Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Vulcans in Star Trek: Jewish or secretly gay?

It is commonly thought (and partially revealed by scriptwriters) that Vulcans are based on ugly stereotypes of Jewish culture (intelligent, controlling, scheming, with secret bloody rituals). Leonard Nimoy also developed the Vulcan greeting based on a Jewish blessing he witnessed at a synagogue. Likewise, Klingons were modeled after stereotypes about feudal Japan (with Viking influences), Romulans after Ancient Rome etc. But wouldn't it be more or at least substantially allegorical to think of Vulcans as closeted homosexuals?
In TOS, Vulcans are depicted as competent, rational, a bit weird and funny-looking, reserved, and having lots of secrets. Literally. In classic episodes "Balance of Terror" and "Amok Time", it is revealed that the Vulcans actually maintain a careful facade to conceal their true identity. They are actually emotional, fierce, even violent people who hide behind ancient rituals and purity pledges (Kolinahr) to appear relatively normal to others.
In "Amok Time" and TNG's "Sarek", it is revealed that being a member of the Vulcan society imposes a heavy toll: finding a mate is not through love but an arranged child marriage confirmed by a ritual, failure to find a mate results in mental illness and even death, as does continued suppression of emotions without release. In "Sarek", this is made explicit by Sarek's breakdown after decades of harboring forbidden emotions that he forcefully releases to Picard via mind meld. In "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock", Saavik offers herself to Spock as a mate to save his life.
Obviously, in "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier", we meet a Vulcan who does not believe in Surak's restricting ideals. He is openly emotional which finally betrays him. Spock keeps his brother's existence secret even to his closest friends due to embarrassment - Sybok is out of the closet, while Spock is confined to it and desperately committed to staying there, as indoctrinated in his childhood by his powerful father.
We also know that Spock is also half Vulcan. This creates an identity crisis that he tries to fix by committing to a reparatory therapy known as Kolinahr ("Star Trek: The Motion Picture"). But as he is to make the final purity pledge, he realizes that this path is not entirely correct - there is something in the universe that calls upon him and wants to be intimate with him (which happens later in the film by mind meld).
I did a bit of Google research and while there are tons of references and allegories to sexuality in Star Trek, I did not actually easily find mentions of Vulcan life as an allegory of closeted lgbti+ people. One of the reasons for Star Trek's success is that the aliens and future concepts we encounter are relatable because they are based on human concepts. Even when not made explicit, the patterns are familiar, therefore I am surprised that I haven't encountered this connection before. Not saying it is any more correct than the Jewish connection that the scriptwriters have acknowledged, but it is also not surprising if these connections seem fitting.
What do you think?

Metamathematics and the associated shame

I was 35 when I found metamathematics. 

It's something I'd been secretly interested in all my life but I didn't have a word for it. After going to bed, in darkness, I would take out my mobile phone, browse Wikipedia or Encyclopedia of Mathematics and read about hyperbolic geometry, minimal universal Turing machines, cellular automata, Entscheidungsproblem and other things. I thought I was the only one. There was no one in my family I could talk to about it. Only later, at a liberal American university, far away from home, I realized that metamathematics is nothing to be ashamed of, and you can do it just for fun, either alone or with somebody you trust. There are even online groups and fun events you can go with others who share the same interest. 

I also believe that metamathematics is only natural in the wider development of mathematics and should be recognized as foundational instead of hushed away as insignificant fringe research area. Also, you don't have to read everything that has been written about it or to know everybody in the scene, you can get intimate with the Busy Beaver game within the confines of your home. 

It's also important and encouraging that while Gauss was hesitant to come out with his blasphemous ideas with hyperbolic geometry, others like Hilbert, Church, and Turing proudly stepped into spotlight. I'm not into hero worship but these pioneers - with sometimes tragic lives - are revered for a reason.

(This is my first new blog post in four years!)