Could Data be a starship CMO?
- Thread starter Vanyel
- Start date
Interesting question. (And yes, I think you used the term correctly.)
As far as curing diseases and such, yes, he could have been a CMO. Learning bedside manner from just that? Doubtful.
Take The Doctor from VOY. He had basically the entire Federation medical database in his program, and his bedside manner was terrible in the first few seasons. He still had to learn it as the show went on.
As far as curing diseases and such, yes, he could have been a CMO. Learning bedside manner from just that? Doubtful.
Take The Doctor from VOY. He had basically the entire Federation medical database in his program, and his bedside manner was terrible in the first few seasons. He still had to learn it as the show went on.
I think he could and I think he would have been pretty good at it.
Data could have been any position aboard a starship if he wanted to. I would argue that he may have wound up in operations by default. If you really look at Data's role aboard the Enterprise, he did double duty as both operations officer and sciences officer, but was considered more of the former, possibly because he additionally was the third-in-command.
I took Quinn's line that the parasites aren't interested in the science officer as confirmation that Riker meant Data.
He only got a goldshirt because he didn't look good in blue, apparently.
Data would probably learn from all famous physicians and then create his own combination, like he does in concerts
He only got a goldshirt because he didn't look good in blue, apparently.
Data would probably learn from all famous physicians and then create his own combination, like he does in concerts
I think there are very few roles which Data could not have fulfilled with sufficient experience TBH.
You might not want him as ship's counsellor, but I imagine he could even be quite good at that once he's wrapped his head around it.
You might not want him as ship's counsellor, but I imagine he could even be quite good at that once he's wrapped his head around it.
But the second question, he would have to learn bedside manner. Making a patient feel better despite their condition. I'm sure a patient would feel better having a doctor who could make a two millimeter cut, or spot a micro fracker with a touch and not a tricordorder would probably make a patient feel better to begin with, his own confidence would help the patient too. And learning from interning how to talk to patients, to be honest, professional, and hopeful; wouldn't that help him on his quest to be more human?
Real bedside manner requires empathy, which in turn is a kinda-sorta emotion.
Data probably could have winged it to a point and certainly it could have helped him understand the human condition a little more.
Data probably could have winged it to a point and certainly it could have helped him understand the human condition a little more.
Thing is though is in terms of bedside manner, Data is rather gentle and amiable. He’s not a sourpuss like the EMH.
He’s pretty good at figuring out what upsets people and when he learns, he makes effort not to do it again.
I think… I’ve never thought of it before this thread actually, but I think he’d be a very good CMO.
Could he have? I imagine so, eventually. Was it what he was best suited to do, during the career we saw? Not really. He's not a guy who'd maybe ever even think himself able to be a renderer of care, beyond the technicals.
I'd think that's the biggest obstacle, in his way, his own impression of himself, visa vie his capabilities & limitations. He's always undercutting or underselling his own ability to be a person. Remember, this is a guy who spent nearly 30 years never advancing past lieutenant commander, & while there was maybe some technicalities or prejudices that stood in his way, it was ultimately he that let that shape his career & life, and his own lack of human drives, that would've pushed him to advance or develop. I worry to think what would've become of him had Picard not come along to champion FOR him
It'd be highly unlikely to follow thru on a career in patient care, without those drives. For a lot of those people, healthcare is a calling first, more than a career path. The only time I ever heard Data talk about having a calling, is at the end of Tin Man, after he saw that Tam Elbrun, the super-telepath, found himself the perfect place to realize himself. Data then compares it to himself, on the Enterprise, doing what he does, being the perfect realization of himself... and I agree
Data's nature makes him uniquely qualified to be in a direct relationship with that city-sized piece of technology, and all the professionals tasked with operating it. He is the perfect liason to those peoples' ship. That's maybe his best destiny
I'd think that's the biggest obstacle, in his way, his own impression of himself, visa vie his capabilities & limitations. He's always undercutting or underselling his own ability to be a person. Remember, this is a guy who spent nearly 30 years never advancing past lieutenant commander, & while there was maybe some technicalities or prejudices that stood in his way, it was ultimately he that let that shape his career & life, and his own lack of human drives, that would've pushed him to advance or develop. I worry to think what would've become of him had Picard not come along to champion FOR him
It'd be highly unlikely to follow thru on a career in patient care, without those drives. For a lot of those people, healthcare is a calling first, more than a career path. The only time I ever heard Data talk about having a calling, is at the end of Tin Man, after he saw that Tam Elbrun, the super-telepath, found himself the perfect place to realize himself. Data then compares it to himself, on the Enterprise, doing what he does, being the perfect realization of himself... and I agree
Data's nature makes him uniquely qualified to be in a direct relationship with that city-sized piece of technology, and all the professionals tasked with operating it. He is the perfect liason to those peoples' ship. That's maybe his best destiny
I think he could become a doctor, definitely. But I’m not sure downloading the medical database alone would be enough. Remember that Voyager episode where they loaded the database into a new hologram? It didn’t recreate The Doctor. So he’d probably need some training first. But eventually? Sure—why not. IDIC.
Oh,definitely. Just like his Starfleet training, he wasn't just made a Lt. Commander and put on a starship. He would intern to get practical training, and choose a speciality.
Well, he did cure Barclay's Protomorphosis Syndrome. So he is already a great candidate for being a doctor.
I think Data definitely has the processing power to run the EMH's software, the question for me would be if he has the storage capacity for the database.
Now, the EMH backup module is definitely small enough to fit within Data's head, so we'd need to work out if there have been significant storage density improvements between the 2330s (when Data was first constructed) and the 2370s (when the EMH was created).
There is actually some evidence that this has occurred, for example in "Renaissance Man" it's said the The Doctor's matrix became destabilized after he assimilated more than 1000 teraquads of data, whereas in the TNG era is was more normal to be speaking about kiloquads or megaquads.
We know Data's total storage capacity is around 800 quadrillion bits. This translates into 100 petabytes. Though we don't know how large a 'quad' is compared to a bit. It might be a quantum storage measure.
So I'd say there's some evidence that Data may not have enough storage capacity for the EMH database, though I am still speculating to an extent.
Now, the EMH backup module is definitely small enough to fit within Data's head, so we'd need to work out if there have been significant storage density improvements between the 2330s (when Data was first constructed) and the 2370s (when the EMH was created).
There is actually some evidence that this has occurred, for example in "Renaissance Man" it's said the The Doctor's matrix became destabilized after he assimilated more than 1000 teraquads of data, whereas in the TNG era is was more normal to be speaking about kiloquads or megaquads.
We know Data's total storage capacity is around 800 quadrillion bits. This translates into 100 petabytes. Though we don't know how large a 'quad' is compared to a bit. It might be a quantum storage measure.
So I'd say there's some evidence that Data may not have enough storage capacity for the EMH database, though I am still speculating to an extent.
This is exactly what I was about to say. There is more than one occasion where Data is seen coming up with medical solutions. "To Thine Own Self" is another great example, where he was able to concoct a treatment for the radiation poisoning everyone was experiencing even with much of his memory missing. And let's be honest, his hand-eye coordination and precision would make him an exceptional surgeon.
I don't think anybody should be suggesting Data doesn't possess the capacity & capability of administering medical aid to people. I can even list other times, like him reviving the unconscious crew in Clues or curing their addiction in The Game.
That is ultimately a very different question than "Could he be a starship CMO?" There's a whole career path worth of factors in that goal, which maybe he could do, but it'd be a far more difficult undertaking than some other tech related field, for which he is uniquely apropos.
I couldn't think of a harder job than doctor, for someone of his character to undertake, except maybe counselor. Negotiator might be in that top 3 hardest jobs for him too. Not impossible though
That is ultimately a very different question than "Could he be a starship CMO?" There's a whole career path worth of factors in that goal, which maybe he could do, but it'd be a far more difficult undertaking than some other tech related field, for which he is uniquely apropos.
I couldn't think of a harder job than doctor, for someone of his character to undertake, except maybe counselor. Negotiator might be in that top 3 hardest jobs for him too. Not impossible though
He did make a good arbitrator in Devil's Due.
Negotiator is a different thing than an arbitrator, though. Arbitrator is a bit more straight line to a solution, while a negotiator has to navigate a lot more things, especially if you're dealing with territory, to get to a workable solution.
