DISCLAIMER: I Don't Own Star Trek. And I'm not making any money from this.

Unscientific Experiments

For the next two weeks Spock put aside his normal research. Instead he and Uhura combed through ebooks and articles on human cognition. Spock had not been aware just how few humans could think in four dimensions, many had trouble with three.* Also, humans absorbed information in different ways. Some learned best through auditory methods, others visually, others needed tactile activity to learn effectively. Realizing the uneven distribution of human abilities made him wonder how humans had achieved as much as they had.

As he learned more about human cognition he realized that in order for his visuals to be effective he would need more of them -- and they'd need more contrast and color than Vulcans would find appropriate. He mentally prepared his defense for the Vulcan inquiries he knew would come.

He also reviewed literature on human information design. Spock went so far back as to review the works of Edward Tufte in actual book form.** Tufte made him aware of the Napoleon's March*** by Charles Joseph Manard, an anti-Napolean statistical graph from 1812. Spock was seriously considering getting it for his office wall, it was an example of one of those rare moments of exceptional human brilliance -- six variables on a two dimensional surface; date, location, direction of travel, river crossings, temperature, number of men dead.

He also reviewed books on public speaking; it seemed it was important in human presentations for the audience to feel empathy with the speaker. Since he had no feelings per say on the subject he was at a disadvantage.

…Spock was confused as to how one became passionately involved in numbers. He found mathematics to be one of the most fascinating and beautiful of subjects--it was the language of the universe. His study was compulsive, but he didn't love mathematics, science, or his theories. Theories were to be devised, tested, utilized practically if possible, but ultimately discarded if they proved inadequate.

To work around his lack of feeling for the subject Spock reasoned that there were things he could do to increase the audiences' involvement with the presentation. Simple things like making sure there was no podium and not reading from notes would decrease mental barriers between him and the audience. Spock's memory was nearly perfect, and he didn't need a podium to hide behind, he had no fear of public speaking. Uhura on the other hand...

He wanted her to give a basic introduction of phonology. Also he wanted her to present the methodology she'd used for organizing the results. It had been very sophisticated. But she resisted.

"I suspect you know the subject matter better than I do, and you are an eloquent and outspoken speaker," He'd argued.

"But being in front of an audience is different," she'd said.

"How is presenting data to one person any different from presenting to 1,000?" He'd asked.

"It's about a 1,000 times different, Lieutenant Spock," She'd replied.

As a superior officer he could have technically ordered her to present, but he did not want to do that.

In the end it wasn't honest assessment of her skills that convinced her. "It would be advantageous for your career," he'd said. It was his last argument. She'd relented.

Besides preparing for her part of the presentation Spock had Uhura sifting through sound samples trying to find the most effective illustrations of their methodology. Time was limited and they wound up in rather intense discussions about which to include.

Spock also had Uhura reviewing all of his visual aides. He was using human data display conventions and Vulcan conventions that didn't need in depth explanation (he's found that human methods of displaying multidimensional data left a lot to be desired.) If there was something she didn't understand (or in a few cases he realized, simply couldn't see) he revised.

Finally, he had her coaching him on his speech patterns. He was not able to show emotion even if he tried, but he could pause for emphasis at appropriate times to let the humans in the audience reflect on what he had said. Or as Uhura put it, "Keep your words from just turning into one big data dump."

He was driving her hard and he knew it. It was during this time that Spock began experimenting with humor for his own personal ends. He noted that some of Uhura and his 'discussions' had left her visibly tense and he wanted to alleviate this tension. His first attempt did not go as planned.

"Was that a joke?" she had asked.

"Since you did not laugh I'm not sure it qualifies."

Then she asked excitedly, "Are you experimenting with humor because you're considering using it in the presentation?"

That was expressly not his intent. He was experimenting in order to make her laugh and to thereby receive visual verification of her happiness. He deflected by responding, "It's hardly a scientific experiment. My sample size is too small, and I have no control group." It was a reference to their first meeting. She remembered. And most rewarding, she did laugh.

Four days before the Symposium they presented to the Commander and Lieutenant-Commander for approval. When they were done O'Hara looked at them and shook his head, "You're going to make all the rest of us look stupid."

The Commander said, "It will do. Anything else?"

Spock explained the matter of the modified introduction that the Cadet Uhura has proposed. Both superior officers nearly fell out of their seats. "Include that Spock, that's an order," the Commander said. Uhura bit her lip so hard to keep from smiling Spock was surprised it didn't bleed.

As they were leaving and making their way down the hall the Lieutenant-Commander came running after them, "Lieutenant, do you think you have time to help me incorporate some of those Vulcan multidimensional charts in my presentation?"

A/N:

If you like what you read (or really,really don't...review, and tell why). Reviews are how ff writers get paid.

*In our time almost no one can think in four dimensions, and most can't even think in three. But this story takes place two hundred years from now, the Flynn Effect has worked its magic! (O.K., the Flynn Effect mostly effects the bottom and middle of the IQ spectrum, but work with me here).

**I just think EVERYONE should know about Tufte. If you ever get a chance to attend one of his seminars do! And his books are gorgeous and important. If you think beauty in design is important and especially if you DON'T you need to get his books now. Especially if you are a rocket scientist or aviation engineer, or some other science type person whose information has the power to get people killed.

***Yes, its a real thing. And very beautiful.