Curiosity

When you take a moment to realize that these posts aren't necessarily normal because, hey, that was one of your first thoughts too. And when you knew the word "threnody" as the name of a planet before you realized it was an actual word.

I haven't taken any courses, and I'm not particularly good with people. I just notice patterns with myself and then extrapolate them to other people. (Science of experience, you might call it? It's probably what Aristotle did, and he just wrote it down, so everyone thought he was a genius.) The few people that I know deeply (they cover a variety of personalities) are templates for this kind of system building as well. I will, however, tell you that the system is based on Biblical principles. It's what I've grown up with, and it's worked very well. Frankly, I'm unfamiliar with most of traditional psychology, though Myers-Briggs types fascinate me. You can also say that I'm living proof that homeschoolers aren't in desperate need of socialization. I was basically describing exactly what I would have thought four or five years ago. It's still too easy to think that way sometimes.

Have a Smedry with the talent of being forgettable or easily ignored.

Oy. Of course. Have an upvote!

Why didn't Vin's holding Preservation at the Well give her stronger Allomantic abilities?

The analogy that I've heard is that, in terms of Investiture, normal people are sparks, Splinters are bonfires, and Shards are stars. Slivers are really determined by how much Investiture that they held at one point.

Hmm... All we know is that specific magic systems arise from the interaction of Shards with the planets that they're on. "Perverted" might be too strong of a word. We just know that it's different now. Oh! Crazy theory thought! What if a Shardworld (which I'm assuming was created by Adonalsium) reacts differently to a Shard than a planet created by the Shard itself?

Oh this one made me smile. Lightsong?

I'm a Bible-believing Christian, and yes, it's not just an LDS thing. Any perversion of the truth is a lie, no matter how small. That's the way that Satan rolls. Another thing to note is that Ruin and Preservation are created beings, just like Jesus and Satan, according to LDS theology. Does that blur the line between what can be good and evil? In LDS theology, should bad things (breaking pacts, promises- Preservation) be used to achieve good ends (the saving of lives and the world- Scadrial)? I disagree with the idea that Jesus was created, though (see "I and the Father are one", etc.). P.S. Out of curiosity, not being part of the LDS church, what is your perspective on the Holy Spirit? I've been looking online, but I haven't found a satisfactory answer. You can PM if you want to. I recognize that it isn't necessarily on this thread's topic. And I'll probably have more questions once one is answered. It's just that I know there are LDS teachers and seminary students here, so I wanted to hear what you believe.

I think that those things are fine. I haven't read White Sand, but it's all on the Coppermind, right? Bavadin is on Taldain, where White Sand takes place, and Khriss is from that planet. Not much of a spoiler from what I can tell. [nerdAlert] I'm looking forward to my math final this Friday! Woohoo! (This is a true thing.) [/nerdAlert] Have you tried the above method? Except you should type the singular "spoiler" instead of "nerdAlert". And I though I might like Khriss,I really enjoy reading Jasnah's character. The way that Jasnah is treated, the way she treats others, the way she speaks, thinks... I get it. How is Sanderson so good at understanding people? It's amazing.

I'm going to do a little role-play here. Let's say I put myself in your co-worker's shoes for a minute. From your post and the fact that you've convinced 20 (!) people to read Brandon's work, I'm guessing that you're a super-enthusiastic person. And it sounds like you're determined and persistent. Based on these assumptions this is how I might react. It might not be the reasoning for how he acts. It's very possible that I'm wrong. But indulge me for a moment. Begin roleplay: I like to make my own decisions. Call me a non-conformist. I have someone that I have just met super enthusiastically suggesting a book to me. I'm skeptical about those books. (Hey, anyone who is super enthusiastic is a little bit suspect.) They keep recommending the books to me. The continued, constant pressure is a bit annoying, making me even more reluctant to try them. Eventually, I just want the pressure to stop. So I agree to try the books. I want to "win" the argument, stay convinced that I actually don't want to read the books. So, even if the books are genuinely good, I will convince myself that they aren't good. (We humans are remarkably good at convincing ourselves of the stupidest things.) When pressed, even if I don't have any actual evidence, I can make stuff up (possibly with multisyllabic words) in order to make myself seem more intellectually justified. I can list the things that the author does and say that I don't like them, even if that isn't necessarily true. However, I make it true, because I want to win the argument and have the enthusiasm level turned down for a little bit. End roleplay. I went through phases like this with tomatoes and the fact that 0.999999...=1 (I was against both, until people stopped arguing against me). The best way to get me to agree with you, or even give me a chance at liking the books, is to back down and stop recommending those books. Yes, it seems crazy, but I know that with a person who I have only known for a few weeks, I don't completely trust their opinions. You may be arguing your feelings from the bottom of your heart, but if I see solid evidence for my position, I will hold it up and say "No thank you" with it. CAVEAT! He may genuinely not like Brandon's books. It's a possibility. Twylight has an excellent point. He may be very much into a different writing style. However, I did want to offer up another possibility. And if it doesn't work out in the end, just avoid pointless arguing and don't let it get in the way of a good friendship. Don't let your relationship turn into a YouTube comment debate over Brandon Sanderson. Because, believe it or not, there are things more important than an author. (Even if his books are storming good.)

Dawnslight?

I'm going to say that it's the plate that tells Vin and Elend how to make electrum so that atium doesn't work on them.

I'm going to assume that you meant fiction novels. I doubt that Dumas ever wrote novels that didn't exist. I don't know Dumas all that well, though...

It's actually West Virginia. I used to get it mixed up, since I learned about Charleston, SC from the Civil War and that's where the name stuck. However, the capital of South Carolina is Columbia. (I had to look this part up. All I knew was that I was confident that Charleston wasn't the right city.) It's a confusing deal at times. Re: African colonies: Most modern states have the same names as the colonies they came from. There are some exceptions, though, just like in chemistry. (See Rhodesia.)

Having just read Wise Man's Fear, I now realize how long everyone else has been waiting for Doors of Stone. How have you remained sane? Oh yeah, that's right, you waited three years for Words of Radiance, too. You guys are remarkable.

1. Tallahassee, FL 2. Sacramento, CA 3. Olympia, WA 4. Charleston, NC? or WV? 5. Bismarck, ND 6. Salem, OR 7. Austin, TX 8. Carson City, NV 9. Phoenix, AZ 10. Santa Fe, NM 11. Salt Lake City, UT 12. Boise, ID 13. Dover, DE 14. Providence, RI 15. Concord, NH Ten African colonies

SA: "Kelek's breath!" "Passions!" (Thaylen?) tES: "Days!" (Gaotona) Alcatraz: "Sparrows!" "Jays!" (More fowl language from Kaz...) "Walnuts, kid!" "Almonds!" "National Union of Teachers!" (More types of nuts, all from Kaz...) Grandpa Smedry swears by authors' names in the first book.

Yes, but base 10 is a little overrated. And no, I'm not saying that because I heard Vi Hart say it. But a happy day to celebrate math and eat pie together!

To Sir Terry.

I tried just for fun... I couldn't think past four. And that includes my own baking soda based stuff.

Somehow, I think I know what you were looking at when you typed this...

I think it has to do with the ability of a sentient Awakened object/person to carry out their Command. But that's my speculation.

I love this one! I'll go with Kelsier.