Name Change?[]
Since the english preview for episode one came out today and the new season starts in a week do we want to change it from bumi (nonbender) to bumi (air bender)? Monarch For Life 02:36, June 21, 2014 (UTC)
- Already suggested. Omnibender - Talk - Contributions 02:39, June 21, 2014 (UTC)
Proposal - Born as a bender, not a nonbender.[]
Couldn't it be argued that if someone develops airbending abilities, they would technically have been born as a bender and not a non-bender? I mean you don't call the wizards and witches in the Harry Potter franchise who shows signs of magic late in their life a squib, you'd still say they were born as a wizard or witch, or wizardkind. Or has it now been established that everyone is born as a non-bender, but have the bending gene, and can simply unlock the abilities, while some can't for some reason? I hope that I am making sense here. I just think it would make more sense to write the article as if they thought he was a nonbender, but found out he wasn't. I know there may be a difference between bending arts and having the ability to bend, since bending arts is more like a martial art, techniques and movements you learn, while the power to bend is something you're born with, but I think you guys know what I ultimately mean here with this topic. Lukas Exemplar (wall • contribs) 13:29, January 10, 2017 (UTC)
- It could be argued, but there's no canonical basis for it. This is an excerpt from an interview by the creators with Avatar Spirit years ago:
- "About 20 mins after the interview, Bryan came back to me and we spoke a little more about the basis of bending off recorder. He described bending as more of a talent. You have some genetic basis for potential, but you could go your whole life without developing the talent into ability. Some people have more inherent talent than others, while others with minimal inherent talent can still develop it through hard work and practice. He reiterated a connection to the spiritual energies is the underlying basis. How it manifests is based on upbringing and experience."
- Now I have not kept up with forums and discussion boards about the subject, but the general practice regarding edits is to consider an individual a nonbender unless they outright manifest bending ability. This is why Rohan's article is written without any mention of possible airbending abilities, because even though potential for bending was predicted it was never proven.
- The nature of bending has always been a poorly understood facet of the franchise, but from what has been shown, it seems to be partially dependent on genetics and largely dependent on spirituality. So provided that there is bending at some point within a family line, then it could technically be said that every individual born thereafter has the "potential" or "talent" to be a bender, but they cannot be considered dormant benders or anything of the sort unless they actually manifest these abilities. And as far as I'm aware, this is the same practice held in the Harry Potter universe. A wizard-born is considered a squib until they demonstrate magical abilities, as in the case of Neville. Conversely, you wouldn't rewrite Figg's or Filch's articles to make it seem as if they're wizards who just haven't shown abilities yet; in the same way, you can't write off the new airbenders as dormant benders either.
Water Spout 18:02, January 10, 2017 (UTC)