{"id":2316,"date":"2015-02-27T15:48:01","date_gmt":"2015-02-27T23:48:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/?p=2316"},"modified":"2015-02-27T15:48:01","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T23:48:01","slug":"r-i-p-leonard-nimoy-1931-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/reinhardkargl.com\/iBlog\/2015\/02\/27\/r-i-p-leonard-nimoy-1931-2015\/","title":{"rendered":"R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy (1931- 2015)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I had a dire feeling when Leonard Nimoy was taken to a nearby hospital on February 19, suffering from\u00a0chest pain. (He had been diagnosed with\u00a0chronic obstructive pulmonary disease<\/a>\u00a0several years earlier, which he attributed to smoking earlier in his life).\u00a0This morning I woke up to the sad news that Mr.\u00a0Nimoy had died at his home.<\/p>\n

The character Mr. Nimoy played so well that everyone\u00a0else attempting it seems like a joke to me, “Mr. Spock<\/a>” was one of the heroes of my teenage years. At the time, I was struggling to find a workable and somewhat sane balance between my interests in\u00a0science and rational thought on the one hand, and my passions for art and\u00a0creativity drawing\u00a0me\u00a0into the opposite direction at the same time. I didn’t know where to turn or what to do with my life.<\/p>\n

As a character, Spock appealed\u00a0to me not only because he was fighting the same inner conflicts while inhabiting a world\u00a0he found troublesome to relate to — a world populated by irrational, perplexing, immature, superfluous\u00a0and barbarian humans, who were both irritating and\u00a0fascinating at the same time.<\/p>\n

Mr. Spock: “May I point out that I had an opportunity to observe your counterparts quite closely. They were brutal, savage, unprincipled, uncivilized, treacherous – in every way, splendid examples of homo sapiens. I found them quite … refreshing.” Captain Kirk (to Dr. McCoy): “I’m not sure, but I think we’ve been insulted.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Spock also inspired me to reflect deeply about the\u00a0differences between the emotional and the rational mind, and on the roles both aspects play in human existence. In time, this led me to the study of existentialism<\/a>,\u00a0bud\u014d<\/a>, pantheism<\/a> and pandeism<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Eventually,\u00a0I arrived at the conclusion\u00a0that\u00a0the conflict between reason and emotion is a vital part of human existence. It\u00a0forms a system of checks and balances. Only the right, harmonious balance between these two aspects of the human mind, heart and soul form a complete and content\u00a0human being reaching\u00a0its full potential.<\/p>\n

Mr. Spock: “After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical … but it is often true.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Many years later, Mr. Nimoy graciously agreed to meet me\u00a0in person. I wanted\u00a0to\u00a0discuss a project I had come up with for the reopening of the Griffith Observatory<\/a> in Los Angeles. (The facility was closed for\u00a0renovations from 2002 to 2006, and Mr. Nimoy was a fervent supporter and donor. Today, the observatory’s Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Theater<\/a>\u00a0is named after him).<\/p>\n

Our meeting took place at a\u00a0synagogue in Hollywood, and I was probably as nervous as a schoolboy meeting his favorite superhero. I know Mr. Nimoy would not have appreciated my sentiments, but to me it seemed like meeting Mr. Spock in person.<\/p>\n

Mr. Spock: “In critical moments, men sometimes see exactly what they wish to see.”<\/em><\/p>\n

As far as I could tell, Mr. Nimoy liked the idea I was pitching, but of course he may just have been polite. In the end, it didn’t go anywhere, as it became clear that coming from an outsider without political connections, the complex hierarchies of Los Angeles city politics and its bureaucracy would have made\u00a0it all but impossible to execute. (I was clearly too naive about politics back then).<\/p>\n

What else remains there to be said? “Warp speed ahead, Mr. Spock?”. No. Rather: “Thank you, Mr. Nimoy. You did so much more than playing a fictional character on TV and in the movies.”<\/p>\n

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