The best Healer in WoT ?

[Suttree]

Sumeko is good, but it seems she can't innovate very well. She can only tweak what Nynaeve discovered.

 

But Sumeko came up with that new style of healing on her own. Whose to say she can't innovate?

[Damer Sedai]

I do find it odd that people are voting for Nyn when the book tells us Sumeko is better....

It's a combination of Nynaeve being a more well known and prominent character - so her achievements are more noted - and her being liked more. Also, people using skewed definitions. Nynaeve might have more innovations to her name than the other Healers, but her ability to actually cure an illness or heal an injury are not as good as some of the others. If people prize innovation more highly than the ability to Heal, then they will vote Nynaeve more than the others.If the correct way of dealing with the problem is not known, Nynaeve has a better chance of finding it than some of the others. But when a solution is known, others are better able to implement the solution than Nynaeve.

 

Actually, its not just a matter of familiarity.... its a matter of definitions. The Poll does not ask "who is better at the Talent Healing" it ask who is the best healer. While Sumeko (and others?) may be able to outstrip Nynaeve at both 3 power and 5 power healing of wounds and illnesses, there is no indication that she can heal stilling, and based on circumstance would have no ability to to cure taint-inspired madness or lift compulsion, both which fit under the broad umbrella of a Healer's pervue.

 

I am on the the same page with Mr Ares on one point - how do we value innovation? And on what scale? Sure for the individual soldier or plague victim, Sumeko is your best bet. But for Randland in general, and for future in the fourth Age, I will take Nynaeve's impact on the world every time. In Medicine we remember Alfred Blaylock, father of pediatric cardiac surgery, even though every modern surgeon in the field outstrips him in skill by several degrees.

 

Oh... and if we are going by Healing talent alone, I am going with Damer. We cant tell who is better at 5 power healing between the two, and his little trick to save Rand puts him over the edge with Sumeko for me.

 

Edit - ninjad by BBM.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Sumeko is good, but it seems she can't innovate very well. She can only tweak what Nynaeve discovered.

 

But Sumeko came up with that new style of healing on her own. Whose to say she can't innovate?

 

My bad, you are correct. I meant we have not seen the innovative skills that Nynaeve has displayed. (I had forgotten that she came up with it herself)

 

Nynaeve has shown a broad range of healing skills and innovation what with healing severing, madness, the new healing method etc...

 

On a general note: Strength is also a factor in it. Better healing takes more strength. For example, when Moiraine heals Tam in EotW, she has to use her angreal. Nynaeve would not need to do that, if she knew how at the time, in the same situation.

 

So the others may be equal skill wise, but wouldn't have the strength Nynaeve does to do the more heavy duty Healing.

[Whizbang]

Healing Tam was more removing the Taint of the DO rather than just sealing up a wound. So, in that, it has proven that strength matters. For straight forward Healing, though, RJ has said strength is not as important as Talent.

[Barid Bel Medar]

Just because it is different, it is still healing. Healing can mean a lot of things. Healing itself is a Talent, but healing (non capital) is a wide field. It can be your straight forward healing broken bones, or it could be unravelling compulsion (since it is healing that person).

 

So what are we talking about here? Healing capitalized, fixing up illness and broken bones, or healing in general, fixing up any detriment to the body/mind

[elric]

i also intentually didnt clarify what healer meen.

 

each have is own priority /definition and I'M INTERESTED in how each define healer :)))

ithink it add alot to the discussion :)

[Barid Bel Medar]

i also intentually didnt clarify what healer meen.

 

each have is own priority /definition and I'M INTERESTED in how each define healer :)))

ithink it add alot to the discussion :)

 

I like your choice

 

Makes the conversation a bit better.

 

Well, for me, healing means fixing up anything that creates an abnormality in a person. Something that is not a natural part of a healthy person.

[Damer Sedai]

i also intentually didnt clarify what healer meen.

 

each have is own priority /definition and I'M INTERESTED in how each define healer :)))

ithink it add alot to the discussion :)

 

Sorry, I didn't really mean to pick on your spelling elric, ... I should not have gone there,we understood what you meant.

 

Anyway, I agree w/ BBM - the way you phrased the poll was excellent, making a lot better case for discussion, as opposed to pedantic regurgitation of the text.

[elric]

u picked on my spelling ?? (hadnt noticed :) )

a point was raised -> what is a healer (valid question) and i answer it :)

 

and TU :)

[Maleshub]

The ultimate healing power would be in a circle of Flinn and Nynaeve and Sumeko. I don't think Rand's side wound would survive that circle. But as an individual, my vote goes to Flinn.

 

One worthy mention is Moiraine. She did very well as a healer. She managed to some some very "traditional" things with the old Aes Sedai weaves. I wonder what she'd do if she learns the new 5-power approach.

[driedraspberry]

Semirhage hands down. Healing is intricate work and I would think, while imagination and discovery is great (which she has in spades if you consider her novel torture techniques) I do think being able to work fast and efficiently, so much as to heal people seconds from death as only she is reputed to do, makes for a more masterful healer.

[Entreri]

Very very easily Nyaneve.

 

First to cure being severed, took away madness and brought what his name out of the dead bed.

 

Second is Flinn.

 

Third was probably Semirhage. Nynaeve is very easily as strong as Semirhage, possibly a hair stronger (according to Brandon I believe), but far more skilled. I don't think Flinn is as strong in the Power and that would limit his capabilities.

[Suttree]

Very very easily Nyaneve.

 

First to cure being severed, took away madness and brought what his name out of the dead bed.

 

Great accomplishments no doubt but again we know...

 

“The Wise Ones learned about Healing from me. And from Nynaeve, I suppose,” she allowed after a moment. Oh, Nynaeve would have gone up like an Illuminator’s firework, hearing that. But then, Sumeko had outstripped Nynaeve long since.

 

Also as Nyn said...

ACoS

"No, no, go on," Nynaeve said absently. Most of her attention was fixed on the woman under her hands, but not all. "You seem to know a few things even I - That is to say, you have a very interesting way with the flows. I suspect you’ll find that a great many sisters want to learn from you."

 

In additon to the above admission from Nyn she came up with the new type of healing all on her own as well so that speaks to innovation. I suspect Nyn may be slightly better at coming up with new methods while Sumeko is more skilled in applying them

[Hagazussa]

I think it varies, each of the ones above have talents the others do not have, it is like putting the world's best heart surgeon and the best neurologist best to one another and say which one is better, well that depends if you need a new heart then Mr heart surgeon is your best choice but if you are looking to remove a tumor in your head than the neurologist would be the best choice. I think perhaps Semirhage might be the best all round but it is very hard to say as all are so unbelievably good at what they do.

[GregerMoek]

The choice will be between Nynaeve, Flinn or Sumeko. Gah, this is hard. Flinn and Nynaeve are both far younger and less experienced than Sumeko, I think Sumeko is one of the oldest in The Kin if not "The Eldest" currently after those murders. It would certainly be easier to answer if it was "Best healer of this age" because a new age is most probably coming and during that time Nynaeve and Flinn will get more room to develop their healing weaves and such.

Sumeko has been described in some texts as outstripping Nynaeve (from Elayne's perspective, that is) and knowing weaves Nynaeve don't. In other characters' perspective I think they are viewed as matched, but this might be skewed or I might remember wrong (I'll admit that). Some bring up the innovation and I think that's quite a big part of what someone contributes to all this, I think both Flinn and Nynaeve innovated some of their own with their less-than-2-years-experience. All three of them have supposedly been self-taught, or near so.

 

Semi is hard to place since we never really get to hear more than rumors and stuff regarding her healing talent, moreover she's from the Age of Legends and that's also an advantage.

 

I guess if we sum it up to a*d (a = amount of healing done in total d = different kinds of healing) Semi would win, or Sumeko. But I doubt Sumeko as an Altaran Wise Woman had much variety in what she had to heal compared to Semi and we don't have any clear indicator who of Sumeko and Semi have lived longest. But Semi was one of the best Restorers during the Age of Legends so I think that should get some credit.

 

tl;dr - I can't decide at all

[elric]

all 4 get credit (altougfh i admit Flinn didnt in the begining by me :) ).

 

and yup i KNOW its HARD call :)))) (cant decide myself :) )

 

if it was an easy call the thread wouldnt be interesting :)

[fuzz1717]

I'm gonna go with Semi. We never really found out the extent of her knowledge, and she was the most powerful healer during the AoL. I'm wayyy too lazy to find quotes and stuff, but I'm fairly sure that during the AoL they used the regular AS healing only when they were in a rush, and the healing that Nyn now uses was the healing that was perfected by the AoL channelers. I feel that all that time spent perfecting healing during the AoL gives Semi a leg up on Nyn, who has been channeling (conciously) for maybe 2 years, and Sumeko, who is not that strong in the first place.

 

Give Nyn a few years, though, and I think she will outstrip what Semi was and what Sumeko is. She made a good start by healing stilling, and healing the Saidain tainted madness, but Semi (at the time of her death) seemed to know the human body much more intricately and seemed just in general more competent with modifying the human body (either to heal or to torture).

[GregerMoek]

I'm gonna have to agree with that, Nyn has potential to do much, but currently she is regarded as inexperienced, and rightfully so because she does not like to study, she sees one thing one time and figures she can repeat it and doesn't really bother to improve things she already learned unless there's a challenge involved (A feature I like, haha).

 

I'll vote for Semi too. And this simply because I'm not thinking about what Nyn MIGHT achieve later, just about what they have all currently achieved.

[GB]

i had to go for Nynaeve, even though Damer Flinn and Sumeko are very close.

 

Sumeko is more experienced than Nynaeve, which is why I reckon for now, she is better at using the weaves in a more refined way but as at ToM, Nynaeve skill was starting to get better, she herself remarks on her Delving skill while healing Naeff. Plus she didn't get much study in the Yellow Ajah, and learn how to refine healing weaves, so in a few more years, she will be among the best.

 

Plus she is an innovator, daring and coming up with new weaves.

 

But a special mention have to go Dr Flinn. haha . def one of my fav Asha'man. He has had even less teaching than any of the other in the poll and yet from the male PoV, can be considered the best healer.

[Wandering Channeler]

To me Semi isn't really in the running. Yeah she was the bees knees in the AoL but there has been far more things done in the current age around healing that were thought to be impossible in the AoL so seems to me like AoL healing was subpar to current healing.

 

This statement is not even remotely true. One discovery in terms of stilling doesn't off set all of the knowledge lost.

 

Okay, what could Semi or any other great healer do in the AoL that Nyn or Flinn cannot do?

 

I haven't seen a response to this. What says that healers in the AoL are better than the healers we are talking about?

[Suttree]

To me Semi isn't really in the running. Yeah she was the bees knees in the AoL but there has been far more things done in the current age around healing that were thought to be impossible in the AoL so seems to me like AoL healing was subpar to current healing.

 

This statement is not even remotely true. One discovery in terms of stilling doesn't off set all of the knowledge lost.

 

Okay, what could Semi or any other great healer do in the AoL that Nyn or Flinn cannot do?

 

I haven't seen a response to this. What says that healers in the AoL are better than the healers we are talking about?

 

I can pull quotes later but off the top I my head this "new method" of healing that has recently been discovered was the standard method before. Nyn, Flinn etc are just starting to learn what can be done while in the AoL you had large scale centers of learning constantly researching and innovating. For all that forsaken are surprised at some of the things this age has come up with(warder bond etc) for every one of those there are thousands of techniques and methods lost. Semi can't be listed in the same category as these others.

 

Not disputing Nyn has great accomplishments, just saying there are many years of work ahead to reach the top.

[Darksmoon]

I'm going to go with Nynaeve.

 

She healed Stilling and healed 'taint' madness.

 

Both of those feats are Legendary.

[James Andrew Powell]

Nyn/Flinn for innovations in healing, both healed people severed from the source, and can do things others thought impossible.

 

Sumeko, best all round healer. Might not be an innovator. but if it ain't broke.

[Darksmoon]

Also Semi inflicted pain when she healed people (when she was on the side of 'good'). From this I would never consider her to be the 'best healer.'

[James Andrew Powell]

Nyn also managed to cure maddness, something Semi could never due despite having devoted her life to it prior to going to the dark side.