In the general population, people like Barclay might be accepted and even celebrated, in Starfleet, or on the flagship, perhaps less so.
I just had to say it
- Thread starter Geordi's Fingernails
- Start date
In his excellent 2010 book Neurodiversity, psychologist Thomas Armstrong, PhD argues for a major paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning; just as there is no "baseline" or "standard" race or culture, neuroscientific research increasingly shows that there is no "standard" brain type, and the diverse spectrum of differences should not be automatically stigmatized in knee-jerk fashion and regarded as "diseases" that have to be "cured." Rather, different brain types have their own gifts and advantages.
He includes a case of people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (which has since been integrated into autism spectrum disorder in DSM-5 rather than being a separate diagnosis) excelling at software testing.
A more enlightened and accepting society in the Federation would undoubtedly be structured to accommodate such diversity and work with it instead of pathologizing it, especially considering how radically and incredibly different the brain functioning and social behavior would be in the multitudes of non-human species. There is a place for all of them in the Federation and in Starfleet.
Barclay is excellent at what he does. He might not be excellent in other positions such as command or security, but he does not have to be. Picard wouldn't be good at what Barclay does. Starfleet has many different roles, and a great number of them are undoubtedly very specialized and take special innate talents and unusual modes of thinking.
Kor
He includes a case of people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (which has since been integrated into autism spectrum disorder in DSM-5 rather than being a separate diagnosis) excelling at software testing.
A more enlightened and accepting society in the Federation would undoubtedly be structured to accommodate such diversity and work with it instead of pathologizing it, especially considering how radically and incredibly different the brain functioning and social behavior would be in the multitudes of non-human species. There is a place for all of them in the Federation and in Starfleet.
Barclay is excellent at what he does. He might not be excellent in other positions such as command or security, but he does not have to be. Picard wouldn't be good at what Barclay does. Starfleet has many different roles, and a great number of them are undoubtedly very specialized and take special innate talents and unusual modes of thinking.
Kor
Last edited:
I'd be irked if I were Troi, who was there specifically as a means for people to talk through their problems, & then the captain, who is pretty closed off from that process, by & large, goes & brings some mystic lady to the ship, & the result is that people are more comfortable confiding in her instead lol. I'd at least be pissed if I were Marina Sirtis. I'd have gone to the producers & been like "I HAD ONE JOB!"
It would be like bringing a holistic witch doctor on board, & everybody stops going to Crusher
It would be like bringing a holistic witch doctor on board, & everybody stops going to Crusher
Whenever they have to explain every situation or what they're just doing and start using too many technical terms in a single sentence.
It bothers me that Data haven't got any casual clothes besides the starfeet uniform.
It really bothers me we don't see Data's at his full potential.
It makes me angry how most of the women roles are so wasted.
It bothers me the prime directive because they seem to respect it whenever it's convenient to the plot but not always, so what was the point of it in the first place, anyway?
It bothers me that Data haven't got any casual clothes besides the starfeet uniform.
It really bothers me we don't see Data's at his full potential.
It makes me angry how most of the women roles are so wasted.
It bothers me the prime directive because they seem to respect it whenever it's convenient to the plot but not always, so what was the point of it in the first place, anyway?
And Riker had that blue deep, deep v-neck. Or was that meant to be pajamas?
Beverly had a good bit of off duty outfits. Then there's the argument of just how comfortable their uniforms are. It could just feel so comfortable, they can wear it on or off duty.
This is a fair observation, & while I'd have liked to see him mix it up at least while he was dating Jenna Desoto, I think that he didn't is the whole point of that episode... & of maybe Data, on the whole. There is no casual Data, as he is during this time in his life. Maybe in the finale's future, or in the movies, but not really in the show.
I'm going to assume we're discounting at least two of Troi's most frequented outfits, the maroon with black trim, & the purple with lavender trim, which she used in place of a uniform, & in general I'm assuming we're mostly looking for casual outfits during down time aboard the ship, because there's countless times they are out of uniform when they go elsewhere. Here's what I've come up with, & some actually reappeared. I also might be forgetting some. All in all, we were better off that they didn't dress casual much. Some of it was atrocious.
Picard be digging that v-neck pleated diagonal matador look a LOT
It sends the clear message of... "That's right... I have gray chest hair"
I could stare at this lady all day long. That bottom right pic
looks like a shiny shopping bag, & she still makes it pop.
They found Bev some interesting stuff on occasion. Struggled finding good colors for her though.
Pea soup is not a shirt color. The blue looked nice, & she knows how to work that bronze dress
A few oddball duds for the dudes. Honestly, if Worf wore traditional
Klingon casual clothes, it would probably scare the hell outta people
& then... let us not forget the Laforge Casanova Collection. He dresses like he wants to be mistaken
for a piece of furniture. But hey, I've seen that VISOR feed. It ain't helping much for color coordination
Last edited:
I know for a fact I've seen not only Data, but Geordi and Riker sleep in their uniform, with their shoes on and the covers pulled over them. The wake up call goes off, they open their eyes and throw back the covers and BAM! They got the uniform on including the polished Stacy Adams with stirrup around the heel.
I could not say what episode
I could not say what episode
I only recall Data sleeping in his uniform in Phantasms, because he is purposely initiating his dream program. I can sort of see why he might think staying properly dressed would be logical in that case. To my recollection, Riker sleeps in his uniform only in Schisms, because he is expecting to be abducted. He's also armed. Picard sleeps in his uniform on board the Klingon ship in Unification, while Data creeps him out staring, but I can't think of many times I recall Geordi in bed sleeping. One was in The Mind's Eye when he has nightmares about killing O'Brien, but he's not in uniform, although his jammies are almost the same as his uniform lol
I think maybe Deanna wears casual clothes is because she wants people to relax and open up to her, and feel like they're having a conversation with a good friend, not being assessed like a bacteria on a Petri dish. But she often gets interrupted in the course of her daily sessions to do something else, so she doesn't change clothes until she can get back to her quarters.
That actually makes a lot of sense. I can totally see a crewman, or a new ensign being a bit intimidated by those 3 pips on her collar
When people come into her office, it's a safe place to talk, not an inspection. Ultimately, what they say has some bearing on their service, but if she threw her uniform and rank in their face every second, they'd be preoccupied with editing themselves.
That's a generous way to look at it, & sometimes I can agree, but she sure does seem to be planted on that bridge quite a lot. I envision that how you described it is maybe how it began, but as time went on, and the crew began to relax under Picard, he just let her wear whatever she wanted. People got use to it, and it became more frequent than just her coming up after an office visit & not changing
And much like a lot of bad habits, no one ever really thought twice about it, until Jellico brought in a more formal perspective & suddenly it dawned on her... "Yeah... maybe when I'm on the bridge, I'm not there to be someone's therapist. I'm the ship's relations advisor & cultural attaché". Her whole position made me think that maybe the job was somewhat new & wasn't entirely defined yet. So she made it her own & it evolved with her
Similar threads
