I’m Dr. Ali Mattu.
Today I remember the life of Leonard Nimoy by celebrating the psychology of Spock.
Welcome to the psych show.
On February 27th, Leonard Nimoy died at the age of 83.
He was an actor, director, poet, singer, and photographer.
But we’ll always be remember him as Spock.
This half-human, half-vulcan character is the most important person in the Star Trek
universe. He’s the only character who's made an appearance in every era of Star Trek
from The Original Series, to The Next Generation, and J.J. Abrams’s new parallel universe.
Spock changed science fiction. Charlie Jane Anders’s said it best her obituary at io9:
“Before Spock, science fiction was full of emotionless aliens who spoke in a monotone
or imitated a stereotypical "computer" inflection. Nimoy gave a whole range of nuance to the
Vulcan role, conveying a lot of different stuff with every raised eyebrow or furrowed
brow…A huge host of sympathetic aliens on television owe their genesis to Spock.”
After news broke of Leonard Nimoy’s death, social media was flooded with messages morning
his loss and celebrating his life. There were posts from celebrities, scientists, and Trekkies.
Even President Obama issued a statement saying, “Long before being nerdy was cool, there
was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the arts and humanities, a supporter
of the sciences, generous with his talent and his time. And of course, Leonard was
Spock. Cool, logical, big-eared and level-headed, the center of Star Trek’s optimistic, inclusive
vision of humanity’s future. I loved Spock.”
What is it about Leonard Nimoy’s Spock that resonated with so many people, of so many
different generations, across the galaxy? It’s a simple, beautiful, idea: what makes
us different is what makes us awesome.
Let me explain…
The central experience of Spock's childhood is growing up in a bicultural home. Not only
was he a minority on Vulcan, he might be the only half human half Vulcan child ON THE WHOLE
PLANET!
This connects with real psychology. You might not be half-Vulcan, but maybe your parents
grew up in a different culture than the one you’re living in now. Perhaps you studied
abroad. Or maybe you’ve moved far away from where you were raised. In all of these scenarios,
different cultures come into contact with each other.
The major challenge for people living in multiple cultures is to find a way to integrate their
experiences. Psychologists call this the Bicultural Identity Integration construct. People who
are able to combine their different cultural experiences usually feel proud about being
unique. Those who struggle to combine their cultures feel pressure to choose one over
another.
Spock was constantly exploring his bicultural identity. It’s a big part of the story in
“Journey to Babel”, The Voyage Home, and the first JJ Abrams film. Sometimes he identifies
more with his Vulcan side and every now and then he does something that’s very human.
Because of his friendship with Kirk, Spock learns that his Vulcan and Human sides can
coexist.
From this point on, Spock gets VERY good at cultural frame-switching and code switching.
He can think, act, and feel like an illogical human and switch to being a green-blooded
Vulcan whenever he needs to.
We all code switch. When I talk to my patients, I say stuff like “Good morning, how are
you?” With my friends, it’s more “Hey fools, haven’t see you guys in hella days.”
With my god puppy, it’s more “Mwaji!! I MISSED YOU!”
People who have learned to integrate their different cultural experiences get really
good at this. Those who haven’t been exposed to many different cultures or who struggle
to integrate them, have a much harder time code switching.
This is what makes Spock so awesome — he’s developed the ability to think flexibly depending
upon the situation he’s in. That’s why he plays a key role in peace negotiations
between the Federation and the Klingons and later works towards unification between the
Vulcans and Romulans. That’s the ultimate lesson from Spock — if we can find a way
to embrace all aspects of ourselves and approach life with an open mind, we are capable of
great things.
That’s exactly what Leonard Nimoy did in his life. The Vulcan salute? It was inspired
by his experience growing up as a in an Orthodox Jewish family. His love of photography influenced
his acting which then led to directing feature films. All of that brought him back to using
photography to change our ideals of beauty.
This is why Spock means so much to me and why I’ll miss Leonard Nimoy so dearly. As
a bicultural kid who felt like an alien, Spock made me feel less alone. As an adult, Leonard
Nimoy was a role model for how to integrate all the different things that make you who
you are.
Spock once said, ”Every life comes to an end when time demands it. Loss of life is
to be mourned, but only if the life was wasted." Leonard Nimoy prospered in life and his work
will live long into the future. Thank you, Mr. Nimoy, for showing us that our differences
are our strengths.
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