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It's only as skewed as it seems when you make the assumption that the Forsaken darius_sedai Send a noteboard - 31/10/2012 04:34:11 AM
are unnecessarily stronger than they need to be. You and Sidious obess with the strength level of the Forsaken. But Lanfear doesn't need to be 5x Moiraine to explain what she is capable of, we are shown this when she was able to fight Alivia to a stand still despite a massive strength difference and the differential the Paralis Net gave Alivia. Strength is not what sets the Forsaken apart from the modern Channelers, training is!

RJ noted the Forsaken don't measure themselves via Strength and we hear them deride the training of modern AS almost every time it comes up. Certainly they note great strength in women such as Elayne, Nyneave, Someryn etc, but they only worry about them when training becomes an issue ... As Graendal points out to Sammael.

I don't need a Bell Curve to see raw power is not the driver for the Forsaken's appearance of vast Power. I just need to see them in action. Graendal's ability with Compulsion is among the most potent abilities in the series. With it she took on 2 other Forsaken and managed to come out on top. Semirhage didn't need huge volumes of Power to accomplish her deeds nor did Lanfear or Mesaana or any of the others. Certainly they are all close to the very top strength levels, but just as clearly there were dozens like them in the AoL who did not survive. They don't even need to be even significantly stronger than most AS to appear vastly more powerful. The training they have is far beyond what any AS can even dream of ... Couple that with being 2x the strongest AS and there is no way any AS or even most small circles could stand a chance beyond what we saw at the Cleansing. Each of the circles we saw there would have needed to be significantly stronger than an individual Forsaken to stand any chance, and none of them were more than 3 individuals and none of these individuals were of particularly significant strength, with the possible exception of Flinn.

In reality the Forsaken are probably no more than 25%-30% Stronger than Cadsuane who is 1.5x a Strong AS since she is around the same strength as Elza and Merise combined. But as Cadsuane notes most modern AS don't learn more than the standard AS weaves and almost never innovate or experiment. Mean while the Forsaken are among the most well trained individuals who ever lived. They don't need massive strength advantages to be practically gods in comparison to an AS. I see their training as the major differentiator. It is like having a PHD in English face off with a 2nd grader in a spelling bee. It's not just the IQ score you'd think about there.
Domani Drag Queen in the White Tower ... Aran'gar watch out!
This message last edited by darius_sedai on 31/10/2012 at 04:47:57 AM
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The Bell Curve revisited - 29/10/2012 09:44:09 AM 1526 Views
Re: The Bell Curve revisited - 29/10/2012 10:21:27 AM 910 Views
That's incorrect... - 29/10/2012 10:26:49 AM 1483 Views
Re: That's incorrect... - 29/10/2012 10:36:32 AM 912 Views
Re: That's incorrect... - 29/10/2012 10:40:27 AM 763 Views
Re: That's incorrect... - 29/10/2012 10:42:57 AM 756 Views
Hehe...There are a few disputing it vocally. Whether they're in their right mind, well... - 29/10/2012 10:45:07 AM 844 Views
Re: Hehe...There are a few disputing it vocally. Whether they're in their right mind, well... - 29/10/2012 10:49:49 AM 748 Views
Re: Hehe...There are a few disputing it vocally. Whether they're in their right mind, well... - 29/10/2012 10:56:37 AM 823 Views
It's only as skewed as it seems when you make the assumption that the Forsaken - 31/10/2012 04:34:11 AM 1047 Views
RJ the physicist didn't know math, so that Shannow could be right... - 29/10/2012 02:11:19 PM 829 Views
Response to a few of your poorly researched points... - 29/10/2012 02:31:17 PM 772 Views
Re: RJ the physicist didn't know math, so that Shannow could be right... - 29/10/2012 02:37:33 PM 790 Views
Exactly... - 29/10/2012 02:39:30 PM 788 Views
there are dozens of reasons for this - 29/10/2012 08:18:18 PM 806 Views
Excellent point. - 29/10/2012 08:24:37 PM 835 Views
Re: there are dozens of reasons for this - 29/10/2012 09:07:35 PM 736 Views
Again I don't argue that genetics play no role - 30/10/2012 01:57:24 AM 713 Views
Re: Again I don't argue that genetics play no role - 30/10/2012 07:07:17 AM 742 Views
I don't think it plays much role in the plot - 30/10/2012 03:17:55 PM 889 Views
Once again just so,we are clear on my stance with Genetics and Strength - 30/10/2012 03:27:11 PM 752 Views
That the 1000 Novices aren't a random sample of the population? - 29/10/2012 08:23:47 PM 689 Views
And why would it be biased towards those with lower strength? - 29/10/2012 09:11:25 PM 696 Views
Absolutely no reason... - 30/10/2012 01:35:35 AM 794 Views
Re: Absolutely no reason... - 30/10/2012 06:43:54 AM 697 Views
Only if it was a random sampling. Which this is not. - 30/10/2012 01:58:34 PM 784 Views
That's exactly the point. I want you to explain why it wasn't random. - 30/10/2012 02:14:59 PM 707 Views
It wasn't random because it was a self-selected sample! - 30/10/2012 02:43:03 PM 722 Views
Re: It wasn't random because it was a self-selected sample! - 30/10/2012 02:47:30 PM 720 Views
Go read a stats text will you? - 30/10/2012 02:54:16 PM 715 Views
Done - 31/10/2012 09:34:11 AM 1452 Views
You seem to have perfected whining to a Talent... - 10/11/2012 10:14:19 PM 977 Views
Re: You seem to have perfected whining to a Talent... - 11/11/2012 11:37:16 AM 812 Views
Re: You seem to have perfected whining to a Talent... - 11/11/2012 07:14:48 PM 676 Views
Re: You seem to have perfected whining to a Talent... - 11/11/2012 08:33:59 PM 1484 Views
Re: You seem to have perfected whining to a Talent... - 11/11/2012 08:43:19 PM 1005 Views
Still nothing? - 10/11/2012 03:33:15 PM 798 Views
Still doesn't explain the difference - 30/10/2012 07:01:53 PM 663 Views
Re: Still doesn't explain the difference - 10/11/2012 10:21:00 PM 742 Views
Yes that totally makes sense - 30/10/2012 08:07:16 AM 834 Views
Thank you! *NM* - 30/10/2012 10:19:15 AM 386 Views
That's not what happened... - 30/10/2012 02:01:52 PM 762 Views
Re: That's not what happened... - 30/10/2012 02:15:57 PM 720 Views
Who said it would? - 30/10/2012 02:44:17 PM 721 Views
let's not mix up "random" and "representative" - 30/10/2012 05:28:09 PM 790 Views
Doesn't mean RJ applied it to his series - 30/10/2012 08:23:29 AM 802 Views
But of course he did.. - 30/10/2012 02:13:07 PM 822 Views
I hate to get into these things - 29/10/2012 05:45:50 PM 864 Views
I would love for you to be right, because it would solve all our problems, but 0 is the challenge... - 29/10/2012 07:56:34 PM 820 Views
In the truest sense, you are probably right that it is skewed - 29/10/2012 08:20:52 PM 845 Views
Overwhelm Lanfear, not match her. *NM* - 29/10/2012 08:26:09 PM 421 Views
Truth is, Moiraine was being overly optimistic... - 29/10/2012 08:39:17 PM 767 Views
You're pathetic... - 30/10/2012 01:20:01 AM 706 Views
The quote isn't specific - 30/10/2012 08:32:36 AM 824 Views
Its highly specific... - 30/10/2012 02:15:38 PM 661 Views
Yet neither of them are at full potential and at least equal a Forsaken - 30/10/2012 03:45:24 PM 1312 Views
Honestly! - 30/10/2012 02:07:37 AM 757 Views
Re: In the truest sense, you are probably right that it is skewed - 29/10/2012 09:10:27 PM 763 Views
Lots of people mean perfectly normal distribution when they say it - 30/10/2012 05:25:35 PM 703 Views
Couldn't the Towers method of obtaining Aes Sedai be to blame? - 30/10/2012 12:04:01 AM 904 Views
Re: Couldn't the Towers method of obtaining Aes Sedai be to blame? - 30/10/2012 09:33:44 AM 829 Views
Are you sure about that? - 30/10/2012 12:03:43 PM 830 Views
Re: Are you sure about that? - 30/10/2012 12:19:34 PM 736 Views
That doesn't seem a coherent narrative to me - 30/10/2012 04:26:25 PM 1054 Views
Sharina did not have the Spark, nor did Nicola - 30/10/2012 05:16:40 PM 845 Views
Re: Sharina did not have the Spark, nor did Nicola - 30/10/2012 05:54:41 PM 725 Views
We do not know if Cadsuane or any of the Forsaken are Sparkers - 30/10/2012 10:33:55 PM 856 Views
you're confusing 2 things - 30/10/2012 04:27:32 AM 971 Views
+1 *NM* - 30/10/2012 09:17:07 AM 833 Views
Re: you're confusing 2 things - 30/10/2012 09:21:39 AM 803 Views
Not true... - 30/10/2012 11:49:57 AM 816 Views
One thing - 30/10/2012 05:23:17 PM 791 Views
That's the problem. The BC RJ has "built" has a minimum and a maximum value - 30/10/2012 05:48:55 PM 810 Views

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