Does Odo See Through His Eyes?

[Citiprime]

His eyes are not “real” but I wondered if a changeling basically puts their sensory organs in the same spots as where they’d be for a humanoid when they take on a humanoid shape? Or could Odo’s senses work in some weirdly different way?

Some of this can be answered with “it’s a TV show, don’t think about it too hard,” but I tried to remember times where Odo has been taken by surprise. The ending of “Duet” has the attacker come up from behind Odo to do the stabbing. So Odo’s vision isn’t “omnidirectional” and seems to be forward facing when whatever form he’s taken is facing forward.

Another thing about changeling physiology is they basically are depicted as a biological perpetual motion machine. If they don’t consume any organic nutrients, what is giving them sustenance? I would also guess they don’t go to the bathroom and expend any waste material. So whatever is sustaining them is being converted at 100% efficiency. The only specific need that’s ever mentioned is an equivalent to sleeping where they revert to a liquid state every so many hours.

 

[NCC-73515]

IIRC, they are connected to some subspace pocket, which allows them to become smaller and bigger things by shifting some of their goo in and out of our dimension

I've always imagined they can hear and taste with their entire surface...

 

[Tosk]

I tend to believe Odo does see with his eyes when in "Odo" form, although we know they can perceive the world somehow even when they are in a form that has no eyes.

IIRC, they are connected to some subspace pocket, which allows them to become smaller and bigger things by shifting some of their goo in and out of our dimension

A popular theory, but not something ever stated in the show.

 

[Bad Thoughts]

I've always assumed that the consequences of being forced to be human in Broken Link meant that the shapeshifters were capable of physically replicating the biological functions of any animal species. Any skilled shapeshifter could mimic the functionality of any human organ. Odo was only limited by his inexperience.

 

[aquova]

Clearly, he should have changed into Biblically Accurate Odo to avoid being caught unawares

 

[Kinggodzillak]

Odo using his hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the Odyssey's destruction always made me think they were how he 'saw' when not in liquid form.

 

[XCV330]

He has to have some way of focusing light to make an image. So why not eyes? Maybe depending on what he is mimicking he can have compound eyes, pinhole eyes, complex eyes or even more complicated visual mechanisms. When he interacts with people he's very clearly looking at them with his eyes in that typical Odo stare.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

This whole discussion has me thinking of Hotep, from the novel, Death's Angel.

 

[Timofnine]

We have seen all ‘on screen’ Changelings/Founders looking out of their eyes, making eye contact with other characters in social interactions, reacting to environments etc. or otherwise covering/shielding their eyes in the presence of bright lights or explosions as a protective/survival mechanism. Either this species is mimicking human behaviour, or perhaps quite simply they are ‘looking out of their faces’ or other parts of their body and encoding what they see into part of their current form, whether this form be humanoid or not. For example, we have seen Odo fly as a bird/avian… this species has one eye either side of the head, in a quite different structure to human eyes which are much closer together and pointing forward. It is possible that light is refracted and split into this species head (not eyes) a bit like ‘prism’; Changelings are gelatinous by nature. Complicated neural pathways and alien ‘sense organs’ within the Founders could ‘decode’ these wavelengths of humanoid visual perception and then allow the rest of the physical ‘form’ to react appropriately, depending upon what was being ‘mimicked’.

 

[Detached Nacelle]

It's possible Founders don't "see" as we would understand it unless in a form with eyes but have another form of perception, like we have animals today that use sound and electromagnetism in lieu of just looking.

Founders in inanimate form can sense the presence around them and even detect what is being said but vision could be something that requires a form just as they would need to create wings to fly.

The range of that perception is certainly relatively low and is probably much higher when they're a rock or a console. Sort of like sensory deprivation I suppose? It also appears to be inactive when regenerating so they definitely do sleep essentially instead of just revert back to goo and wait until they can hold a shape again.

 

[E-DUB]

The real question is could Odo lift his head off of his shoulders?

 

[Oddish]

Another thing about changeling physiology is they basically are depicted as a biological perpetual motion machine. If they don’t consume any organic nutrients, what is giving them sustenance? I would also guess they don’t go to the bathroom and expend any waste material. So whatever is sustaining them is being converted at 100% efficiency. The only specific need that’s ever mentioned is an equivalent to sleeping where they revert to a liquid state every so many hours.

They probably have to absorb energy from their environment, since they don't get it from nutrients. They probably take in enormous amounts of it. The Jem'Hadar are likely engineered to do the same.

 

[E-DUB]

Photosynthesis? BTW, the Jem'Hadar probably get everything they need from the white.

 

[Oddish]

Photosynthesis? BTW, the Jem'Hadar probably get everything they need from the white.

But that's a drug. Man does not live by cocaine alone, but somehow Jem'Hadar do.

 

[kkt]

The white includes a drug that the Jem Hadar need, but also includes all their other nutrients. They need nothing else.

Some of Odo's reactions indicate seeing with his eyes. And he did say that if he's being a rock a tricorder will show a rock, so presumably if he's being a humanoid he has cells for vision and optic nerves and can see with them. It's part of being the humanoid.

 

[Gaith]

But that's a drug. Man does not live by cocaine alone, but somehow Jem'Hadar do.

A drug, by definition, is not a nutrient, which allow organisms to survive and grow. Therefore, since Jem'Hadar need ketracel-white to survive, it is, by definition, a nutrient. That said, nutrients and drugs can be mixed into one substance (a vodka coffee milkshake, for instance), so it's accurate to call ketracel-white both a nutrient and a nutrient-drug mixture, but it's not accurate to say that it's not a nutrient at all.

Some of this can be answered with “it’s a TV show, don’t think about it too hard,”

Yes. That's why alien mouths move as if they're speaking English even when they're speaking in their own language, and the others are hearing a translation (which, impossibly, is an instantaneous process). It's also why people reply to comm badge calls the moment the callers stop talking, even though there should logically be a pause during which the badge/computer confirms the intended recipient, transmits the message to them, and they refocus their attention to answer the call.

 

[Captrek]

The real question is could Odo lift his head off of his shoulders?

An experienced changeling could easily do it. For Odo, it might take some practice.

Come to think of it, we never did find out what the Cardassian neck trick is. That might have been it. Let Cardassians “behead” a Bajoran-looking (sort of) person for fun.

The real challenge is letting go of the head, because they don’t like separating into multiple parts.

 

[Tosk]

because they don’t like separating into multiple parts.

Although we have seen them become fog (Laas) and light (Odo).

Which isn't the same thing as pulling your own head off, but it does show they can disperse to some degree.

 

[Jedi Marso]

We don't ask questions like that around here.

 

[Uxi]

He should have been able to pull some tricks like shapeshifting an eyestalk or eyeball on finger to peek around corners, etc.