Vision Problems In The Future:

[In_Correct]

I have heard many times that it is silly to have Geordi La Forge assigned on the bridge piloting the starship if he is blind.

However, I never thought he is blind. He does not have a Sensor Web like Dr. Jones. He has what I consider "Glasses". He can see just fine, sometimes even better. He can see things that are hard to see and transmit the information like if he was a walking flight recorder. (Some thing that wouldn't be hard for Data to learn.)

Do you think that Data could be modified to have the same visual and broadcast skills as Geordi?

And it really isn't the first time there is a "Blind Navigator". I believe that the Efrosians, underused Klingon-like species, have severe vision problems. The Efrosian on the Saratoga was also blind while The President wore some type of glasses. And Kirk him self who was allergic to vision correction medicine ("Retinax") had regular glasses although he was never seen as a navigator.

I know that even In-Universe that Riker calls Geordi remarkable for being "a blind man teaching an android how to paint". and that Geordi thought of him self as a "Blind Ghost With Clothes"

but I just don't think he was unqualified as Chief Engineer or even navigator.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Who says it's silly to have La Forge on the bridge? He's not blind when he has the visor on. That's like saying people who need glasses shouldn't be able to drive. That's just plain silly.

 

[MarsWeeps]

Who says it's silly to have La Forge on the bridge? He's not blind when he has the visor on. That's like saying people who need glasses shouldn't be able to drive. That's just plain silly.

Well, people who wore glasses weren't allowed to become astronauts at one time. Not sure if that's still true but it ended my childhood dream of becoming one.

 

[JirinPanthosa]

True, but astronauts have to deal with G forces that Star Trek pilots don't, and have to be able to suit up for low air pressure situations. They aren't just sitting comfortably in a nice chair at a console with Earthlike gravity, temperature and pressure.

 

[MarsWeeps]

I've see quite a few people thrown around the bridge during attacks on the Enterprise. Good thing Geordi has his visor velcroed to his head.

 

[Timo]

Conversely, if something can disable the VISOR, it probably can disable everything aboard the Bridge anyway. Indeed, even if not, it's only to Starfleet's advantage to have people with different vulnerabilities on the Bridge, so that not everybody will be disabled at the same time and by the same means.

Why would Miranda Jones be different from Geordi LaForge on the "glasses" issue? Both could see with accuracy sufficient to make them equal to people with standard human vision. To what degree they were superior to standard humans is rather immaterial there, now isn't it?

As for Efrosians being blind, it doesn't really appear like that. The UFP President looks people directly in the eye without the assistance of his glasses; he takes off those glasses to have a good look. When giving the Khitomer speech (the second one, after Azetbuhr - the one where the assassin takes aim), he looks down, as if reading from a paper, and he does that without his glasses. He doesn't go for his glasses when trying to see what all the shouting is about, either. If the idea was for him to appear blind, the actor and the director utterly failed to convey that.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Hippocrates Noah]

Aside from the jokes about the irony of having the guy from Reading Rainbow being blind I've never personally heard any digs about his blindness. It seemed like they established that his visor gave him quite a few advantages that regular eyes wouldn't.

 

[Seven of Five]

I thought that the original idea of having a blind man piloting the Enterprise was an excellent one, even if ultimately he ended up as Chief Engineer.

I loved the design of Geordi's VISOR, and seeing what he actually sees through it during 'Heart of Glory' was fascinating. I would say that the character lost a little something when he decided to go for ocular implants in the films. I suppose by that point he must have been frustrated with how many time had he lost his VISOR, or it stopped working, or even controlled through it.

 

[Hippocrates Noah]

I would say that the character lost a little something when he decided to go for ocular implants in the films. I suppose by that point he must have been frustrated with how many time had he lost his VISOR, or it stopped working, or even controlled through it.

I'm sure it's no accident that they dropped the visor after Generations, where it was partially to blame for the destruction of the Enterprise D. Not that it was necessarily an in-universe decision based on that knowledge (I can't even remember if they figured out that's what happened), but maybe the writers felt that it was time to lose the visor after that. I agree it was a shame to see it go though, it was the most iconic thing about the character.

 

[MarsWeeps]

I thought that the original idea of having a blind man piloting the Enterprise was an excellent one, even if ultimately he ended up as Chief Engineer.

Well if I remember correctly, it wasn't so much an original idea as it was a way of honoring a real life blind Trek fan named Georgie Laforge. I don't have all the details and Google doesn't seem to be helping much but I believe the fan died at some point. Let me do some more research to see if I can find the details.

 

[RAMA]

The future of vision problems in the 24th century would be nanotech..they could repair or replace any parts of the eye that required it.

http://www.sens.org/outreach/conferences/using-nanotechnology-repair-body

http://www.reviewofcontactlenses.com/content/c/31140/

Current optic nerve regeneration:

http://eyeandear.org/our-research/ophthalmology/optic-nerve-regeneration/