Nitpicking

Was Plate dead? I mean, the subspren who form it didn't participate in any Oaths, but they were Connected to the Radiant, so I don't really know.

It's almost as if it isn't a coincidence. Perhaps, in the Cosmere, there are supernatural forces influencing things toward a particular outcome ....

Enh. It had a good ending, but the middle was quite boring for me.

For the record: you do understand that our real world has had plenty of slave brothels, right? In Pompeii, you can find buildings that were used for that purpose still standing.

Ruin is entropy. Without entropy the universe becomes static--the arrow of time (in physics) derives from entropy. Is a totally static, unchanging universe (Preservation triumphant over Ruin) good? I argue that Preservation "winning" would be exactly as bad as utter Ruin. Note that only Preservation and Ruin, working together, seem to have been able to create an intelligent species since the Shattering. None of the other Shards have done it.

Not silver?

Shai is (as I recall) only critical of art that she feels lacks virtuosity (that is, that is lazy and not original). So, maybe?

Sure. Doesn't mean Adolin has lost his Connection to her, any more than Lift has suddenly lost her abilities now that Cultivation is somewhere else. After all, we see Lift fight a feruchemist in this very book, even though Preservation is part of Harmony on a different planet. But in the Spiritual Realm all times are one! [evil smile] It's like how Kaladin was good with a spear because he would get good at it later, according to Syl. [broader evil smile]

Isn't Taldain mentioned as a possible technology-superior to Scadrial?

Brandon actually said "steelfield" at the reading. (I was there.)

Hell, Spook (or Jak) could have used hemalurgy to get the power to compound Atium, just like the Lord Ruler and Marsh. I don't think they did, but they surely could--especially Spook, who actually knew about hemalurgy.

I would argue that Cultivation/Preservation would be very like Ruin/Preservation, because Cultivation implies change.

Brandon's sense of humor alert: the eagerly-awaited guest will be Brandon Sanderson's in-world (pardon the expression) avatar. Or not, but that would be fun.

Ruin and Endowment would be almost as difficult to hold as Ruin and Preservation.

Yes, but at the same time spren and seons and skaze and the spirits of Komashi are all sentient Investiture.

Agreed, time to drop the subject.

SPOILERS for Tress of the Emerald Sea

"System" in this context means "closed system." So ... yeah, both momentum and energy are in all cases conserved. What you appear to be saying here is that momentum/energy can be transferred to other entities in a larger system. True but not relevant. For instance, when (for instance) a sliding object comes to a stop, it's transferring momentum to the floor, and in turn to the Earth (or presumably to Roshar or Sel). (We'll ignore rotational movement for the time being.) In any interaction, momentum and energy are conserved.

Drifting toward Sel speculation ... if used Dor returns to the Spiritual Realm it stops being the Dor, meaning that the Elantrians and Dakhor monks and Bloodsealers and the rest are using up the Dor, and it will eventually cease to exist. OTOH, if Ishar pulled the Dor into the Physical Realm, would it become a bunch of spren-like beings?

Devotion + Odium would be "Fanatical Hatred", wouldn't it?

Planets are not the same thing as moons. Ashyn is not a moon.

Lift is unimportant, even in her own novella. As a result, I can't judge her yet. What I mean is: because Brandon is reserving her major story for the Voidlight Archive, even in Edgedancer she feels peripheral to the story (despite it being about her).

Another time we agree. In my very unhumble opinion, also the best of Brandon's works, because the space restrictions automatically eliminate what I feel are the major flaws in his writing. (By no coincidence, also his only Hugo winner.)

I have my severe criticisms of Rhythm of War, but ... if you hated it that much, why did you even finish it?

I didn't say it was a good idea. Sazed makes mistakes. He could also add a bit of Ruin to all Scadrians to match the extra Preservation they have, thus balancing himself. Now consider: the Scadrians of SPOILER for Isles of the Emberdark: