Hello,
I had a debate with my friend about allomantic pairings. I like the pairings with alloys in the books, with pulling metals being elements and pushing metals being alloys, but he thinks that it would be better if all the metals were elements. The pairings he suggests are:
Tin and Lead
Copper and Silver
Nickel and Platinum
Zinc and Mercury
Titanium and Zirconium
Chromium and Tungsten
Manganese and Rhenium
Aluminum and Thallium
As you might notice, the paired elements are all from the same column on the periodic table. He argues that while the in universe characters won't understand the connection between the elements, the readers will understand and the characters don't have to; it's the way it's always been and they'll just accept it. He also says later, in Era 2, the scientists would figure it out. Another point he makes in that an alloy of two allomantic metals should have the ability to be burned as two separate metals not as one which produces a different effect.
Thoughts?