This is true, however... - Edit 1
Before modification by lyringlas at 23/12/2009 05:01:49 PM
traveling *is* still a type of talent. Even people that are considered strong travelers can have difficulties opening up those 4X4pace gateways, when others of the same strenght are able to do it with ease. In example: Aviendha now has to use her *entire* strength to open up a gateway that is still smaller than what Elayne is able to create. Now, we know that Aviendha is able to travel normally, without using her entire strength, but she completely forgot how to create the weave she used to instaport to Seandar/Seanchan.
This proves to me that TRAVELING, i.e. the standard weave, is something able to be done by everyone strong enough, and much like the ACTs, some people do better with it than others, even though those that do poorly can be just as intelligent. To go along with this metaphor, Aviendha's hastily erected weave, say the "SATs" of traveling, worked very well for her and would probably work well for several others (we haven't met any specifically) that have problems with the "ACT" method.
The main problem with 3rd age travelers comes from their lack of innovation; most of the Aes Sedai refuse to think anything is possible if they don't already have a weave (or they say it is some lost marvel, never to be seen again, from the AoL). In the Age of Legends, where research was paramount, there might have been as many versions of the traveling weave as there was numbers of channelers strong enough to implement it. Where does it say in the text that all of the forsaken use the *exact* same weave? As long as the basic method of female/male is intact (folding the pattern/boring a hole in the pattern) then the methodology is up to the creativity of the weaver.
thoughts?
This proves to me that TRAVELING, i.e. the standard weave, is something able to be done by everyone strong enough, and much like the ACTs, some people do better with it than others, even though those that do poorly can be just as intelligent. To go along with this metaphor, Aviendha's hastily erected weave, say the "SATs" of traveling, worked very well for her and would probably work well for several others (we haven't met any specifically) that have problems with the "ACT" method.
The main problem with 3rd age travelers comes from their lack of innovation; most of the Aes Sedai refuse to think anything is possible if they don't already have a weave (or they say it is some lost marvel, never to be seen again, from the AoL). In the Age of Legends, where research was paramount, there might have been as many versions of the traveling weave as there was numbers of channelers strong enough to implement it. Where does it say in the text that all of the forsaken use the *exact* same weave? As long as the basic method of female/male is intact (folding the pattern/boring a hole in the pattern) then the methodology is up to the creativity of the weaver.
thoughts?