Vulcans... to swim or not to swim?

[WarpGirl]

I meant internally!

[Asso]

Ah....
I don't know. Maybe... Trip? Oooops!

[WarpGirl]

Huh? I don't get it.

All I'm saying that since Vulcans "evolved" on Vulcan their bodies would naturally adapt to all of the natural phenominon on the planet.

Also what you said about there being no water on Vulcan that's not quite true either. Even if there weren't visable bodies of water on the surface, there could be thousands of bodies of water underneath. Did you know there is an entire river system under the Sahara? There is, underground river rivals the Amazon and Nile rivers.

[dark_rain]

Ah....
I don't know. Maybe... Trip? Oooops!

You dirty beggar!

I just thought I'd drop by and add my opinion. I agree with those before me that it wouldn't make sense to teach ALL Vulcans to swim. There isn't enough of a demand for it on a desert world. Also, if there ARE only a few small seas, the majority of the population would live quite some distance away, and getting them there would cost a bomb. I don't think that they'd build swimming pools (think evapouration) when there are other methods of excercise that work just as well. Teaching Vulcans who are going into service (such as T'Pol) how to swim does make sense, they need to be prepared for any eventuallity, including water.

[WarpGirl]

Meh I might not remember right because it was YEARS ago. But I think in a VOY episode Tom asked Tuvok if he could swim. He said he could but didn't like it. Truthfully I think a lot of Vulcans wouldn't like swimming, especially in open water. Too cold and unpredicticable. But Like I said before, for Vulcans who are often off-world, it seems a reasonable skill to have.

PS. The Vulcan word for swimming is... Mahalan. Which frankly sounds like Mahalo which is Hawaiian for thanks and you're welcome. But that is a totally useless fact.

[Aquarius]

It makes sense for Tuvok to know how to swim because it would be part of his Starfleet training.

As for the gravity issue, these people are advanced enough to create artificial gravity so something resembling normal for them can exist where there is no gravity or microgravity; I think it follows that they could also manipulate gravity dirtside, then.

The gravity/floating question brings up a question about their bodies, though. Our ability to float has a lot to do with our percentage of body fat, right? Vulcans are generally shown to be pretty lean...so even in Earthlike conditions, would they have trouble floating?

[WarpGirl]

I don't think floating has anything to do with body fat Aquarius. I have personal proof. The women on my mothers side of the family don't gain any body fat until they have kids. Proven fact, my Grammy, Mama, Aunt, all female cousins except 1, my sister and me. Well lets just say sister and I are still skeletons allong with all female cousins except 1. I mean we are really skinny. Sister makes T'Pol look plump. We float beautifully, and for hours should we choose. But hey what can you do if everyone at one point in your family was on swim-team and life-guards.

[Alelou]

I would think manipulating gravity dirtside -- sitting on the tremendous mass of a planet -- would be MUCH more of a challenge than manipulating it in space.

Not to say that Vulcans might not have figured it out anyway.

I believe we do do it right now for very short periods of time by sending jets into dives. (Yikes.)

[WarpGirl]

Vulcans figured out the tractor beam before Earth, isn't pulling ships around by energy harder than that? Especially at Warp Speed.

[Aquarius]

I would think manipulating gravity dirtside -- sitting on the tremendous mass of a planet -- would be MUCH more of a challenge than manipulating it in space.

Not to say that Vulcans might not have figured it out anyway.

I believe we do do it right now for very short periods of time by sending jets into dives. (Yikes.)

I don't know if they have them yet in Archer's time, but in various incarnations of Trek you see lots of antigravity devices, like for hauling heavy stuff--like a futuristic dolly or stretcher or whatnot. So I would call that being able to manipulate gravity dirtiside...whether or not they could do it on a larger scale like for an Olympic-sized swimming pool is another story, but it suggests to me that they'd at lest been working on the problem and have been at various stages of development in solving it, and as often happens, technologies are adopted for use with things and situations other than what they were originally invented for. So I think that it's possible that they could manipulate gravity for the purpose of swimming lessons...but then the question is, would they?

[WarpGirl]

I think so, Like I said if Vulcans who are spending time going to other planets a lot. It's a useful skill. So obviously they'd have to learn somehow.

[Aquarius]

The Vulcans seem to have their own version of "whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger," so in that context, yeah, swimming lessons make sense, as uncomfortable and distasteful swimming might be to a desert people.

[Linda]

I think bone density would have an effect on ability to float. Swimming training might be required for some people in the Vulcan military, especially for assignment to planets with more water, as someone thoughtfully pointed out. But it would seem impractical for the majority of the stay-at-home Vulcan population.

[WarpGirl]

Now that's true I remember from acing High-School biology. As for the majority of Vulcans finding swimming distaseful, well... Yeah it's possible. A lot of factors can go into that. But they are individuals, I'm sure a great many Vulcans would also find it extremely enjoyable, even a bit of a novalty.

[Aquarius]

I think though, that if your species evolved on a world that was desert and water was pretty much used only for drinking and bathing, then you wouldn't be "wired" to enjoy a cool swim. Yes, individual mileage varies, but who has the patience to debate every single possible outcome? We know that there'll be exceptions, but as a general rule, since they've evolved to desert conditions, swimming and water play would be contrary to their instincts and enjoyment for the most part.

We humans, on the other hand, are at a definite advantage over Vulcans in this way because we've evolved on a world with a multitude of climatic conditions, so we're wired to adapt to most of them. That's why we can find a safe hike in a desert as enjoyable as a moonlight swim...again individual mileage varies, but in general, sure.