Once again my Unnamed Black Chick is at the helm. Hear her say "Aye sir" maybe five or six times during the episode. Hear her is exactly what I mean, because of course the camera is never on her face when she replies so, once again, I am assuming that someone else was speaking the lines for her. Who, though? I cannot help but wish I could clear up these little mysteries.
When Data is inserting the weird bits and bobs into Geordi's head, he cheerfully informs him that, though the odds are 60/40 that Geordi will not successfully survive the operation, since Data has three subjects in total to work on then the odds are that with one of them he will succeed. S'cuse me? I'm no mathematician, but if the odds are 60/40 against Geordi coming through it whole, why should the odds be different for Picard, who is a great deal older and therefore perhaps less physically strong, and why should things be different for Troi, whose empathic abilities must surely count against her in this context? What was Data on about?
Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, we have an answer! Step forward Noclueatol, who responds, after this has been on the web for a mere three years mind you, thusly," You said you're no mathematician, which is why this isn't clear to you. He is not saying that the odds are any better for the other two, he is simply using a well-known (to mathematicians, anyway) law of probability, which says (paraphrased for this context) that the odds of all three of them dying are found by multiplying the odds for each one together, i.e. there is a 60% chance of each dying, so the odds of all three dying is .6 * .6 * .6, which is .216, or about 22%. In other words, there is almost a four out of five chance that one of them will survive."
Now why didn't I think of that? Thanks, Noclueatol (whoever you are....).
Interestingly, Beverly apparently has a different philosophy from Jean-Luc when it comes to who may be seated at the rear console and who may not.
Nice to see that Geordi gets on with Spot. In the final monologue between Geordi and Data, Geordi absently strokes Spot, with no complaints from the usually xenophobic puss-cat.
Towards the very end of the show, Data tells Geordi that the emotion chip designed for him by Dr Soong is damaged and cannot therefore be used. He says he is pleased by this. Some may perhaps perceive some contradiction here.
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