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Dolphin Crew Members as Show Regulars?

I do not remember that character in Dark Mirror. That book was supposed to be about the mirror universe in the TNG area... yet I found it wholly forgettable. I hope another writer does it properly someday.
 
Dolphins are as smart as humans, they have a means of communication which we can't decipher as our brains are different. Therefore it would be perfectly acceptable to have dolphin crew members in star trek, its not beyond the bounds of scientific fact and would allow the series to explore difference in perception vis a vis evolution.
 
I would like to see non humanoid crewmembers.

I keep saying this, but Medusans would be awesome non-humanoid Starfleet crew members. They would excel at engineering, navigation, and spying.

For the purposes of on-screen dramatization, they could wear humanoid looking exoskeletons that allow them to relate to humanoids and block that pesky madness-inducing energy problem.
 
I would like to see non humanoid crewmembers.

I keep saying this, but Medusans would be awesome non-humanoid Starfleet crew members. They would excel at engineering, navigation, and spying.

For the purposes of on-screen dramatization, they could wear humanoid looking exoskeletons that allow them to relate to humanoids and block that pesky madness-inducing energy problem.
Medusans would be pretty sweet. Of course, I'm in the minority that actually really liked "Is There in Truth No Beauty?"
 
Why is it gimmicky? I think it's reasonably logical. I've read that dolphins on earth show signs of a complex dialect with their clicks and whistles, that at least shows some sign of intelligence. And if not them, as was mentioned we have the Xindi-Aquatics, or any other number of races that could have evolved on a water planet. I, for one, wouldn't mind seeing more examples of that line of intelligent evolution.
 
I dunno what to think about those Dolphins. What for? What are they doing? Is a dolphin really intelligent enough? Would he even be interested in doing... in doing what? How do they communicate? If find the image of a Starfleet officer simply talking to a Dolphin with universal translators... I dunno, it was already cheesy in seaQuest.
 
Why not a hamster as a series regular? Or a starfleet starship run by smart hamsters?

Interesting enough that in a few episodes a dolphin would be great; in every episode he'd be the CGI character that everyone has to look at, even if he's not the focus. Distracting.
 
There was a talking hamster in a New Frontier novel. Or, was he a gerbil? I always get those two confused... But even the characters commented on how, even with all the stuff they see on a regular basis, that one was just downright bizarre.
 
It would be interesting to explore the idea in order to consider the minimum size of a sapient brain. I bet a talking gerbil would be completely hairless, have a body temperature above 40C and sweat its body weight out every day.

Dolphins are probably only as smart as a particularly stupid human. This gives them many rights, of course, but it doesn't mean they get into Starfleet. I think an Academy story about the first dolphin admittee getting bent over would be neat. It would be called "Washed Out" (*rimshot*). Sometimes I feel like a dolphin in a school of humans. : /
 
Dark Mirror... yet I found it wholly forgettable. I hope another writer does it properly someday.
I'm a huge Diane Duane fan and this is one of her worst books.
Dolphins are as smart as humans, they have a means of communication which we can't decipher as our brains are different.
Much of a dolphins brain is taken up with processing the information from their sonor. Dolphins could never be technologically beings, while their flippers possess all the same bones as the Human hand, they are in fact flippers. They lack the ability to malnipulate their environment, something Humans excell at.

We have some understanding of life underwater because we can swim, but a dolphin on a tech filled starship?
There was a talking hamster in a New Frontier novel. Or, was he a gerbil?
Was it up Captain Who-cares-what-his-name-is butt?


T'Girl
 
Yeah. Is there anything semi-official, maybe from the novel writers, about those dolphins? What are they doing aboard a starship? Are they just dolphins swimming around, doing nothing until they are needed, or crewmembers with regular duties? Can they talk, as in seaQuest?

What the hell is going on with those dolphins?
 
Dolphins are as smart as humans

How do you figure? Dolphins are not even close to human intelligence; no critter is. They don't do anything more impressive than certain dogs can do, and I have no doubt that a chimpanzee could easily outsmart one.

Please explain why dolphins are always getting caught in tuna nets unless steps are taken by humans to protect dolphins from their own stupidity. After thousands of years of humans fishing with nets, why can't dolphins spread the word among themselves that massive fishing boats are best avoided? Yeah, they'd make great tacticians on a spaceship, when they can't even avoid a tuna net.

Many scientists now tend to rank dolphins about the level of elephants in "intelligence" tests and say that dolphins haven't shown any unusual talent with problem solving compared with the other animals classed with very high intelligence.

"What Makes Dolphins So Smart?". The Ultimate Guide: Dolphins. 1999.
And:

Macphail in his "Brain and intelligence in vertebrates" compared data from studies regarding learning set formation of animals. The result show that dolphin is indeed skilled at problem solving but not the most adept and no where as "intelligent" as human.

Species Score %
langur 98
mink 95
ferret 90
bottlenose dolphin 87
rhesus monkey 86
cat 70
rat 60
squirrel 60

MACPHAIL, E. M. Brain and Intelligence in Vertebrates. (Oxford science publications) Oxford University Press, : 1982 433 pp.

How about a ferret crew member?
 
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