Best Data Quotes – Some Funny, Some Intelligent
There are few genres that comment on the human condition quite as well science fiction. Just like there are few science fiction shows whose narrative is as strong as Star Trek: The Next Generation. Lieutenant Commander Data (portrayed by Brent Spiner), often referred to as just Data, was an exceptionally executed character who commented on the human condition quite superbly.
The Data character, seen as a modern day allegory to Pinocchio, gave us unique insights into what it truly means to be human. Whether it’s questioning the fragility of society one moment or how we conduct ourselves in our relationships the next. Data was a perfect character to pick up the mantle of observer to the human race left by Spock in Star Trek: TOS.
We enjoyed Data’s quotes, his humor and his quips that we just had to put together a list of our favourite Data Quotes. And if you have any Data Quotes of your own which you think we missed then, by all means, leave a comment below.
1. “I want to live, however briefly, knowing that my life is finite. Mortality gives meaning to human life. Peace, love, friendship. These are precious because we know they cannot endure. A butterfly that lives forever is really not a butterfly at all.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
2. “Yes, sir. I am attempting to fill a silent moment with non-relevant conversation.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
3. “It is the struggle itself that is most important. We must strive to be more than we are. It does not matter that we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
4. “There may be a correlation between humor and sex. The need for more research is clearly indicated.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
5. “Could you please continue the petty bickering? I find it most intriguing.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
6. “There are still many human emotions I do not fully comprehend – anger, hatred, revenge. But I am not mystified by the desire to be loved – or the need for friendship. These are things I do understand.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
7. “I am superior, sir, in many ways, but I would gladly give it up to be human.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
8. “We are more alike than unlike, my dear Captain…I have pores. Humans have pores. I have… fingerprints. Humans have fingerprints. My chemical nutrients are like your blood. If you prick me…do I not…leak?” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
9. “In the event of a water landing, I have been designed to serve as a flotation device.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
10. “So…if you put funny teeth in your mouth, and jump around like an idiot … that is considered funny!” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
11. “Apologies, Captain…I seem to have reached an odd functional impasse. I am, uh…stuck.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
12. “If you had an off switch, Doctor, would you not keep it secret?” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
13. “I would gladly risk feeling bad at times, if it also meant that I could taste my dessert.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
14. “I never knew what a friend was until I met Geordi. He spoke to me as though I were human. He treated me no differently from anyone else. He accepted me for what I am. And that, I have learned, is friendship. But I do not know how to say goodbye.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
15. “I could be pursuing an untamed ornithoid without cause.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
16. “Early bird gets the worm? I believe Cmdr. Shelby erred. There is no evidence of avian or crawling vermicular lifeforms on Jouret IV.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
17. “But I have no sexual desire.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
18. Lt. Commander Data: “Spot, you are disrupting my ability to work.”
[he puts Spot to the floor, but she jumps back on Data’s desk]
Spot: “Meow.”
Lt. Commander Data: “Vamoose, ye little varmint!”
19. Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: “I must admit, Data, I never get used to seeing you like this.”
Lt. Commander Data: “I do not understand. You are constantly working on similar electronic systems, yet their appearances do not disturb you.”
Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge: “Yeah, but you’re not just another electronic system.”
Lt. Commander Data: “Thank you, Geordi. Nor are you just another biological organism.”
20. Lt. Commander Data: “Interesting.”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “Oh. Thank you. In what way?”
Lt. Commander Data: “While suggesting the free treatment of form usually attributed to Fauvism, this quite… inappropriately attempts to juxtapose the disparate cubistic styles of Picasso and L’ger. In addition, the use of color suggests a… haphazard melange of clashing styles. Furthermore, the unsettling overtones of proto-Vulcan influences…”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: [strained] “Thank you… Mr. Data.”
Lt. Commander Data: “You are welcome, sir. If I can be of further assistance…”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “No! Thank you.”
21. “Actually, I am capable of distinguishing over one hundred and fifty simultaneous compositions. But in order to analyze the aesthetics, I try to keep it to ten or less.” – – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
22. “Commander – you just sit tight. We’ll have this all fixed up in time for supper.” – – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
23. “I assume your hand print will open this door, whether you are conscious or not.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
24. “The message reads: ‘My revenge is at hand.'” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
25. “I was never a boy.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
26. “I am not less perfect than Lore.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
27. [Dr. Soong is dying]
Dr. Noonien Soong: Everybody dies, Data. Well… almost everybody.
Lt. Commander Data: Do you believe that we are… in some way alike, sir?
Dr. Noonien Soong: In many ways, I’d like to believe.
Lt. Commander Data: Then it is all right for you to die. Because I will remain alive.
28. “The vessel is on a collision course. Impact in 36 seconds.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
29. “Captain, I suggest we use the tractor beam to alter the other ship’s trajectory.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
30. “Starfleet’s left hand did not know what its right hand was doing.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
31. “I have encountered 1,754 non-Human races during my tenure in Starfleet.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
32. “My friend Chief O’Brien often says that above all else, he wants to make Keiko happy. Since cancelling the wedding will make her happy, I must conclude the Chief will be pleased at her decision.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
33. “Commander Riker’s easy-going manner and sense of humor is fascinating to me. I believe it to be one reason he is so popular among the crew. It may also be partly responsible for his success in matters of love. There may be a correlation between humor and sex. The need for more research is clearly indicated.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
34. “The safest and most logical decision in this situation is to contact Starfleet and await further instructions. However, based on past experience, I project only a seventeen percent chance Captain Picard will choose that alternative.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
35. “Friendly insults and jibes – another form of human speech that I am attempting to master. In this case, with the help of Commander Geordi La Forge.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
36. “It is fortunate that I am able to perform my duties without emotional distractions. If that were not the case, a sudden course correction toward the Neutral Zone would make me very… nervous.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
37. “I have found Holmes’ methodology of deductive reasoning to be quite useful. One of his adages is that once you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
38. “I have often wished for the sense that humans call intuition, or instinct. Since Vulcans are incapable of lying, I must accept the Ambassador’s explanation as the truth. But I would still prefer a… ‘gut feeling’ to back up this conclusion.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
39. “In the game of poker, there is a moment when a player must decide if an opponent is being deceptive, or actually holds a winning hand. This decision is based not only on the odds, but also on an appraisal of the man. Is he bluffing, or does he have the cards?” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
40. “The risks aboard a starship are accepted by all who serve. But I have never failed to observe a deep emotional response to the loss of a comrade. It is at times like this that I greatly miss the ability to share human feelings.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
41. “There are still many human emotions I do not fully comprehend – anger, hatred, revenge. But I am not mystified by the desire to be loved – or the need for friendship. These are things I do understand.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
42. “If being human is not simply a matter of being born flesh and blood, if it is instead a way of thinking, acting and… feeling, then I am hopeful that one day I will discover my own humanity. -… – Until then, Commander Maddox, I will continue learning, changing, growing, and trying to become more than what I am.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
43. “The advocate will refrain from making her opponent disappear.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
44. Lt. Commander Data: “My positronic brain has several layers of shielding to protect me from power surges. It would be possible for you to remove my cranial unit and take it with you.”
Commander William T. Riker: “Let me get this straight. You want me to take off your head?”
Lt. Commander Data: “Yes, sir. Is something wrong, sir?”
45. “The Captain and many of the crew are not yet convinced he is truly human.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
46. Q: “Picard thinks I can’t cut it on his starship. I can do anything his little-trained minions can do.”
Lt. Cmdr. Data: “I do not perceive your skills to be in doubt, Q. The Captain is merely concerned with your ability to successfully interact with his little-trained minions.”
47. “Mm. A chocolate sundae for example. Although I do not speak from personal experience, I have seen it have a profound psychological impact.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
48. Lt. Cmdr. Data: “I have the curiosity of humans; but there are questions that I will never have the answers to – what it is like to laugh or… or cry. Or to experience any human emotions.”
Q: “Hm – well, if you ask me, these human emotions are not what they’re cracked up to be.”
49. “Finally – there can be no argument – the game is afoot! Come, Watson!” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
50. “Unlikely as it may sound, I believe the Enterprise may be forming an intelligence.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
51. “Prejudice is very human.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
52. “At least we are acquainted with the judge, Captain” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
53. Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “Number One, will you set a course for Starbase 227, I’ll join you on the bridge shortly.”
Commander William T. Riker: “Wait a minute – you’ve been declared dead. You can’t give orders around here.”
Lt. Commander Data: [to Riker] “If we are to adhere to the exact letter of Starfleet regulations, then technically, sir, you have been declared a renegade. In fact, I believe you are facing twelve counts of court martial offenses. You cannot give orders either, sir.”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “That’s quite right. And as I am supposed to be dead, I’ll go and get some sleep, and Mr. Data, I suggest that you escort Commander Riker to the brig.”
Lt. Commander Data: “Aye, sir.”
[while Picard enters his quarters, an amused Riker starts to go about his own business, when Data holds him back… ]
Lt. Commander Data: “This way, sir.”
Commander William T. Riker: “Data, he was joking… You know that, right? Data?”
54. Lt. Commander Data: “I feel I must inform you, sir – you have also been infected by the intron virus.”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “How long before I begin to change?”
Lt. Commander Data: “According to my calculations, within the next twelve hours you will begin to exhibit the first signs of your eventual transformation.”
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: “And what will that be?”
Lt. Commander Data: “I believe you will also de-evolve into an earlier form of primate – possibly similar to a lemur or pygmy-marmoset.”
55. “I believe, sir, that was the first time outsiders have witnessed the Klingon death ritual.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
56. “I have been told that imitation is the highest form of flattery.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
57. “You don’t tell me how to behave; you’re not my mother!” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
58. “Darling, you remain as aesthetically pleasing as the first day we met. I believe I am the most fortunate sentient in this sector of the galaxy.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
59. Lt. Cmdr. Data: “Jenna – are we no longer… a couple?”
Lt. Jenna D’Sora: “No, we’re not.”
Lt. Cmdr. Data: “Then I will delete the appropriate program.”
60. “A mystery is only a mystery as long as it remains uninvestigated, sir.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
61. “It’s elementary, my dear Riker. Sir.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
62. Commander William T. Riker: “Data, have you got a flush or a full house?”
Lt. Commander Data: “It will cost you twenty to make that determination, sir.”
63. “We must fall back on the old axiom, that when other contingencies fail, whatever remains, however improbable… must be the truth.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
64. “The real secret is turning disadvantage into advantage.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
65. “Geordi… What… does it feel like, when a person is losing his mind?” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
66. “I am different.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
67. “You can’t imagine her rage. She lets people… die of thirst. Terrible death. Sometimes… she burns them alive. She is glorious.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
68. “The rate of quantum incursions is increasing exponentially. At this rate, the sector will be completely filled with Enterprises within three days.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
69. “My upper spinal support is a poly-alloy, designed to withstand extreme stress. My skull is composed of cortenide and duranium.” – Data (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
What’s your favourite Data Quote?
What did you think? Which of the above are your favourite Data Quotes? Leave a comment below if we missed any favourites of yours!
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