Question about ESP and telepaths in TOS

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Regarding redshirts, I imagine security and engineering crews dealing with violent individuals and exploding ship parts probably are more often in situations of imminent personal danger than a scientist reading an ancient codex or a yeoman recording files, much as a police officer, firefighter or soldier is more often in danger than a secretary, cook, or professor. Space and sci-fi evens the odds, but there's still a bigger risk to some roles than others.

 

[Christopher]

Regarding redshirts, I imagine security and engineering crews dealing with violent individuals and exploding ship parts probably are more often in situations of imminent personal danger than a scientist reading an ancient codex or a yeoman recording files, much as a police officer, firefighter or soldier is more often in danger than a secretary, cook, or professor. Space and sci-fi evens the odds, but there's still a bigger risk to some roles than others.

Except engineers and operations personnel also wear red shirts in TOS. For some reason, even historians do (McGivers in "Space Seed" and Erickson in "Yesteryear"), though logically you'd expect them to be in science blue. It's silly to make it about the shirt color.

 

[Henoch]

Except engineers and operations personnel also wear red shirts in TOS. For some reason, even historians do (McGivers in "Space Seed" and Erickson in "Yesteryear"), though logically you'd expect them to be in science blue. It's silly to make it about the shirt color.

Ship's historian was title (McGivers probably got a degree in history), and for 99.9% of the time, no purpose of a starship (just like in real life ). She was most likely in Engineering as some sort of equipment specialist for her real job. YMMV.

 

[Christopher]

Ship's historian was title (McGivers probably got a degree in history), and for 99.9% of the time, no purpose of a starship (just like in real life ).

I have a history degree, for your information. And of course a historian would be of profound importance to a starship crew. They'd be needed to study the histories of alien worlds, because you can't possibly understand a planet's current culture and politics if you don't learn the history that shaped them and through which they filter their interpretations of the world. (The same, of course, is true of our world.) Also they'd be needed to recognize analogies between an alien culture and historical precedents from other worlds -- which can be risky, of course, since no such analogy would ever apply exactly, but would be a useful starting point for constructing a theory of why an alien government or spaceship crew is acting the way it is.

Not to mention, of course, that a starship making first contacts and dealing with interstellar negotiations and conflicts and so forth is making history, and that's something that needs to be documented by someone who knows what they're doing.

As a science fiction writer, I've found my BA in history more useful to my writing than my earlier BS in physics. What I learned about different cultures and worldviews and how they meet and interact on frontiers provided very useful analogies for stories about interspecies contacts and conflicts, and for figuring out how alien cultures would think and act differently from ours. It follows that the same would go for the characters actually having those contacts and conflicts.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Ship's historian was title (McGivers probably got a degree in history), and for 99.9% of the time, no purpose of a starship (just like in real life ). She was most likely in Engineering as some sort of equipment specialist for her real job. YMMV.

Her real job is Historian. The ship is probably full of specialists who's expertise doesn't come into play until it does. Geologists. Archeologists, Anthropologists and a host of other ologists. None of whom need a "second job". The Enterprise isn't a a three man Apollo capsule where everyone needs to be cross trained.

 

[Christopher]

Her real job is Historian. The ship is probably full of specialists who's expertise doesn't come into play until it does. Geologists. Archeologists, Anthropologists and a host of other ologists. None of whom need a "second job". The Enterprise isn't a a three man Apollo capsule where everyone needs to be cross trained.

Of course, the annoying thing is that Starfleet ships are supposed to have hundreds of scientific specialists aboard, but due to the limitations of series television, it's only ever the same handful of regular characters and the odd security guard who actually get to visit alien planets while the hundreds of experts apparently just sit around on the ship twiddling their thumbs.

 

[FredH]

Of course, the annoying thing is that Starfleet ships are supposed to have hundreds of scientific specialists aboard, but due to the limitations of series television, it's only ever the same handful of regular characters and the odd security guard who actually get to visit alien planets while the hundreds of experts apparently just sit around on the ship twiddling their thumbs.

They’re working on intellectually fascinating but visually boring support and science projects relevant to the mission?

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

The Enterprise isn't a a three man Apollo capsule where everyone needs to be cross trained.

I expect many are, however, not for that reason, but rather to give those who are looking for particular posting an edge over other candidates, as well as being practical in case the landing party's lone medic is injured or killed, or engineering is short-staffed as the ship limps back to a starbase. Plus, some people just like to have more than one tool in their toolbox.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Ship's historian was title (McGivers probably got a degree in history), and for 99.9% of the time, no purpose of a starship (just like in real life ). She was most likely in Engineering as some sort of equipment specialist for her real job. YMMV.

I like that, except it doesn't explain Dr. Ann Mulhall, the astrobiologist in red. And engineer Charlene Masters in blue. Historian Marla McGivers is odd in red, historian Carolyn Palamas is right in blue. I wish they'd all been right for the sake of consistency.

In universe, I think Starfleet is somewhat relaxed about it. There's a line in The Enemy Below where the German u-boat commander scolds excess formality: "We do not salute at sea." Being cooped up on a starship would likewise require that people can relax a little. Women in particular might wear the color they like on themselves.

Real world, that's what it was:
• Nichelle Nichols hated the yellow-green, so they let her switch to red.

• Madlyn Rhue and Diana Muldaur looked better in red, probably because it brought out their reddish brown hair and blush (called rouge at the time).

• Maybe they put Janet MacLachlan in blue just to distinguish her from Nichelle Nichols, but it's just as likely that a blue uni was the one that fit.

 

[Metryq]

but it's just as likely that a blue uni was the one that fit.

In the case of Dr. Helen Noel (Marianna Hill), it was the uniform that almost fit.

 

[Roundabout]

They’re working on intellectually fascinating but visually boring support and science projects relevant to the mission?

Or they could be painting "bold men from the past". Apparently, that was what McGivers did with her abundance of free time. But at least, that meant that she didn't have idle hands, for what it's worth.

Interestingly, even Kirk took a dig at the historian, a member of his own crew. "Here's a chance for that historian to do something for a change. What's her name? Mcgivers?" Of course, he mispronounced her name.

That's saying something, when the captain of the ship is basically acknowledging that a ship's historian is largely dead weight, at least to Kirk's point of view.

Hey! New Trekkie here! Just got into the franchise recently through SNW and ENT,
and I'm currently starting my very first run of the original series!

After watching "Charlie X" and "Where no man has gone before" I've got some lore-related questions you might like:

Is there an lore explanation for why both Charlie and Gary became so arrogant/impulsive with their powers? I mean, I've seen telepathy in the universe through Vulcan mind-melds, and they seem to have a high degree of mental training, and not all of them can perform the act, as It seems.. Maybe these humans got too much powers too quickly? Or do you think with proper training they could be a new sect of humans with high powers and great intelect?

If you like stories that feature ESP and the like, be sure to watch the episode "Plato's Stepchildren".

Kirk and crew encounter, not just one or two individuals, but an entire planet whose inhabitants possess psychokinetic powers.

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

He's probably wondering where she or her counterparts were on all the previous occasions relics of known history were encountered or time travel missions were undertaken.

 

[Nerys Myk]

That's saying something, when the captain of the ship is basically acknowledging that a ship's historian is largely dead weight, at least to Kirk's point of view.

Funny, given that Kirk is often written as a history buff. One would think History, Archeology and Anthropology were "his people".

 

[Laura Cynthia Chambers]

Perhaps that's why - he takes it seriously, and anyone who doesn't approach it the way he does confounds him.

 

[Roundabout]

Kirk did run into another Federation historian, John Gill, in "Patterns of Force".

Gill applied his knowledge of history disastrously on Ekos. Gill's actions on Ekos probably didn't help improve Kirk's perception of historians.

 

[Christopher]

Funny, given that Kirk is often written as a history buff. One would think History, Archeology and Anthropology were "his people".

Indeed. His line about McGivers is out of character, at least for how he was later developed.

Similar to how Captain Picard in "The Last Outpost" had never heard of the Tkon Empire, because they hadn't decided to make him an archaeology expert yet.

 

[FredH]

Kirk did run into another Federation historian, John Gill, in "Patterns of Force".

Gill applied his knowledge of history disastrously on Ekos. Gill's actions on Ekos probably didn't help improve Kirk's perception of historians.

It’s always seemed to me that, Spock’s line to the contrary notwithstanding, no actual historian could possibly think a conscious imitation of the Nazis would work out well for a planet with neighbors (to say nothing about absolutely nuking the Prime Directive). (Unless he was a closet Nazi himself, which is hard to picture in Federation society.). If he was, somehow, a respected historian, presumably that was before wacko fringe mindrot got to him.