Sickening Ignorance: Was Yoga Made in America?

[klusener]

I just heard the most ignorant comment made this week, i don't want to disclose the specifics of the person, because there are so many members here, that maybe they will know the person...

I suppose you all know yoga, well I went to a local class just to see how Americans do it, being Indian myself, and the "teacher" starts by saying "you all should be glad, because you are going to learn an All-american exercise technique today" at that moment, I was really weighing the pros and cons of going to the front and punching that guy in the face. But i restrained myself and asked him what he meant by all-american, he responds that yoga is american and made by americans .. holy ****, i was thinking at that moment, how stupid can this guy be...

after this incident, i went to a local school, and decided to ask the students, i am still in high school, where they think yoga came from or who made yoga, just to get a census on this topic, out of the 48 people i asked, only 13 answered India, 28 answered China, and 7 answered America.. How can people with so much ignorance exist in this world, some of you might say that i am getting too angry over a small incident, and it is true to a certain degree, but still it irritates me..

well, i just want to know how many people here think yoga was made in america?

 

[Kerrie]

I knew yoga was an exercise that started in India. The whole purpose of yoga is to relax, be in touch with your breathing, maintain a good diet, and most of all, maintain positive thinking. Your above post doesn't promote the latter, so you really can't come down on others for being ignorant on the subject...

 

[Evo]

Of course yoga is American, it was invented by the All-American baseball hero Yogi Berra!

Sadly, a large proportion of Americans are woefully uneducated.

 

[the number 42]

I was really weighing the pros and cons of going to the front and punching that guy in the face. But i restrained myself and asked him what he meant by all-american, he responds that yoga is american and made by americans .. holy ****, i was thinking at that moment, how stupid can this guy be... after this incident, i went to a local school, and decided to ask the students, i am still in high school, where they think yoga came from or who made yoga, .. but still it irritates me..?

Gee whiz, what would the Maharishi do? Shiva would have kneed him in the goodie bag for sure.

well, i just want to know how many people here think yoga was made in america?

Yep. Invented in the US alright. I have asked all my friends and they all agree that yoga is an American invention. We aren't sure, but we think it was Timothy Leary. Either him or L Ron Hubbard.

Out of curiosity, I don't suppose you have taken up yoga as an anger-management aid?

 

[tumor]

Not knowing where does yoga came from is just a tip of an iceberg.Most of Americans can not even find India on the map.

 

[Artman]

I did not know the exact place of origin, but I would have guessed it was invented by Himalayan Monks or in India, no way would I have assumed it was USA in origin.

 

[Nereid]

Those eucalypts in CA, they're native to the US, right? And Al Gore invented the internet, right (or maybe it was Bill Gates or Steve Jobs)? The first stock market in the world is Wall Street, OK? Columbus discovered America, yeah? Baseball and basketball were invented in the good ol' USofA, of course!

 

[iansmith]

Baseball and basketball were invented in the good ol' USofA, of course!

Basketball was invented in the USA but by a Canadian

 

[Ivan Seeking]

We were attacked by Iraq on 911. We are fighting terrorist in Iraq.

Now that really does make me sick.

 

[Evo]

and back to the topic "how many people here think yoga was made in america?"

 

[Andy]

I think you all wrong, was invented by Brunel an Englishman!

 

[wolram]

You are all wrong Yogi bear invented it, that's why bo bo is always
so laid back.

 

[Integral]

Of course yoga is American, it was invented by the All-American baseball hero Yogi Berra!

Sadly, a large proportion of Americans are woefully uneducated.

Evo you are saddly misinformed, the originator was the All American Cartoon hero, Yogi BEAR!

Edit:Akk! wolram you beat me to it!

 

[Les Sleeth]

If you want to see how poorly informed Americans are, watch Jay Leno's little piece he sometimes does on his show called (I think) "Jay Walking" where he walks around LA asking people things everyone should know, but don't.


As to the origin of yoga, the answer isn't exactly straightforward. First, the practice of postures most Americans think yoga is, isn't what yoga orignially or mainly was. Yoga, which translated means "yoke," emerged from a movement in India during a period in first millennium B.C when old tribal units were breaking up, and many individuals were no longer satisfied with the rituals and speculations of the ancient Vedic religion.

Leaving family and social responsibilities behind, thousands of men took to the forests and roads to live a hermit’s life and explore the inner self. Their unsentimental investigative approach emphasized the development and application of inner technologies aimed specifically at meditation. The approach was decidedly ascetic, sometimes to the extreme, in an attempt to let go of attachment to the external world and one's own body.

The idea of a "yoke" then was a reference to what one DID attach to after letting go of the external world, and that was something inside oneself discovered through meditation. So Yoga came to stand for all the techniques used to help yoke one to the inner, and let go of the outer.

Since there were many teachers, there was also more than one variety of yoga. Around 200 BC, a teacher named Patanjali organized many of the more successful techniques into his system of Raja yoga. Later others developed other yogas like Tantric, Kundalini, Mantra, Laya, etc. including the purely posture yoga Americans know about called Hatha yoga.

 

[Evo]

Evo you are saddly misinformed, the originator was the All American Cartoon hero, Yogi BEAR!

I was going to mention Yogi Bear, but didn't think very many people (all these young whipper snappers) would understand. Whenever I say "smarter than the average bear" in my best Yogi Bear voice, no one knows what I am talking about.

 

[Tsu]

You are all wrong Yogi bear invented it, that's why bo bo is always
so laid back.

Hey! That's BOO BOO! Not bo bo.

 

[jimmy p]

I am Yoga. And I was SO cute in Star Wars.

 

[franznietzsche]

Its not just average people. Even 'college educated' people are generally that stupid. And people wonder why I'm so antisocial. I honestly cannot stand talking to 90% of people for more than a few minutes before they just start saying really stupid things.

 

[tumor]

I honestly cannot stand talking to 90% of people for more than a few minutes before they just start saying really stupid things.

I hope FranzN, that you are not including me in this group.
Anyway; every nations needs usefull idiots and USA needs them most right now.

 

[Smurf]

I think everyone here should watch "This hour has 22 minutes". It's a Canadian comedy show, and they often bring a camera down to the states and ask american politicians really stupid questions and make a fool out of them.

 

[Integral]

I think everyone here should watch "This hour has 22 minutes". It's a Canadian comedy show, and they often bring a camera down to the states and ask american politicians really stupid questions and make a fool out of them.

For the most part, they do not have to MAKE fools of them, they are just that way.

 

[Mattius_]

I think I made a similar post about a girl in my high school last year actually thinking muslim was another word for terrorist;Now if that isn't sickening...

 

[Janus]

Whenever I say "smarter than the average bear" in my best Yogi Bear voice, no one knows what I am talking about.

Now that's what I call sickening ignorance!

 

[franznietzsche]

I think I made a similar post about a girl in my high school last year actually thinking muslim was another word for terrorist;Now if that isn't sickening...

All in favour of dragging people that stupid out into the middleof the field, and executing them say Aye.


AYE.

 

[Les Sleeth]

How about this idea: All in favour of dragging people that stupid out into the middleof the field, and executing them say Aye. . .

It's not the best idea, Hitler already tried that. Don't forget, even stupid people are fellow human beings. Sometimes they haven't had much of an opportunity to learn, and sometimes they don't have the mental skills to attain what comes so easy to others. Besides, being well-educated doesn't mean one is intelligent.

How do we teach people to think? I am not an educator, so I can't do anything about this, but I would love to design courses, starting in grade school, meant to teach people how to think. Not WHAT to think, just the rules of evidence, logic, and reason.

I can't see how it helps the situation to just condescend. If we are so smart, then let's figure out a way to improve things.

 

[loseyourname]

Those eucalypts in CA, they're native to the US, right? And Al Gore invented the internet, right (or maybe it was Bill Gates or Steve Jobs)? The first stock market in the world is Wall Street, OK? Columbus discovered America, yeah? Baseball and basketball were invented in the good ol' USofA, of course!

Baseball was invented in Hoboken, NJ, birthplace of Frank Sinatra. One square mile of Miller Time, according to the billboard coming off the 3.

 

[Nereid]

I learned of this only yesterday .. did knowledge kill Iris Chang? If she had chosen to remain ignorant, would she be still alive today?

 

[franznietzsche]

It's not the best idea, Hitler already tried that. Don't forget, even stupid people are fellow human beings. Sometimes they haven't had much of an opportunity to learn, and sometimes they don't have the mental skills to attain what comes so easy to others. Besides, being well-educated doesn't mean one is intelligent.

How do we teach people to think? I am not an educator, so I can't do anything about this, but I would love to design courses, starting in grade school, meant to teach people how to think. Not WHAT to think, just the rules of evidence, logic, and reason.

I can't see how it helps the situation to just condescend. If we are so smart, then let's figure out a way to improve things.

I enver said anytihng about being educated, i was talking about stupidity. I've met plenty of 'educated' morons.

You can't teach people how to think, that's the problem. Because when you teach them to think your way, then they are bound to draw your conclusions.

Example, a story about Niels Bohr:

Sir Ernest Rutherford, President of the Royal Academy, and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, related the following story.

Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agreed to an impartial arbiter, and I was selected.

I read the examination question: "Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer." The student had answered: "Take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the height of the building."

The student really had a strong case for full credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a high grade in his physics course and certify competence in physics, but the answer did not confirm this.

I suggested that the student have another try.

I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five minutes, he hadn't written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go on.

In the next minute, he dashed off his answer, which read: "Take the barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the formula x=0.5*a*t^2, calculate the height of the building." At this point, I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student almost full credit.

While leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him what they were.

"Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.

For example, you could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the building."

"Fine," I said, "and others?"

"Yes," said the student, "there is a very basic measurement method you will like.

In this method, you take the barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer units." "A very direct method."

"Of course. If you want a more sophisticated method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a pendulum, and determine the value of g [gravity] at the street level and at the top of the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of the building, in principle, can be calculated."

"On this same tack, you could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the precession".

"Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving the problem. Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you this barometer."

At this point, I asked the student if he really did not know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to teach him how to think.

The name of the student was Niels Bohr." (1885-1962) Danish Physicist; Nobel Prize 1922; best known for proposing the first 'model' of the atom with protons & neutrons, and various energy state of the surrounding electrons -- the familiar icon of the small nucleus circled by three elliptical orbits ... but more significantly, an innovator in Quantum Theory.

The point being you can't teach people how to think. They're born the way they are, and we're stuck with them. For better or worse, usually worse.

 

[mattmns]

I did not know where yoga was invented, and personally I don't care. Just call me one of those ingnorant Americans who agrees that everything originated in the US.

 

[franznietzsche]

I did not know where yoga was invented, and personally I don't care. Just call me one of those ingnorant Americans who agrees that everything originated in the US.

Ignorant American!