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.
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.
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.
He said yes when I asked him something to the effect of, “When a man channels early in his life and never channels again, will he go mad or die from the wasting sickness?” I’d guess it’s the latter, but I’m not sure. He pointed out that once a man channels he basically cannot stop himself. He (the man) becomes addicted to it; RJ made an analogy to a junkie: he might want to stop but can’t. I know some of you might think, “Well he eventually dies because he can’t stop himself from channeling, thus it doesn’t mean tainting is a process unaffected by the amount you channel.”
Realizing this I asked, “Theoretically if he channeled once and never channeled again, would he still die?”
The response was still a yes.
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