My head canon is after some politics they decided to severely limit Space OSHA. They’re just so understaffed they can’t bother to have any oversight of starships even after report after report of preventable violations keep getting added to the backlog.
Also … my favourite critique of this scene …
Data walking over and standing right behind a device where an energy beam has stopped and making the assumption that the test device will stop it.
It’s the equivalent of manufacturing brand new never before tested bulletproof material … then holding it over your chest and asking your friend to shoot a high powered rifle on it to see if it works.
I remember watching this episode the first time in the 90s when the show was still new and thinking the same thing at the time.
Same place they tested the completely unknown device there which send out an energy beam that nearly killed a crewman. And then they decided to intentionally do it again right after.
“Look, we’ve only got the one engineering set, so we’d better use it.”
Average ss13 shift
Needs more clown lube
Geordie at least has an excuse as he was brainwashed by Romulans at the time. Data on the other hand was just an idiot.
Learn scientific techniques like this and more at the Prometheus School of Running in Line with the Object that Will Kill You and Other Inane Blunders!
The Prometheus School of Running Away from Things*.
Remember to stand down range whilst testing an unknown weapon
Serious question here: isn’t the Warp core not the best place to do this? They probably have the right equipment and sensors in the engineering section to do that test and I would also image that the warp core would be much safer because of its added protection systems than anywhere else on the ship, right? So if the weapon blows up, they shut that section off, wait for it to blow and dust off the consoles.
It also looks like they are firing away from the warp core and not at it.
As for data standing right behind it, I mean, he is an android who doesn’t fear death or injury…
They also have a warp core breach like every other week on the show.
They have a literal firing range on the ship.
Interesting point but isn’t that more for practice? I mean more in the range of a very controlled and secure environment in which those phasers are not being able to hurt anybody. So the actual area doesn’t need to be highly shielded or protected because the phasers wouldn’t do any damage.
It would 100% be set up for livefire and over engineered. they FIND CRAZY SHIT UNDER EVERY ROCK. they are always in there drunk off their asses firing off borg weapons and doin lines.
Counterpoint: doing anything at all with an unknown weapon next to a supply of antimatter is really bad idea. Sure, nothing might go wrong. However, the worst case scenario involves antimatter.
