Worst/most implausible instance of skepticism in a Trek series?

[Ragitsu]

Good afternoon.

Which moment - in any Star Trek series - involved an individual facing disbelief for their theory/opinion that pushed your suspension of disbelief to the limit? In other words: the conflict was engineered for maximum drama at the cost of any sort of consistency.

 

[at Quark's]

Datalore, with Wesley being the only one who understood that Lore had replaced Data, and the others stubbornly refusing to even consider the possibility?

 

[Ragitsu]

Datalore, with Wesley being the only one who understood that Lore had replaced Data, and the others stubbornly refusing to even consider the possibility?

The infamous "Young Mister Crusher, please refrain from passing air through your vocal cords."?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

The plot of "Turnabout Intruder" is way up there, the idea that security was so loyal to the captain that they would even consider executing someone, simply because the captain ordered it. The anomalous, inconsistent, and abhorrent behavior from Kirk alone should have made security take Lester's claim that she was actually Kirk seriously enough to give it full hearing.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

There could have been other explanations for "Kirk"'s odd behavior than "Lester"'s claims.

As for execution, General order 7 regarding travel to Talos IV is only "the only death penalty left on our books" according to fake illusion José Mendez, so who knows what other crimes are actually still capital?

 

[CorporalCaptain]

There could have been other explanations for "Kirk"'s odd behavior than "Lester"'s claims.

Hence, giving it full hearing.

It would have been a very simple matter for Lester to produce information that only Kirk should know, which Kirk could not produce. And that would have been enough reason to look even more closely.

 

[Ragitsu]

TNG's "Evolution" featured an obstinate scientist who refused to entertain the possibility of nanomachines evolving into a new intelligence.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[F. King Daniel]

Janeway's skepticism about Kirk meeting Da Vinci, after Janeway herself found Amelia Earheart on the other side of the galaxy.

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Datalore, with Wesley being the only one who understood that Lore had replaced Data, and the others stubbornly refusing to even consider the possibility?

I never had a problem with this, because it tapped into the real-life idea of children often having different perceptions compared to adults. The more experienced officers had more daily time around Data by that point, which could've skewed their assumptions of what to expect. Wesley didn't have that issue, so when Lore's behavior started presenting itself, the boy was quicker to notice. The episode went against the commonly-accepted idea that kids are always stupid, and their elders aren't. Wesley even mentions himself, "Everything that I have said would have been listened to if it came from an adult officer."

 

[The Wormhole]

The whole controversy on Voyager about the Doctor using a holographic assistant based on a Cardassian war criminal to the point they talked about purging the medical database and one officer wanted to resign over the whole affair.

Just because the actual Cardassian the hologram was based on was a piece of shit doesn't automatically taint the information in the database, which is likely derived from medical textbooks and not on the research that Cardassian performed on Bajorans. So to remove lifesaving information from the ship's computer just because of a questionable decision to create a holographic avatar based on the likeness of a war criminal is an overreaction to say the least.

And as for the guy who wanted to resign over all this, even if the information really was taken direct from the torture of Bajorans, it really doesn't make sense that his chosen method of protest is to choose to live the rest of his life in the Delta Quadrant and never see home again.

 

[at Quark's]

Wesley didn't have that issue, so when Lore's behavior started presenting itself, the boy was quicker to notice. The episode went against the commonly-accepted idea that kids are always stupid, and their elders aren't. Wesley even mentions himself, "Everything that I have said would have been listened to if it came from an adult officer."

I don't have a problem with that in itself, it's ok that children can be smarter than adults for a storyline. It's just that in situations such as these, professional officers had to be dumbed down to mindboggingly stupid and stubborn in order for the storyline to proceed. I had the same complaints (for example) in The Game- nobody noticing this game presented a serious danger except Wesley, or judiciously avoiding playing it, even when half the crew already were walking around like zombies. Or (for an example without Wesley) when some sorry Ferengi party in 2 Klingon rustbuckets took over the supposedly finest crew of Starfleet with not much of a fight.

 

[Ragitsu]

The whole controversy on Voyager about the Doctor using a holographic assistant based on a Cardassian war criminal to the point they talked about purging the medical database and one officer wanted to resign over the whole affair.

Just because the actual Cardassian the hologram was based on was a piece of shit doesn't automatically taint the information in the database, which is likely derived from medical textbooks and not on the research that Cardassian performed on Bajorans. So to remove lifesaving information from the ship's computer just because of a questionable decision to create a holographic avatar based on the likeness of a war criminal is an overreaction to say the least.

And as for the guy who wanted to resign over all this, even if the information really was taken direct from the torture of Bajorans, it really doesn't make sense that his chosen method of protest is to choose to live the rest of his life in the Delta Quadrant and never see home again.

Where's the actual "skepticism"? The accuracy of the scientific knowledge at their fingertips wasn't in question; it was the methods used to gain that knowledge and the (perceived?) transference of culpability...the ensuing guilt...that the senior staff grappled with at length.

 

[The Wormhole]

Where's the actual "skepticism"? The accuracy of the scientific knowledge at their fingertips wasn't in question; it was the methods used to gain that knowledge and the (perceived?) transference of culpability...the ensuing guilt...that the senior staff grappled with at length.

But it was just generalized surgical information that was already in the computer databases. All the Doctor needed was a holographic assistant to assist him with his surgery, which he chose to base on the likeness of a Cardassian war criminal. To suddenly condemn the information itself just because based on the likeness of a holographic assistant is an overreaction. It'd be like demanding Wikipedia delete entire portions of itself just because it was referenced by a poster around here who had an objectionable avatar.

 

[Oddish]

The idea that Quark's mother singlehandedly ended centuries of discrimination and misogyny on Ferenginar, and did it overnight. Real women's suffrage took decades of effort by thousands of determined women (and some male allies as well).

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

There's an untold story; the hidden Ferengi suffrage movement, and how Ishka's influence helped them come out of the shadows after decades of work.

 

[Oddish]

There's an untold story; the hidden Ferengi suffrage movement, and how Ishka's influence helped them come out of the shadows after decades of work.

Which could have been handled with the addition of seconds of dialogue into "Ferengi Love Songs", seen in boldface here.

BRUNT: "She's your mother, Quark, and that makes you responsible. And right now, she's endangering the very foundation of Ferengi society. I can see her, whispering in the Nagus' ear, contaminating his thoughts with her twisted, female philosophies. And there are thousands of other females on Ferenginar who feel just as she does."

QUARK: "I knew there were some who wanted equal rights, but I didn't know it was so prevalent."

BRUNT: "Our whole society is at a tipping point! I'm telling you, Quark, if we don't put an end to their relationship, you're going to see clothed females walking down the streets of Ferenginar in broad daylight. If I had my way, I'd climb to the top of the Tower of Commerce and denounce your mother to the crowd below. But we must spare the Nagus even a hint of public disgrace. We've got to put an end to their relationship, but privately. Quietly."

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Maybe it's a well-kept secret, or taboo for males to admit.

 

[Nyotarules]

There's an untold story; the hidden Ferengi suffrage movement, and how Ishka's influence helped them come out of the shadows after decades of work.

Although presenting Ferengi women getting equal rights because Ishka was the lover of the Ferengi leader is not the best message.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

You could think of her as a Ferengi Esther - in the right place "for such a time as this" to liberate her people.

 

[Citiprime]

I've always found Starfleet's incredulous reactions to the actions of the Prophets to be a bias against relgion, even though the Prophets are an empirical reality with demonstrable abilities to observe beyond linear time.

Whenever Sisko explains the Prophets' motives, it's always greeted with skepticism, even thought the "wormhole aliens" have demonstrated the ability to see beyond linear time.