|
Post by admirality on Nov 12, 2007 11:32:07 GMT -5
A prodigy is usually someone who shows imense skills from a very young age e.g Azula or Mozart.... But u don't have to be a prodigy to be a master.....
Katara is a master but not a prodigy there aint nothing wrong in that
|
|
|
Post by WyrmKing on Nov 12, 2007 11:40:32 GMT -5
Well Katara had immense raw power which was evident when she broke the iceberg in the first episode when she was mad at Sokka.
But let's not forget that Katara didn't have a master to teach her. Prodigies still need teachers.
|
|
masterpakku
Haru
Open the chakras Katara Fanboy
Posts: 321
|
Post by masterpakku on Nov 12, 2007 13:02:55 GMT -5
I think that the ability to bloodbend after just hearing about it like a minute before is a good example of her being a prodigy. Just to have that kind of power and control.
|
|
|
Post by lunar-tsunami on Nov 12, 2007 13:07:12 GMT -5
She's definitely powerful. She is also a late bloomer because of her lack of instruction...which would kind of make her not a prodigy. If she were a prodigy, she'd be a master at a younger age. But she probably could have been one if she had some guidance as a child like most other people. Even Azula and Toph had teachers. If you translated it to musician terms...Katara is the one who starts in their teens but becomes a master soloist despite being a late starter. Her drive to improve and hard work more than overcomes her lack of opportunity to become a child prodigy.
|
|
|
Post by WyrmKing on Nov 12, 2007 14:01:48 GMT -5
She's definitely powerful. She is also a late bloomer because of her lack of instruction...which would kind of make her not a prodigy. If she were a prodigy, she'd be a master at a younger age. But she probably could have been one if she had some guidance as a child like most other people. Even Azula and Toph had teachers. If you translated it to musician terms...Katara is the one who starts in their teens but becomes a master soloist despite being a late starter. Her drive to improve and hard work more than overcomes her lack of opportunity to become a child prodigy. She can't be a master at a younger age because she didn't have a teacher. Prodigies don't just learn from nothing. They have to be taught.
|
|
taechunsa
Katara
A wise man enjoys life's simple pleasures.
Posts: 80
|
Post by taechunsa on Nov 12, 2007 15:25:11 GMT -5
All these talk about raw power vs. precision is moot point. A prodigy by definition is someone who learns a lot and achieves high level of skill in very short time. And Katara has done just that. Make no mistake, Katara is a master waterbender by now. Two master waterbenders, Pakku and Hama, has confirmed that. And even if she's wasn't a master waterbender, she will be soon enough because she learns waterbending very quickly. And that's basically what a prodigy is, an extremely quick learner. Actually, that is not true. According to Lacy Rose, Forbes magazine journalist, “the most widely accepted definition is a child, typically under the age of 10, who has mastered a challenging skill at the level of an adult professional.” Further, David Feldman, Professor of Child Development, offers that a prodigy is “a child (typically younger than 10 years old) who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding field of endeavor.” So, by technical definition Katara is not a prodigy. She is too old to be considered a prodigy. She can't be a master at a younger age because she didn't have a teacher. Prodigies don't just learn from nothing. They have to be taught. In real life there are multiple cases of extremely gifted individuals, prodigy or not depending upon age, who were capable of achieving extraordinary feats with no teachers. All that was required was the introduction and the ability to continue to experiment and grow. The first water benders learned to water bend by watching the pull of the moon on the tides. Katara had those same lessons. I am not trying to take anything away from Katara. She worked very hard to achieve what she did. It happened very fast, which indicates that she has a very high natural talent, but that is not the same as a prodigy, and there is nothing wrong with that. As one person said, Mozart was a prodigy. Beethoven was not, yet both were exceptionally talented. It takes nothing away from Katara to say that she is not a prodigy. In fact, I feel that it makes her more commendable.
|
|
|
Post by bongalak on Nov 12, 2007 17:27:11 GMT -5
That's kinda odd, because if the word prodigy already implies children under age of 10, why do people call them child prodigy? I guess it's just an exercise in redundancy.
What if an adult learned and mastered a certain skill in an incredibly short period of time? Would that adult be called prodigy or not? I'm just wondering because I always thought the word prodigy had more to do with mental capacity for learning than with age.
|
|
taechunsa
Katara
A wise man enjoys life's simple pleasures.
Posts: 80
|
Post by taechunsa on Nov 12, 2007 17:40:29 GMT -5
Bongalak, my understanding is that the word originally meant anything extremely unusual.
It was not seen as a good thing to have a prodigy. In fact, from Webster's dictionary:
prodigy
1 a: a portentous event : omen b: something extraordinary or inexplicable 2 a: an extraordinary, marvelous, or unusual accomplishment, deed, or event b: a highly talented child or youth
Etymologically it comes from the Latin word prodigium which means omen and/or monster.
So, I guess you could apply 2a to an older person who learns very quickly, but the most accepted common definition is that applie only to children.
|
|
|
Post by bongalak on Nov 12, 2007 18:57:19 GMT -5
Ah I see. Thanks for the point out.
|
|
|
Post by arrowheadaang on Nov 14, 2007 21:36:38 GMT -5
Mmmhmm........excellent posts these are...
|
|
Azula's Flames
Avatar Korra
Your banished, and you and you and....
Posts: 1,092
|
Post by Azula's Flames on Nov 17, 2007 19:02:53 GMT -5
yes i do think shes a prodigy she managed to take on pakku without any formal training only what she taught herself. There are many other examples but thats the bestand im too lazy to list them. saying that azua was just as good as her at a young age isnt fair because azula is a firenation princess and got the best masters around katara had to teach herself while looking after her village.
|
|
|
Post by cyrrylia on Nov 17, 2007 23:24:31 GMT -5
Katara is not that talented. She works hard. This has been confirmed several times. Aang outclasses her in power and talent. But Aang has been shown to kid around a lot while Katara works hard. Pakku said this himself, that she works hard. She is not a real master. She's worked for less than a year, and it seems Pakku only gave her the title so she can teach Aang while they travel.
Toph had "teachers" in the same way Katara did. Katara always had the moon. That's where waterbending came from. Toph had badgermoles. Yet Toph is the one who actually got somewhere with her natural teacher. Katara took months to learn to "stream the water."
I forgot who said it, but Katara really has alway had a ton of water around her when she's been shown to be good. In case you missed it, there was a freaking underground river there when she fought Azula, so it was a bit more than just puddles.
|
|
SpiritBender
Buzzard Wasp
Ya tvoy hozyayn!!! (May The Force serve you well...)
Posts: 537
|
Post by SpiritBender on Nov 18, 2007 19:45:54 GMT -5
Ugh, how many times do I have to point out the ridiculousness of this argument? Saying that Katara had an advantage because the presence of lots of water completely ignores the fact that the other types of benders are almost never without an abundance of their elements! Air and earth are available in VAST quantities pretty much everywhere you go, and firebenders can create copious amounts of fire out of their chi. Waterbenders are the one style that has the disadvantage of not always having lots of water around, although season 3 has shown us that a creative waterbender can get around even that limitation. Besides, to truly know who has greater skill, two benders would both have to have their element available to them so that they can do the full extent of what they are capable of. Not to mention the fact that Katara regularly kicks butt without having a lot of water, like when she was smacking elite Earth Kingdom palace guards out of the way LIKE TOYS in The Earth King with just a water whip. And in CoD, Katara didn't nearly kill Azula twice by overwhelming her with huge waves of water. Katara used her element skillfully to keep Azula off balance, break her stance, and put her in a helpless position. It's WAY past time to put this "quantity of water" argument to rest!
-- SpiritBender
|
|
|
Post by cyrrylia on Nov 19, 2007 13:54:15 GMT -5
That wasn't the point. The point was that there was more than "just a few puddles" and so it's still possible for whoever it was to say that Katara doesn't seem to have finesse. Although I don't really agree with that.
So was everybody else. Those "elite Earth Kingdom Palace Guards" were just the story's little grunts that suck. The only common people who have been shown to have any skill at all were the Dai Li, and even they aren't that good. They just don't exist like those "elite palace guards" who's sole purpose is to *get* beat by the main heroes.
As to the Azula/Katara fight, I have a feeling Azula did that on purpose, as another way to get Zuko to her side. Azula has been shown to basically be the best. She's not going to be beat by some little water tribe girl if she can almost beat the Avatar when he uses 3 elements at a time. It just doesn't make sense. If she's really that strong, who needs Aang? Katara can just defeat the Fire Lord.
|
|
|
Post by WyrmKing on Nov 19, 2007 14:01:47 GMT -5
As to the Azula/Katara fight, I have a feeling Azula did that on purpose, as another way to get Zuko to her side. Azula has been shown to basically be the best. She's not going to be beat by some little water tribe girl if she can almost beat the Avatar when he uses 3 elements at a time. It just doesn't make sense. If she's really that strong, who needs Aang? Katara can just defeat the Fire Lord. I doubt that, you see Azula's face contort in annoyance when Katara sliced off part of her bangs. Toph had "teachers" in the same way Katara did. Katara always had the moon. That's where waterbending came from. Toph had badgermoles. Yet Toph is the one who actually got somewhere with her natural teacher. Katara took months to learn to "stream the water." I forgot who said it, but Katara really has alway had a ton of water around her when she's been shown to be good. In case you missed it, there was a freaking underground river there when she fought Azula, so it was a bit more than just puddles. LOL okay, the Moon only showed the Waterbenders that they can manipulate water. The Moon can't show her HOW TO FIGHT! Badger-moles are freakin' animals! They move around, they're aggressive, they can fight! The Moon can't teach Katara how to fight! Tell me how the hell can the Moon teach her how to fight? Huh? Also, Toph always has a ton of earth to work with. I don't see you complaining about that.
|
|