User blog comment:Madman97/The CHIM Theory: Why I don't think it exists/@comment-3315619-20131127053921/@comment-3315619-20131128224951

CHIM can't be dismissed as simply a developer joke. There was certainly an element of humor to it, but it is too imbued into the lore to be ignored as a joke. Lorkhan sold Mundus as a place for aspects of aspects to self-reflect and thereby equal or surpass those that made them (see The Monomyth). CHIM is the mechanism for this improvement. Whether or not CHIM exists, then, is essentially at the heart of the Aldmeri-Human schism, the heart of TES history as we know it. It may not exist, but that ambiguity is in-game. So I didn't address anything about it being a joke because I didn't feel it merited a response.

I know what a epiphany is, it doesn't mean I've ever actually experienced one. I understand how a gun works, though I've never fired one. I can understand the concept of quantum physics without actually knowing how it works. Understanding something and utilizing it are distinct. Lorkhan was a "barely formed urge" that could "never last anywhere long". It's entirely possible that though he knew of the concept of CHIM, he was unable to actually take advantage of it. And regardless, my point is simply that no source asserts that Lorkhan used CHIM to create Nirn. Rather, the sources suggest he used his purported discover of CHIM to convince the et'Ada to create Mundus. There is no source I'm aware of which affirmatively says that he did not utilize CHIM to create Nirn, but saying that he did so is conjecture.

According to Kirkbride, CHIM is not an all-powerful force. There's at least one thing even more powerful, what he calls Amaranth, about which we know little. Further, it is suggested that, when CHIM is purportedly achieved, the one atop the Tower changes the path for those who comes after. The relative constraints upon a person who knows CHIM are unknown, but there are indications that constraints do exist. There are some things one might not be able to do, and further, even if one could do anything, it doesn't necessarily follow that one can do everything. There may be priorities involved, opportunity costs, etc. The hangups regarding Vivec and the things he chose to do and not do may factor into these nebulous constraints.

I'm don't care about your use of the article. It's there to spawn thought and discussion, after all, and if it's easier for you to blog about with a little copy-pasting, that's fine. I only mentioned it as a formatting matter. Since you asked, the following is from the UESP CHIM article, sans references:

''It begins with "The Tower touches all the mantles of Heaven [...] and by its apex one can be as he will. More: be as he was and yet changed for all else on that path for those that walk after. This is [...] the secret of how mortals become makers [CHIM], and makers back to mortals." So one who knows CHIM is said to reside atop (or within) the Tower (i.e., Mundus) and possesses incomprehensible power to alter reality.''

Yes, you're quoting MDC, but you're quoting MDC in the exact same manner (i.e., skipping over the same areas and noting that mortals becoming makers is referring to CHIM). The second sentence is summarizing some info from Vehk's Teachings in my own words.

Gotta go enjoy some turkey; you have a good one.