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" I also agree with you about Vulcans not being supermen/women."

This is a sentence blacknblue wrote as a comment on Nemo Blank's new story.
It hit me.
Really could someone believe that?
On the contrary I always had the impression that Vulcans are an unlucky race, forced to suppress the emotions so as to live (BTW: know you a manner to go forward without emotions?).
I'm curious.
What you think of that?

Let's see. Vulcans are stronger physically, they have better hearing, at least the females have a stronger sense of smell (although if that is good or bad is up for debate), and they're telepathic. I think sometimes it's easy for people to view them as supermen/women.

What I find more realistic are the people who show they have weaknesses too. Not just the emotionlessness, but physically. Was it Rigil or bnb who suggested that Vulcans have next to no night vision?

Part of it is environment too. Put a Vulcan in a rainforest and they're not going to do as well. That sensitive hearing is going to be overwhelmed with sounds and smells, for instance.

Yup, I think it basically comes down to the conditions they're dealing with. Some writers have suggested that since they have higher body temperatures, they're worse than Humans when it comes to dealing with cooler conditions. Some other writers have stated that they're not too fond of water, and that their body densities would make them bad at the whole swmming thing--don't know hwo true this would be, but it sounds interesting. I also wonder how well they'd deal with humidity, coming from such a dry environment.

But the strength, the reflexes, the telepathy, and the fact that they come from a planet with higher gravity than ours makes them pretty awesome. They can go without sleep, water, and food than Humans. They have an extra eyelid for the sandstorms. I, for example, had a very hard time accepting that Archer could run as fast or faster than T'Pol when they were on Vulcan. In that heat? In that gravity? In the freaking Vulcan desert? T'Pol should have been dragging him around that place. In those specific conditions, or even standard Earth ones, yeah, Vulcans are physically superior.

Perhaps years on Earth and then a starship might have weakened T'Pol a bit, relative to other Vulcans. But I did find Super!Archer quite annoying.

It's all relative, really. Yeah, there are some things that Vulcans can do better than humans, because they evolved differently. But I'm sure there are things that humans can do better. For example, being that Vulcan is a desert world, I doubt it's produced many Olympic-class swimmers, or figure skaters or hockey players. You cast one in an episode of Survivor: Alaska and he or she may not complain as much and survive out of sheer will and mental discipline, but I'm willing to bet a human (especially one from a colder climate) is going to be more "suited" to the challenge.

The Vulcans see emotion as an achilles heel--and for them, it is--but for a human it can be a source of inspiration and creativity and unorthodox thinking that can get some pretty sticky problems solved--because face it, sometimes life just defies logic. People and things and situations aren't always rational.

So I don't think it's so much a "superman" thing, as it is their strengths being different and/or conspicuous enough to capture our attention. As JadziaKathryn very astutely pointed out, keeping a character compelling lies in finding his or her weakness and showing us how it's overcome. Weaknesses keep characters relatable. Part of why most of us find T'Pol so interesting (I think) is that at times she struggles with her emotions and with what it is to be a Vulcan. She's not constantly an emotional mess, but I'm willing to bet everyone here was just dying to see what was going to happen next when she was.

You could also flip it around and see humanity through the lens of a Vulcan like T'Pol or Spock. I'm sure that if, for a moment, they indulged in an emotion like envy, there are things we can do that they can't, or just do better, and that can make for interesting character development as well. It's all in the perspective.

Oh, I think I'm beginning to understand, now.
It is a matter of perspective.
I never did pay attention to physical skills of the Vulcans. I enjoyed Spock because he was Spock (and T'Pol because she's T'Pol. )
To tell the truth, I find a little bit annoying the reiterated attempt to show Vulcans stronger, etc etc. (except that, in many circumstances, they get defeated by less strong people).
I don't know: I like Hercules, but not for his strength. It's only a peculiar aspect he possesses, but his mythological figure has other qualities.
Like Vulcans, I think.
I never found them as Supemen or Superwomen.
Well, probably I never thought that a higher physical skill might mean to be SUPER.

They're cold-blooded, too, aren't they?

Elessar wrote:They're cold-blooded, too, aren't they?

What do you mean, exactly?

Elessar wrote:They're cold-blooded, too, aren't they?

No, I doubt any intelligent species would be cold-blooded. And while reptiles are cold-blooded, some theories say the dinosaurs were warm-blooded. That's why they were such a success... until Chicxulub anyway.

Vulcans have a higher body temperature than humans. I don't really know by how much though.

Kevin Thomas Riley wrote:

Elessar wrote:They're cold-blooded, too, aren't they?

No, I doubt any intelligent species would be cold-blooded. And while reptiles are cold-blooded, some theories say the dinosaurs were warm-blooded. That's why they were such a success... until Chicxulub anyawy.

If that is what Elessar meant, KTR is right.
A cold-blooded species cannot reach high levels of intelligence. This is a fact, believe me.