Israelis.
Stranger
Given that there are people with very Vulcan like qualities who never seem to get perturbed about anything and are not prone to ill considered actions, sure it’s possible. It all depends on how well they can resist their biological impulses. What makes us persons is that we can choose to ignore what our instincts and biology tell us. Some people give in to every thought and impulse. These people could fairly be called non-persons, IMO, and indeed they tend to be committed either to prison or a mental facility eventually. Most people are slaves to their biology and instincts to some extent, but given that some people can transcend that more than others, I’d say it’s quite reasonable to believe that an intelligent species could evolve even further.
It’s important to remember that we’re the first species on this planet to create civilization. Tens of thousands from years from now, even without us intentionally altering ourselves, we’ll be replaced by another species just as we replaced Neanderthals. Other planets might be on their fourth, fifth, or hundredth post-civilization species.
… Which is why the Vulcan salute is actually a rabbinical blessing? :dubious:
When Spock was hit with the spores, his reaction was to wince in physical pain, and his “girlfriend” made a comment about how no one else had been affected like that. You’re right in that I don’t think they said anything about dying, but it was not a pleasant experience for him like it was for the others.
True, his immediate physiological reaction was one of distress, but it passed quickly and left him with no ill effects (other than the contentment the spores gave him—if one considers that an “ill effect”).
Here is the scene in question:
Whether the original distress was physiological, or simply a result of his mental attempt to reject the influence of the spores is not clear.
It is, btw, one of my favorite Star Trek episodes.
I’ll be accused of being a bigot I’m sure but a lot of Russian and Polish people who came to live in Ireland in recent years look sort of expressionless and have a very strong “fock you” vibe, I’ve heard that random smiling and cheeriness are regarded as for well not necessarily for, but rather serve as an indication toward simple-mindedness , from the whole hard times history or something. So in flights of fancy one could draw parallels to Vulcans, if you were the kind of bigoted person who made such heinous observations , probably smiling to yourself while you do it too, you monster!!!
Having lived full-time in Russia for much of the last 30 years, I can tell you yeah, this is a typical reaction if you smile at a stranger there. In East Europe (Poland, the Czech Republic, the Baltics), not nearly so much.
I agree; it was probably a combination of both. As noted above, none of the humans reacted the way Spock did.
When someone rejects social standards too much we get to put on them a bunch of nifty labels, from Oppositional Disorder to Selfish Jerk. The immense majority of people do learn to say “please” and “thank you”, and the immense majority of people also absorb the values of the culture they grew up in. There are cultures which value precission in language and others which do not; all cultures value music but some value playing music more than dancing, some value singing above dancing; some value group work, some are more individualistic. Does every individual share every single value with the rest of that particular group? No, and variations on how many people hold certain valies is one of the ways in which cultures evolve. But those who share enough values, priorities and manners to be able to live in society are the ones who get to stay out of jail and of the local psychiatric.
I don’t think they argued enough for that.
Strictly speaking, that’s haemocyanins
I thought they were maybe out for a ‘60s Space Japan caricature: Spock is meant to have an ‘inscrutable’ thing going on, of the ‘emotional restraint’ type, just like he’s described as having an Asian appearance — and, sure, his culture now talks up pacifism, along with scientific research, but they’re clearly just as big on ancient martial-arts rituals involving gongs as they are on contemplative meditation.
Just imagine Spock wearing a kimono and maybe it all falls into place?
Roddenberry did indeed have a “thing” for Japan. He and Majel went there to get married in a Shinto ceremony, at which they both wore the traditional garb. (There are probably pictures of this on the Internet.)
And of course, Spock was similarly attired in The Voyage Home.
Roddenberry also insisted one of the starships in TNG be christened Yamato. (Unfortunately, it suffered a rather bad accident, IIRC. 
)
Overload of the wave motion gun blew the whole thing up?
Formerly warlike, now our pacifist allies, seemingly displaying little emotion – yes, I always thought the Vulcans were supposed to represent Japanese culture in that interpretation of Star Trek.
Klingons are space orcs, Ferengi are space goblins, Vulcans are space elves, and Romulans are space drow.
I’m just saying what everyone else is to afraid to say out loud.
It’s been a while, but I think a computer virus did it in.
This may be a whoosh, but I believe Chronos was referencing the anime series Space Battleship Yamato (dubbed in the U.S. as Star Blazers), whose principal weapon was called the “wave motion gun.”
My apologies. I’m not familiar with that one.