Vulcan Reading Binge

[Christopher]

I don't think they dropped it. Just because something can be dangerous doesn't mean it invariably has to be. I mean, driving a car can be extremely dangerous, but you don't see every driving scene in fiction prefaced with a lecture about how dangerous it is. Any surgical procedure can be dangerous, but we never saw a scene with McCoy or Crusher or Bashir showing a patient the consent forms and disclaimers before proceeding with the operation.

Mindmelds are the same way: they have hazards, but those hazards are manageable in the hands of a trained and careful practitioner with suitable preparation.

And the point remains: it was never stated that mindmelds were dangerous to non-Vulcans specifically. The hazards were never delineated along species lines like that.

 

[T'Bonz]

That's being a bit overly nitpicky to say that "The hazards were never delineated along species lines like that."

They only had x amount of time for the show and needed to show action, not go into tedious detail.

The danger was stated and the clear meaning at the time was that the mind-meld was/could be dangerous and should be used sparingly and with caution.

One can only assume that it was deliberately "forgotten" (if indeed they even remembered what went before, not everyone is a Trekkie canon-freak like those of us online) because the meld became a convenient story device.

 

[JD]

^Perhaps, in the time between TOS and TNG/VGR someone found a way to make mind-melds safer. I mean there is a 100 year period between the two.

 

[Christopher]

Jingle Bonz said:
That's being a bit overly nitpicky to say that "The hazards were never delineated along species lines like that."

They only had x amount of time for the show and needed to show action, not go into tedious detail.

The danger was stated and the clear meaning at the time was that the mind-meld was/could be dangerous and should be used sparingly and with caution.

Whaaa?? "Overly nitpicky?" I was responding to a specific comment made yesterday by AN_D_K, to wit:

Remember back in the day when they were meant to be dangerous to non-Vulcans...?

"Dangerous to non-Vulcans" was the specific claim being made, and I was responding to that claim by referring to the actual facts in evidence. How the hell is that "overly nitpicky?" The "nitpick" about species wasn't mine in the first place.

 

[T'Bonz]

I was responding to this:

So he never said it was dangerous to other species -- rather, he said that it was intrinsically a risky undertaking for the Vulcans or anyone else who participated in it. But he was something of a mother hen by nature.

It WAS stated that they were dangerous. Just because Spock didn't specifically say "Oh, this is dangerous to HUMANS (or fill in the species)" doesn't mean that that it wasn't dangerous to non-Vulcans. The clear and common meaning of "It could be dangerous." and "It requires I make pressure changes, in your nerves, your blood vessels," is that it WAS dangerous, with the implication being that it was dangerous to non-Vulcans or at the very least, to humans.

* *

Perhaps, in the time between TOS and TNG/VGR someone found a way to make mind-melds safer. I mean there is a 100 year period between the two.

That is quite possible. However, I'm guessing it was more convenient to use melding in stories, so they just ignored it (if they even remembered they had used those lines, which I rather doubt.)

 

[AN_D_K]

I'll accept Christopher's wisdom and knowledge ...

...if only because we all have to have a shot of whiskey whenever he does so on this forum.

 

[PDX Trek]

Umm... I just wanted some good reading material... Please, no fighting in front of the Vulcans...

Besides, Christopher is right.

The hesitation to meld comes from the way that Vulcan mind-melds are an intimate experience analogous to sex and Vulcans prefer to use the technique sparingly.

 

[T'Bonz]

Edit: Nevermind. Don't care enough about the issue to argue it. Life's too short to get so much into the detail of a TV show made to sell laundry soap.

 

[Christopher]

Jingle Bonz said:
I was responding to this:

So he never said it was dangerous to other species -- rather, he said that it was intrinsically a risky undertaking for the Vulcans or anyone else who participated in it. But he was something of a mother hen by nature.

It WAS stated that they were dangerous. Just because Spock didn't specifically say "Oh, this is dangerous to HUMANS (or fill in the species)" doesn't mean that that it wasn't dangerous to non-Vulcans. The clear and common meaning of "It could be dangerous."

Come on, obviously I wasn't denying that it was dangerous at all. "Dangerous to non-Vulcans" (the claim I was responding to all along) implies "not dangerous for Vulcans." What was actually established, as I explained, was that it was potentially dangerous for any participant, with species not being singled out as a factor at all. So since we both agree that it's potentially dangerous to any participant, I don't understand what you think you're criticizing me for.