AboutDeran McKean Expertise I am a 35 year fan of all the incarnations of Star Trek from the original show to the newer incarnations, to the books, comics and toys. I can answer most questions regarding the storylines and characters including their non-screen histories.
Experience Thirty-five years of collecting Star Trek merchandise, pouring over the books, comics and attending a number of conventions
Education/Credentials I have a Bachelor's Degree in Sociology and an MBA
Expert: Deran McKean Date: 7/18/2008 Subject: Data
Question If Mike Tyson (in his prime) battled Worf in a boxing match, and Worf was fully aware of the rules, etc., who would win?
Sometimes the Holo Doc has issues with his mobile emitter. In the episode with the macroviruses, the Doc hid in a shuttlecraft because the viruses almost destroyed his mobile emitter.
Question: Why does the Doc have the emitter in such a vulnerable location? Why not put it up his sleeve, or in the palm of his hand, etc.? That way, if he gets attacked, the likelihood will be that it doesn't get damaged.
One could argue that it may be awkward for the Doc to 'hide' the emitter, but I think a computer simulation could learn to be graceful even with the device in unusual places.
Could the macroviruses damage Data?
Spock, Worf, Tuvoc, and Captain Kirk
vs.
Data: Could the four knock down Data before he incapacitates them all?
Same match above except in Tug-of-War.
Answer Hey John -
I think Worf would have no trouble beating Tyson in a regulation boxing match. Depending on which source you use Klingons are two to three times stronger than humans and have redundant biological systems that allow them to shrug off injury, ignore pain and heal faster from tissue and organ damage than a human is capable of.
Even in his prime Tyson is still a baseline human who, while a gifted pugilist, couldn't match the physical capabilities of a Klingon opponent.
That is a good question about the Doc. In the British television show Red Dwarf a character named Arnold Rimmer is a 'hard light hologram' whose body is generated by a similar device he calls a light bee. That device travels around inside Rimmer's holographic body, so that it cannot be discovered and/or attacked.
I've always wondered why the Doc didn't do something similar. As a guess it may have something to do with the projection capabilities of the device, meaning it has to be exposed to an 'outer surface' to operate correctly, but even with that I would think the Doc would shield the thing behind a force field of some kind. (One that is transparent to light.)
I have to confess I've never seen the Voyager episode with the macroviruses and am unfamiliar with their capabilities. If they work like normal human viruses then they probably couldn't damage Data since he has no real biological tissues for them to affect.
As for the others you mention I can take a guess based on how regular viruses on Earth behave:
Spock - given that he is half human, he would be semi-vulnerable to any virus that affects humans, though the copper based blood in his veins would shield him from a full out infection.
Worf - Typically most viruses are not capable of cross species contamination. Humans cannot suffer from Feline Leukemia virus and cats cannot catch Hantavirus though it can kill humans. Because of that I would guess that Worf would be virtually immune from any virus that affected humans. Though there are some rare exceptions this is generally true of most viruses on this planet at least!
Tuvoc - Same answer as above.
Kirk - Any virus that affects humans would affect Captain Kirk.
Okay the 'knock him down' question hmmmmm.......
Given the inherent strength in Data's legs (the average human can press 400 pounds with their legs and that’s operating at 7% efficiency!) and Data's speed I would say it would be hard for the four individuals you mention to knock him down. In a tug of war I still think he could win.
Human muscles typically utilize energy at about 7 to 10%. Even if Data's musculature is grossly inefficient and operated at around 50% he would still be stronger and able to maintain his grip and tension on a tug of war rope longer without tiring than his four opponents.
