Satsuoni

[EDIT] Stupid idea. Deleted it. And put it back. k, so I have read mentions that Brandon considers laws of thermodynamics to be his bane. Here I try to describe a generic theory that explains the differences in these laws (from our world), that arise due to unique interactions of three realms. First, here are the definitions I am going to use for systems: Our universe (from Wikipedia): A thermodynamic system is a precisely defined macroscopic region of the universe, often called a physical system, that is studied using the principles of thermodynamics. Cosmere differences Every physical system defines above has related areas in Cognitive and Spiritual realms, and this connection is not necessarily one to one and may change over time. OK, not the best explanation... But for instance, every part of physical space on a Shardworld is connected to the same entity (Shard) in the spiritual realm. As a consequence, a system on the Shardworld can only be considered closed if the energy of the Shard is taken into account. For this theory, the energy of the Shard is considered to be effectively infinite. So, using the above definitions, let's consider the laws one by one. From Wikipedia: The zeroth law of thermodynamics recognizes that if two systems are in thermal equilibrium with a third, they are also in thermal equilibrium with each other, thus supporting the notions of temperature and heat. This law seems to hold for the physical realm, as long as there is no flow of energy between realms. The first law of thermodynamics is an expression of the principle of conservation of energy. The law states that energy can be transformed, i.e. changed from one form to another, but cannot be created or destroyed. It is usually formulated by stating that the change in the internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of heat supplied to the system, minus the amount of work performed by the system on its surroundings. This law holds for Cosmere. However, as stated above, any system in the Cosmere world is connected to the Shard in some way. So, roughly speaking, the law can be reformulated as follows: Any change in the total energy of a system across three realms that deviates from the energy supplied by the local environment minus the work performed on the environment is supplied/ stored into by the global environment (Shard). OK, the second Law is the most interesting. Here goes: The second law of thermodynamics distinguishes between reversible and irreversible physical processes. It tells how this shows the existence of a mathematical quantity called the entropy of a system, and thus it expresses the irreversibility of actual physical processes by the statement that the entropy of an isolated macroscopic system never decreases. This rule actually does not hold for microscopic systems, and is derived from statistical physics, namely: The fundamental postulate in statistical mechanics (also known as the equal a priori probability postulate) is the following: Given an isolated system in equilibrium, it is found with equal probability in each of its accessible microstates. For our worlds, that seems to be the case. However, if we consider the statement from Elantris: , to be at least partially based on truth. Then it can be said that the fundamental postulate as it exists in our worlds is a consequence of not having Cognitive presence of shard, and that in Cosmere the postulate is :Given an isolated system in equilibrium, the distribution of the microstates it can be found in depends on the localized intent of the Shard. , where by localized intent I mean interpretation of global Intent (Ruin, Preservation) by current holder for a given place in spacetime. When somebody utilizes the Shard power in some way, they essentially hijack a small part of this intent. This allows the Shard to be, essentially, the entropy sump, recycling the energy indefinitely, but with a bend towards the global Intent. The third law of thermodynamics is a statistical law of nature regarding entropy: The entropy of a perfect crystal approaches zero as temperature approaches absolute zero. As a corollary for the changes in second law described above, the definition of entropy is different in Cosmere. If there is only global intent, then zero entropy is the state of the world most aligned to this intent. That is kind of hard to define for crystal. Possibly, for Preservation that would be absolutely unchanging system, for Cultivation always expanding system, etc, but for Honor? Essentially, with mutable intent, the law does not hold, and no system ever reaches or approaches absolute zero entropy. Also, there is more than one physical perfect crystal depending on its spiritual and cognitive components. The law is as follows, then, I guess For any place and/or system in the Cosmere spacetime, there is a minimum level of entropy that is above zero. This limit is not fixed.

Well, it works for me... Try going tohttp://www.inkwing.com and search there, i guess. Or just look in the wiki.

There is Valley on the Map and Shinovar. They are pretty far apart.

Ok, this is only indirectly related to Brandon, so I put it here. I was listening to writing excuses, "When good characters go bad", and that caused me to think about main character in general, and some trends in literature that I dislike. I have thought about many books I have read, and realized that almost none (certainly none that I could recall) have a main character growth that is consistent with what I would call good. For example, many of them would grow more "mature" over the course of the story, instead of ,um, opposite. So, can anyone recommend me a book (fantasy or sci-fi), in which main character (protagonist) follows (any) one of the loose guidelines below?: 1. A character tries being more mature and/or responsible, dislikes it and goes back to being carefree/childlike. 2. A character uses his powers primarily for his/her own gain, as he/she gains them. When someone starts harping about responsibility, s/he does not listen, and nothing happens. 3. Character accepts that his/her principles are more important than consequences of following said principles, as long as the consequences do not directly harm his/her circle (loved ones, etc). 4. Reviving loved ones (pets included) (mind intact) is good, even if you have to sacrifice a few hundreds of strangers for it. 5. Character accepts, over the course of the story, that only he/she matters (he/she naturally extending over empathy links). Or something along this lines. Please? [EDIT] A few additional stipulations: the book shall not use the above requirements for comedic/ tragedy value. The plot should be coherent, and the hero win in the end. That is to say, for example, like Misborn from the Ruin POV, with Ruin winning in the end, but preferably on a human scale.

Or does it? Remember, both can be used to power all metallic powers. I am starting to think that while the shape and use of investiture changes, the power itself does not, really. Maybe drawing too much of Ruin will infect you with its intent over time, but as long as it does not, the effects (of RAW investiture) should be similar.

I don't know. Possibly. It is just that a bit of pure Preservation (Lerasium) gives you access to all Allomantic powers, so my guess is that all Scadrial residents have rudimentary Allomancy, it is just not developed enough, or not strong enough, so a good boost of Investiture may strengthen them enough for usage. And yes, Human attributes are Passive Investiture in my definition (not a very good definition, but whatever goes). I don't think it is possible to store it directly, although the name Soulbearer seems to suggest that one may be able store his soul, temporarily reducing the amount of Preservation (and probably losing sentience for the duration, amongst possible side effects).

Um.. I had a theory over here. I guess the topic name is off, though.

And so she has gazed unto Chaos, and the Chaos gazed back... Um, what are you going on about?

They can, but the following makes it unlikely:

That really throws me off.. Thank you. Hm.. maybe Shallan is Ruby. Or we may all be wrong, and Brandon has thrown a few schools of red herrings at us, and is laughing himself silly.

Thank you. Well, Kaladin did perceive himself as storm. So how would another storm look like to him? And it seems a nice way to get a lot of information at once... So I thought, why not? Ah, adjacent by numbers? Are you sure they are ordered that way? What about central ones? [EDIT] OK, color me surprised. I may be wrong. BTW, what was the typo in the Ars Arcanum? Something with learned/giving belonging to another number.

Well, yes. Aren't Sapphire, Smokestone and Garnet adjacent? I always assumed they were, in the upper right corner (blue for Sapphire, black for Smokestone, reddish for Garnet)?

Possible, that. Are there still people left? Also, I am pretty sure Sazed moved Elendel (caverns) from the north pole... So where did he move people from the south pole?

Me, I think The Shard of Honor is free now (unheld). For all we know, the face in the storm may just be another rider (possibly Jezrien). I also think that Jasnah is Smokestone, sharing one Surge with Kaladin (Sapphire) (probably Pressure), and one with Shallan(garnet) (transformation). In addition, I think that Jasnah is Dustbringer. Just IMO, of course.

If the rumors from previous chapters are to be believed, his Kkell power is either removal or absorption of other's Kkell power. So he can say "drop ten Septs" and it will be so.

Hm.. well, I am not really familiar with Batman, sorry. Haven't gotten around to reading his comics yet. Still, my impression is that (I may me mistaken about this), while few people know who Batman IS, almost the whole city knows what he DOES (fight Joker?), while in the case of Hoid, nobody really knows who he is, and certainly not what he does. Also, he hints and puzzles, but rarely reveals anything, and rarely talks straight. Shifty! But, your mileage may vary *shrugs*.

Yes, well, this is why I said "subjective". Also, being evil does not stop somebody from being hero, and Hoid is, probably, a hero, or at least protagonist... just evil. And anti-hero (IMO) is a hero that gets things done openly, just disregarding certain moral issues. (Openly to allies of course... some secrets from enemies are OK. Only a few, though). Or maybe I should use terms "deplorable" and "loathsome" instead of evil. So maybe, until Hoid gets his own book, his designation is a matter of personal preference rather than a formality. In relation to that, I propose a spinoff biography "Ruin: betrayed and destroyed".

Ah-ha! Now there is proof. Seriously, though, good and evil are extremely subjective matters. For me, Hoid's current behaviour fits the definition of "evil" rather nicely (secrecy, manipulative behavior, puzzles, etc). Not as bad as Cadsuane (who is more evil than the Dark One, IMO), but still bad. Always there in the background, lurking, scheming Hoid knows what...

Not exactly on topic, but does anybody know what happens to the pure metal spike that is changed to alloy (smelting iron with coal, etc) Simply melting spike reduces, but does not remove its power, but alloying it?

Yes, that is as I remeber. But where are the binding points, etc mentioned? I don't think simply being wounded by metal is enough.. I mean, when the ears (bind points) are pierced for earring (with metallic device) the soul stays in place... In case of killing the soul is detached anyways, but how to detach part of it without killing... Yet what constitutes "inside"? The blood flow around the metal? Somehow, this conjures the image of magnetic cores for me.

Can you give me a quote, please? I remember confirmation that you can use Hemalurgy without killing, but not the mechanism of such transfer. Also, wouldn't the spike work even when deformed? This begs a question what exactly does "pierced" mean, though. Since contact with blood is not necessary (earring), could you just hold the spike ? Probably not ...

Are you sure about that? Zane and Penrod were spiked near or into heart, AFAIK. SO is heart an universal bind point, then? I kind of thought that the position does not really matter for replacement effect, only for power effect. Also, I don't think simply piercing somebody without killing is a way to get a charge on a spike. Maybe only for very specific points, like nerve clusters, or something. P.S. I wonder if anybody has noticed that bullets (steel-coated or aluminum) become spikes when they kill somebody... Also, a related question: a spike can carry several powers, yet gives only one. If after retrieving spike somebody were to use it on another bind point, will it work? Or will the unused power continue to decay?

I still think that it does unspeakable things to spacetime, rather than actually accelerating. You know, preserving local speed while changing global speed, etc. Also, wrong topic, no?

That would be like Mat's "luck", in this case, or something similar. Of course, luck for one misfortune for other...

Probably not.. What I wonder is, will they be able to divorce human and allomantic power? Create, for example, a metal fueled (focused) electric station? Like the way tech is going in tWoK, where fabrials were originally just machines that mimic KR abilities, and are evolving into something else? Maybe Hemalurgy - powered Allomantic Robots can be created... (Ha! One can dream...)