Reen's obsidian

[Comatose]

I like to chose the smiley myself but that's just me.
So Reen's obsidian...  I still think it's some sort of code or something, that holds an important bit of info but that's just me, perhaps it's what the Alendi's birthmark looked like?  Who knows.  Just random thoughts.  Maybe the "random patterns," change somehow, altered by Preservation and show the future.

[Miyabi]

That sounds pretty plausible, but I think it would have been mentioned AT LEAST one other time if it was something that extreme.

[]Accident[]

Early in this thread it is surmised that Obsidian is likely as fragile as other forms of glass. This is certainly not true. Recalling the Wiki description, it is extrusive igneous rock. As silicon oxide becomes glass when melted, the source rock for obsidian turns to the glass form. But it is volcanic glass, and it's source material has far stronger a crystalline structure than silicon. Obsidian is extremely hard, and difficult to break. This is precisely why the inquisitors use it for their axes, they are strong, sharp, and non-metallic, therefore immune to allomantic pulling/pushing. Obsidian is used for weaponry and certain armor components in many fantasy stories, and indeed in historical cases as well.

The hardness and strength of obsidian could lead one to wonder about the "chipped into an irregular pattern" and such from Reen's bit of obsidian, but I've noted that a few folks have inadvertently translated "irregular  pattern" as "strange design", or "unusual symbols". Beware the random misinterpretation, it will surely lead you astray.  I think that when Brandon says "irregular pattern", that's all he means. It was simply an oddly shaped piece of a not terribly common volcanic rock. Something Vin would certainly hold onto after Reen's disappearance.

[Miyabi]

OK look, I'm tired of the obsidian or glass being stronger.  According to Mohs Sale we have:

window glass, 5.5;

obsidian, ~5-5.5;

SO depending on the obsidian it is either a bit weaker or the same strength as glass when it comes to hardness.

However, obsidian is MUCH MUCH MUCH sharper than glass could ever hope to be.  MOST LIKELY the reason they use obsidian is because it is freaking sharp as hell.

[Comatose]

Just because it is the same hardness, does that mean that it has the same fragility as well.  I am sort of out of my element in this area, but I don't think it matters too much.
And Accident, the reason some of us think that the obsidian is special, is because it belonged to Reen, who is by all accounts a very practical fellow, who wouldn't seem the kind who would carry around a good luck charm, but he does, and on the day he is taken by the inquisitors, he takes EVERYTHING he owns with him EXCEPT for the obsidian.  Unless he was expecting to leave or be caught, why take everything with you and leave the obsidian behind.  I have made my theory clear in a previous post, so I won't reiterate.

[Andrew the Great]

The fragility, as coma put it, would be determined more by the strength of the bonds between atoms, which depends on structure, so it could theoretically be stronger...but it doesn't matter. This thread is about the significance of REEN's obsidian, not the uses of obsidian in general. Wow. I just got angry over a thread-jacking. That's like the first time ever. Anyway, I still don't think the obsidian has any significance.

[Comatose]

Then tell me, why did Reen have it in the first place, and then subsequently leave it behind?  Hmmm?

[Andrew the Great]

Why does my little brother pick up rocks all the time, carry them with him for a while, then subsequently leave them behind? It looks cool?

[Comatose]

Ah, but your little brother and Reen are entirely different individuals:
1.  Your little brother is little, and thus prone to pick up many different sorts of random things.  Most likely he discards these things as soon as he loses interest.  Reen is not little, and he hold on to this bit of Obsidian for a long while.
2.  Reen is very practical, and would not pick up something because it looked cool, and certainly would not keep something that wasn't in some way useful.
3.  You still haven't answered why he just happened to leave it behind, when he took ALL of his other belongings the day he was captured.

Your move Andrew.

[darxbane]

[takes Andrew's move]  Maybe he had a hole in his pocket and couldn't carry it with him that day?     Remember that our only knowledge of Reen comes from Vin.  We can't be sure what type of person he was based just on the perspective of his battered sister.  We know he refused to give her up, but we don't know anything else about him.  This is all speculation, and while fun to do, we shouldn't take any theories too seriously, yet.

[Comatose]

Touche
You are of course, correct.  But you haven't disproved my theory, only shown that there is a possibility for wrongness.  I still think there is something to that obsidian.

[]Accident[]

OK look, I'm tired of the obsidian or glass being stronger.  According to Mohs Sale we have:

window glass, 5.5;

obsidian, ~5-5.5;

SO depending on the obsidian it is either a bit weaker or the same strength as glass when it comes to hardness.

Hardness and strength are independent attributes of a material. I stand corrected in referring to superior hardness. Still, an axe made of glass would be foolish, as it would shatter on impact with just about any metal. Not so obsidian, it is indeed much stronger than silicon-based forms of glass.

I never said Reen's piece of obsidian wasn't of any significance or value. The only point I made was that some folks began to theorize based on believing that the "irregular pattern" it was chipped into really meant "unusual symbols" or "strange designs". Its a common trick of the mind to wander off what you really read to what you'd like to have read, and it can lead you astray. On the other hand, nearly two complete books later and no following word about the item leaves me doubtful. Vin's earring? Yeah, I'm waiting to learn it's true importance, because it is visible too often in the text not to mean something more than we know now.

[Andrew the Great]

*Takes move even though darx already stole it*

1) My little brother is 5, so you have a point. That being said, he doesn't do this with just anything. It's only cool-looking rocks. He leaves them behind when he finds cooler looking ones. So maybe Reen just found a cooler piece of obsidian?

2) Maybe it had some sort of sentimental value? Perhaps it was his mom's (who from what we know of her would pick up something because it looked cool) and he took it to remember her? Or something like that?

3) He found a cooler piece of obsidian. Or he lost this one through a hole in his pocket. Which would explain why he never told the inquisitors about Vin. He was too distraught over the loss of his obsidian.

And ]Accident[, I think the reason we all perceive the irregular pattern to be more than we're told is because it's a irregular pattern. Which implies that it is some sort of design, though true, does not straight out say it.

Anyway, I still think that the obsidian is insignificant.

*[/move]*

Your turn, Coma.

[Comatose]

Okay.  You're still missing point number 2.  Reen is (well I guess I can only say 'seems' after darxbane's post) extremely practical, and sentimentality  does not seem to be one of his strongest attributes.  I also extremely dislike this whole "hole in pocket business.'  That doesn't mean it's not correct so perhaps you have a point there.  But if it was so important to him (or if he had a 'sentimental,' bond to it, wouldn't he be more careful with it?  Careful enought not to place it in a holey pocket.  I'm afraid of losing small things in pockets without holes.  And if there was indeed a hole in his pocket, why was this the only thing left behind?

[Andrew the Great]

why was this the only thing left behind?

He found a cooler piece of obsidian.