Star Trek: Starfleet Academy will need to learn from Star Trek: Discovery’s mistakes and re-embrace knowledge.
Realizing that the labyrinth reflects her personality, Burnham confesses a fear of failure that has been plaguing her.
ForDiscoverys critics, the solution to Labyrinths represents the show at its worst.
Instead of using logic or maneuvers to solve the problem, Burnham gets in touch with her feelings.
Its all part ofDiscoverys strange position as more of an experimental take onStar Trekthan a mainline show.
However, the upcomingDiscoveryspin-off seriesStar Trek: Starfleet Academymust abandon the emphasis on emotion.
The motto captures the primary lesson that cadets learn while preparing to become Starfleet officers.
But crucially, the emotion must be worked through during their time at the Academy, before entering Starfleet.
Thats a key part of the Academys most famous assignment, the Kobayashi Maru.
Taking the role of crew members, the cadets receive a call from a disabled ship within Klingon space.
If they rescue the ship, theyll violate Klingon sovereignty and start a war.
If they dont rescue the ship, then its crew will die.
Or, to put it another way, the test teaches cadets how to manage their emotions.
It allows them to feel something, including anger and frustration and even sadness over a no-win scenario.
That same lesson is the one that Picard imparts upon Wesley in the standoutTNGepisode The First Duty.
Picards statements dont ignore the validity of Wesleys feelings.
But they put them into the proper context, as subordinate to the truth.
However, feelings are not an end to themselves in Starfleet.
And they certainly dont take precedence over the search for the truth.
The Academy must teach give them the skills to be excellent pilots, engineers, and scientists.
It must teach them how to think critically and to explore problems from multiple perspectives.
