Thoughts on Protoss Psionics

[ecyor0]

Decided this belonged here rather than the intellectual roundtable. :D

The idea here is that people just post speculations on how a developed psychic capacity, like that of the Protoss, would work scientifically, and suggest improvements/variations on other's suggestions

Please, NO SHOOTING DOWN OF OTHER PEOPLE'S IDEAS!!!!!! This is an entirely philosophical discussion, and as such there should be no-one saying "That idea is a load of $*&#!!" because there's no 'real' scientific basis for any ideas here.

That said, try to keep the suggestions at least pseudo-scientific - No "and then they use gamma radiation to mutate their nervous systems so they can levitate" type posts.


I'll start off.

A psychic ability could start with the development of a conscious semi-consciousness (that is, the brain stem begins to develop conscious thought). While still a long way off from true psychic ability, this would enable the development of 'mind discipline' abilities - slowing heart rate, lowering body temperature, controlling metabolism, resisting pain and so on.
The next step would be the development of telepathy - the ability to sense and decipher the minute electrical impulses of another brain's thought processes. This would require the development of more powerful signals being sent, and possibly the evolution of a new portion of the brain specifically tuned to pick up these stray communications.
Once that ability was developed, it could very easily be turned to the task of interfering with electronic equipment (a task made easier by the now highly developed conscious brain stem). After this was fully developed, the next advancement would probably take some time to evolve - some kind of mechanism to allow telekineses. Perhaps the brain would have to develop an ability to convert it's electrical impulses into other forms of energy?
This would naturally require a high level of discipline to perfect, explaining the years of training the zealots undergo to become high templar.

[DarkMirror]

I believe that Protoss brains already have all the required parts to use psionics to their fullest. They are all connected telepathically via their nerve cords. However, I do beleive that you were right on the dot about having to discipline these connections and pathways so as to be able to use more powerful psionic ablities.

Also, keep in mind that it has been revealed that Zealots have the mental power to turn themselves into pure energy for a short time.

[qwertyuiop106]

Here's my theory on the science behind Psionics.

The Protoss have developed an extra lobe that collect, and amplify the electricity that is generated by their brain. It is then converted into the psionic energy that we have come to know and love. This energy can be moved across the body via nerves, and the like.

The Ghosts are Terrans that have first developed these lobes, although they are at an infantile state and requires a large amount of effort for the most menial tasks. As they require technological assistance and a large amount of effort to produce the effect the Protoss act so dismissive of.

[DarkMirror]

There is no evidence that they have an extra lobe, just that their brains are larger. Ghosts are just packing more punch in a smaller brain.

[qwertyuiop106]

There's no evidence on most theories, that's why they're called theories.

Is there proof that they lack another lobe?

Exactly.

[DarkMirror]

Well...take a,look at the portraits for the campaign. Some of them have brain scans.

Do you see any extra lobe segments?

[qwertyuiop106]

Possibly. The Protoss brain isn't the equivalent of the human brain, as you said yourself, they're more advanced. Just because you can't "see" it, it doesn't mean it's not there.

[DarkMirror]

Meh. Your idea was based on an extra lobe dedicated to using electricity. Mine is just that they learned how to use the regular brain to do so.

Otherwise, ghosts would have messed up heads like a toss.

[Protogod]

There's no evidence on most theories, that's why they're called theories.


$20 says thats why you believe in creationism as opposed to evolution.

Long story short - no, you're wrong. In order to even be recognised as a theory within the scientific community it needs lots of evidence and observation.

A theory =/= some random possibility.

That being said, please stop talking.

[TitanWing]

Uh...right.

In the title, I see the word "thoughts" not "facts". It's just a thread for people to voice their thoughts on the subject. There can't be any fucking proof! It's about a fictional race in a sci-fi game.

And a theory = a random possibility if you want to bring evolution in to support your claim. ;)

[Protogod]

And a theory = a random possibility if you want to bring evolution in to support your claim.

I'll see you in the IR. After everyone else there tears you a new one, I'll add in my 2 cents.

[ecyor0]

<sigh> What did I say about no shooting down of other people?

[TitanWing]

I'll see you in the IR. After everyone else there tears you a new one, I'll add in my 2 cents.
I don't visit the IR. There's too much bullshit in there.

[qwertyuiop106]

Meh, whatever. I still believe my idea. -_-

[ecyor0]

I don't visit the IR. There's too much bullshit in there.

Main reason I posted it here. People do have tendency to get fairly arrogant there. Seems to come with the "intellectual" label.


Anyway, the thread seems to be dying so I'll try to revive it a little with some speculation on Protoss biology, specifically the nerve cords. What is there function exactly? Obviously they are not the sole source of Protoss psionic ability, or the Dark Templar would have no abilities of any kind. They cut off their nerve cords to "sever themselves from the rest of the protoss", suggesting that they are primarily to do with telepathy. The Xel'Naga (according to the manual) chose the Protoss to develop because they had a highly developed species-wide psionic link, enabling them to function as a co-ordianted unit while hunting, etc. Perhaps the nerve cords serve the purpose of amplifying the signals sent out/received from other individuals, much like how a tall radio antennae will pick up a clearer signal. This would also serve to explain how Aldaris was able to see through the Matriarch when Zeratul could not (They were approximately the same age). Artanis, despite his nerve cords, would not have been skilled enough to discern the Matriarch's secret, in much the same way that humans only learn how to read someone's expressions and actions through years of experience (Which fits in with Aldaris saying to Artanis "you can no longer afford to be so naive").

[DarkMirror]

If you look closely, Artanis has no nerve cords. His were severed somehow.
I think that Aldaris had some other way of figuring it out.

[ecyor0]

Actually, Blizzard announced officially that having Artanis' nerve cords short was a mistake - they used the standard dark templar model for the cinematic (if you look, its exactly the same as the dark templar picture in the manual)

I know, I thought for a long time that Artanis must be a dark templar convert or something before someone explained it.

[DarkMirror]

Huh... but what about his image for the unit?

[Ktan]

Just a massive mistake.

[DarkMirror]

Huh. So... what does he look like?

[ecyor0]

We'll find out in SC2..... XD

[Fiendwurm]

ok back on topic... I read a article is descover mag on aliens(not realy but kind of) in there it exspaled how (moleculary) how silmilar all creatures are, (same organels and how they use dna). In there it stated that ra could replace dna easliy. So, i think the Protoss have different cell strucures then humans and use something els then dna. Which would ultametly end with psionic ablitlys.

[masterofhobbiton]

That doesn't make any sense, regular old terrans with DNA were getting psionic abilities too, so it can't have anything to do with alien cells (if they even have any).

[DarkMirror]

Life is based on DNA. Its in everything from cells to viruses.
I doubt that anything isn't DNA based.

[ecyor0]

although some viruses are purely RNA based, with no DNA

[DarkMirror]

RNA? I've heard of it, but what is it?

[SilverCrusader]

well, the last 2 letters in both mean the same thing, they are both nucleic acids, but the virus's RNA does what it does best, overtake your own's cells instructions and orders it to make more virus cells.

[DarkMirror]

Yes, but what does the "R" stand for?

[ecyor0]

Yes, but what does the &quot;R&quot; stand for?

<Ahh, I knew paying attention in Year 12 Biology would pay off one day. :)Okay, here we go, and here's hoping I remember this right>

DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. RNA stands for Ribonucleic Acid

Basically, DNA is long term storage of information - long, highly ordered, and maintains its structure. RNA is shorter, unstructured and decays in a short time compared to DNA - to get an idea of what it looks like, imagine taking a snippet of a DNA double helix and separating it into two halves. RNA looks like one of those halves. When creating proteins, etc. the DNA will uncoil and separate the middle of a chromosome out (kind of like if you have a thread that you pull apart so that the middle part is two threads, but the ends are still one thread) This free section of the DNA then bonds to free nucleotides, the basic building blocks of both DNA and RNA. Once the free strand of DNA has bonded together a full chain, the two then separate. The DNA forms back together and the free chain (RNA) drifts off into the cell, where it bonds with enzymes to churn out specific protein sequences before dissolving back into nucleotides.

A virus is basically a protein capsule with some DNA or RNA inside. The virus itself has no cell activity; the DNA/RNA is in suspended animation, so to speak. Because of this, and because viruses are generally simple structures, RNA is just as feasible as DNA. With multicellular creatures, however, you need DNA to keep the code recorded in some form.

[SilverCrusader]

RNA is nasty stuff.

[ecyor0]

Au contraire, it is vital to multicellular life of any magnitude.

[TheRighteous]

There's no evidence on most theories, that's why they're called theories.

Is there proof that they lack another lobe?

Exactly.Untrue, a theory is something that has had a lot of backing with evidence. What you are talking about would be a mere postulate. I'll say this though, I agree with the O/P.

[TitanWing]

A theory is someone's idea that has little to no proof behind it.

You described what a fact is, not a theory.

[ecyor0]

A theory is someone's idea that has little to no proof behind it.



That's a hypothesis. A theory is a hypothesis that has been tested repeatedly, and so far holds up to the evidence, but hasn't reached the status of a law yet (e.g, Newton's laws of motion, rather than theory of motion)