Talk:Bending arts/@comment-72.191.35.111-20120304071618/@comment-71.8.67.138-20120331113851

You are incorrect. Bending is a talent that has a small genetic basis,but how that bending manifests has to do with culture and experience. The word of god(creators) even say so. Also you forget that the differences between the elements are Illusions as demonstrated by Iroh and Guru Pathik. Even more evidence is energybending. Before the age of the Avatar people bent the energy inside themselves until the bending arts took over and they LEARNED the arts from various animals and Spirits.

"I mean we've definitely talked about it. I think, again, sometimes we might not know...it's more of what we don't want it to be. We didn't want it to be like there is a lineage...a royal family or something...and these people can bend and then there's everyone else as non-bending, people who never will. Some sort of caste system. Mike and I are more attracted to more of the flux type universe. The only constant is change, variation, that sorta thing. I'm sure it's a bunch of factors.

***Interviewers note: 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. "

"We always have liked the idea of who will be a bender and who won't be to be kind of an ambiguous mystery, even to the people in the Avatar world. From early on we thought the Air Nomads would be all benders. Again it's like Mike was saying, it's more of a spiritual connection. But they have...they had...the smallest population. Earth Kingdom has the biggest population but the smallest percentage of benders. So yeah, there were these notions we kicked around that is wasn't going to be regimented or ruled through specific lineages. We liked the idea that each of the cultures have a different spiritual vantage point...coming at it from a different angle."

 What element you manifest is based on culture & personality. Bending is not passed down in the blood or lineages. It is cultural and spiritual.

 The ability to bend is a talent with a spiritual basis. What element you can use is based off of culture and spiritual vantage point.