How many people used a VISOR?

[Christopher]

Was Geordi supposed to have been able to see the entire spectrum simultaneously?

Yes, pretty much.

Would the human brain be able to process all those visions simultaneously and in a non-disorienting way?

With enough training, it could probably learn. After all, some people can see more colors than others can (due to varying degrees of colorblindness and such), so the amount of bandwidth the brain is capable of processing isn't fixed.

What if a person with normal vision put on Geordi's VISOR, would that person get the same super vision that Geordi gets?

No, of course not. It's just the external sensor for a system that's wired into his brain. Those blinky electrodes on his temples are the connectors for implants that transmit the VISOR's input to his brain's visual cortex, in order to bypass his nonfunctioning optic nerves.

Worf, himself, perpetuated the Klingon warrior stereotype. Worf was a member of Starfleet. He was under no pressure to be a warrior, not from his adopted parents or anyone else. He could have chosen any occupation, yet he chose the one job that was closes to being a warrior.

No, because Worf is not an actual person. He's an imaginary construct whose actions and decisions were dictated by the real-life writers who told stories about him. It was those writers who decided to make him perpetuate the Klingon warrior stereotype. They could have decided to give him a different personality instead.

Indeed, what you're saying is exactly why I think the writers' choice was flawed. It was established in season 1 that Worf was raised by humans from childhood. So having him be ultra-Klingon in personality and values was a questionable choice, basically defining him by his race rather than his individual life experience. Granted, they managed to rationalize it as Worf trying extra-hard to be Klingon because he was cut off from his heritage, but that's not the only way a character like that could've been written. Case in point: Michael Burnham. She's in basically the identical situation to Worf -- orphaned in childhood by an enemy attack and adopted by a family from a different species and culture. And she chose to embrace the culture of her adoptive parents rather than the one that corresponds to her species. There's no reason the writers couldn't have had Worf do the same, if they hadn't been so bent on portraying him as "the Klingon guy."

I don't know, maybe Worf had a biological imperative to be barbaric (from a human/Starfleet perspective) like a real Klingon.

That just makes the racial essentialism even worse. And it's belied by K'Ehleyr and B'Elanna.

 

[Roundabout]

That just makes the racial essentialism even worse. And it's belied by K'Ehleyr and B'Elanna.

Both of those characters were only part Klingon. Worf was fully Klingon.

No, because Worf is not an actual person. He's an imaginary construct whose actions and decisions were dictated by the real-life writers who told stories about him. It was those writers who decided to make him perpetuate the Klingon warrior stereotype. They could have decided to give him a different personality instead.

Indeed, what you're saying is exactly why I think the writers' choice was flawed. It was established in season 1 that Worf was raised by humans from childhood. So having him be ultra-Klingon in personality and values was a questionable choice, basically defining him by his race rather than his individual life experience. Granted, they managed to rationalize it as Worf trying extra-hard to be Klingon because he was cut off from his heritage, but that's not the only way a character like that could've been written. Case in point: Michael Burnham. She's in basically the identical situation to Worf -- orphaned in childhood by an enemy attack and adopted by a family from a different species and culture. And she chose to embrace the culture of her adoptive parents rather than the one that corresponds to her species. There's no reason the writers couldn't have had Worf do the same, if they hadn't been so bent on portraying him as "the Klingon guy."

I get that Worf is fictional. But the way Worf was portrayed and the way he behaved, as well as how Klingon characters in general, were portrayed throughout the series led me to the interpretation that there was a biological imperative explaining why Klingons were so obsessed with living the way of the warrior.

Of course there would be variations with individual Klingons. The call of the warrior may be stronger in some Klingons (seemingly an overwhelming majority) than in other Klingons.

I agree that the writers could have gone in a different direction with Worf. Worf could have been the opposite of a warrior. God forbid (or not), Worf could have been the ship's counselor. A touchy-feely Klingon. Or even something less dramatically different, Worf could have been a peaceful doctor or engineer. If that had been the case, that would probably have changed my interpretation of Klingons.

For better or worse, what we got with Worf, was what we got. It seemed to me, from watching TNG as well as DS9, that Worf's behavior was probably as much a result of biological predisposition as it was his desire to absorb himself in Klingon culture.

 

[Christopher]

Both of those characters were only part Klingon. Worf was fully Klingon.

Michael Burnham is fully human, but she grew up embracing Vulcan behavior and philosophy. It wasn't genetics, it was upbringing. And we've seen full Klingons who weren't warlike, such as Kolos the attorney in ENT: "Judgment." We learned there that the warrior class is just one segment of Klingon society, one that took over and imposed their warlike value system on all the other social classes. It's not a genetic imperative, it's a learned belief system. No society can function if everyone behaves exactly the same way. If everyone fights all the time, then who the hell builds the roads and the houses, grows the food, makes the clothes and tools, drives the buses, collects the garbage, etc.?

To assume that a character's behavior is strictly dictated by their race would be horrible if someone tried to apply it to human characters, so it's not that much better to apply it to fictional aliens. Saying "racism is right when it applies to nonhumans" is a pretty ugly mindset for a fictional franchise, especially one like Star Trek that's supposed to be all about diversity. And it just doesn't make any in-universe sense, for the reasons I just put forth.

I get that Worf is fictional. But the way Worf was portrayed and the way he behaved, as well as how Klingon characters in general, were portrayed throughout the series led me to the interpretation that there was a biological imperative explaining why Klingons were so obsessed with living the way of the warrior.

Then I guess you missed TNG: "Birthright." The full-blooded Klingons on the Romulan colony were peaceful farmers, because they'd never learned the cultural values of the warrior class. It was only when Worf taught them -- indoctrinating them in his own rather essentialist attitudes about what Klingons "should" be -- that some of them changed, while others chose to go on living peacefully.

Or even something less dramatically different, Worf could have been a peaceful doctor or engineer. If that had been the case, that would probably have changed my interpretation of Klingons.

And that's basically what I would've liked. I hate the way Trek stereotyped its alien races, and would've preferred to see them portrayed with the same kind of diversity that humans have.

 

[Damian]

Worf chose to live as close to the Klingon lifestyle as possible, even though he lived in the Federation. He seemed to have approved of almost all of the barbaric, or uncivilized (from human/Starfleet perspective), behavior of Klingons. Revenge killings, blaming children for the sins of the father, etc. Worf didn't seem to learn a darn thing while living in Starfleet, except, generally not to behave like a real Klingon while around humans

I thought he had grown wiser over the years. By the time of DS9 he had seem to have grown as a person much more. I do believe his wish to be like other Klingons colored his path at the beginning. But I felt he became more comfortable as time went on. Now that doesn't mean he wasn't always ready for a fight if one came his way, he still has Klingon blood and he wouldn't shy away from a fight if it came to him. But as the years went by he wasn't always looking for a fight. Sometimes yes, he'd make a bad call, like in the DS9 episode where he is facing extradition for destroying a Klingon vessel. But he had improved in controlling his more aggressive instincts.

 

[Damian]

And that's basically what I would've liked. I hate the way Trek stereotyped its alien races, and would've preferred to see them portrayed with the same kind of diversity that humans have.

Perhaps that's true, and I can't argue the point. I think the part I can't get past in a way is I liked the character of Worf. What you're describing would have substantially altered the character. He likely would have been a much different character today, and it's impossible to know if that would have made a better character or not.

I saw a lot of growth in the character over the years. He struggled with being a Klingon in Starfleet. He struggled with his oath to Starfleet and his wish to be accepted among other Klingons. That led to a number of good stories. He grew wiser with time and learned he could be more than just a warrior. And he had a very strong sense of honor that I think was admirable. It forced him into making tough decisions sometimes. He never took the easy route just because it was simpler. If doing what was right, or honorable, meant personal discomfort, so be it.

In a sense having someone like that watching your back isn't just for physical protection. But also because you knew he would never betray you. He would always have your back.

 

[Roundabout]

Michael Burnham is fully human, but she grew up embracing Vulcan behavior and philosophy. It wasn't genetics, it was upbringing. And we've seen full Klingons who weren't warlike, such as Kolos the attorney in ENT: "Judgment." We learned there that the warrior class is just one segment of Klingon society, one that took over and imposed their warlike value system on all the other social classes. It's not a genetic imperative, it's a learned belief system. No society can function if everyone behaves exactly the same way. If everyone fights all the time, then who the hell builds the roads and the houses, grows the food, makes the clothes and tools, drives the buses, collects the garbage, etc.?

To assume that a character's behavior is strictly dictated by their race would be horrible if someone tried to apply it to human characters, so it's not that much better to apply it to fictional aliens. Saying "racism is right when it applies to nonhumans" is a pretty ugly mindset for a fictional franchise, especially one like Star Trek that's supposed to be all about diversity. And it just doesn't make any in-universe sense, for the reasons I just put forth.




Then I guess you missed TNG: "Birthright." The full-blooded Klingons on the Romulan colony were peaceful farmers, because they'd never learned the cultural values of the warrior class. It was only when Worf taught them -- indoctrinating them in his own rather essentialist attitudes about what Klingons "should" be -- that some of them changed, while others chose to go on living peacefully.




And that's basically what I would've liked. I hate the way Trek stereotyped its alien races, and would've preferred to see them portrayed with the same kind of diversity that humans have.

Your point about Michael Burnham reinforced the point that I made.

I agree with what you wrote in your first two paragraphs. When I saw Worf on TNG, I wondered how is that Worf who was raised by seemingly peaceful human adoptive parents and living his entire life with humans and human/Starfleet values would turn out the way that he turned out? It kind of didn't make sense, unless perhaps there is a biological aspect dictating his behavior.

Aliens are suppose to be different from human. Maybe with Klingons, "race" is a strong determinate feature within that species for how individuals behaved. I don't know. I was interpreting what I saw.

I saw "Birthright", which is one of my favorite episodes. It seemed like once Worf showed that Klingon youngster just a bit of the warriors' way, that somehow unleashed the fighting spirit within that youngster. Again, the call of the warrior may be different for different Klingon. Also, the fighting spirit might wane in older age for those older Klingon farmers. Plus, age, experience and practicality might bring more wisdom to those older Klingon characters in that episode.

Another thing that I found interesting was how the Romulans and Cardassians like to insult the Klingons as animals and barbarians.

Add up some these things that were shown during the series, it paints a certain picture.

 

[Roundabout]

Another thing about "Birthright" that bothered me was Worf's seemingly racist reaction upon finding out that the girl who had a crush on him was half-Romulan.

Living in the diversity of Starfleet, why would Worf hold such racist views? Didn't Worf learn anything about such matters after being in Starfleet for so long?

 

[Christopher]

Your point about Michael Burnham reinforced the point that I made.

No, it directly contradicts it, because it disproves the idea that behavior is dictated by genetics instead of upbringing. Unless you're saying that only humans have the freedom to choose their behavior and other species are slaves to their genes, which is a horrible, ugly idea that demeans any nonhuman character. The thinking that humans in science fiction should be written as superior to aliens went out with John W. Campbell.

I agree with what you wrote in your first two paragraphs. When I saw Worf on TNG, I wondered how is that Worf who was raised by seemingly peaceful human adoptive parents and living his entire life with humans and human/Starfleet values would turn out the way that he turned out? It kind of didn't make sense, unless perhaps there is a biological aspect dictating his behavior.

Not true at all. It was explained in "Family" and elsewhere that Worf chose to embrace Klingon behavior because he wanted to feel connected to the heritage he'd had taken from him. When he later interacted with other Klingons in "Redemption" and elsewhere, we saw that his outsider's view of how a "true Klingon" behaved was an inaccurate stereotype, that he was too stiff and serious while native-raised Klingons were able to take more joy in life.

Another thing that I found interesting was how the Romulans and Cardassians like to insult the Klingons as animals and barbarians.

It's called racism. Humans were called barbarians in "A Taste of Armageddon" and "Yesteryear." Shran called Tellarites barbarians once. And so on.

Another thing about "Birthright" that bothered me was Worf's seemingly racist reaction upon finding out that the girl who had a crush on him was half-Romulan.

Living in the diversity of Starfleet, why would Worf hold such racist views? Didn't Worf learn anything about such matters after being in Starfleet for so long?

Aren't you forgetting that the Romulans murdered Worf's parents on Khitomer when he was a child?

 

[Silvercrest]

Which gives me another chance to repeat my opinion that TNG made a mistake by making Worf the security chief and Geordi the engineer at the start of season 2. Both characters would've been served better if it had been the other way around. Geordi could've used his vision to help him as a detective, and Worf would've been less stereotyped as Warrior Guy if he'd been in a technical job.

This is the first time I've seen that idea and it's very interesting. Although I suspect back in the 1980s very few showrunners would've been progressive enough for it. "Make the blind guy the pilot" and "Make the security chief a woman" was about as progressive as you could expect. Well, apart from having a Klingon on the ship at all.

Still, if they'd done it, it would've been amusing to see Worf's reactions dealing with Scotty in "Relics".

 

[Roundabout]

There was a big difference between that innocent girl Ba'el, who had absolutely nothing to do with what happened to Worf's parents, and Romulans in general. Worf should have known better. That Worf couldn't distinguish the two, at least initially, was sad and terrible.

I don't know what were in the writers' mind. I interpreted what I saw. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Often times, I noticed that aliens in stories are portrayed as one dimensional or such, and usually in a not flattering way; sometimes as contrast, or whatever, to humans.


Worf embraced many Klingon values and customs that were the antithesis to Starfleet values, like revenge killings, blaming children for the sins of the father, and many other acts of physical violence like his attempt at killing his brother Kurn on DS9. Why did Worf embrace those values that should have been the opposite values of what he grew up with?

How much of Starfleet values did Worf absorb and how deeply did he absorb them?

 

[Christopher]

This is the first time I've seen that idea and it's very interesting. Although I suspect back in the 1980s very few showrunners would've been progressive enough for it. "Make the blind guy the pilot" and "Make the security chief a woman" was about as progressive as you could expect. Well, apart from having a Klingon on the ship at all.

I don't think any progressiveness was required. Indeed, I think it would've been a continuation of the initial conceptions of the characters. As I said, Worf's role in the first season was as a generalist who ran everyone else's posts in their absence, as needed. So sometimes he was a pilot, sometimes he was ops, sometimes he was in command of the bridge, etc. He was only appointed security chief because Tasha Yar died, so it was a more permanent extension of his regular fill-in role. And that means that his range of responsibilities in the first season already included engineering and technical assignments. Making him an engineer permanently would've been as natural an outgrowth of that as making him a security chief permanently.

As for Geordi, in season 1 he was often on away teams and using his VISOR to scan and investigate things, so making him security chief would've been less of a departure from that than sticking him down in the engine room was. After all, in TOS, Sulu often acted as the tactical officer, and in TMP Chekov was the actual security chief. So there's precedent for moving a flight controller to security.

Mainly I'm just bugged that the writers stopped using the VISOR as anything but a way for bad guys to brainwash or torture Geordi. It was a literal superpower and it hardly ever got used. I think that was a waste of potential.

 

[Spot261]

There are five visors.

 

[Silvercrest]

Mainly I'm just bugged that the writers stopped using the VISOR as anything but a way for bad guys to brainwash or torture Geordi. It was a literal superpower and it hardly ever got used. I think that was a waste of potential.

It certainly was.

 

[Timo]

I have no problem with Worf choosing to be the archetypal/caricature Klingon. Did he have a biological imperative for that? No question about it - the answer is explicated clearly enough. It was all in Worf's head.

Or, more exactly, on Worf's head. Worf's superior biology and cranial strength meant he was a killing machine when engaging in innocent sports ("Let He Who Is Without Sin..."). His very biology precluded him from having a "normal" human childhood, made him stand apart, and suggested a natural course of action, that is, one of yielding to the nature of what Worf biologically was.

With a bit of effort, Worf could have been a non-warrior. But he had no guidance from fellow Klingons to make that effort. All he had was the knowledge that he could never be a human because he was Klingon, and a couple of books on what Klingons are, probably written back in 2257, with suggestive illustrations.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Damian]

Mainly I'm just bugged that the writers stopped using the VISOR as anything but a way for bad guys to brainwash or torture Geordi. It was a literal superpower and it hardly ever got used. I think that was a waste of potential.

Yeah, I agree with you there. My arguments about Worf actually have more to do with me liking where Worf ended up and his overall character beyond his role as security chief. While being security chief was a bit obvious, I do think the other elements of his character were handled real well so I can't really complain about Worf all that much.

But yeah, Geordi's visor was wasted a lot of time. Even in engineering, I can see his visor being a huge asset, and it just didn't come up a whole lot. I think maybe the writers just got used to him having it and almost forgot about its usefulness.

And I think you're initial point about the change in writing staffs had a lot to do with it. While they were not responsible for making Geordi chief engineer, or Worf security chief for that matter, it does seem their focus was on other things. Not really surprising, any new team that basically takes over a show is going to have different priorities. And overall, I think TNG got better as the show went on with better episodes. But like anything, there's things they could have done better and utilizing Geordi's visor is certainly one of them.

 

[Roundabout]

^
The DS9 Worf was a huge improvement over the TNG Worf. Worf was a better rounded character in DS9.

I have no problem with Worf choosing to be the archetypal/caricature Klingon. Did he have a biological imperative for that? No question about it - the answer is explicated clearly enough. It was all in Worf's head.

Or, more exactly, on Worf's head. Worf's superior biology and cranial strength meant he was a killing machine when engaging in innocent sports ("Let He Who Is Without Sin..."). His very biology precluded him from having a "normal" human childhood, made him stand apart, and suggested a natural course of action, that is, one of yielding to the nature of what Worf biologically was.

With a bit of effort, Worf could have been a non-warrior. But he had no guidance from fellow Klingons to make that effort. All he had was the knowledge that he could never be a human because he was Klingon, and a couple of books on what Klingons are, probably written back in 2257, with suggestive illustrations.

Timo Saloniemi

You made some good points. Maybe what Worf needed was some serious counseling. Too bad Troi wasn't able to identify Worf's issues and give him the proper counseling. Then again, I doubt Troi would have been competent enough to be of any help to Worf.

In "Genesis", we saw what Worf evolved from. In the not too distant evolutionary past, Klingons were, at one time, actual scary monsters.

That episode gave off the impression that modern day (TNG/DS9 etc. era) Klingons still have that beast in each of them. It is in their genes. And their genetic makeup had an influence, to some degree or another, on their behavior that we saw. That is what that episode seemed to suggest.

Btw, "Let He Who Is Without Sin..." was one of my favorite Worf-centric episodes. It was hilarious when Worf acted like a fuddy duddy while people around him were having a grand old time on the pleasure planet Risa.

But yeah, Geordi's visor was wasted a lot of time. Even in engineering, I can see his visor being a huge asset, and it just didn't come up a whole lot. I think maybe the writers just got used to him having it and almost forgot about its usefulness.

And I think you're initial point about the change in writing staffs had a lot to do with it. While they were not responsible for making Geordi chief engineer, or Worf security chief for that matter, it does seem their focus was on other things. Not really surprising, any new team that basically takes over a show is going to have different priorities. And overall, I think TNG got better as the show went on with better episodes. But like anything, there's things they could have done better and utilizing Geordi's visor is certainly one of them.

From a story telling angle, it might have been boring after a while if Geordi solved one problem after another using his super vision that he got from his visor.

The usefulness of Geordi's visor would bring up the question of: if Geordi's visor has so much useful potential why wouldn't an engineer, like Geordi, build visors (which would have the same capabilities as Geordi's visor) that could be used by anybody? Why limit it to just Geordi?

In any case, I like the idea that in the future, inventors would create technology and devices that help people overcome physical disabilities.

 

[Christopher]

In "Genesis", we saw what Worf evolved from. In the not too distant evolutionary past, Klingons were, at one time, actual scary monsters.

That wasn't how things worked in "Genesis" -- it was more random than that. For instance, Riker turned into an early hominid but Barclay turned into a spider. It wasn't just direct lineage, it was potluck from an entire planet's evolutionary history. So all we can say is that some species on Qo'noS looked kind of like Worf's "monster" form.

From a story telling angle, it might have been boring after a while if Geordi solved one problem after another using his super vision that he got from his visor.

Ummm... Ever heard of a tricorder? A VISOR is basically the same thing, just interfaced directly with the brain. Besides, if Geordi had been the security chief, then investigating and detecting things would've been his actual job, so it would've been a natural fit. That's my whole point in making the suggestion.

The usefulness of Geordi's visor would bring up the question of: if Geordi's visor has so much useful potential why wouldn't an engineer, like Geordi, build visors (which would have the same capabilities as Geordi's visor) that could be used by anybody? Why limit it to just Geordi?

As I've said before, it was never supposed to be exclusive to him; the creators of TNG intended him to be just one example of how 24th-century technology could treat disabilities or enhance human abilities. It was the subsequent writing staff's failure to build on that potential that led to him being portrayed as unique.

 

[Damian]

That wasn't how things worked in "Genesis" -- it was more random than that. For instance, Riker turned into an early hominid but Barclay turned into a spider. It wasn't just direct lineage, it was potluck from an entire planet's evolutionary history. So all we can say is that some species on Qo'noS looked kind of like Worf's "monster" form

It's been a while since I watched it but wasn't it true that they could potentially be things that never existed in their evolutionary history. I remember the virus activated the unused introns in the DNA. I seem to remember it depending on what combination of factors were activated so the result may not have necessarily been an evolutionary ancestry.

 

[dahj]

It was the subsequent writing staff's failure to build on that potential that led to him being portrayed as unique.

He's not unique anymore, and VISOR technology is now confirmed to be in use since at least the 23rd century as of Discovery's season 2 premiere.

 

[Christopher]

He's not unique anymore, and VISOR technology is now confirmed to be in use since at least the 23rd century as of Discovery's season 2 premiere.

But are you talking about the actual Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement, the multispectral hair-barrettey thing that's wired into a blind person's visual cortex through implanted electrodes on the temples? Or are you just talking about some other visor-like thing that somebody wears over their eyes?