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From: rjnoe@ihlts.UUCP (Roger Noe @ 41:48:31 N, 88:07:13 W)
Newsgroups: net.startrek
Subject: Re: Spock isn't all that smart
Message-ID: <313@ihlts.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 16-Jan-84 12:29:13 EST
Article-I.D.: ihlts.313
Posted: Mon Jan 16 12:29:13 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Jan-84 02:47:14 EST
References: <3107@utcsrgv.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 42

>
>	In "The Galileo Seven" . . . 2 security folks get killed (THEY always
>	get killed) . . .
>	Spock shows a considerable lack of intelligence or knowledge.
>	Spock uses only logic, treating his crewmates as logical creatures,
>	and things go awry, with much resentment directed at Spock.
>	If Spock were truly super-intelligent, then he would realize that
>	humans have certain properties, including the need to be inspired and
>	treated with sensitivity.  He would then act accordingly, doing
>	whatever is necessary to encourage his crewmates to perform as best
>	they could.  He did not act this way, so he can't be as all-
>	knowledgeable as is generally assumed.
>		  p. rowley, U. Toronto

First off, it is incorrect to toss of the statement that security guards who
beam down to a planet ALWAYS get killed.  It's just not true.  A lot do.

Now, on to Spock in "The Galileo Seven".  No one ever claimed that Spock was
omniscient.  He has a human half which he suppressed almost all the time in
the TV series.  In doing so, he failed to take advantage of the opportunity
to understand human nature.  This is why he so often misunderstood humans.
He was a product of his logical society (and his mixed genetic heritage)
and has limitations as any being does.  In STTMP Spock DID come to the
realization that he had failed to appreciate his own humanity and began a
conscious effort to enjoy the diversity within himself, instead of always
trying to suppress it.  While it is true he does have very formidable
mental abilities, it is wrong to assume that superior intellect always leads
to correct decisions.  Many otherwise intelligent humans cling to false and
misleading beliefs which blind them to reality.  I can personally appreciate
Spock's difficulty in rejecting the societal values he was brought up with
in order to be closer to reality.  It is just such pressures which hamper
individuals from enjoying one's own uniqueness.

Spock's major mistake was not in treating his crewmates as logical beings,
but in treating the planet's hostile natives as logical beings.  Remember
how baffled he was when his tactics against them didn't work?  But the
end of the episode shows us there is hope for Spock (which began to be
realized much later in STTMP); he illogically takes the gamble of jettisonning
and igniting the remainder of the shuttlecraft's fuel as a signal flare to
attract the attention of the Enterprise should it be nearby.
---
	Roger Noe		ihnp4!ihlts!rjnoe