Modernizing the Wheel of Time

[Psyren]

There was no modern tradition for male channelers before Rand created the Ashaman and yet they were all drawn to saidin, so you need something to explain this other then tradition - and other cultures have there own traditions yet a gender divide still exists.

Sure there is; Rand learned from Asmodean, and the others learned from him. Taim is self-taught to an extent, but learned from the Forsaken at some point too (either Ishamael or Aginor seems likely) before becoming one himself.

Seperately until women get picked up for training they all access saidar - despite being exposed to no tradition.

We've seen very few learn it with no training at all, too small a sample size to draw universal conclusions from. Nynaeve is the most prominent, and then there are... two other named wilders? Three?

I'd have rather they hadn't added her (though I do understand the reasoning they did so.) I'd have much rather they stuck to the story rather than adding her.

But I much rather preferred her than the insertion of Legolas which served no purpose than upstaging what should have been the main cast of the story.

Tauriel imo was an execution issue. Adding her could have been done well.