How and Why I think are the most important things to keep. With the How being the abstract theme point.
I'm thinking of the main resolution point...defeating the Dark One. The entire premise is that the prison on the Dark One is flawed. There was a hole poked in the prison, and the fix was inadequate to the task long term.
You spoke about how the experiences/wisdom/thoughts/whatever of others was being forced onto some....but they found that 3rd "alternate" synthesis. We see that the Aes Sedai (and specifically Egwene) thought that Rand breaking the seals was crazy. People were freaked out and very dubious of the plan, but Rand pushed ahead and people fell into line.
Well, that idea wasn't from Rand. He got the thought from one of Min's philosophy books...one of the books she got from that little, somewhat crazy philosopher guy at the school. So that 3rd synthesis wasn't so much a product of discounting the conventional thought of the day, as it was being innovative in creating a solution.
~Jeordam
Let me rephrase this. It is not trusting the authority of the past as being always right and thus upsetting the existing order (a rebellion) yet at the same time recognizing the existing authority is sometimes right as well (aka do not go too far into the hero worship / messiah stuff which is its own form of vice.)
And then finding a Golden Mean between the two. I mentioned Middle Way which is the Buddhist's name for the Golden Mean, Zhuangzi with his branch of Taoism did something similar, so on and so on.
The existing Min idea in the books of those philosophers long ago was not a popular thing, it was an obscure archaic idea. Everyone was saying no this was stupid and it would not work. Yadda, yadda, yadda except it did work.
And some of the time Rand had to be talked down and/or confronted for he himself made lots of stupid / willful decisions.
My point is the interplay and the theme is you need to think of reality as a system as a living breathing thing. It is a dynamic thing that is constantly in flux, and do not always be trusting of the calcifying powers that came before for stuff is constantly in change Ages become new Ages, “existential” being with what you think is a permanent essence suddenly becomes becoming in an instant.
As another series has with a poem
sparks shower;
in one blink of an eye,
you have missed seeing."