# Data vs. The Doctor (EMH) - who/which would win? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618 "2011-02-16T19:32:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/1 "2011-02-16T19:32:03Z")
Just curious. Let’s say you equip The Doctor with his Mobile Emitter, and let the two compete it out. Any sort of competition, not just physical. Seems to me the EMH Doctor would kick Data’s butt. First, while I’m sure that Dr. Sung (Soong?) guy who invented Data was a genius and all that, Data’s hardware & software have to be out of date. The Doctor on the other hand, has the latest in software running on a mobile emitter from even farther in the future! The Doctor is surely more intelligent than Data, and a quicker thinker. I also notice that while Data blubbered around like a social and emotional idiot for awhile - and still seems klutzy with the whole social human interaction thing - the Doctor never had any problems with those silly “human emotions.” His personality was a bit prickly at first, but it was a personality, and he was designed as an emergency doctor so you really wouldn’t expect him to act like a Tribble. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/2 "2011-02-16T19:33:04Z")
Why would they be fighting? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/3 "2011-02-16T19:34:39Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > Why would they be fighting? I didn’t say “fighting,” I said “competing.” Fighting is cool too, though! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/4 "2011-02-16T19:38:28Z")
The Doctor could easily out sing Data. Since his technology was far more advanced… seems reasonable that The Doc had more capabilities. There is one difference. Data was trained/programmed in science & engineering. He often helped Geordi with ship repairs. Wasn’t Data the Science Officer like Spock? The Doc knew medicine. There were times Voyager broke and he wasn’t much use in fixing it. ---
**Author:** ![Candyman74](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Candyman74](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Candyman74)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/5 "2011-02-16T19:56:38Z")
Took me a while. I thought you were talking about the Doctor. Turns out you were talking about a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/6 "2011-02-16T20:28:47Z")
This is a doctor who’s really a [del]doctor[/del] physician. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/7 "2011-02-16T21:03:28Z")
Well, if we were talking about THE Doctor, there’s no question. Anyone who’s defeated the Cybermen wouldn’t even be inconvenienced by Data. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/8 "2011-02-16T21:21:48Z")
Well, if it were the Doctors together, they’d end up friends eventually. Although, the one Doctor would definitely find the other Doctor annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/9 "2011-02-16T21:22:02Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, if we were talking about THE Doctor, there’s no question. Anyone who’s defeated the Cybermen wouldn’t even be inconvenienced by Data. Yeah I was a bit confused by the question and was going to ask what a “Mobile Emitter” was. Then realized the OP wasn’t asking about The Doctor, but another doctor. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/10 "2011-02-16T21:24:28Z")
Stop calling him _a_ doctor or _another_ doctor. He is very much _the_ Doctor, on his show. :mad:🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/11 "2011-02-16T21:28:04Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Well, if we were talking about THE Doctor, there’s no question. Anyone who’s defeated the Cybermen wouldn’t even be inconvenienced by Data. > [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Yeah I was a bit confused by the question and was going to ask what a “Mobile Emitter” was. Then realized the OP wasn’t asking about The Doctor, but another doctor. Same here. I was thinking that maybe a “Mobile Emitter” was something that the current Doctor had. (I haven’t regularly watched since David Tennet left.) ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/12 "2011-02-16T21:32:53Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Since his technology was far more advanced… seems reasonable that The Doc had more capabilities. His technology isn’t more advanced, however. The Doc is off the shelf Federation technology. Though his abilities grew during the series, he’s still basically just a program that runs on the ship’s computer. Data, however, runs off tech that the federation does not have the ability to duplicate - Soong developed technology that was beyond anything the Federation has been able to achieve. So, if Data and the EMH were in a contest, the winner would be… Wesley Crusher, because the writers are assholes ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/13 "2011-02-16T21:37:13Z")
For those who are at sea, “the doctor” in the OP refers to the Emergency Medical Hologram from ST: Voyager. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/14 "2011-02-16T22:02:44Z")
The Voyager effectively has a snapshot of the entire internet from whenever it last docked. Every Federation ship does. The Doctor has complete, searchable access to that wirelessly. Data doesn’t seem to have any sort of wireless access to the ship’s computer. He has to either ask, use a console, or jack in. However, it’s entirely possible (and likely) that he _has_ jacked in at least once and has downloaded the entire ship database into his head. I don’t believe that there’s any reason to assume that Data can’t memorize an effectively limitless amount of data. Since the Voyager is lost in space, its computer database is likely out of date. Data’s is probably more current. So, really, in the one way in which the Doctor may have had the upper hand, it’s likely that Data still pulls ahead. In terms of strength, creativity, intellect, etc. Data pulls ahead. The Doctor can simulate human capabilities to some extent, but Data actually has those abilities. And of course, the Doctor is a hologram of a human, so (I believe) he only has human strength. Data has superhuman strength. ---
**Author:** ![Foggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foggy/32/1082_2.png) [@Foggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Foggy)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/15 "2011-02-16T23:18:40Z")
I would rather see Tom Paris and Dr Bashir oil wrestling. Hey! You have your Holo-Deck fantasy, I have mine. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/16 "2011-02-16T23:44:18Z")
The Doctor is, despite what some people in this thread are saying, a rather ambiguous way to refer to a character. The Voyager’s EMH is not ‘a doctor’. He is [The Doctor](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/The_Doctor). Likewise, the people who assumed it was [this guy](http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/The_Doctor) are certainly justified in that. (Just not in claiming that the one in question is not The Doctor.) In a different context ‘The Doctor’ might refer to one or more of [these guys](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_(Wildstorm)), too. I’m sure there are probably many other characters for whom ‘The Doctor’ is proper noun, but I think the point is made. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/17 "2011-02-17T04:20:55Z")
The Doctor is probably smarter/more knowledgeable than Data in medical matters, but that’s because that’s his specialty. On anything other than medical, Data almost certainly has him beat. Heck, with both of them being non-biological, Data probably knows more about the Doctor’s functioning than the Doctor knows about himself. Although, to be fair, Data’s hardware design seems to be at least heavily inspired by biology (“if you prick me, do I not… leak?”), so the Doctor’s knowledge wouldn’t be completely irrelevant when it comes to Data. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/18 "2011-02-17T05:23:09Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > The Doctor on the other hand, has the latest in software running on a mobile emitter from even farther in the future! The Doctor is already outdated. DS9 and Voyager both introduced Mark 2 versions of the EMH program. The Doctor is a Mark 1 version. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/19 "2011-02-17T05:41:55Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > The Doctor is already outdated. DS9 and Voyager both introduced Mark 2 versions of the EMH program. The Doctor is a Mark 1 version. Yeah, but the Mark 2 is such a Dick! ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618/20 "2011-02-17T05:52:33Z")
Dammit Jim, he’s the Doctor, not the Doctor! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/data-vs-the-doctor-emh-who-which-would-win/571618.md?page=2)