Comments on: Treknobabble #29: Is the Vulcan Nerve Pinch Possible?

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 02:30:14 +0000

Yes, it sure is, Bill James. Thx for taking the time to comment. Comments are the compensation I get for taking the time and effort to write these posts.

Most of the times I feel disappointment at the lack of comments that my posts generate. I would hope that something I write would generate some discussion, but I guess it’s good to simply entertain as well. I am guilty of getting enjoyment from articles and posts on other sites and not bothering to comment because I have nothing interesting to add.

By: Bill James

Bill James — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:14:42 +0000

Sometimes it is just great to stop and tell the blog owner that we like their blog.

By: Bas

Bas — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:05:20 +0000

My two cents:
1) “the pinch” fits the character of Spock perfectly, thus it can withstand any sort of real-world logic simply because it rocks
2) I think you answered your question Reed: the suprasternal notch is an erogenous zone! Just look at that picture in the header – that guy needs a clean pair of Starfleet-pants and he didn’t see it coming.

By: Ryan M.

Ryan M. — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 16:50:17 +0000

Yeah, I think a pinch could never work but I saw this vid on Utube of a guy in a karate dojo getting chopped in the neck and falling out like a ragdoll. I don’t think it was shenanigans.

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 15:59:21 +0000

As far as I know, Henrik.

My liberal use of parentheses with thoughts within thoughts has been noted by others in the past, but it’s a stylistic practice that just came naturally to me. It might be considered bad style, but it’s my style nonetheless.

By: Henrik

Henrik — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 02:37:26 +0000

I see! Is that the proper way of doing things then?

By: Reed Farrington

Reed Farrington — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:50:51 +0000

Henrik, the punctuation is different because the use of parentheses is different. In the first case, a sentence fragment is enclosed by parentheses within a sentence, so the period is placed after the ending round bracket. In the second case, a complete sentence is enclosed in a parenthetical thought, so the period occurs before the ending round bracket.

Thx everyone for your comments on this post and previous posts. If I fail to reply to each comment, it’s only because I think people get tired of me simply saying, “Thank you.” Paul, even your short comment about liking the article is appreciated. I’ll admit my vanity makes me anticipate feedback. Approbation is my lifeblood, but I don’t even mind K. Festus’ hate mail.

So I had my appt. with my massage therapist earlier today. She’s easy to talk to, but I’ve never talked to her about anything related to Star Trek. She was familiar with the Vulcan nerve pinch, but admitted that she had never seriously considered if it was practical. She said that she had used it to bring her husband to his knees, but doubted she could render him unconscious. (I’m wondering if doctor/patient confidentiality goes both ways. That is, am I allowed to tell other people what she said? Do massage therapists follow the Hippocratic oath?)

By: K. Festus

K. Festus — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:23:15 +0000

You’re obviously some kind of fa*got for Ben Stiller since you mention him or his movies no less than twice in this short piece. And you also refer to touching someone’s balls which brings up my question: In what percentage of Ben Stiller movies was he kicked, hit, punched or otherwise assaulted groin-ally? I’d guess 99.9 percent easily. Either he has no talent, or his only talent is getting hit in the nuts. Either way, you’re and idiot for being a fan of that bull*hit.

By: paulie

paulie — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:57:18 +0000

from what i rember about the neck pinch wasnt like a blast of energy supposed to admit from spocks finger tips or some thing like that? i can rember it being explaned by a writer of the show in one of the many specails I saw back in the day also i think it might have been explaned when scifi had a run of star trek with kirk and spock hosting i cant rember.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:05:32 +0000

I liked the article.

By: JakeTheFatMan

JakeTheFatMan — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:56:46 +0000

The Jugular Notch is located at the front of the neck where the trachea (windpipe) is. Applying pressure will just push it back. You’ll need to apply a lot of pressure. I don’t know about an erogenous zone, but I guess thats why people wear necklaces?

Pinching the carotid sinus should stimulate the vagus nerve and decrease heart rate and blood pressure so less blood goes to the brain. Alternatively if you feel the side of your neck for a pulse (internal carotid) and block that on both sides of your neck, it’ll stop a lot of blood from reaching the brain. Thats why a (good) doctor will not feel for your pulse on the neck at the same time.

By: Henrik

Henrik — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:31:22 +0000

“(I was about to use the Ã¢â‚¬Å“bÃ¢â‚¬Â word until my newly installed political correctness filter kicked in.)”

“(although some people might debate whether they were entirely successful in hiring actors with acting skills).”

Could we have some consistency please? We are some who look to the anal mindset of the author to find out how to properly punctuate english.

“I could beat up Worf with both hands tied behind my back.”

Pathetic. You’ve even stopped backing up your snidy remarks towards TNG?

And please do post what your massage therapist said.