The subject of titles has been coming up a lot at JotNM, so I thought it might also be interesting to post on it here and see what happens. There are many different perspectives on the standard for jedi titles. Some people think that none are possible, some give them away easily, none are wrong, they just see it differently. My thoughts on the three levels, whatever you want to call them, are as follows.
student/padawan/learner: Someone who is just beginning. They need help learning things in one way or another, whether they haven't learned how to start using the force, or they haven't learned how to search for truths and be themselves.
knight: Someone who has grown enough that they can learn on their own in many ways. They should still learn from others, but they should teach themselves and search for truths. Once this person has gained enough knowledge they should be ready to start guiding others and helping them often on their paths, instead of the occasional teaching of something that just happens to come up.
master: A knight who is respected by the others enough that he or she is accepted as a leader in some way to the other knights and the students. In some ways, just a figurehead to keep things going smoothly, since all knights should lead from time to time, depending on situations.
Those are basically my ideas on the levels, I'm sure there's probably something I've said wrong or forgotten to mention, but I'll figure out what all that might be when you guys reply, probably. At JotNM we're having problems because we have people from all different sites who have views so different that padawan, knight, and master ranks just cause conflicts. My current task for those there is to come up with three new titles that won't be confused with other things or mistaken for something that will cause problems. You guys are welcomed to give me some ideas too.
Rogue Ace
Well I think most of you will be aware by now that I am not the greatest of fans of this system of titles, though I may not have provided a good enough explanation for you to understand why.
My reasons revolve around the essence of communications. Communications is based upon the usage of standardized terms which are used in order to convey a meaning across to another person.
In this case the terms are there, but they don't have a standardized meaning. This nullifies the idea behind communications because you may use one of the terms in order to convey a meaning that seems perfectly clear to you, yet the meaning another person draws from that term is completely different due to their thought patterns.
My ideas would be as follows:
Learner: He/she whom does not consciously study a particular idea, but through influences that they do not realize exist this person will subconsciously learn. Examples would be language skills. Many people do not specifically concentrate on these as I did not when I first came to the internet, yet I noticed a distinct improvement even before I started to pay specific attentions to these skills.
Student: He/she whom consciously studies a particular idea or ideas. They devote a specific part of their active consciousness to learning, understanding and furthering themselves and their ideas in a specific area.
A student of 'the Force' at this academy purposely study what they see, hear, feel, smell (etc), both in their online and offline worlds in order to find what insight they may within that which they study and use it to further their knowledge and understanding.
Padawan: He/she is simply a student who a Master/Knight has taken as their personal responsibility to aid in their conscious quests, and also to help them to realize those quests which the student may have unconsciously within them.
Knight: Someone who has spent considerable time in their studies and has proven to the council(s) that they can be trusted to guide the students in their quest(s). A knight often has more independence than a padawan, however may still be under the personal guidance of a master.
Master: A greatly experienced person. Experience is not enough to simply qualify for this title though, it requires the ultimate in dedication of a person to their own intimate ideas, understanding and knowledge. A true master does not need to be guided by anyone and recognizes when it is appropriate to guide others. The ability to make wise and informed decisions is vital to a master and there is a great responsibility upon the shoulders of a bearer of this title.
Now those definitions are what I would ideally like each title to represent, however they very rarely do. I can say that I do not know of any single person who qualifies for the title of master, and almost similar for that of knight. But then over the internet it is hard to make an accurate judgment of a person, especially when their typing skills are lacking somewhat.
As to the situation at JotNM, I have been observing that and it is a classic show of the situations similar to that which I discussed in one of my documents. Each has their own ideas and believes it is right and should be the one that is used. Unfortunately there is very little you can do until these people come to accept each others ideas as potentially valid, then they can work together in creating a specific set of definitions on which they can all agree. I would suggest to you Rogue that you try your best not to add to the fray, but stand back a little and see what comments that you can make in order to help these people increase their understanding of each other and come to an amicable solution for all. How you do that is up to you and should be interesting to watch. Good luck in your quest,
Colin Waring
Actually, most of the "I'm right and you're wrong" part is generated by certain people who aren't part of the site and who come around mainly to brag about their "wisdom." Yes, a lot of it is sent back when they start it, but generally it is not started by anyone who is part of JotNM. We're currently working things out by having everyone say their opinion, I am a part of the group, therefore it's my job to make my opinion known.
Rogue Ace