We're the Augments really dumb?

[Commishsleer]

Khan wanted to execute Kirk. He does this by putting him in a decompression hatch and slowly lowering the oxygen, but not leaving any guards or continuous monitoring. It's hard to defend his intelligence.

Maybe it's sort of a situation like John Hamm's character in 30 Rock. Everybody always told him he was great at everything because he was good looking. Because the only other explanation is bad writing.

There's a difference between saying somebody is superior at something and saying they are a superior person.

I think the writing was to show how arrogant Khan was. Sometime high intelligence goes hand in hand with arrogance.

And he would have succeeded too if McGivers hadn't turned again. Although I thought Spock was giving off vibes of employing Kirk-fu as he was led to the decontamination chamber.

As for the Augments appearing really dumb I thought aside from Khan no-one in ENT or TWOK or Space Seed appeared super-intelligent. Just good-looking and strong.

 

[Armored Saint]

thought aside from Khan no-one in ENT or TWOK or Space Seed appeared super-intelligent.

I see two possible explanations:
1- It's indeed bad writing, but for the same reason Chekov did everything on the bridge during the battle scene in Journey to Babel. So they could only have Khan as Kor and Joaquin (and then Joachim in TWOK) as Kor's lieutenant in Space Seeds. The passivity of other augments is caused by narrative and logistical limitations.
2- The other augments were deliberately written as passive to show they weren't so superior and eugenics isn't really efficient. Khan is then one of the few "successes" of these experiences. The other successes headed their own factions instead of following something else.

Of course, the second explanation is at first my in-universe rationalization: they had to be docile enough to follow Khan.

 

[F. King Daniel]

Wrath of Khan reimagine Khan as leader of a group of Arayn youths who would be completely lost without him. In Space Seed, his people were contemporaries, who followed him but you got the impression they could all be extremely dangerous.

My biggest issue with Khan is in WoK, when he is defeated because he doesn't understand that space is three-dimensional. A child would understand it, let alone a super genius warlord. I guess they wanted a very basic battle tactic which anyone could understand, but it did Khan a huge disservice. He became Derp Khan.

 

[Jakks]

My biggest issue with Khan is in WoK, when he is defeated because he doesn't understand that space is three-dimensional. A child would understand it, let alone a super genius warlord.

Understanding a thing and using it effectively (in a short period of time) are two very different things I don't care how 'smart' you are.

Kirk had a lifetime of starship combat and tactics experience to draw on at a moments notice. Khan at best was learning as he went...I mean how much space combat had he been in? Other than ambushing the Enterprise once...and he got his ship all shot up doing that.

 

[Timo]

Of course, the second explanation is at first my in-universe rationalization: they had to be docile enough to follow Khan.

I'd argue that not putting a word edgewise with Khan is a clear sign of superior intelligence!

Wrath of Khan reimagine Khan as leader of a group of Arayn youths who would be completely lost without him.

Or, in other words, the plot of the movie put him in this new situation where he led a group of Aryan youths. In the fifteen-odd years, Khan's age-mates would have died out, either because Ceti Alpha Insert-Numeral was a really hostile place, or because the aging Khan really, really didn't like competition...

In Space Seed, his people were contemporaries, who followed him but you got the impression they could all be extremely dangerous.

...A great reason for Khan to get rid of them!

My biggest issue with Khan is in WoK, when he is defeated because he doesn't understand that space is three-dimensional. A child would understand it, let alone a super genius warlord. I guess they wanted a very basic battle tactic which anyone could understand, but it did Khan a huge disservice. He became Derp Khan.

I don't really see how "understanding" would have helped Khan any, or how three-dimensionality would have played any role in Kirk's victory. The two ships were circling each other in a soup thick enough that they could pass each other within a few hundred meters and not see a thing. Kirk could have sidestepped to port or starboard just as well as down, and the end result would have been the same.

The mystery here is, how could either side re-acquire the other in the crosshairs at all? This happens several times in the fight, even though the only means of locating the opponent seems to be visual scanning of the immediate vicinity, through so much noise to the signal that only point-blank targets could be spotted. Khan is shown scanning dead ahead, rather than down where Kirk lurks - but that's not an example of 2D vs. 3D thinking, that's simply 1D necessity in an environment whose dimensionality is irrelevant. Khan would have been no better off scanning down, or up, or to port, or to starboard: he needed to be vigilant in the whole 4pi sphere around the Reliant, and he could not. But neither could Kirk.

The battle seemed to be decided by two skippers guessing where the other one might be, and Khan guessed right just as often as Kirk did. Both guesses are unrealistic to the extreme, given the conditions, but neither makes Kirk the more skilled commander. The outcome just shows Kirk had better luck.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Captain Clark Terrell]

While obviously possessing a excellent memory, there no real indication that Khan was atypically smart.

I've yet to meet a stupid person with superior recall capabilities, but that's a subject for another time.

That Khan and his men were able to operate a Starfleet vessel speaks to their intelligence.

--Sran

 

[Commishsleer]

My biggest issue with Khan is in WoK, when he is defeated because he doesn't understand that space is three-dimensional. A child would understand it, let alone a super genius warlord.

Understanding a thing and using it effectively (in a short period of time) are two very different things I don't care how 'smart' you are.

Kirk had a lifetime of starship combat and tactics experience to draw on at a moments notice. Khan at best was learning as he went...I mean how much space combat had he been in? Other than ambushing the Enterprise once...and he got his ship all shot up doing that.

The only battle experience he had from the Eugenics war would have been with 20th century machinery.
The person with the highest IQ today wouldn't be an expert in every field. I wouldn't want to be the first patient operated on by a super genius whos only 'experience' came from reading some books.
And also Khan was going off the deep end in TWOK. You don't think straight when you're very angry.