It doesn't really make sense a telepathic phenomenon could have an affect like that on biology, but maybe it wasn't a biology thing. Maybe it makes their human katras (has it been said humans do or do not have katras anywhere?) stronger, which helps them live longer despite their bodies aging. It could slow down neurological degeneration.
I don't see how that could work. Does the right kind of software in your computer keep the keys from breaking off or the contacts from getting corroded? Only some life-threatening medical problems can be attributed to the condition of the brain or nerves.
McCoy's dialogue in Encounter at Farpoint (I don't care that he wasn't explicitly called McCoy, it was obviously him from touring medbay to refusing the transporter, I'm not going to back down to a maybe on this one)
Why do people keep talking like that's analogous? I've already said: In the case of "Farpoint," all the visual and verbal evidence, plus common sense, points emphatically toward it being Leonard McCoy. Everything about it is consistent with it being Leonard McCoy, and there's no good argument
against it being Leonard McCoy. So that is by far the most likely interpretation in that case. But in the case of the movie, the only evidence we have is the name "Admiral Archer" and the mention of beagles, and that is not enough evidence to conclude that it's more likely to be Jonathan than a descendant. They fall out in opposite directions because of the different quantities and types of evidence. They're two very different situations.
and there is all sorts of documented evidence in the real world about how having a strong will does seem to be a common trait in people living longer than 100.
First off, "strong will" is not a clearly defined medical quantity, so that sounds more anecdotal than anything else. Second, even if we accept the premise, just because the two appear to be correlated, that doesn't prove that strong will
causes longevity. It could be the other way around, that people naturally get stronger-willed as they get older. It could be that strong will is correlated with staying active and taking responsibility for your health, so that on the average, strong-willed people have a greater likelihood of avoiding serious illness or growing decrepit.
I will grant that "will to live" can play a factor in one's odds of survival from a serious illness. I have personal experience to suggest that, and there are abundant anecdotal accounts of elderly or ill people choosing to hang onto life until a certain goal was reached and then just letting go. But that doesn't mean that willpower can literally slow down the biological clock and give someone decades more life than they otherwise would have.
Does that wonky Decandido book adress how the pres is electd?
Articles of the Federation is maybe its title.
Actually the presidential election was in the preceding novel, TNG:
A Time for War, A Time for Peace. AotF was a spinoff/sequel to that book.
And
Therin, I think he's using "wonky" in the sense of a "policy wonk," i.e. an expert on governmental policy, political procedure, etc., rather than in the British sense of "wonky" as shaky or unreliable. I think the term "wonk" first became common in American political discourse during Bill Clinton's campaign and presidency, in reference to the extremely detailed policy statements he'd make during the campaign. Instead of just giving homilies and generalizations during debates, when asked a question he'd go into an in-depth discussion of policy and principles and plans. Mr. Obama is much the same way, and so was practically every character on
The West Wing.
