do grant some degree of Connection to Endowment—in fact it's likely they do, as a mechanism to explain why Drabs can't Return. But unless I'm misunderstanding, Shardcellist is equating the ideal that Breaths contain to a connection to Endowment, and attributing the effects of Breath to that connection rather than to some ideal that is wholly contained within the Breath.

Just so you know I've got my own copy of the audio, so just PM me or something if you're transcribing something and can't make it out. -I neglected to turn my recording off during the "please don't post this answer" session of Argent's question session, and am not sure of my audio-editing skills (also I don't want to know whatever he asked/got answered), and so didn't post the audio online.

Interesting theory. Myself I'm currently toying with how exactly to relate human souls to broader ideals: the soul-healing WoB here in particular has Brandon saying outright that souls are ideals, but I'm more than a little suspicious that they are of a different class than the more generalized ideals that spren represent: otherwise we seem to lack a template to tell Investiture how exactly to go about healing the soul. As a criticism, I think you may be misinterpreting the WoB about how Breath works. It's rather clear that this ideal of being endowed is properly within the Breath, rather than simply being a connection to some external thing. -- P.S. Just some editorial stuff, but I'd advise against this footnoting citation system, going forward. It's all quite a bit easier (less back and forth and the like) if you just inline the hyperlinks, or parenthetical citations, or quote the WoBs directly if they're that crucial. Also, you're going to want to change your theoryland links: right now you're linking to searches, which are volatile and so don't provide permanent, reliable links to find specific WoBs. I happen to have a little how-to on linking to specific interviews/WoBs in the database, if you don't know how.

Totally, sorry if I'm coming across as ungrateful here. Getting the stuff in there is the most important thing, but it was a bit disconcerting that the format was so different.

On an unrelated note I can't say I'm a fan of "inlining" multi-question WoBs rather than having some line breaks in there to separate the questions... :/ -But then again I'm not doing the work, so I can't complain all too much. Unless I were to be granted infinite power over the database, that is...

Yeah, that's what I mean. It's just that before if we didn't know the name of the one who asked the question there'd be a "QUESTION" in place of the name, so we'd be clear who's saying what; but you lately seem to have been omitting that.

Not to pick any nits, but is it the new convention on Theoryland not to have a "QUESTION" for questions where we don't know the name of the one who asked it?

I've got it recorded as "Yes. In other words you're wrapping your head around the way that the magic system is working, so." And I don't think I cut anything off... Could you be sure to double-check me on this, Weiry? I don't have access to my recording at the moment. P.S. Also, the main reason I tend to be a bit odd about getting my own questions is my mad hand gestures. The time bubble question from Philly would have made no sense whatsoever without a play-by-play of my pantomiming, so I've kind of got into a habit (very quick habit formation, it seems) of making sure I'm on hand to describe any relevant gestures. I also made a "pushing" gesture when asking the iron/steel/emotional Allomancy through a time bubble question, but I deemed it unnecessary to record that, as the question and answer were clear enough.

Hey Feesh, nice to see you again. In terms of density of things you definitely haven't seen yet, here's a compilation of most all the stuff that came out during the WoR tour. Another thing you missed is that people haves started giving out rep like it's candy for some reason, so don't necessarily pay as much attention to rep levels as you might have in the past (if you did before at all, that is).

@Weiry Okay, cool. Just wanted to double check; and thanks again for being the transcription-master. Funny you should say that about Mistborn minutia being boring... :/ I made a few attempts to entice others who were like "I don't have any cool questions" by being all "ask some of my cool questions!" until I realized that, when I went to find any of my questions that would interesting to someone that wasn't me, there were like four of them total on the entire list. And I think at least half of those I stole from other Sharders.

Just a note that I haven't gone through all of this a second time just listening to it to make sure I caught everything. This was more "write down the words, check the words when I thought I might have written something wrong", so you'll almost certainly want to at least give my portions a listen while reading through my transcript before you set everything in stone.

Okay, here's a second-pass draft of the transcript from my signing line questions and the lightening round after the signing. In the second half, Argent and I were taking turns, but I only transcribed my own questions. They'll need one last once-over before being Theoryland-ready, but I thought I'd post them for everyone's reading pleasure. Kurkistan Chicago Transcript from 2/21/2015 Signing line: Kurkistan: So, could you give us some examples of how the ideals that spren represent work in other magic systems, like we have Forging where you get plausibility, or Returned how they're beautiful or any other systems? Brandon: Okay, one more time on that. Kurkistan: Okay, so you know the ideals the spren are manifestations- Brandon: Yes. Kurkistan: How- do those have impacts on other magic systems? Brandon: Yes, yes, in the same way the Returned- that's the exact same system at work there. Kurkistan: Is it the same reason why the Lord Ruler _has_ to die of old age, and why you can't heal yourself into being an octopus or something? Brandon: Um... _yes_, that is all connected in the exact same way. Kurkistan: Okay, so it's all like these high falutin' spiritual ideals? Brandon: Yes. Kurkistan: And are there like, median Cognitive ideals that gradually kind of influence these, or- Brandon: Yeah, they transcend between the three. I mean the original concept for the three realms is Platonic philosophy. Kurkistan: So it goes up <makes absurd reverse-waterfall hand gesture> Brandon: Yeah, it goes up and it comes back down. Brandon: A lot of the Cognitive is- so like, the Cognitive has a bigger effect on how you can heal and things like that—does that make sense? Kurkistan: Yeah. Brandon: But the power to heal is a actually a spiritual thing. Kurkistan: So it's like the spiritual says "I want to be like this" and the Cognitive is like "okay I'll try really hard to be like that, but I have a limit." Brandon: Right. Right. Filtered through how you see yourself, yeah. Kurkistan: So is that the same thing with Commands, are there like ideals that are Commands? Brandon: This is more of a- for you to interface with the magic, you need to be able to comprehend it. And so forming a Command- the same thing happens in Elantris, you know they don't accidentally draw runes, right? The intention is part of interfacing with the magic. So it's like your mind reaching into the spiritual realm and you have to like conceive something. Kurkistan: Speaking of time bubbles [Editors note: we were not speaking of time bubbles], can iron and steel and emotional Allomancy- Allomancy go beyond the boundaries of time bubbles; like if I'm inside a time bubble can I just like super steel push outside? Brandon: Oh, time bubbles interfere with almost all forms of investiture. Kurkistan: Speaking of interfering, if you shot an aluminum bullet through a time bubble, what would happen? Brandon: Oooooh, that's a _good_ question. I'm gonna' RAFO that one. It's an excellent question. ---- Kurkistan lightning-round post signing questions: Brandon: Alright, start hitting me with questions. Kurkistan: Okay. Kurkistan: Could you explain the relationship between spiritual DNA, spiritual aspects, and the spirit web, or are they all just terms for the same thing? Brandon: They are all similar terms for the similar stuff, yeah. Kurkistan: Okay. So it's not like the core is spiritual DNA then things as you spread out all spiritual aspect? Brandon: No. Kurkistan: So time bubbles again... How much control does a bubbler have over the bubble before and after it's cast? Can they just grow and shrink it or... Brandon: Not very much. Kurkistan: So Wayne could flare his metals make time go faster- Brandon: Yes. Kurkistan: But if he'd stopped flaring- Brandon: Yeah, but- they have a bit of control over the speed of it, but once it's up moving it or anything like that, not much. The flaring of it and things like that, yes they can- it's mostly set when they start. Kurkistan: But they have some discretion when they start it. Brandon: They do have some discretion , yes. Kurkistan: Why does Awakening need to drain color, and what determines the amount of color that's drained? Brandon: I'm going to RAFO Awakening because I'm going to write another book and I- mostly it's a RAFO because I don't want to canonize things until I've got the book in hand. Kurkistan: So for soulcasting—I talked a lot about those ideals that a lot of things are based on—is that also like there's an ideal of stone that when you soulcast stone if you don't do anything special, it just defaults as that- Brandon: Yeah, there will be a default of all of them. Kurkistan: And that's the same exact thing as spren and why the Lord Ruler dies of old age and all that stuff? Brandon: Yes, that's the same sort of concept. Yes. Kurkistan: You've said that the the laws of physics in the cosmere are ours except where they're messed with by the spiritual, but are the laws of physics actually in the Physical realm all the time, or are they in the spiritual realm doing their stuff on a spiritual level that's trickling down to the physical as a matter of course? Brandon: The three are more closely aligned- <at this point Brandon takes a break because he has to write words into the books he's signing for the store, and can't talk and write at the same time> Kurkistan: So you were saying that physics- laws of physics- that the realms are a lot more closely bound and the laws of physics are not just tied to one of them? Brandon: Yeah. Kurkistan: So you've said that healing is like the spiritual wants to heal and then it filters through the Cognitive, but how's that work with healing wounds to the soul like Hemalurgy or Shardblades? What do you refer to to heal the soul at that point? Brandon: You need to make a patch on the soul with investiture. Kurkistan: So how's the investiture know where to go, what to look like? Brandon: Well your soul _is_ an ideal. So if you can get it up there, there are ways to do- to recreate that with um- see I'm getting into stuff with later books. Kurkistan: So when Hemalurgy rips something off the soul, is that the ideal soul or some sub-soul? Brandon: That is off of your soul, and it can be healed; but what it's going to be doing is creating a patch of new soul. So it will not be your original soul. Does that make sense? Kurkistan: Okay, that- well, not completely, but I think that's your intention. Brandon: Yes. Store Employee (Kevin, I think?): If you do that, is that like Frankenstein's monster, or is it like a graft that's absorb- Brandon: Less horrifying- Less horrifying than Frankenstein's monster, but it is a graft that is like- it is not your original soul. Kevin: Yeah, but in modern medicine stuff like that is absorbed- Brandon: Yeah; in this you will always have a scar on your soul that something else has patched over. Kurkistan: So Kaladin shouldn't just keep getting his arm chopped? Brandon: <ignoring/not-hearing Kurkistan just now> But that is what happens with most forms of investiture in the first place. Kurkistan: Is there- have you come up with a Realmatic explanation for why light isn't affected by time bubbles besides handwavium "please don't burn people with microwaves"? Brandon: Peter's got one for us. 'Cause we were going to do redshift: like the actual original writing for it had redshifts; Peter's like "dude, you will microwave everybody"—I'm like "oh man". So the handwavium of that: there is a real- there is an actual explanation, but it- <at this point we decamp to the sidewalk outside the store> Brandon: What's the middle of this question? Kurkistan: Middle of the question was you were thinking about explaining the realmatics behind light for time bubbles. Brandon: Oh right, right right right right. I can't because it spoils future books; like that's spoiler for Mistborn... 10? Kurkistan/Argent: <Laughter> Brandon: So... if you count the four Alloys, so really gotta stay away from stuff like that. Kurkistan/Argent: That's fair/fine. Kurkistan: Could a Feruchemist manipulate their identity such that they could make a metalmind that anyone could tap? Brandon: Ah.. RAFO. Kurkistan: Okay; could they manipulate their identity such that they could pull Breaths out of something that somebody else Awakened? Brandon: Ah.. ahahah, Awakened, oh yeah... That one's going to be harder, but you're thinking ar- You're thinking with portals. <smiles> Do you know what that means. Kurkistan: Yes, I know what it means- Brandon: You're starting to think with portals. Kurkistan: I'm thinking with portals, okay, thank you. Brandon: Yes. In other words you're wrapping your head around the way that the magic system is working, so. Kurkistan: Okay, so I'm contractually obligated to ask about time bubbles one more time [this is a lie]. Brandon: Yes. Kurkistan: So what's up with frame of reference for time bubbles; in that obviously if you make a bubble and it's still it's not really still, like time moves differently but- Brandon: We deal with that a little bit in Era 2 Book 2 [shadows of Self], where we talk about the fact that you know- obviously the bubble is moving with the planet. So they're not- the frame of reference is not absolute. Kurkistan: Yeah. Brandon: And so we talk about sorta' the idea of mass and momentum and time bubbles and things like that. Kurkistan: Okay <Fun fact: at this point I was content to go home (actually to a hotel because I didn't feel like falling asleep at the wheel on the way home, but that's another story), but then Brandon just kept talking, and saying very interesting things. > Brandon: For instance you can make a time bubble on a train. Kurkistan: Oh and it _stays_ on the train?! Brandon: Yes, but when you start catching stuff off of the train, it's gonna' _jar_ each time, and it's probably going to ruin your time bubble, right? Kurkistan: So does it get it's "anchor" from- it's asking all the things that are within it what they think "still" is? Brandon: Yes. That's a good way of looking at it. Frame of reference for the cognitive things around. Kurkistan: Okay; the things around or the things within it, specifically? Brandon: The things that it's cutting into, specifically, but yeah. ---- After that (as he was fleeing to his car and to sleep at 12 in the morning after being chased out of a bookstore by crazed fans... ) Brandon mentioned how he was impressed with my and Argent's lists of questions, and asked if they were our own personal lists; I'll admit that, looking at my questions now, a fair number of the more interesting ones were borrowed/thefted from other Sharders, but still. P.S. Also, unless something else is fundamentally wrong with either my own understanding of time bubbles so far or with my understanding of this last WoB, this gives us fully-realized FTL with known magical effects, so long as we can find a way to expand the size of/maintain time bubbles (and it's looking like that's going to be down to mechallomancy). All you have to do is have the Cadmium bubble that's keeping everyone going-slow such that's its cutting through the ship, while have the Bendalloy bubble that's making everything go fast through space not intersect the ship at all. The Bendalloy bubble can then gets its frame of reference from the interstellar medium and congratulations you've realized FTL.

So tired. But so many time bubble questions answered... *Sleeps* (Argent will be posting/transcribing(?) the full event soon, by my understanding).

Hey, second signing ever. And it seems the man's chasing me across the country after I moved. :/

Argent!? Do you know how many time bubble/Forms questions I have to get through already? A lot! I can't be bothered to actually ask broadly-applicable and interesting questions; rather I'll just advise others to do so on my behalf.

This type of question interests me as well, but I'd very firmly hesitate to phrase it this way. Myself, I'd ask more like "what's the relationship/distinction between a person's spiritual aspect, their spirit-web, and their spritual DNA? Is there any difference, even, or are they all just terms for the same thing?"

Thanks.

Good luck with Hemalurgy. You're right that the info on that topic's a bit vague.

Added another "FTL involves magitech" WoB to the OP: Contemporary trilogy tech hints at FTL:

Clearly you've never been to Singapore a thread where someone mentioned time bubbles or FTL, if you think my response to "cognitive" is impressive.

And so the panda shows his inexperience. As a fun fact, I've actually always (well, since TES at least) been fairly big proponent of the importance of the Cognitive; but then it became all "hip" and "cool" for everyone to attribute Cognitive explanations to everything under the sun. These posers need to get off my lawn, is all I'm saying.

While it pains me each and every time that people refer to the ideals that spren are based upon as cognitive, I wouldn't be surprised if there were some overarching "Spren" ideal that serves as a superclass of all the ideals that manifest spren. I personally doubt, though, that such an ideal would manifest a spren of its own, as it might well be too general.

@Argent Yup, thanks. I hadn't realized the implications of that WoB.

I suppose I'll bump this for the new month. :/

Well... Okay I really didn't feel like making the drive down to Chicago, but technically the bookstore's not really in the city... So it's just me and Argent at the moment, or did I miss someone? Also, my current list (some shamelessly stolen from others) at the moment. Anything I missed getting answered?