Editing Science and technology (section)

==General==
===Scientific institutes===
:{{Main|Maesters}}
:{{See also|Citadel|Alchemists' Guild|Great Sept of Baelor}}

The [[maester]]s are an order of scholars, healers, messengers, and scientists. They educate new students at their "seat", the [[Citadel]], which is located in [[Oldtown]], a city in the [[Reach]]. The maesters are sometimes called "the [[knight]]s of the mind."{{ref|AGOT|53}} Boys and young men from all over [[Westeros]] come to study, learn, and forge their chains at the [[Citadel]].{{Ref|twoiaf| The Reach: Oldtown}} Novices (students who have yet to earn their first link) and acolytes (students who have earned at least one link of their chain) are educated together. Archmaesters give open lectures, which the students can attend at will. Once a student believes he has sufficient knowledge on a particular subject, he can go before an archmaester to demonstrate his knowledge. If the archmaester judges the student's knowledge to be proficient, he awards him with a link of a metal reflecting the topic.{{Ref|affc|0}} Once a student has earned sufficient links, he can forge his chain and take his maester's vow, after which the Citadel might relocate him. Maesters serving at a castle advise their lords on the operation of their households and lands.{{ref|agot|6}}{{ref|asos|64}} Some lords trust their maesters to open and read letters and to convey their contents to them, while other lords prefer to do so for themselves.{{Ref|adwd|3}} Maesters can be tasked with writing letters for their lords as well, and might be trusted to read and write the letters of those lords who are illiterate.{{Ref|adwd|37}} They are in charge of the [[raven]]s used as messengers. Although most ravens can only be trained to fly to one castle, a few can be trained to distinguish between two, and rarely even more.<ref>''[[The Winds of Winter]]'', [[Theon I (The Winds of Winter)|Theon I]]</ref> Maesters assist in childbirth,{{ref|agot|6}} treat illnesses,{{ref|asos|36}} and teach children arithmetic, language, and history.{{ref|agot|53}}{{ref|acok|66}}{{ref|asos|40}}

A more specialized institute of knowledge is the [[Alchemists' Guild]]{{ref|ACOK|3}} (also called the Guild of Alchemists{{ref|AFFC|12}}{{Ref|AWOIAF| Guild of Alchemists}}). This old order of pyromancers, diminished in power during the recent centuries when the maesters began to rise in prominence, still claims to posses vast secret stores of knowledge.{{Ref|ACOK|20}}

The [[Great Sept of Baelor]], the large [[sept]] of the [[Faith of the Seven]] atop [[Visenya's Hill]] in [[King's Landing]], is a preeminent center of religious education in the realm.<ref>[[So Spake Martin]]: [http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/Various_ASoIaF_Questions/ Various ASOIAF Questions (April 21, 2000)]</ref>