Was Q (on Star Trek: TNG) good or evil?

[DiggitCamara]

@Skald_the_Rhymer

Do not annoy the Aesir. Do not go to the funeral of one of the Aesir. If you find yourself in a situation in which someone you are related to has annoyed the Aesir, commit suicide immediately.

[continuing hijack]Tru dat.

This story by David Brin illustrates the concept rather well. It goes a bit further, even: Avoid the Aesir at all costs!
[/continuing hijack]

[Fuzzy_Dunlop]

@Irishman

Captain Amazing said:

The analogy is flawed, because ants don’t have consciousness and aren’t moral beings. They don’t have the level of sentience. To suppose there is a being with some greater amount of knowledge and power is one thing, but that does not negate that humans are sentient and have a moral sense.

A truly great moral being who has all the capabilities of a superQ (or god or whatever term you want to use) is going to be limited in what he will do to humans, not because humans are stupid and powerless, but precisely because they are stupid and powerless but also sentient. Right and wrong applies to the greater moral being more so than the lesser moral being, because the greater moral being has a greater ability to understand it.

For Q to dismiss humans as insignificant may be an accurate summation of our place in the universe, but it is not the position of an advanced moral being. Our lives have meaning to us.

But he’s truly omnipotent. He can easily change his mind and unkill you and make it so you were never killed. He could “wait” for 10,000,000 years and go back in time and unkill you. We’re less like ants to him and more like characters in a computer game - infinitely resettable.

[TruCelt]

@choie

Crap, missed the editing window.

Agreed with most that Q is neither good nor evil, but a willful trickster. And I understand Picard not being able to play along; he was responsible for 1000+ lives on board. When Q shows up, Picard has no idea what “mischief” they’re all in for – and some crew deaths can be placed squarely on Q’s plate.

It’s fun for us to watch, but realistically, I can’t imagine someone living through Q’s pranks would be as amused by 'em. Well, except for those who saw Beverly turned into an Irish Setter.

I think the crux of the Q/Picard dynamic is in their value of life. Q holds individual lives (esp. of humans) as holding little value, whereas Picard holds them in such high value I think it may be his core value.

Q is more powerful than Picard but less intelligent, a dangerous combo.

[Nars_Glinley]

@TruCelt

Q is more powerful than Picard but less intelligent, a dangerous combo.

Q claimed to have an IQ of 2005. But then again, Geordi was the one that came up with the idea of putting a warp bubble around the moon so maybe Q isn’t as smart or omnipotent as he thought.

[Bosstone]

@KRM

Q claimed to have an IQ of 2005. But then again, Geordi was the one that came up with the idea of putting a warp bubble around the moon so maybe Q isn’t as smart or omnipotent as he thought.

In Spock vs Q, and possibly elsewhere, Q comes up with the excuse that of course he’s omniscient, but when he takes human form he can only retain so much infinite knowledge.

He’s really just another case of high intellect, rock-bottom wisdom.