Learning to learn...

To my great pleasure, a couple people have begun reading this blog and commenting on it. I think that is pretty cool. One of the comments suggested that I add the animated series to my list of episodes to watch. There are pros and cons to doing this. Essentially, the animated series was created by Gene Roddenberry after the cancellation of The Original Series. It is predominately voiced by the same actors and for all intents and purposes serves as a fourth season of The Original Series. However, when The Next Generation aired Roddenberry claimed that The Animated Series was not canon and should be ignored. It seems to me though that the perception of what is or isn't "canon" in a fictional universe has a lot more to do with the viewer than the creator. So, based on my friend's suggestion, I will be including The Animated Series (providing I can find a place to watch it) when the time comes.

Over the past couple days, I watched the next five episodes of Enterprise (Cold Front, Silent Enemy, Dear Doctor, Sleeping Dogs, and Shadows of P'Jem). One of the most fun things for me with these episodes was that I watched each one with other people remotely. I watched the first two with my dad from 1000 miles away, and then the next three with a friend of mine in a different country. Both are Trekkies in their own right, and it was really neat to get some of their insights on the episodes. It reinforces my desire to watch these episodes and movies with other people, and Netflix Party seemed to work really well. Let me know if you'd like to join in!

Continuing with the theme that right now Starfleet is a toddler and is beginning to grow up through the voyages of Enterprise, I want to look at the relationship between Captain Archer and Dr. Phlox a bit more. Phlox's role seems to be that of the pathological learner. He constantly tries new foods and we learn that he spent time on Earth and on Vulcan observing (and participating in) cultural and religious practices. He seems to see the universe as a boundless realm of knowledge to be absorbed. In the episode "Cold Front", the Enterprise encounters a ship of religious practitioners in another ship waiting to see a once in 12 years stellar event that they believe is connected with their god. Phlox spends a day with them on their ship participating in the ritualistic prayer, meditation, fasting, and preparation that they undergo. The specifics of what Phlox experienced are somewhat glossed over because of other, more "TV-dramatic" events happening on the Enterprise, but the fact remained that Phlox wanted to go and experience something new.

In this set of episodes there is even a Phlox-specific episode where we learn more about his participation in the Dr. exchange program as stemming from a desire to learn more about the universe. His passion for learning is palatable and extravagant. It is in this episode however that we begin to see a potential intrinsic challenge between pure objectified learning and perception of ethics. He is exploring/experiencing a potential romantic interest aboard the Enterprise at this time. Phlox tries to stress that there are cultural differences between himself (he is a Dinobulan) and the human Ensign, but she professes that she doesn't care. As it turns out, the primary focus of the episode involves Phlox also working with an alien species to cure them of a genetic disease. This particular planet has two sentient species - one is technologically advanced (and in need of a cure) and the other is essentially compromised of slaves. This very much bothers Phlox's romantic interest, and she expresses a lot of distaste for the situation. This ends up perplexing Phlox as he says "You claim to not have an issue with my culture being different from yours but you very much do with this culture being different from yours." His sense that the universe isn't objectively good or evil and merely (and objectively) something to be studied is shaken somewhat by questions about morality and ethics. Here is the Wikipedia page on Phlox to get a bit more info:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlox_(Star_Trek)

Contrast this with Captain Archer. Archer has a very clear sense of objective good and evil, and will fight to ensure his sense of objective good and evil is enforced. He believes simultaneously that he doesn't need anybody else's help and that everybody needs his help. When information threatens that reality, he either refuses to accept it or modifies the information to better fit his world view. And while these two personas seem to conflict (objective good and evil vs. objective learning), they are in fact two sides of the same coin. A coin that actually furthers my theory about Enterprise being a toddler.

Toddlers exhibit both of these traits constantly. They are always 100% sure of what is right and wrong in the universe. They respond aggressively if anything threatens that world view. They want to "do it themselves". AND they are fascinated by learning. They want to experience everything. They want to do everything that anybody else is doing. They can make friends with others simply by jumping in to an experience and sharing a mental model with other children - often complete strangers.

It seems then that Archer and Phlox begin as two extreme ends of what it is to grow and learn. And without the other, each would falter in learning and growing. A pretty neat thing is beginning to happen with the two of them. As the series progresses, each is developing some characteristics of the other. Archer is beginning to view diplomacy through the perspective of those with whom he is interacting (as can be seen in Cold Front, Dear Doctor, Sleeping Dogs, and Shadows of P'Jem) rather than just experiencing everything through his own morals and ethics. Phlox is beginning to look at the world with a bit of his own ethical filter as that influences what and how he wants to learn. This reconciliation happens in children as well as they begin to utilize both aspects of their learning brain simultaneously. I hope that we can continue to see that trend in Enterprise.

Happy trails!

-Chris