Humph

Mr. T's inability to grasp the bare fact that cogent arguments can fail to persuade someone just proves that he has never had any teenage children.

A plethora of further questions pop into mind from the responses given. As can be gathered, I am next to clueless when it comes to the Cosmere aspects of Sanderson's works. If Highstorms merely carry, do they have an immediately prior source of stormlight in the physical realm; and what starts the highstorm on its way? It "appears" as a luminescent white vapor. Is it a vapor, or does it merely give that appearance? If a vapor, when it collects inside a gemstone, shouldn't the gemstone turn opaque or translucent on account of the cloudy vapor inside it? It appears that the higher the quality (with greater clarity for instance) the more quantity of stormlight can be held. I must confess that all my initial instincts was to agree that its origins are somewhere in the spiritual realm. Moogle however indicates a WoB that its origin is not ultimately from the spiritual realm but from the Shard. Could it come from the Shard through the spiritual realm? But if so, how (by what path or mechanism) would it leak in? Does the Shard have a form of conscious agency that enables it to open and close the spigot at will? Or it is constrained to act in that way by its very nature? And is there a path or mechanism through which it returns to the Shard? If it can be only stored in gemharts, does that make all gemstones in Roshar simply splinters and fragments of gemhearts? If gemhearts are formed through a rift between realms, which realms? Are there three overarching categories of gemhearts (i.e. physical-cognitive, cognitive-spiritual and spiritual-physical)? If so, which category would chasmfiends be placed in? Diamond is a clear gemstone. It can hold stormlight, but not glass? Would it be on account of its crystalline structure? Or is it "just because"?

There have been hundreds of topics posted about The Stormlight Archive, but in my perusal of the list of topics I did not spot one that dealt with one of the most open questions of all: What exactly is stormlight? Perhaps there exists one but I overlooked it. It appears that stormlight is simply taken for granted, as perhaps is normal for the science fiction and fantasy genre. There are just certain aspects of the world which one simply accepts and uses as the basis for understanding the world depicted. Yet, "All men by nature desire to know", and this question has started to bug me. I guess there are lots of ways of approaching an answer. A good Aristotelian would immediately attempt to define the four causes (material [the 'stuff'], formal [its intellectual content, that which makes it itself and distinguishes it from other intelligible objects], efficient [its maker, cause or originator] and final [its purpose]). I suspect this approach will be of limited assistance initially, if only because the Cosmere appears to be established more along the lines of a neoPlatonic world than an Aristotelian one (more specifically, along Plotinus' division of material world / the world of Forms / the world of Nous). (I would however be surprised if Mr. Sanderson ever had Plotinus in mind though). The more profitable approach probably is to posit various questions and gradually chip away at the excess in order to get a better picture of the "shape" the answer would take. Where does it come from? Why is it collected by gemstones? Is it only gems that can serve as collectors? Why or why not? Can clear glass collect it? Why not? Where does it go when a sphere runs out on its own? Is its source renewable or ultimately non-renewable? Is there an equivalent of a "black hole" collector, that collects it and doesn't release it? Its origin seems to be associated with a pressure wave that someone else in the forums has describe as a wave released by an explosion (I forget who said it; my apologies). What would cause such an explosion? Is it the stormlight itself or something else? Et cetera. It occurs to me as I type that this is a Sizgil-type topic, although he is currently more interested in "What can Kaladin do with stormlight". Any theories or insights?

Great artwork! From an engineering standpoint, the inked design has two main load-bearing elements, at the edges (the trusses). You have some lines in the middle that are inked lighter and so I assume they are meant more as ties than as load bearing elements. The bridge would be stronger if you also have some additional primary members running underneath down the middle, for 4 or 5 main load bearing elements. This would also have the added benefit of cutting down the span of the bridge deck, enabling it to be thinner and of less weight. These can also be in "truss" formation rather than solid elements. You do correctly indicate the need for bracing tying the trusses/joist members together -- these prevent a mode of failure called lateral-torsional buckling, wherein the bottom chord of the truss or joist moves out of the vertical plane of loading, which would destroy its load-carrying capacity. The number required would depend on a host of factors, including loading, member sizes of the chords and webs of the joists/trusses, truss depths, strength of the material etc.

Peter indicates here that there are "orbits". Note the plural. This following is currently in the status of "crackpot" theory at this point -- What if the gravitational instability of the moon system is in fact a requirement for the magic system of Roshar? I mean, we have three moons, and we have the original Great Triumvirate of Honor, Cultivation and Odium -- it's not a great leap to posit that each was responsible for the placement and subsequent activity of one moon. In other words, we don't have geography-based magic as on Sel, but we have astronomy-based magic. In other words, the gravitational stability of the moon system is generally ensured by having *somehow* [and this is the big fly in the ointment] having any rogue excess gravity in the orbital system bleed off into Roshar itself, feeding and causing the Hightstorms. In other words, in this crackpot theory, stormlight is simply a force from the spiritual realm (gravity) that has leaked into and coalesced into the physical realm (as the energy of the Highstorm and as stormlight). We can then posit a further cycle in which some of this physical energy is mutated into the cognitive realm, causing the physical expression of spren in Roshar. And then perhaps also a removal of this energy from the cognitive realm back into the spiritual realm (to keep all in balance) in some manner, perhaps by the destruction of spren and ideas (cognitive elements) via the Desolations. That would make the Desolations a requirement for the balance of the magic system in Roshar. The point of the Heralds then would be to ensure the survival of the physical and cognitive realms for the next cycle of Desolation. And perhaps this cycle is different as Honor is gone this time and his presence is required for the cycle to work properly? As I said, a bit of a crackpot theory but interesting to ponder.

Folks, there was a typo. It shouldn't have been "ice cream". It should have been "ice crem".

She'll draw it in the lower right corner of all the sheets in her sketch pad and then "zip" through them like riffing a pack of card, just like I did in grade school .... except my sketches were of Tank Wars.

Do we know for a fact that the direction of Roshar's rotation is the same direction of orbit for the moons? I was under the impression that they are in different directions, one clockwise, the other counterclockwise.

Leiyan, upvote for all the research. Very informative. However, It is not at all clear that all three moons share the same orbital plane. Can anyone shed light on whether Lagrange points can exist in a highly elliptical orbit with three orbiting bodies in the same orbital, i.e. one in which the distance of the orbiting mass to focus constantly varies, and would vary significantly at each moment amongst the three moons (which may or may not have differing masses)? Each moon moving across the sky in only a few hours implies a high orbiting velocity for the time in which they are visible in the night sky, or a quick rotational velocity of Roshar, or both. I don't know how a Rosharian day compares to an earth day, nor do I know Roshar's diameter; but high orbiting velocity seems to fit well with a highly eccentric orbit with Roshar at one focus, as the moon slingshots past Roshar.

"Where is my Reshi? He lied to me, he has red hair so he is not Reshi but a Horneater instead. When I see him again I'm going to beat 10 colors of guts out of him." -- Date illegible. 10 seconds before subject faded out of this world. Subject was an unusual lighteyes with goat legs by the name of Bastas. (I've been looking for some time for an opportunity to plant this Reshi witticism. Apologies to Kvothe, although maybe he's glad to be rid of such a terrible student.)

This answer seems to imply that the orbital period of the moons are basically synchronous with the rotational period of Roshar -- it is at night that the moons are closest, and not during the day. As we haven't heard of eclipses on Roshar (that I can remember at any rate), that would mean the orbits are inclined from the elliptic. I am not an astronomy expert but I suspect such an arrangement to be gravitationally unstable in the long run. I'm also going to hazard a guess that it is through calculations of the moon movements and interactions that highstorms are predicted. If this is the case, this would mean that stormlight could be in some way caused by, or an effect of, the orbits of the moons; and also that if someone wanted to really mess with the planet's magic system they would need to poke a moon or two into a different orbit [not geography-based magic, but astronomy-based magic!!]. Wow, lots to think about with this line of speculation! It only just popped into my head and I haven't begun to examine the text for any support or basis.

But when Jasnah seeks Lopen's hand in marriage she has difficulty in finding it ......

There are quite a lot of unknown variables that still need to be nailed down. However, I get the impression that there are bridgemen underneath the bridge while carrying it, with portions of the bridge resting on their shoulders. That implies that the bridge is composed of a top planking system with joists underneath, with a depth of joist a minimum of 14" -16" to allow for the headroom of the carriers. Let us assume a minimum of 4 joists underneath the walking surface, two at the edges, and 2 in the middle. Let us also posit say 5' of overlap of bridge with the plateau at either end, for an effective span of 20'. In modern construction, a single 16" deep steel joist can span 20' while carrying a uniform load between 368 lbs/linear foot for a 16K2 joist to 550 lbs/linear foot for 16K5 joists and above; with 4 joists, that works out to 1,472 - 2,200 lbs/ft; i.e. a total uniform load between 15 and 22 tons that can be supported. What we don't know is how to compare the strength of Rosharian wood to earth wood or steel. If we assume say about 10% of the strength of steel [based off of 50ksi steel vs. 5 - 8 ksi strength of wood on earth], we would have an allowable uniform loading of 1.5 to 2.2 tons. [Disclaimer: this is actually an incredibly simplistic assumption. Wood strength depends upon a number of factors, including grain direction]. Allowable uniform loading is much different than point loading, which would occur say when a single horse walks across the bridge. Given the reduction in weight on Roshar it seems conceivable that a wooden bridge could support the weight of single horse/rider WALKING across the bridge over a 20' span. However, a horse RUNNING across the bridge might be an entirely different story, as then we start having impact loads as well. The top planking system would not need to be super thick either, as each plank would be spanning about 30" between supports. One point to keep in mind, the deeper the bridge is, the stronger it would be. A change of only 2 or 3 inches in depth can result in a fairly significant increase in strength, as the section modulus varies with the square of the depth.

If Darkness is stalking the camps eliminating those conjoined with Spren, the immediate question is why hasn't he attempted a hit on Kaladin, who gives every indication of being in a much more advanced bonding than Gaz. For that reason I tend to think Darkness is not around the camps yet, although, as FireArcadia points out, the chapter title could be interpreted as a hint that way.

The more I ponder this comment the more interesting I find its implications to be. This would mean that what Szeth perceives as streaming blackness but with no consideration of its goodness/evil, Shallan perceives it as light but with a morally (or ontologically) negative connotation ("monster"). She also uses the same term in a way which probably applies to herself. Would her perception of this be as a result of an (as-yet not perceived) bonding with a spren, and if so, what does this say about the Cryptics? Interesting implications to ponder, but it still does not seem realistic or probable to suppose.

I thought it was described as glowing not with light but with darkness when Szeth picked it up. Hard to reconcile that with light shining forth from the safe.

Not necessarily. If the blade was loaned to Szeth with the owner still alive, it could be recalled at any time by the owner. In this scenario we would have to assume that the owner can not only lend the blade, he can also lend the power to dismiss it and call it back (unless that comes with physical possession of the blade itself). So perhaps a Herald hiding out in Shinovar where the Stormfather can't see? Some ability to track the location of the blade would seem to be implied. Darkness seems to be able to track spren bonding, so perhaps something like that? If Darkness is a Herald, then that would lend even more credence to thinking that there is a Herald in Shinovar who has similar ability to track the location of the blade.

If Elhokin and Jasnah were attracting Honorspren then your point would pack more punch. However, it appears that neither does, undercutting the reasoning put forth. I would also have difficulty in calling Jasnah an honorable person or being more honorable than most. I would rather characterize her as determined and ruthless. She has contact and working relationships with about 6 or so different assassins, employing them on occasion to safeguard the Kholin family She has no qualms about frying a number of criminals outside the context of the law and established societal structures simply in order to give an academic lesson to Shallan. When Taravagnian desired her help in saving his granddaughter, we don't see Jasnah rushing off to help out of desire to save a life. Rather, we see her negotiating a benefit to herself. "I'll help you only if you do something for me. Otherwise too bad your granddaughter is toast". The daughter has been trapped for some time, as the architects have had time to calculate the weight of the stone, and Jasnah has had time to negotiate with the king. [As an aside, I wouldn't be surprised if Jasnah herself collapsed the stone to put herself into a position to wrest this benefit from Mr. T]. I also can't see evidence that Elhokar is noted for the quality of his honor. Actually, Wyndle wanted to bond with an Iri matron, but got directed to Lift instead. This does show the possibility of an individual spren choosing to bond with a particular person, but it also shows that who they bond with is not always in their own control. I also don't see why it is any better that the person is a world leader or not -- Lift is far from it for instance; and how about Ym? -- as the manifestation of Radiant powers will immediately be transformative in a Roshar-shaking way no matter the background of the individual. And of course, Kaladin was a slave and as far from the top of the political mountain as anyone could be.

Adolin is the weakest link in the hypothesis, as there exists scanty evidence of a special attraction or affinity to Spren/the cognitive realm. In the context of the theory I would say Jasnah is less certain, although I would hesitate to call it a weakness in the theory. We know that she has had some traumatic experience in the past, and that could be an explanation for her spren capacity rather than bloodline inheritance. I have postulated the existence of visions to explain her terror and dread, which I don't think is implausible, although it could also be explained by her in-depth research. However, it appears to me to strike too personal a note with Jasnah to be explainable simply by reading of dusty tomes. When we look at the family as a whole though, they seem to be drawing an inordinate amount of attention from spren and/or higher beings. While this could be occuring elsewhere in Roshar we haven't seen evidence of other families having this trait. Hence my thought that this trait could be a result of some sort of bloodline inheritance.

The purpose of a hammer blow to (regular) armor is not so much to damage the armor. The point is to transfer the momentum through the armor into the tissues of the hapless victim inside. The soft tissues react poorly to such shock waves of force. As an analogy, think of the number of concussions suffered by football players even with all the protective gear they have, whereas very few helmets break. Hammer blows to Sharplate though could have the opposite intention -- they could be wanting all the force of the blow to stay within the armor itself until the energy levels simply overwhelm the resistance of the material.

Renarin Kholin has a "blood weakness". As far as I can tell, the exact nature of Renarin's weakness is nowhere directly specified. However, at first glance, it seems to be of a type somewhat along the lines of a general weakness coupled with episodes of seizure, either random in occurrence or possibly in response to strong emotional stimuli. Either case (random or strong stimuli) would be consonant with Dalinar's refusal to let Renarin into battle. In this interpretation, the weakness would generally be viewed as a physical one. I am taken with another direction of thought though. What is this weakness is primarily a mental (or cognitive) one, and only secondarily a physical one? Couple that with another idea -- that the "blood" weakness of Renarin is not simply related to his individual condition. "Blood" can have the meaning of "bloodline" --- meaning that the weakness that Renarin has exists throughout the Kholin family, i.e. that it is hereditary. Renarin perhaps exhibits it most strongly, or at least in a more public way. Gavilar started acting in ways not understood by those around him at the end of his life. He experiences/believes/understands something about the Parshendi that no one else can. His daughter describes him as seeing deep inside her on the day he died. Davilar starts acting in ways not understood by Adolin and others. He develops a fascination with the Way of Kings. He experiences visions directing him towards preparing for apocalyptic times. He is described by Kaladin as having the same sort of deep penetrating look. Elhokar acts as a weak king and is talked of as suffering paranoia. He appears to be able to see Cryptics. Jasnah gives the illusion of being in control. But we know from her time on the ship that something haunts and/or terrifies her. The description of this in the chapter immediately brought to my mind Dalinar and his struggles in understanding his visions. I find it very plausible that Jasnah herself has experienced visions; visions that don't necessarily say "unite them" so much as "teach them now because the time is short". She certainly believes that spren are directing folks (e.g. Shallan) to her. Renarin is widely speculated to be bonded to a spren, hence his reluctance to accept sharplate (along the lines of Kaladin's sense of un-fitness to do so as well). Adolin gives little indication of strange behavior -- except we finally get a glimpse of how he treats his shardblade, almost as if he can dialogue with it. [OK, he also has the ritual of Shinovar Fried Chicken but let's give him a pass on that unless he did not order the Original Recipe]. In short, a case can be made that each one with Kholin blood (which is why we exclude Navani) has special relationships (abilities/powers/hauntings/visions) with the Cognitive and/or Spiritual realms. These relationships can have an effect on the ability of the person to act properly in the physical realm (e.g. Dalinar's sudden loss of the Thrill in battle), and so could be seen by an outsider similar to an epileptic fit. Hence "weakness". In short the case can be made that this blood weakness seems to be a hereditary phenomenon. It seems to have its focus on times of Desolation. Perhaps the Kholin blood acts like Kharbranth's bells, giving warning not of approaching Highstorms, but of approaching Desolations. This would raise another interesting question, as to whether other families might have similar bloodline abilities, although not necessarily having their trigger related to "Warning: Desolation Approaching". (They could have "Yippee!! Odium is Finally Coming Back!"). Could Shallan's family have something of this sort?

One glaring weakness of the theory is how such a young child could slice up a trained assassin. A trained killer on a mission would be vigilant all the time, and so I have a hard time picturing Shallan being able to sneak up or catch her off guard. One possible "work-around" would be to postulate that Shallan had at the time other powers that are heretofore unmentioned e.g. teleportation -- but it would be hard to support that with any evidence at all that we have so far.

Hmmm sound suspiciously like a Mass Hallucination Spren that has taken on a life of its own. Narrative: Some beggar tripped out on LSD and thought he saw a large something-or-other and for some strange reason thought it would be there at the same time the next day ... and so it was. He convince a few others that it was there, and so since they expected to be able to see it, they in fact could ... and it snowballed from there. So Cusicesh exists only by feeding off of the expectations of those there, taking a little something from each and every one present to feed his own continued existence? I'm not satisfied with such a narrative but have a suspicious feeling that there might be a great deal of truth in it. I'm just not sure where the truth ends and the admixture of error begins.

I believe Axies will end up being a Radiant. Look at the symbol at the head of his interlude.

Take a comparison of shardplate to glass or to high-strength steels. Glass is actually a much stronger substance than most folks realize -- what is lacks though is any kind of deformability: it is "brittle". It will resist to a certain point and then let go all at once with little visible indication of a problem. The same thing can occur with high-strength steels, which is why there is such carefully monitoring in the manufacturing process of structural steel under large loadings. The mode of failure of brittle objects would be one of stress concentration to initiate a (microscopic) crack. The energy required for crack initiation is generally substantially much greater than that required for crack propagation, so the ideal weapon will be one with a non-deformable point, to transfer the most energy to the smallest area, causing a great stress (= force per unit of area) on the armor, thereby initiating a crack in the armor. Follow-up blows would be about providing the energy for the crack to propogate throughout a large area. Interestingly enough, shardplate seems to have an added element of protection, in that some energy of blows seems to be absorbed into the change of state of the material from solid to liquid.