Alex Tang
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Medical Students /Paediatric notes
Five Wisdom I Learned from Watching Star Trek
Dr Alex Tang
The Star Trek universes continue to unfold with contributions from both older and younger Trekkies. With the coming movie, it is hoped that there will be an infusion of fresh new blood to the creation and development of this interesting and myriad universe.
Looking back, I perceive that there are five major areas of wisdom that Star Trek has contributed to my life.
Wisdom 1: Spock may be smart but Kirk always get the girls (Star Trek: Original)
One of the highlights of the original series is the friendly batter between Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock and Dr. McCoy. However, while Mr. Spock find the solution to get them out of trouble, it is Kirk that gets the girl. I find that EQ beats IQ almost all the time. While Mr. Spock has a very high IQ (intelligence quotient), it is EQ ( emotional quotient) that helps us make advances in our world. Gardner may have alerted us to multiple intelligences but it is ultimately the use of EQ which gets us ahead in society.
Wisdom 2: Becoming bald may not be a bad thing (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
The cool cerebral balding Captain Picard is the main man that holds together the USS Enterprise in its numerous crisis over its long seven seasons. Picard demonstrates that getting old is not necessarily a bad thing. And bald guys can still have fun. When the years ahead of you can be reckoned in numbers rather than decades, this can become important. Ultimately, getting old is a state of mind. Ageing is the state of your body.
Wisdom 3: You can have fun hanging around a space station (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine)
While the rest of the starships are having fun gallivanting around the universe, Deep Space Nine shows that one can also have fun stationary in one place. There is so much more we can explore and learn about our inner life. There may come a time when you have nothing to prove to anyone anymore; well, except to yourself and your God. Then it may be time to look deep within and find the 'depths of God.' It answers the questions, 'who am I?' and "whose am I?'
Wisdom 4: A little lost spaceship will find her way home (Star Trek: Voyager)
Lost in the delta quadrant can be a daunting process especially if you have to go through what may be called a 'year of hell.' Voyager shows that there is always hope. Hope is present even in a cruel, uncaring, hostile universe. We cannot survive long without hope. The voyage of USS Voyager reminds us that we need to go on and there is always hope.
Wisdom 5: Letting humans off planet earth is a bad idea (Star Trek: Enterprise)
Within a year of the Enterprise leaving earth, humans have created a crisis between the Vulcans and the Andorians, antagonized the Klingons and earth was attacked by the Xindi. Yet, as the title song, Faith of the Heart, notes, the human spirit is meant to explore. We need to have a purpose in life. Otherwise we become apathetic creatures only fit to be pitied. Living a purposeful life may mean leaving our comfort zones and causing troubles. Yet it is in our purpose that we fulfill our vocation. Our vocation answer the question 'what am I here for?'
The Star Trek universe continues to offer me a fertile matrix for thoughts and reflections. Truly it helps me 'go, where no man or woman has gone before...'
|posted 22 March 2009|
