Imagine how much shorter...

[mellojoe]

... the book series would be if they had the Sprint push-to-talk network.

 

 

Seriously, don't you find points of the story and just go, "Man, if they would just talk for 5 seconds they'd save an entire plotline from going off point."

[Elgee]

Yeah ... it would go something like this:

 

There were these 3 boys. A woman found them and told them a story. They believed it and did what she told them to do. The End.

[jemron]

Haha.  Honestly, if Rand had done what Moiraine told him to do, the world would probably be over by now in the story.

 

But, you are both right.  One of the most common complaints of the series that I hear over and over (besides so many people hating many of the female characters) is that none of the characters communicate.

 

What is interesting to me is that IF the good guys (Rand, Mat, Perrin and Super girls) would have regularly scheduled meetings in T'A'R like the Forsaken have been known to do, and if there was something for the Light like the Darkfriend social at the beginning of TGH, the DO would already be re-sealed, and they would probably all me very happy running the world their way by now.

[Senexx]

How many people in the real world effectively communicate with each other on matters of importance?

[gambril]

How many people in the real world effectively communicate with each other on matters of importance?

 

Well news programs help...or can help to show how people don't communicate.  Hello BP oil spill thats been going on for how long now? lol

 

I just assumed that when something like this happens (oil spill in the gulf) that the government or someone or some group or something....comes together, discusses it and shares information releative to their field of expertise.  But it doesn't seem like this is the case huh?  WoT just goes to show that storylines aren't perfect and everything doesn't go the way it should go :)

[Elgee]

Maybe mobile phones, CNN and Twitter haven't been discovered in Randland yet?  :P

[Senexx]

How many people in the real world effectively communicate with each other on matters of importance?

 

Well news programs help...or can help to show how people don't communicate.  Hello BP oil spill thats been going on for how long now? lol

 

I just assumed that when something like this happens (oil spill in the gulf) that the government or someone or some group or something....comes together, discusses it and shares information releative to their field of expertise.  But it doesn't seem like this is the case huh?  WoT just goes to show that storylines aren't perfect and everything doesn't go the way it should go :)

 

My point is they don't communicate effectively in the real world on matters of importance.  The Oil Spill is a good example.

 

Nor do they communicate effectively in the Wheel of Time thus in the RandLand universe it is as realistic as it can be.

[Morsker]

They wouldn't use it. And if they had Facebook and Twitter, they wouldn't use those either. WoT characters don't talk to their friends. Heck, most of the characters don't even have friends.

[supergirlfriday]

RJ deliberately made their communication severely lacking. It dovetails into one of the main themes of the books:

 

<b>RJ's blog, 10 December 2005, 'This and That', as found quoted <a href="http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcjspjqg_82hd463gcf">here</a> at Theoryland.com</b>

 

Now as to communications and the lack thereof, these things are not commentaries on any sort of technologies.  They are a commentary on the human navel.  Do you really know anybody who actually tells everything he or she knows to everybody?  Even when they really need to know?  Maybe especially when they really need to know.  Do you really trust people who think they always know what other people really need to know?  May I postulate that this person has few close friends, those quite quiet when around him or her?  There are a thousand reasons why we don’t tell everything to everybody, including often things that we should tell.  Maybe the information puts us in a bad light, so we withhold information, or perhaps shade the truth a bit.  That’s one of the most common.  Or maybe we think the other person must already know because it is so obvious.  Which can add the factor that we don’t want to appear foolish for pointing out that the sky seems to be blue today.  Or maybe we just didn’t bloody well think of it.  It has always struck me how unrealistic, how incredibly fortuitous — you think ta’veren are centers of unrealistic coincidence?  Huh! — books are where almost everybody learns everything they need to know as soon as they need to know it, where almost nobody of any note or importance ever has to make decisions based on incomplete information, information that the reader may know is at least partly wrong.  Lord, even when they just learn almost everything they need to know exactly when they need to know it, matters seem just too far-fetched.  No, it isn’t a commentary on technology.  Just people.

 

Doesn't make it any less frustrating, though!  :-\

[Senexx]

  ??? I thought that is what I said except more concisely.  :P

[talligan]

In book 9 Rand and Nynaeve(spelling) actually communicate with one another and it made me happy.

 

Even a simple "Yo more rain, I'd really appreciate it if you didn't try to push me blindly in whatever direction you want me to go. Let's just have a conversation about this instead of yelling."

 

Or even better, Rand says "What up G, turns out Rahvin killed yer ma and it wasn't me (Egwene nods and agrees). Everything cool between us? Cool. Peace."

[Ozzie_aiel]

Maybe mobile phones, CNN and Twitter haven't been discovered in Randland yet?  :P

 

I can see Rand twittering "Just killed 4saken. yay me"

[jemron]

Maybe mobile phones, CNN and Twitter haven't been discovered in Randland yet?  :P

 

I can see Rand twittering "Just killed 4saken. yay me"

 

And:  "@ Graendal  Balefire FTW!"

[Elgee]

Lanfear: SO over Rand!

[mellojoe]

@Gawyn: in luv. her boy killed my moms, tho. confused.

--@Egwene: lolwut?  who killed yer moms?

--@Gawyn: u-know-who

--@Rand: me? naw, wuz 4saken.

--@Gawyn: 4realz?

--@Rand: yup.

--@Gawyn: okthxbai

[Durinax]

if rand listened to Moraine he would be dead, since she wanted him to head ot illian where samael was. and he would have a depleted tearan army because she wanted him to go straight to kill samael (before he had asmo training)