Vulcans and autism

Post Reply New Topic

Lately I have become a big fan of Star Trek NG, and Voyager.

I have read a few books on both series. Currently I am reading one from the Star Trek Titan Series entitled "Orion's Hounds"written by Christopher L. Bennett.

As soon as I read this passage I ran back to the computer to post this message.

The background for it is Tuvok is sick. He now has a great deal of trouble controlling his emotions. "The goals they aspired to differed from the ones she (Troi) valued, since rather than empathizing and approach a cognitivie state that in most species would approximate high-functioning autism. (Indeed, she sometimes wondered if Surak might have had the Vulcan enquivalent of Asperger's syndrome, and turned it to his and his people's advantange.)

Wow, I was stunned, amazed to read a reference to autism in a Star Trek book. Very interesting.

irene

Spock's an Aspie, and that's all there is to it.

We are the Vulcans, and they are us.

Well, the backstory for Vulcan repression is supposed to be that they really do have deep-running emotions. Five thousand years ago, this almost led to their destruction - they were so intelligent that they had developed nuclear weapons, while their society was still just getting past the tribal stage, and there were instances in which nukes were employed in intertribal conflicts. They were on the verge of widespread nuclear devastation. Fortunately, that period also marked the rise of the philosopher Surak, who began preaching that the salvation of Vulcan lay in the mastery of one's passions, rather than surrender to them, and in following logic over emotion. His philosophy spread over the world like wildfire - eventually, those who utterly rejected his words were compelled to board a series of generation ships and go looking for another homeworld (which the galaxy would eventually come to know as "Romulus").

Unfortunately, within a generation or two, his followers began misreading his words as "the suppression of emotion", rather than "passion's mastery", and the rest, as they say, is (fictional) history...

those who utterly rejected his words were compelled to board a series of generation ships and go looking for another homeworld (which the galaxy would eventually come to know as "Romulus").

Thanks for explaining the above.

irene

From all indications about difficulties with social relationships it would also seem that Frankenstein's monster was also an Aspie.

live long a prosper.

I also think seven of nine fits quite well. perhaps even better, at least for me.

Surak lived about 2,000 years prior to the 23rd Century ( so about 300 AD), they had a terrible war (with Nukes - see Enterprise) He formulated a society based on logic, and strict control of emotions (all series),

In the 22nd century, his original writings were found, which changed Vulcan society into something...less interesting... see also, Enterprise

Unless you count the last movie, where they blew up the planet in the 23rd (around 2245-60, depending)

Yes, I watch too much Star Trek...

I love Startrek NG, picard is ok.
I really hate Voyager with that Janeway b***h.
Spock was my favourite, even though I really hate Kirk.

I've been thinking this since one of the first episodes of Star Trek. It's a perfect analogy, and I don't think the creators of the original series had any idea what autism was.

It seems to fit perfectly... Intensely passionate people who have to learn to restrain those feelings, ultimately ending up - if they succeed - as highly logical individuals who value free thought and science who try not to indulge in irrational social actions such as grudge-holding, hatred, mob mentality, and tribalism...

The episode in which Spock got drugged pretty much turned the Vulcans into a representation of myself in my eyes.