Blessing of Presence

[Oudeis he/him]

TenSoon stays sane throughout his imprisonment due to his Blessing of Presence. How does that make sense? Surely it would be the Blessing of Stability that should protect him. Trauma like imprisonment doesn't drive people insane because they're too stupid, it's because of emitional problems, right?

[Argent he/him]

The Blessing of Presence, as I understand it, gives kandra mental fortitude, focus, and clarity - presence of mind. Stability is more about resisting influences and urges, I imagine, awareness of your emotions and what affects them.

[Oudeis he/him]

Yeah? Kinda exactly? Those descriptions are why I'd expect the Blessing of Stability to keep you from insanity (I mean, it's even CALLED the blessing of stability) and why I wouldn't see the Blessing of Presence staving it off. John Nash. Alan Turing. "That Guy" from Stormlight Archives. People who have focus. People who have clarity of thought. People for whom that was no defense against insanity.

 

Elantris

TenSoon's specific situation reminds me of the Hoed in Elantris. They go completely insane, from pain and from boredom. Being intelligent, having clarity of mind, helps you to fight it off only so much. Raoden's trick isn't to have people come to some rational conclusion. It's to make them feel better. Even before Raoden, Karata's group was able to fight off the pains of hunger because their sacrifice was to help the children. These aren't examples of focus, it's not people logically determining that their situation isn't actually hopeless; it is. It's about knowing your situation is hopeless, but coming to peace with it, anyway. Choosing to feel better about the little things, and to not worry about what you can't change.

 

If there were no Blessing of Stability, I would assume that the Blessing of Presence also extended to emotional control. But as you say, Stability lets you be aware of your own emotions and what is affecting them. That is exactly what we see fight off insanity in other books.

 

Stormlight Archive

Jasnah. She's arguably the Cosmere's most (consistently) intelligent person. And I love her as surely as stick is a stick, but she cray. All of her intelligence lets her be high-functioning, but not entirely sane. Would all of her intelligence let her replicate the feat of the man in the spoiler example above?

 

Or Shallan. Super smart. Uses that intelligence to wall off all the bad parts of her life, rather than deal with them. As she tells Kaladin, it helps to be completely insane.

 

I just don't get it. I don't see how the description of the Blessing of Presence could keep someone sane through trauma. Admittedly, we know little about it and our understanding could be flawed, but if it does include the emotional control you'd require to stay sane, then what exactly does the Blessing of Stability do?

[natc]

It only helps so much, and Stability might have better results, but it's probably still slightly more effective at staving off insanity compared to Potency no?

[IAmTheBeard]

Insanity is mental, the Blessing of Presence is mental. It wouldn't help him not be upset, but it did help him sit through interminable hours of boredom and sensory deprivation. 

[kinxer he/him]

You replied to the focus and clarity Argent mentioned, but not the mental fortitude. I imagine that would be exactly what helps him stave off insanity.

[Curious Anamaximder he/him]

Yep. Kinxer is right.

[Oudeis he/him]

Well then what's the difference between mental fortitude and emotional fortitude?

 

Also, minor point. Trapped in the Pit, TenSoon mentions that he has no idea how long he's been locked up without contact. But then later, in the cage, he makes a point of saying that with his Blessing of Presence, he has an exact numeration of the days. He talks frequently about how the Blessing cannot be turned off, even when he wants to, like how even being beaten it will prevent the sweet release of unconsciousness.

 

...which again I'm not sure how that's mental fortitude, rather than emotional or, frankly, physical, though I guess without a physical brain to concuss...

 

It's very inconsistent. Is the Blessing of Stability like aluminum? Just completely and utterly worthless, because the very few things it can do, the Blessing of Presence does as well?

 

I still don't buy the mechanism by which mental fortitude prevents insanity. Either you're talking emotional control, which should be the Blessing of Stability, or you're talking the ability to control your own thoughts, which can help mitigate the symptoms of insanity but not stop insanity itself.

 

It's like saying that a Thug should have better eyesight. I mean, pewter enhances every part of your body; balance, strength, healing, pain resistance, reflexes. Your eyes are a part of your body. They should be enhanced, as well. But then what's the point of tin?

[ParadoxicalZen he/him]

I like Argent's explanation. Presence probably does grant a certain degree of mental acuity/fortitude, a capacity for incredibly rational/logical thought or perhaps the ability to compartmentalise your thoughts via awareness. As for the example of Elantris, Kandra have very different physical bodies, and so very different phsyiological processes, to what we see of Humans in general. I think the Blessing of Stability was created as defense against Allomantic/Ruin influence, especially in regards to Kandra, seeing as the only way Vin could effect TenSoon in anyway significantly was through a Duralamin powered push.

 

SA/Elantris

In terms of Jasnah, going on from the vibes i get from her, it is reminscent of Mr T's Intelligence/Emotional scale. Jasnah is one of the most intelligent characters we've seen so far but I get the feeling that she isn't as emotionally developed or is emotionally detached to a certain degree (due to whatever past event) so this inhibits her ability to connect with people properly on a human level. She probably wouldn't be able to copy/produce the exact situation Raoden did because he was a fairly good balance of Intelligence and Emotion (ergo, why the kingdom's people loved him so) but she could possibly produce something similar, with a little in the vein of Mr T

 

With the pewter/tin thing, surely you could also argue that the brain is part of the body, notably one of the most important, so surely it should also be enhanced. I see it as a Realmatic combination/puzzle idea; Body is the Physical, Mind/Senses are more linked to the Cognitive and together they represent your Spiritual Ideal/Form which fuels both aspects.

[tobar14 he/him]

Well then what's the difference between mental fortitude and emotional fortitude?

 

Also, minor point. Trapped in the Pit, TenSoon mentions that he has no idea how long he's been locked up without contact. But then later, in the cage, he makes a point of saying that with his Blessing of Presence, he has an exact numeration of the days. He talks frequently about how the Blessing cannot be turned off, even when he wants to, like how even being beaten it will prevent the sweet release of unconsciousness.

 

...which again I'm not sure how that's mental fortitude, rather than emotional or, frankly, physical, though I guess without a physical brain to concuss...

 

It's very inconsistent. Is the Blessing of Stability like aluminum? Just completely and utterly worthless, because the very few things it can do, the Blessing of Presence does as well?

 

I still don't buy the mechanism by which mental fortitude prevents insanity. Either you're talking emotional control, which should be the Blessing of Stability, or you're talking the ability to control your own thoughts, which can help mitigate the symptoms of insanity but not stop insanity itself.

 

It's like saying that a Thug should have better eyesight. I mean, pewter enhances every part of your body; balance, strength, healing, pain resistance, reflexes. Your eyes are a part of your body. They should be enhanced, as well. But then what's the point of tin?

Pewter does enhance your eyes, it makes them stronger, so they don't explode from acceleration when you do a duralumin steel push.  Tin enhances how the inside of your body processes information gathered from the outside world.  Like for smartphones, pewter would be a shiny new ultra-protective case with shock-absorbers, and Tin would be like beefing up the processor speed/adding more processors. 

[Oudeis he/him]

Hyperbole and a half gives a good account of why most people believe you can just "will" yourself out of legitimate psychological issues and why that absolutely is not a thing that works in real life.

 

Part two is also a great resource.