10 Dumbest Things in Star Trek The Original Series

From a scientific perspective, telepathy is effectively paranormal nonsense. It was once highly popular in literary science fiction, experiencing a boom in the 1950s and 1960s, but gradually migrated into science fantasy and fantasy genres. However, most TV and film science fiction lag behind literary trends. Consequently, telepathy and telekinesis were prevalent in television and movie science fiction during the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s, but with time were increasingly replaced by technological communication methods.

What’s so dumb about it?

Firstly, think about communication protocols. Is "thought" a universal language? One might argue that Spock's hybrid nature enables him to use his Vulcan mind powers to access both human and Vulcan brains. However, he also sends "suggestions" to a humanoid inhabitant of Eminiar 7 through a wall. While this might be vaguely plausible, he performs the same feat on a Kelvan from another galaxy. Most unbelievably, his carbon-based brain is somehow thought-compatible with entirely alien forms such as the non-corporeal Ambassador Kollos, the silicon-based Horta, and even the wholly mechanical Nomad in "The Changeling."

Secondly, Star Trek sometimes portrays telepathy as instantaneous. Spock senses the deaths of 400 Vulcans in another sector in "The Immunity Syndrome." In "All Our Yesterdays," he finds himself in the past of a distant planet, yet is immediately affected by the far-off Vulcans of that epoch. It's as if he's connected to some faster-than-light interstellar Vulcan Wi-Fi.