QUOTE: "The higher, the fewer" WHAT?!?!?!

[ske...@skatter.usask.ca]

In "The Perfect Mate," Alexander said "the higher, the fewer" at least twice.
What the heck did that mean? Our station routinely chops two minutes
from every episode, so we might have missed something. Please email.

ske...@skatter.usask.ca no nifty .sig

[Keith Lim]

ske...@skatter.usask.ca writes:

>In "The Perfect Mate," Alexander said "the higher, the fewer" at least twice.
>What the heck did that mean?

No, it was in "Cost of Living", and it doesn't mean anything sensible,
at least, as far as anyone can tell. And you should thank your tv station
for chopping two minutes out of that episode. (Should have chopped out
everything from that episode, except for the scene where Worf burst the
face-in-a-bubble.)

--
+----+-----------------------------+----------------------------------+----+
||///| Keith Lim (Keit...@sfu.ca) \ Program in Cognitive Science ||||_|
|<<<<| Simon Fraser University \ SFSS Forum (Cognitive Science) |||__|
||\\\| Burnaby, B.C., V5A 1S6, Canada \ SFU Senate (Student, Arts) ||___|
+----+---------------------------------+------------------------------+----+
| "Ping"--the machine that goes "Ping", Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

[sandra guzdek]

In article <chil.70...@sfu.ca>, ch...@fraser.sfu.ca (Keith Lim) writes...

>for chopping two minutes out of that episode. (Should have chopped out
>everything from that episode, except for the scene where Worf burst the
>face-in-a-bubble.)

oh come on, the scene where lwaxana shows up nude to her wedding was a
SCREAM.

>| "Ping"--the machine that goes "Ping", Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life |

and so is this.

sandra g. * illustrator-for-hire, buffalo ny * v130...@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu
"I would like some hot chocolate, n'est pas?"
"Oh I don't think we have n'est pas, sir. Only Hershey's."
--- Neil Simon's _Murder by Death_

[Deb Gerke]

I liked Worf in the mud bath. I adore Michael dorn anyway.

~~~~ Dream sequence
~~~~
I dream of being a Klingon women like Kaylar (sp?) with Worf.

~~~~
~~~~
Back to reality.

--
Deborah Gerke UUCP: uunet!ssbell!dgerke
Sterling Software INternet: dge...@ssbell.IMD.Sterling.COM
1404 Fort Crook Road South Phone: (402) 291-8300
Bellevue, Nebraska 68005 Fax: (402) 291-4362

[Charles Dubuque]

Has anyone thought that perhaps Data is using the voice of one of the
colonists, someone who spoke French affluently. We have often seen Data
"sample" someone's voice and then speak in that voice. The effect is
similar to that disjointed, dubbed-in quality in TA.

Chuck
c...@dartmouth.edu
l...@coos.dartmouth.edu

[Matt J. Martin]

In article <chil.70...@sfu.ca> ch...@fraser.sfu.ca (Keith Lim) writes:
>ske...@skatter.usask.ca writes:
>
>>In "The Perfect Mate," Alexander said "the higher, the fewer" at least twice.
>>What the heck did that mean?
>
>No, it was in "Cost of Living", and it doesn't mean anything sensible,
>at least, as far as anyone can tell. And you should thank your tv station
>for chopping two minutes out of that episode. (Should have chopped out
>everything from that episode, except for the scene where Worf burst the
>face-in-a-bubble.)
>

He picked up the phrase from that lard-but philosopher in that goofy holo-
deck program of Luwoxana's.
It struck me as meaning that the higher your wisdom and understanding of
life, the fewer will be your adversities, and indeed the number of people who
can claim mental equality.

But then again, maybe they just picked something that sounds weird.

##########################################################################
## / ## Progress Before Peace! ## / ##
## // ## Matt J. Martin, Technosociology and Space Politics ## // ##
## ///// ######################################################## ///// ##
## // ## Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN ## // ##
## / ## myem...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu ## / ##
##########################################################################

[Bruce E. Haddad]

In article <1992Jun30.0...@access.usask.ca>, ske...@skatter.usask.ca writes...

>In "The Perfect Mate," Alexander said "the higher, the fewer" at least twice.

>What the heck did that mean? Our station routinely chops two minutes
>from every episode, so we might have missed something. Please email.
>
>
>ske...@skatter.usask.ca no nifty .sig

Alexander was "introduced" to a new world by Mrs. Troi (via the holodeck)
and one of the things that someone said in that world "the higher, the
fewer". Alexander repeats that phrase much the same way that some college
students repeat their professors' political views.

Bruce

[01ca...@ac.dal.ca]

I have to agree with Chuck... In many episodes, Data has used
the voice of someone else when he needed (perhaps needed is not
the right word, but it serves) to. In _Encounter at Farpoint_,
he repeats word for word, sound for sound, everything that was
said in Q's court (I forget when that was supposed to take place)
and in _Brothers_? where he is under control of his homing device
or whatever it was that made him go to Soong, he used Picard's
voice to bypass security clearance and isolate the bridge and
various other things... to name but two.

Good call Chuck.

Spiff
-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

01ca...@ac.dal.ca _l\l\l\
Vang...@ac.dal.ca Oc O )
Gold...@ug.cs.dal.ca \_/ /

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

[Ulrich Schreglmann]

dge...@IMD.Sterling.COM (Deb Gerke) writes:

> I liked Worf in the mud bath. I adore Michael dorn anyway.
>
>~~~~ Dream sequence
>~~~~
> I dream of being a Klingon women like Kaylar (sp?) with Worf.

>~~~~
>~~~~
> Back to reality.

I know a plastic surgeon who does Klingon foreheads!
(He has to be drunk, however.)

May the Cool be with You!

(C)OOL mcmxcii

[michael p.herlihy]

I think was discussed before on the net. Someone replied it was
the answer to a Zen koan (riddle). The question was "Why a mouse
when it spins?".
--
_Ninety miles an hour, girl, is the speed I drive_
Jimi Hendrix Experience - Crosstown Traffic - Electric Ladyland

[gary l. schroeder]

In article <1992Jun30.1...@dartvax.dartmouth.edu> l...@coos.dartmouth.edu (Charles Dubuque) writes:
>Has anyone thought that perhaps Data is using the voice of one of the
>colonists, someone who spoke French affluently.

Would that be "a-fluently", as in someone who had difficulty pronouncing
the word "oui", or "affluently" as in someone that speaks French that
also happens to be a millionaire?

>We have often seen Data
>"sample" someone's voice and then speak in that voice. The effect is
>similar to that disjointed, dubbed-in quality in TA.

Wait, let me get my "Colonist Roster" out. Ah ha! Sure enough, here's
a listing for one Louis Jobere, French botanist.

>Chuck
>c...@dartmouth.edu
>l...@coos.dartmouth.edu

--
--------------
Gary Schroeder
schr...@bnlux1.bnl.gov
Brookhaven National Laboratory "Home of the Big BNL Burger."

[gilbert.m.stewart]

In article <1992Jul1.1...@cbfsb.cb.att.com>, mi...@cbnewsg.cb.att.com (michael p.herlihy) writes:
>

"The higher the fewer," is, I believe, an attempt by the writer to
excuse Mrs. Roddenberry's lack of acting ability. The holodeck
fantasy was to emulate a drug-induced high, and as the scene
progressed, it was obvious that there were fewer, and in this
case, no, actresses around with the ability to save this pathetic
episode.

Best line was Worf's last. Rather, the only good one.

GMS

[Steve Karasek]

I've always thought the quote referred to the title, "The Cost of Living".
The higher the cost, the fewer the living. Sort of a comment on society.

Steve Karasek
Steven Karasek s...@wucs1.wustl.edu
Box 1045 Washington University
St. Louis, MO 63130 USA (314)-935-4587

[Keith Lim]

myem...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Matt J. Martin) writes:

[some previous discussion on "The higher, the fewer" deleted]

> It struck me as meaning that the higher your wisdom and understanding of
>life, the fewer will be your adversities, and indeed the number of people who
>can claim mental equality.

Yes, well, when all you have are adjectives, there are *lots* of nouns
you can try fitting those adjectives to. The result may well be pseudo-
sensible, but the chances of it actually being the intended meaning are
small.

> But then again, maybe they just picked something that sounds weird.

This is what I think is the case.

[Charles Dubuque]

In article <chil.71...@sfu.ca> ch...@fraser.sfu.ca (Keith Lim) writes:
>myem...@mentor.cc.purdue.edu (Matt J. Martin) writes:
>
>[some previous discussion on "The higher, the fewer" deleted]
>

>> But then again, maybe they just picked something that sounds weird.
>
>This is what I think is the case.

Remember: Alexander was concerned about the couple who were arguing. When
the old man starts pronouncing and pontificating, he says "the higher, the
fewer." Mrs. Troi remarks something to the effect, "Boy, is that a
conversation stopper." Alexander then runs over to the bickering couple,
repeats the pretentious phrase, and they immediately stop arguing because
it is so strange. This, I believe, is the intended effect.

Chuck
c...@dartmouth.edu
l...@coos.dartmouth.edu

[gran...@gmail.com]

The higher you go, the less people there are around you, like on Mt.Everest.

[kcc...@gmail.com]

No, ya bunch of idiots. It's a "Lonely at the top" kinda deal. The higher on the social ladder you are, the fewer people there are around you.

[K2o...@outlook.com]

On Tuesday, June 30, 1992 at 2:01:35 PM UTC-4, Matt J. Martin wrote:
> In article <chil.70...@sfu.ca> ch...@fraser.sfu.ca (Keith Lim) writes:
> >ske...@skatter.usask.ca writes:
> >
> >>In "The Perfect Mate," Alexander said "the higher, the fewer" at least twice.
> >>What the heck did that mean?
> >
> >No, it was in "Cost of Living", and it doesn't mean anything sensible,
> >at least, as far as anyone can tell. And you should thank your tv station
> >for chopping two minutes out of that episode. (Should have chopped out
> >everything from that episode, except for the scene where Worf burst the
> >face-in-a-bubble.)
> >
> He picked up the phrase from that lard-but philosopher in that goofy holo-
> deck program of Luwoxana's.
> It struck me as meaning that the higher your wisdom and understanding of
> life, the fewer will be your adversities, and indeed the number of people who
> can claim mental equality.
>
> But then again, maybe they just picked something that sounds weird.

I believe this did have meaning, but I always interpreted it to mean role or level. The higher you are politically or socially many times these people are morally or virtuously lesser. Expecting more than may be realistic or deserved. They have people who follow them and fewer true friends. After a certain point people with more have shorter lifespans due mostly to stress and depression. Thus, "The higher, the fewer".

[bobbi...@hotmail.com]

I cannot even pontificate on the abject irrationally absurd comments I just read. But, I did give up on the Human Race LONG LONG ago...

[in...@nibble.digital]

My guess is it is a reference to a bureaucratic hierarchy. A pyramid structure where the fewer control the masses.

[newell...@gmail.com]

Just watched this, and I think that mostly it's there as the annoying "lesson" that one guy insists on instilling every day, and it doesn't really mean much of consequence. I took it to refer to hierarchies in general being shaped like pyramids. Alexander's repetition of it shows that he's taking in views other than his father's, and maybe he's pointing out that his father is alone in their "partnership/contract" because it isn't an even relationship, but that's a slight stretch. More practically, it doesn't make a ton of sense. The writer was probably having an off week.

[aemu...@gmail.com]

"The higher, the fewer," is the answer to a classic riddle: "What is a mouse when it spins?" "The higer the fewer."
Riverboat steam engines adjusted velocity using an eccelerometer (sp?) called a "mouse," which, when adjusted upwards upon its shaft would lower the revolutions of the engine. The higher the mouse was, the fewer the revolutions. What is a mouse when it spins? The higher the fewer.

This became a very exclusive nerd-knowledge question in an early 1970s episode of Doctor Who, called "Robot." The third doctor has died, and is regenerated into Tom Baker's classic fourth doctor. He is born babbling like an idiot, and one of the things he babbles is "What (or why) is a mouse when it spins."

Sadly, I didn't even have to look this up. Sigh... I knew it already...

Ask Siri, what is a mouse when it spins.

[ann...@gmail.com]

On Tuesday, June 30, 1992 at 1:12:39 AM UTC-4, ske...@skatter.usask.ca wrote:

As another poster said, Alexander was simply repeating another character's line, which Mrs. Troi pronounced "a conversation stopper", in order to actually stop a conversation. As far as the phrase itself, I just came across it not once but twice in unrelated places (which then referred me to this thread).
First, it is the title of a 1911 film about a poor prizefighter who thinks he's unworthy of the rich girl he loves and after he receives a substantial inheritance, takes pains to hide his past. Second, Stephen King used it in chapter 39 of The Shining. The voices in little Danny's head pose Lewis Carroll's Hatter's famous riddle from Alice in Wonderland, "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" and then immediately answer it with, "The higher, the fewer, of course! Have another cup of tea!" My guess is that this is where the script writer found it.

[stevem...@ymail.com]

It's a quote from "the Shining". Stephen King offers it as an answer to Lewis Carol's unanswered riddle in "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland": "Why is a raven like a writing desk?" This episode has many elements of madness in it, just like both the Shining and the mad hatter's tea party. One wonders if Lwaxana's marriage would've ended up like the Torrance's had she gone through with it? I also wonder if the writers were perhaps trying to show how terrifying it can be to have a strict disciplinarian for a father. Here's Warfy?