Why can't normal benders learn all 4 elements?

[doublebla]

After watching Aang learning all the bendings i started to think that why can't anyone learn all 4 elements just like aang. I mean think about it, aang learn water bending with Katara and earth with Toph plus fire bending with Zuko.

What makes aang so special that only he or the avatar can master all 4 elements? Aang learns every bending jus like a normal person do, it's not like one day he can't water bend but the second day 'boom' he water bends.

Im just thinking logically plz giv me some feedback.

[david]

The way I see it, and the way the world of the show was created, is that every culture is rooted to a certain element, and those people inherit the bending of that element. Water benders are a culture that developed in the poles, surrounded by water. It's logical to think that they would learn water bending. After so many centuries, they specialized in it, becoming its root bending.

As many people suggest, bending is a mixture of genetics and spirituality.

Besides, the whole point of being the Avatar is that he is the only one who can master the 4 elements. He/She is the one who has to keep balance between all nations, and he needs to understand all 4 bendings and cultures.

[nymphadora]

^^Yeah, it's inherited. Like in Harry Potter, you either inherit the magical gene or you don't, and if you don't you can't perform any magic.

[admirality]

I think M&B said somehwere that it's not nessesarliy genetic coz in the fortune teller episode their were two identical twins one was a bender ther other wasn't they wud hav the same genes which wud bending aint nessarily genetic.... Also Katara is a bender Hakoda isn't and It was kinda impled in epi 318 that her mother wasn't coz Hama was supposedly the last bender.... I think it's more of a spiritual thing

I think the reason a normal person cannot learn 4 elements is because they don't hav the spiritual capacity to master all 4 elements..... The avatar spirit is special in that way because it has a larger capacity to learn different elements....

[david]

I had the notion that the Avatar spirit is the spirit of the world, or nature, or something like that, embodied in human form - reincarnating in the cycle of the elements. Being that it's the all natural spirit, it makes sense to have the power to bend all the elements.

[Zenjamin]

Here is how it is.
the ability to bend, is like a spiritual organ or muscle.

when a person dies their soul is sent to the spirit world (but not as a tangible spirit like Koh or Hai-Bi) to await their 40 day waiting period for reincarnation.
during that time, the spirits decide what the destiny of the soul will be, and to which body it will be born into.
the spirits also decide if said soul is worthy to have a bending element attached to it.

however, no soul is strong enough to hold more then one "element"

except for the avatar spirit, which is different from a single element ability. the purpose of the avatar spirit is to use its host (soul) to keep balance in the world.



In other words...
Its magic.

[Sir Tukkun]

I think that the world is in-balanced because the avatar is always from a certain nation at a time. They should have 4 avatars.

[Zenjamin]

That would be why when the avatar turns 16, he is taken away from his family, friends, nation, and possessions. while he learns to be the avatar, he also learns his duty towards balance.

an avatar is not loyal to any nation. as we saw with Sozin.

if they had one avatar for each nation, each avatar would be inclined to look after his own nation's interests... and we would really not want 4 avatars leading the battle for their respective nations.

[kiffer]

Yeah... And they most likely wouldnt master the other 3 elements... Seeing as their nation would be viewed upon by themselves as better...

[conspiracytheorist]

Apr 12, 2008 15:43:54 GMT -5 Zenjamin said:

40 day waiting period for reincarnation

Woah! Where did you get that juicy tidbit?

[Zenjamin]

Thats just speculation based off of Japanese Buddhist beliefs.

[dragonflly]

I think artefacto and zenjamin pretty much hit the nail on the head. Wow such in depth answers on this thread. I was seriously gonna ba a smarta** and just say because "that's the way M&B wanted it". Now I feel silly for even thinking that. Great answers guys!

[Zenjamin]

Thanks man.


There is also another reason M&B made it spiritual

If it was biased on genetics, this would be the one true cannon ship at the end of the show. ;D
(you kinda need to have taken a course in biological anthropology to really get it.)

[Draco Argenteus]

What I'm curious about is benders that come from a mixed background (ex: FN and WT). Would they be able to bend both elemets, or just one? And what would decide what element they are able to bend?

[Zenjamin]

no they would not be able to bend both.

if it was genetics, (its not, Mike has said as much) it would be like a disease, not a skin color. either you have it, or you dont.
double dominant bending genes would not be able to co-exist on the same loci.

If its spiritual, as Mike has already said, then it is biased of of arbitrary rules that the spirits set up.
likely aided by geography.


Also, remember, there was a time before the war, when the 4 nations lived in harmony.
It is extremely unlikely that in that time, people from different bending backrounds did not mate.
As Aang has demonstrated, one bender type is just as susceptible to the pheromones of another bender type ;D