While it was chock full of action/adventure goodness which united our troupe of would be explorers, the latest Star Trek movie did contain a strong underlying theme that thus far seems to be downplayed in the many reviews I've read (all of which seem to lament the social commentary usually associated with the franchise). I write of the dichotomy between rational thinking and gut instinct embodied in Kirk vs. Spock.
Just in case you live under a rock (as trolls do), Spock as a half-Vulcan adheres to logic and rational, linear thinking. Kirk as the hot-head with something to prove relies on his instincts.
Too often we see imbalances in the world: cold-hearted logic or emotionally driven irrationality. Indeed towards the beginning of the film we see fine examples of both. Neither extreme is very helpful and can be exploited as Kirk demonstrates by heeding old-Spocks advice to push young-Spock's buttons into relinquishing command.
It is the duty of the enlightened individual (and old-Spock!) to stike a balance just as Kirk and young-Spock inspire those aspects in one another. We all possess both to varying degrees. I believe Spock taps into his instinct when he chooses Starfleet over the Vulcan ministry. Kirk uses (sound?) logic in his defense of beating the Kobayashi.
We must constantly and quickly question ourselves to ensure we're listening to both rationale and instinct.
Sometimes it is easy to dismiss instinct as irrational emotion. On November 5th I mistook my gut instinct as a general fear of needles. I rationalized that I was being silly and childish in resisting a recommended flu shot that logically would protect not only me but my baby. I set aside my instinct and allowed the nurse to inject me. I felt fine, strong even, the day before and yet the day after I was knocking on death's door.
In retrospect, as it is only as time passes that we can objectively assess such dire situations, I ignored my gut instinct because there was little logic in resisting the shot. While there is no conclusive proof that the vaccination caused my physical plight, there are just too few variances from my norm to point to another culprit. My point is not to lay blame anyway, I blamed myself for 5 months.
My point is do not easily dismiss your instincts. Hone them. They're part of our Darwinian survival kit for a reason. Sometimes there is no rational reason for the "right" decision. Conversely, clearly there is no instinct involved in 2+2=4. But as adults so few of our daily decisions are as clear cut as that. Strike the balance. Strive to be old-Spock. I know the standard is high but it's an investment with uncalculated returns. Spend the minute or two it takes to dissect whether the logic you're contemplating is being shaped by valid emotions, tainted emotions or pure instinct. If it's instinct, like Kirk I'd rather go with it and be wrong than ignore it and be forced to live with the shoulda-coulda-wouldas.
And I guess if you lack either one of those ways of thinking within yourself, find a best friend or partner who compliments you with the opposing view. Who knows, he may end up saving both your current and future self from an insane Romulan.
