Tin Man
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24 Sep 2015, 11:44 pm
In ST: The Next Generation the species of betazoids are empaths who can read minds or states of mind (emotional states) at will, but in the episode called Tin Man, betazoid Tam Elbrun is forced to read the minds of others at all times and simply cannot choose who or when. So how can he effectively read minds at all and choose his own course of action if he is constantly under attack and he cannot reach a place of safety to collect his thoughts?
I would think that amongst a room of (crowded) people that the empathic state would overload and shutdown to some extent, however that wouldn't necessarily free up any mental capacity, it would be more like a drowning in a cacophony of noise.
Quote:
Tin Man (episode)
Written By
Dennis Putman Bailey & David Bischoff
Directed By
Robert Scheerer
Act One
Picard is informed by Troi that Tam is considered a gifted telepath, even by Betazoid standards, and is a specialist for Starfleet in first contact situations. Lt. Commander Data and Captain Picard greet Tam in the transporter room where he is beamed over from the Hood by transporter chief Miles O'Brien. Though Picard extends common courtesy in welcoming Tam to the Enterprise, Tam appears almost brusque and aloof towards him, and causally attempts to forestall what Tam considers uncomfortable extended interaction with others by tossing his orders, and mission details, to Picard on an isolinear data chip. Tam's attitude change is noticeably visible as he turns to greet Deanna Troi, with whom he has a more friendly and more comfortable relationship. He is however startled when Data interjects his welcome, questioning who or what Data is. Data explains that he's an android. Tam is interested, since he cannot "read" Data's presence at all via his telepathic senses; it's as if Data's not actually there.
Written By
Dennis Putman Bailey & David Bischoff
Directed By
Robert Scheerer
Act One
Picard is informed by Troi that Tam is considered a gifted telepath, even by Betazoid standards, and is a specialist for Starfleet in first contact situations. Lt. Commander Data and Captain Picard greet Tam in the transporter room where he is beamed over from the Hood by transporter chief Miles O'Brien. Though Picard extends common courtesy in welcoming Tam to the Enterprise, Tam appears almost brusque and aloof towards him, and causally attempts to forestall what Tam considers uncomfortable extended interaction with others by tossing his orders, and mission details, to Picard on an isolinear data chip. Tam's attitude change is noticeably visible as he turns to greet Deanna Troi, with whom he has a more friendly and more comfortable relationship. He is however startled when Data interjects his welcome, questioning who or what Data is. Data explains that he's an android. Tam is interested, since he cannot "read" Data's presence at all via his telepathic senses; it's as if Data's not actually there.
Code:
http://en.memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Tin_Man_(episode)
Here we meet the materialist reality the extroversion of the human mind and Tam can experience Data through his own mental filters and his own subjective reality.
Quote:
Act Two
Still two days out from the Beta Stromgren system, Picard confers with Doctor Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi in sickbay because of his concerns about the stability of Tam, whom Starfleet considers crucial to the mission and upon whom Picard is forced to rely. Picard is surprised when informed by Crusher how high on the ESP scale Tam is, and how he is considered to be a prodigy when it comes to telepathic abilities. Troi explains that this is due to Tam being born telepathic, which is very uncommon in Betazoids, who usually develop their telepathic abilities in adolescence. Such Betazoids rarely if ever lead normal lives as the "noise" of hearing so many other people's thoughts during early development is often overwhelming, even incomprehensible. Early diagnosis and training helped Tam to adjust, though this has led to occasional need for hospitalization and therapy to deal with the stress, hence her contact with him at the university while studying psychology. As a result of his background, this has prompted Tam to seek assignments where he is more isolated from other humanoids and pursuing the more unusual lifeform assignments.
...
Deanna Troi goes to Tam's quarters to check on him since he has not been out of his stateroom for quite some time. Tam at first is sarcastic and curt with Troi, but finally lets down his emotional defenses and confides in Deanna that the reason for his sequestering himself in his stateroom is because the number of people on the ship scares him. His inability to block out their thoughts and feelings threaten to overwhelm him, and that he never really could shut it all out.
Compounding Tam's own doubts about his reliability are Riker and Picard's, stemming from the Ghorusda incident which Tam is well aware of. Troi presses him on what happened to him during the incident. Tam admits that he may have gotten "too close" to the Ghorusdians, which was not a unique thing to happen for him, and that it may have affected the professional detachment that is often needed in such missions. He confesses that he probably could have warned Darson more forcefully, and maybe avoided the disaster that resulted.
Troi puts forward the suggestion that he "ran away" because of the Ghorusda incident, by seeking out isolated assignments, such as being the only Federation delegate to be posted to Chandra V, giving him some measure of respite, and where Tam was up until his seeking out the assignment for making contact with "Tin Man". The Chandrans are a very peaceful and tranquil people, unlike humans, and this had been a relief for Tam, and one reason why Tam tells Troi that he likes being around Data since he is not bombarded by Data's thoughts. This perplexes Troi, since if the Chandrans proved some measure of relief for Tam, why would he volunteer to put himself into such an uncomfortable situation where he would be on board a vessel with over a thousand minds which would be quite uncomfortable for Tam?
Still two days out from the Beta Stromgren system, Picard confers with Doctor Beverly Crusher and Deanna Troi in sickbay because of his concerns about the stability of Tam, whom Starfleet considers crucial to the mission and upon whom Picard is forced to rely. Picard is surprised when informed by Crusher how high on the ESP scale Tam is, and how he is considered to be a prodigy when it comes to telepathic abilities. Troi explains that this is due to Tam being born telepathic, which is very uncommon in Betazoids, who usually develop their telepathic abilities in adolescence. Such Betazoids rarely if ever lead normal lives as the "noise" of hearing so many other people's thoughts during early development is often overwhelming, even incomprehensible. Early diagnosis and training helped Tam to adjust, though this has led to occasional need for hospitalization and therapy to deal with the stress, hence her contact with him at the university while studying psychology. As a result of his background, this has prompted Tam to seek assignments where he is more isolated from other humanoids and pursuing the more unusual lifeform assignments.
...
Deanna Troi goes to Tam's quarters to check on him since he has not been out of his stateroom for quite some time. Tam at first is sarcastic and curt with Troi, but finally lets down his emotional defenses and confides in Deanna that the reason for his sequestering himself in his stateroom is because the number of people on the ship scares him. His inability to block out their thoughts and feelings threaten to overwhelm him, and that he never really could shut it all out.
Compounding Tam's own doubts about his reliability are Riker and Picard's, stemming from the Ghorusda incident which Tam is well aware of. Troi presses him on what happened to him during the incident. Tam admits that he may have gotten "too close" to the Ghorusdians, which was not a unique thing to happen for him, and that it may have affected the professional detachment that is often needed in such missions. He confesses that he probably could have warned Darson more forcefully, and maybe avoided the disaster that resulted.
Troi puts forward the suggestion that he "ran away" because of the Ghorusda incident, by seeking out isolated assignments, such as being the only Federation delegate to be posted to Chandra V, giving him some measure of respite, and where Tam was up until his seeking out the assignment for making contact with "Tin Man". The Chandrans are a very peaceful and tranquil people, unlike humans, and this had been a relief for Tam, and one reason why Tam tells Troi that he likes being around Data since he is not bombarded by Data's thoughts. This perplexes Troi, since if the Chandrans proved some measure of relief for Tam, why would he volunteer to put himself into such an uncomfortable situation where he would be on board a vessel with over a thousand minds which would be quite uncomfortable for Tam?
Would anyone agree with me that autistics are people like Tam? Suffering from empathy-overload rather than a lack thereof and that as well as the thinking-patterns of others that the point of view of others including emotional pain, sight and sound are conceptualised automatically? I believe certain diets and a structured life could mask or reduce some of these symptoms and early childhood trauma increase them.
Hence, we're contemptible and inferior (and animal-like) from an NT point of view since we don't possess this selective empathy.
