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Nitpicking

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Everything posted by Nitpicking

  1. Nitpicking
    Marsh can perceive Investiture directly by burning allomantic bronze. He doesn't need spikes to have that power.
  2. Nitpicking
    I'm going to pointlessly argue with Brandon in the WoB: Adonai is not a name of the One. It's the word "lord". Judaism by the era of the ruling priesthood (kohanim) made it a great sin to speak the Name of God, or even write it. It's the one that got into English, incorrectly, as Jehovah. In Jewish rituals, you see the Name written on a document, but the person conducting the ritual reads out Ha-Shem, literally the words "The Name", even though the Hebrew letters on the scroll are Yod He Vau He, which spell out The Name.
  3. Nitpicking
    The primal Aethers claim to be older than Adonalsium. If true, that would mean that he did not create the Cosmere (or that the Aethers are part of some larger Creation that predates the Cosmere).
  4. Nitpicking
    Brandon would say, indeed has said, that if he tries to just grind out Cosmere books they will be bad, and he'll stop enjoying it and it'll grind to a halt. He needs the breaks to keep the books fresh. This is why I say he needs to do exactly what Harriet McDougal did for Wheel of Time, namely find a young, talented writer to write some books. OK, not "exactly" the same, but ... Brandon cannot finish the main Cosmere story at this point, unless is actively writing at his current speed well into his 90s. Not impossible, but unfortunately not the way to bet.
  5. Nitpicking
    We do see an Honorspren (Syl) and a broken highspren (Aux) take any random shape they or their Radiant (or ex-Radiant) conceives of, from a pry bar to a gigantic metallic shelter. It just takes Investiture.
  6. Nitpicking
    Wouldn't this be a great time for Autonomy to send an avatar to Roshar? She just got driven off Scadrial, maybe she would shift focus ....
  7. Nitpicking
    I borrowed the graphic novel from my local library. The only Cosmere book I don't own.
  8. Nitpicking
    Here's something from SoS Chapter 22:
  9. Nitpicking
    We don't have details, but yes, it's clearly a Herald thing. It isn't similar to atium (in my opinion), more like Feruchemical steel. Spoiler for Shadows of Self below.
  10. Nitpicking
    No, no, I said "underwater". Radar does not work through water. That hasn't been true for decades. They use sonar, unless they're being wire-guided from the vessel that launched them. When I talked about ground zero, I was commenting on surviving the Highstorm.
  11. Nitpicking
    To expand on the above message: he moves so fast he makes a sonic boom.
  12. Nitpicking
    Oh, look, that Radiant was just blown to tiny fragments by a high-speed torpedo! (How fast do you think a Radiant can move underwater using Lashings?) Note that naval vessels have survived literally being ground zero for a nuclear warhead.
  13. Nitpicking
    Why do you say that? I don't remember anyone in that scene saying the Investiture was unkeyed. (I have a bad memory, so I'm not doubting you.)
  14. Nitpicking
    And then he dropped his glasses.
  15. Nitpicking
    Brandon likes complexity. I think T. believes he is acting in everyone's best interest, but on a subconscious level is partly (and only partly) acting out of his selfish desires, masking his own real goals from his own awareness. I think that might be a weakness he has, actually. A Shard has access to any information it seeks, with exceptions. Could an opponent (Jasnah, I mean) point out to T. that his actions don't match his stated motivations, force him to confront his real motives, and break his mind? Maybe.
  16. Nitpicking
    Brandon Tuckerized Tolkien into Hero of Ages: https://coppermind.net/wiki/Slowswift. Tuckerization can also be putting someone resembling a real person into your story with a different name.
  17. Nitpicking
    It isn't a typo, it's just a figure of speech you personally had not encountered. https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/this+side+of
  18. Nitpicking
    Why on Earth are you assuming that they would have to invent various explosives in the exact order the Chinese and then Europeans did here on our planet? Note that making ANFO consists of ... putting some nitrates in fuel oil. That's it. Yeah, oxygen levels matter to internal combustion engines. Namely, higher oxygen levels in the atmosphere mean you have to adjust the carburetor/injection valve to admit slightly less air fore a given mass of fuel. It's that easy. I never said Rashek was a pure and flawless being. I said he had good intentions. He did. He created the skaa and nobles because he needed (in his opinion) an orderly, controlled society to avoid any risk of freeing Ruin. Over his centuries, he gradually became more and more disconnected from normal human life and fell into the role of god-king, just as real-world politicians like Mao Tsedong did, only moreso. He did in fact save humanity on Scadrial and lay the foundation for it continuing even after his death. And yes, built a society on a foundation of slavery and ignorance and oppression. I'm not saying I'd emulate him. I'm saying his intentions were good.
  19. Nitpicking
    No, he was just lying. Or really, talking like JRR "Brandon Tuckerized him" Tolkien.
  20. Nitpicking
    I'm wondering about the logistics of making thousands of Soulstamps, though. One "This field was farmed by dedicated farmers until yesterday" stamp is just one stamp. You don't have to make individual stamps for every soldier. You can't reuse a Soulstamp, as far as I know. Yes, as a matter of fact, I am trying to make Forgers into Elantrians, able to do anything they can "code" into a stamp.
  21. Nitpicking
    "Wit leapt to his feet. 'I'm an absolute fool! The most awe-inspiring, spectacular example of idiocy this side of the cosmere." Translating Wit: "I'm an absolute fool! I am the most awe-inspiring, spectacular example of idiocy short of the creation of the Cosmere (which was even more idiotic)."
  22. Nitpicking
    That's just silly. He sacrificed 1000 years of his life to preserve the world from destruction. You don't like his methods, but his intent was always good. Except Susebron. The God-Kings have normal human lifespan, apparently. Read the Warbreaker annotations. Raoden isn't necessarily even a dictator. Even granting the above, which I do not necessarily grant, and forgetting that Soulcasters could just make tons of it out of stone, there are lots of other explosives that don't require sulfur. The cheapest is probably ANFO. Explosives don't care about atmospheric oxygen. The whole point of the nitrates is to supply oxygen for the reaction (technically, to replace it). They don't consume any oxygen from air. Ask chemistry major Brandon if you don't believe me. Note: I consider candles dangerous here on Earth. Because they are. However, very few Alethi buildings, at least, seem to be very flammable.
  23. Nitpicking
    Hoid is telling the story truthfully, according to his lights. To Wit, "narrative truth" is more important (sometimes) than faithful recounting of facts. Do you think Dog and Dragon really happened? I'm sure Hoid would tell you he was telling a larger truth in that tale.
  24. Nitpicking
    Perhaps Hoid thinks creating the Cosmere was idiotic? Brandon denies Hoid ever breaks the fourth wall, but I can see him using our favorite showoff to engage in a little self-mockery.
  25. Nitpicking
    This is a minor side point, but why would you say that Roshar doesn't have sulfur? Gunpowder only requires sulfur, charcoal (which they can certainly make) and a source of nitrates. Nitrates can be extracted from pee (and in medieval/Renaissance Europe, that's that they actually did). What material is missing for internal combustion engines? Not steel, we know they have that. Are you thinking of petroleum for fuel (and Vasher's lecture on fossils)? You can burn any flammable liquid in an IC engine. Notably, biodiesel is literally oil squeezed out of seeds. Like I say, that doesn't affect your larger point, but I do not understand what you mean.
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