First off I'm well aware of Talents and how they work, but I still think there are some things about them that don't make much sense.
For instance yes you can be incredibly gifted athleticly, but could you really become a champion level basketball athlete if you never or hardly ever played basketball? Like if someone who has a Talent for Shielding, but really never had a lot of practice, it seems hard to believe. Also, to have that Talent and not have a high strength in Spirit?
Another thing that bothers me is how exactly do you figure out what your Talent is assuming you have one? If you don't happen to ever weave a particular weave you may never find your Talent. Perhaps everyone has a Talent and they just havent figured out what it is yet, or perhaps it's a weave that they will never weave, or a weave that doesn't exist even.
Another thing is if you have a Talent in Shielding shouldnt you also have a Talent in other weaves that use a lot of Spirit?
Do you really have a Talent in a particular weave, OR do you have a Talent in a Power or two, so that somehow you can use less Spirit, but have such a skill with it that you can outdo people who have greater Spirit than you?
Do your parents or grandparents give you similar Talents, or is it solely the Wheel that determines it?
What happens when someone with a Talent is in a Link? Can the person guiding the Link use their Talent, or can only the person with the Talent use it? If the person guiding it can use the Talent, shouldnt they see somehow what is making it a 'Talent', as opposed to how they use the same weave? For example if my Pillar of Fire takes 'X' amount of Fire to be 20 feet tall, and then when I link with someone I only need 'X' minus some amount of Fire to achieve the same effect. They must be able to compare and contrast their weave against this weave and study what is making it a Talent, no?
For instance yes you can be incredibly gifted athleticly, but could you really become a champion level basketball athlete if you never or hardly ever played basketball? Like if someone who has a Talent for Shielding, but really never had a lot of practice, it seems hard to believe. Also, to have that Talent and not have a high strength in Spirit?
Another thing that bothers me is how exactly do you figure out what your Talent is assuming you have one? If you don't happen to ever weave a particular weave you may never find your Talent. Perhaps everyone has a Talent and they just havent figured out what it is yet, or perhaps it's a weave that they will never weave, or a weave that doesn't exist even.
Another thing is if you have a Talent in Shielding shouldnt you also have a Talent in other weaves that use a lot of Spirit?
Do you really have a Talent in a particular weave, OR do you have a Talent in a Power or two, so that somehow you can use less Spirit, but have such a skill with it that you can outdo people who have greater Spirit than you?
Do your parents or grandparents give you similar Talents, or is it solely the Wheel that determines it?
What happens when someone with a Talent is in a Link? Can the person guiding the Link use their Talent, or can only the person with the Talent use it? If the person guiding it can use the Talent, shouldnt they see somehow what is making it a 'Talent', as opposed to how they use the same weave? For example if my Pillar of Fire takes 'X' amount of Fire to be 20 feet tall, and then when I link with someone I only need 'X' minus some amount of Fire to achieve the same effect. They must be able to compare and contrast their weave against this weave and study what is making it a Talent, no?
This was talked about a lot on Wotmania, so I’ll do my best from memory and in a hurry, plus I am sure others will fill in the gaps as well.
A talent basically works to up your “stats” in a certain aspect of the power while you are doing it. So, for example, if you are a 5 out of 10 at basketball but your talent is shooting free-throws, your stat for free-throws is then a 10 out of 10. It doesn’t make you a better shooter, you are just really good at a particular type of shot. So to use a real book example, if Egwene say is a 6 in Earth and is able to locate metals (her talent) then when she is looking for metals she acts as a 10, but at all other times when dealing with earth she is a 6. That also means that anyone with a 10 in that stat field already has this ability. In other words someone like Rand, who seems to be strong in Earth, should be able to do this without trouble as he is like a 10 in Earth.
I suppose in the AoL they had a way to test for talents but right now you find it out as you go. My question is, how did Siuan know her Talent was seeing Ta'veren before she saw the boys, she seems to imply she knew of this talent before she met them.
Jordan said when linking, it is the leaders' talent(s) which apply, none others.
This message last edited by Night Walker on 07/03/2011 at 02:23:13 PM
Talents don't make much sense
- 07/03/2011 09:34:56 AM
1738 Views
Re: Talents don't make much sense
- 07/03/2011 02:21:46 PM
805 Views
Re: Talents don't make much sense
- 07/03/2011 03:51:17 PM
896 Views
I have a slightly different view on your last two points
- 07/03/2011 07:30:43 PM
709 Views
Re: I have a slightly different view on your last two points
- 08/03/2011 01:29:46 PM
685 Views
thanks for the quote ... truly appreciate it
- 08/03/2011 05:07:19 PM
661 Views
Re: thanks for the quote ... truly appreciate it
- 08/03/2011 08:59:18 PM
711 Views
I don't find it all that complicated of far fetched
- 09/03/2011 04:34:03 PM
576 Views
Re: I don't find it all that complicated of far fetched
- 10/03/2011 03:00:05 PM
692 Views
seems to me a non-sentient entity would be less likely to give abilities to a specific individual
- 10/03/2011 09:28:36 PM
577 Views
One thought on the Sea Folk example
- 08/03/2011 07:27:15 PM
582 Views
also very possible ... I'm just thinking "outloud" so to speak
- 09/03/2011 04:32:08 PM
572 Views
No worries - 'thinking out loud' and going on tangents are my favorite hobbies here 
- 09/03/2011 05:54:42 PM
543 Views
- 09/03/2011 05:54:42 PM
543 Views
I don't think they are supposed to make 'sense', really. Maria gave info about Talents in a Q&A
- 07/03/2011 04:05:40 PM
824 Views
Gateway Talent?
- 07/03/2011 08:19:12 PM
598 Views
Re: Gateway Talent?
- 08/03/2011 11:15:55 PM
668 Views
It doesn't break the rule so much as shows that the rules aren't as universal as we thought
- 09/03/2011 04:15:20 PM
591 Views