Crazy male channelers

[H1ammer24]

So are there counts or records that show all male channelers go mad. Besides anything from the white tower. I don't trust anything they might come up with, there whole society is skewed away from anything male and anything they can't control. But I can't see how so many males are at the black tower or for that matter running around before the black tower. Or did I miss something. Again I am only 7 books in but.....

[Sabio]

Any male who can channel that doesn't have the DO's protection like the male forsaken have will go insane.  I always assumed that the reason Taim found so many males for the black tower is like women most of the men that he located are ones who have the capability to channel but never would of without assistance.  Sort of like sul'dam.  These men won't go insane unless they are trained to touch the source.  Taim can find these bcause his testing seems to be rounding up groups of people and testing them all.  The ones the Aes Sedai have been taking care of are the ones like Taim, Logain, Rand, Thom nephew etc..   Who will touch the source without any help.  The Aes Sedai think male channeling is becoming rarer because they find less of these types but are clueless to the amount of males who have the capability to channel. 

[Magicana]

 

 

So are there counts or records that show all male channelers go mad.

 

The entire disintegration of society during the Breaking of the World probably counts.

[Sabio]

The only 2 ways to avoid the madness were the DO's protection or going to a place like a steeding where you couldn't touch the source.  When the DO was sealed away all his followers lost their protection so even the male shadow Aes Sedai went mad.  Some men took refuge in steedings in the hope to find a way to stop the madness and cleanse the male half.  But in the end they couldn't stand being cut off from the power so eventually left an went mad themselves.   There are few or no records, most would of been lost in the breaking.  After all major cities were destroyed along with all records and such.  All you have is history that shows all men who can channel go mad eventually.  If you want an unbiased source I would say maybe the Ogier since their longer lives means less generations have passed since the breaking and they might have some old records from the AOL time when male channlers were taking refuge in the steeding. 

[Orderofolde]

So are there counts or records that show all male channelers go mad. Besides anything from the white tower. I don't trust anything they might come up with, there whole society is skewed away from anything male and anything they can't control. But I can't see how so many males are at the black tower or for that matter running around before the black tower. Or did I miss something. Again I am only 7 books in but.....

Many were not those who had the spark, but were those who could learn.  Androl I believe had the spark, or the potential due to his father.

[mb]

For sure the Dark One's protection helps a saidin channeler avoid the taint.  Not sure about entering a stedding.

It seems to me that the start of the protection was sometime after the Breaking.

 

most of the saidin channelers seem to be learners.

1 sparker was told about on-screen; Jahar Narishma.  Lord of Chaos chapter 28.

Do not recall other sparkers being told about.

Though 1 one the Forsaken attended the Black Tower.  His first on screen scene was Lord of Chaos Prologue; and the name he used at Black Tower I think was revealed some early chapter of Crown of Swords.

[Barid Bel Medar]

1. All male channelers do go mad, it's one of the things the Aes Sedai are correct about. In fact, that's the reason why it is so skewed, because of the cultural distrust for male channelers who went mad and destroyed the world in the Breaking. 

 

2. There are a number of reasons why there are so many people being recruited at the Black Tower. The Aes Sedai are terrible at recruiting. Their numbers are few because of the restrictions they work under. Unlike the Aes Sedai, Taim can Travel, and actively goes searching for people to recruit and will take any man regardless. 

 

There is also the fact of people able to learn v sparkers. Many women are left undiscovered, where the men are being sought. Learners occupy a much higher percentage of the channeling pool compared to sparkers which is another contributing factor. 

 

The Pattern also plays a big part in this. As the DO is slowly working it's way free, the Pattern needs channelers to fight. That's the simple explanation, but it is manifested in a reasonable way, not just popping up out of the Pattern's magic bag of tricks. The potential has always been hidden in a percentage of men who do not actively channel. These men pass on the gene without notice, but they are still there. Because the men who manifest the ability innately are hunted down or go mad, nobody has - until the Black Tower- tapped in to the potential learners like with women. Many men - because they know they will go mad - either seclude themselves or commit suicide before they are found. Hence the number of cases of male channelers are extremely low.

 

Now that the Black Tower has been formed, the ones who can't help it decide they have nothing to lose and actively go to the Black Tower (women avoid Aes Sedai in some cases, particularly in places that distrust them) and start coming out from under the woodworks so to speak. Those who can learn, as mentioned, are sought out with much more efficiency than Aes Sedai. 

 

The number of male channelers available statistically is much higher than the number of men at the Black Tower. Mostly for the obvious reasons. They are not forced to join if the talent is found (Officially anyway, it would depend on who the recruiter was. Some of the less savoury ones would probably be a bit more forceful) So many men refuse to be taught, with the whole going mad and all thing. 

 

The question really is why are there that many willing to join the Black Tower. The answer is similar to why men volunteered to fight in WWI/II. Everyone is aware the Dragon is Reborn, which means the Last Battle is coming. They want to protect their families and loved ones and are willing to risk their lives and sanity. Some men do it for the power. Some for the thrill of it, although I'd say the 'protecting people' would make up a much larger percentage than the latter. There's also Darkfriends who are drawn to power. To be of better use to the DO, and hoping that they receive his protection from the Taint. 

 

Basically, the world is screwed anyway if the DO wins. Sanity is a small price to pay if they can help defeat the Shadow. 

[H1ammer24]

Is their evidence that males do go mad that is not aes sedai based? They are stuck in their old ways and wouldn't change their view if it bit them in the face. Also if a male can channel and doesn't or does even a little sub consciously, will they go mad?

[Barid Bel Medar]

 

INTERVIEW: Oct 25th, 1994

LOC Signing Report - Edward Liu (Paraphrased)

EDWARD LIU

Channeling saidin and the taint:

As some of you know, there was a pretty big debate over this topic, especially whether Thom could or couldn't channel, which I participated in. Well, I'm happy to say that I was mostly correct in my theories.

ROBERT JORDAN

What RJ said was that once a man channeled he will inevitably die (if nothing else kills him first) as a result of the taint, whether from going mad and getting himself killed or from the wasting sickness. When I asked him if continued channeling only sped up the tainting, he said yes.

EDWARD LIU

So the theory that tainting only occurs upon channeling is incorrect as well as the conclusion that a man will only go mad or waste away after years of frequent channeling. The important thing is that once you've channeled, you're doomed. I'm not sure whether it's the first time you grasp saidin or the first time you channel that counts.