Why are there only three Realms?

[TheOneKEA]

Something that has really puzzled me about the Cosmere is that almost every aspect of it revealed so far is based on even numbers - sixteen Shards, ten Shard worlds, the four groups of four metals for the Metallic Arts on Scadrial, the Ten Heightenings of BioChroma on Nalthis, the 30 different types of Rosharan magic, the four sides of Aon Rao and the city of Elantris on Sel, and so on. Yet, there are only three Realms in Realmatic Theory. Why is that? Why is this part of the Cosmere based on an odd number, and the smallest odd prime number at that? What makes three special here?

(The big hole here is that the Ars Arcanum in Elnatris has 41 Aons listed, but I'm hoping that the list is not complete and that there are an even number of Aons.)

[Nepene he/him]

Cosmere is based on Brandon's view of the world. You have the spiritual religious side of the world which connects everything, holds perfection. You have the cognitive side, our minds, how we are viewed, how we view ourselves. And you have the physical world.

16 and 10 are mystical numbers and grant magical power to whatever magic system they embody. But there is no need to empower the realms.

[Voidus]

I think that's mostly just because most other important numbers are based on 16 or 10 which seem cosmere-significant (4x4=16 so the 4 is not really significant and the quadrants of the metals were devised by people, they're not perfect) the 30 magics of Roshar are also 10 if you look at them a certain way. So I'd say that since we only have three cosmere signifficant numbers right now (16, 10 and 3) that we either would have all odd, all even or a 2-1 ratio so I don't think that it's particularly significant.

[TheOneKEA]

I think that's mostly just because most other important numbers are based on 16 or 10 which seem cosmere-significant (4x4=16 so the 4 is not really significant and the quadrants of the metals were devised by people, they're not perfect) the 30 magics of Roshar are also 10 if you look at them a certain way. So I'd say that since we only have three cosmere signifficant numbers right now (16, 10 and 3) that we either would have all odd, all even or a 2-1 ratio so I don't think that it's particularly significant.

You make a really good point here, and I suspect that the numbers 16, 10 and 3 will probably have more background revealed as more books are published. I also agree that we might get more numbers that are Cosmere-significant.

Still, it seems like there are a lot more references to even numbers for Cosmere constructs but only one reference to odd numbers for Realmatic Theory. It sticks out too much to not be significant, in my opinion.

[Vortaan he/him]

You make a really good point here, and I suspect that the numbers 16, 10 and 3 will probably have more background revealed as more books are published. I also agree that we might get more numbers that are Cosmere-significant.

Still, it seems like there are a lot more references to even numbers for Cosmere constructs but only one reference to odd numbers for Realmatic Theory. It sticks out too much to not be significant, in my opinion.

The interesting bit is that 16 and 10 have direct relations to Shards, with the magic systems and shard worlds. 3 only directly references the basic underlying nature of the Cosmere's reality, seemingly independent of any Shard, magic system, or world.

[Morsk he/him]

I've seen RPGs (Nobilis, old White Wolf games) where things exist in multiple worlds at the same time, and there are different rule sets for interacting with them in each world. To me it seems like a common enough idea in fantasy, and the reason not to have too many of these "realms" is that it would become too confusing for the reader (or player) to follow. 3 is interesting, because it invites us to think of different ways things can be hidden or subtle, instead of lumping everything non-physical together. But more than 3 or 4, and I think the distinctions would become tedious rather than interesting.

[CabbageHead he/him]

The interesting bit is that 16 and 10 have direct relations to Shards, with the magic systems and shard worlds. 3 only directly references the basic underlying nature of the Cosmere's reality, seemingly independent of any Shard, magic system, or world.

There is a relationship between the number 3 and 16, in that 16 is ³2 (2²²). The number 2 is significant as well, as all powers and abilities appear to exist in pairs. I'm actually more puzzled about where the number 10 comes from.

Edited November 18, 2012 by CabbageHead

[Nepene he/him]

There is a relationship between the number 3 and 16, in that 16 is ³2 (2²²). The number 2 is significant as well, as all powers and abilities appear to exist in pairs. I'm actually more puzzled about where the number 10 comes from.

10 shard worlds exist in the dwarf galaxy that is the cosmere.

[CabbageHead he/him]

10 shard worlds exist in the dwarf galaxy that is the cosmere.

Yes, but there must be some more fundamental reason for 10 being important. 2, 3, and 16 are all related to the nature of the universe or the nature of Adonalsium. 10 seems an oddity, one which I have not yet figured out. Assuming, of course, that there is some mathematical reasoning behind it, and that it isn't just a number picked out of the air. Knowing Brandon, there likely is some reasoning.

[Lightflame he/him]

That;s why I think there's a fourth realm: Time.

[Nepene he/him]

That;s why I think there's a fourth realm: Time.

Time is probably spiritual. An object's past is in its soul, as TES proved.

[king of nowhere]

I think the reason many more even numbers than odd numbers are found in the constants of the cosmere is that many of those are the result of combinatorial calculation. Basically, they come from the multiplication of smaller numbers.

When you multiply numbers, you are much more likely to end up with an even number than odd. even times even is still even, and even times odd is even again. only odd times odd is odd. so all you need is to get one single even number down the line and you will get an even number as a result no matter how many odd numberws you put there.

I agree that the basic constants of the cosmere are just 3, 10, 16.

[Pechvarry]

(The big hole here is that the Ars Arcanum in Elnatris has 41 Aons listed, but I'm hoping that the list is not complete and that there are an even number of Aons.)

I'm quite sure the list in Elantris is not exhaustive. In fact, because each aon represents base words, and not letters, it's more like Kanji. That means it's possible to have several hundred, and likely 6,000.

[Aethling he/him]

Three is fairly deeply ingrained in the religious beliefs of Western Civilization. Big 3 brothers from Greece. Holy trinity from Christianity. Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory. Considering Sanderson appears to be a fairly pious man, it would be pretty hard for him NOT to pick up on the number, even if it is only by accident.

[happyman he/him]

I'm quite sure the list in Elantris is not exhaustive. In fact, because each aon represents base words, and not letters, it's more like Kanji. That means it's possible to have several hundred, and likely 6,000.

How you count Aons depends on how you take modifiers into account. I would not be at all surprised if some of the so-called Base Aons are "really" just extremely basic modifications of the true base (the picture of Arelon).

In addition, I believe that the list in Elantris is nowhere near exhaustive, even if you only include base Aons, whatever those are. AonDor is quite complex.