(minor spoilers for bands of mourning and Beyond)
I may have only been at the academia for a few days, but as I sit here under this newly installed "light bulb", I can't help but notice that the way we write numbers is absolutely ludicrous! let's say that a Malwish was to look at our numbers, they would have no idea what it even means! I mean, if you didn't know the symbol for iron then I showed you a list of all sixteen metals, could you tell me which was iron? of course not! And I must say, what's with the spikes?! I can't think of anyone who wants to be reminded of iron eyes every time they see numbers! the very idea makes me... but that's for another time.
I propose a change to our numbers. make them make sense. never let any outsider, barbarian or otherwise, mistake iron with copper!
I am no artist, but I can suggest a few changes to the current system. firstly, do away with the spikes, I do not like seeing my mortality every time I have to do some calculations. secondly! have the little dots represent if the metal is internal or external. third, and most importantly, add some indicators for time effects and mark the difference between pushes and pulls!
hmm, as I write this I notice that there is a pattern... it looks like the pushing metals have their dots on the inside, while the pulling metals are outside. it seems that I might have been too hasty to write of how terrible the number system truly is. I need to look more into this, but I still think something needs to change.
authors note: this is my attempt to get in the head of an academic student on Scadrial. I know it's not very good, but it was quite fun to write. The first thing I want to say is that the current symbols are amazing and the idea of changing them is not something I agree with, it was just an interesting idea. I love how the design combines all three magic systems into one symbol, with the dots for nuggets of metal for allomancy, the circles representing bands and bracers for feruchemy, and the spikes for hemalurgy. I do think it would be interesting to see an alternative set of symbols that perfectly conveys the type of metal it represents (for example, being able to see a symbol and think "internal, pulling, time, it must be gold" would be really cool) but I digress, this was a fun little thing I wanted to do, nothing more. (if your confused about the character wanting to get rid of the spikes, well, according to the lore, no one really remembers hemalurgy, and from that perspective, the spikes really should make no sense to the general public.)
PS: If anyone knows the full calendar date system on Scadrial, that would be a nice thing to have if I decide to continue doing this in the future. if no one knows, well I think someone needs to ask Sanderson himself, because it should exist!
