I am frequently looking for things that can help explain the state of suicidal ideation. Something that shows just how difficult the state is for the individual and also maybe poses a solution to the problem. Recently I was thinking of Star Trek and I was pondering the “Kobayashi Maru”. It dawned upon me that the Kobayashi Maru simulation is very similar to the suicidal state. It presents the person with a no-win situation that seems impossible. Where the only solution is not a solution when viewed from the inside of the simulation. One has to go outside the simulation and change the rules to succeed.
Suicidal Ideation and the Kobayashi Maru
The Kobayashi Maru scenario is a famous no-win scenario that was part of the curriculum for command-track cadets at Starfleet Academy in the 23rd century. It was primarily used to assess a cadet’s discipline, character, and command capabilities when facing an impossible situation, as there is no (legitimate) strategy that will result in a successful outcome.
The test primarily consisted of the cadet placed in command of a starship. The ship would soon receive a distress signal from the Kobayashi Maru, a civilian freighter within the Klingon Neutral Zone that had been heavily damaged. Being the only ship in range, the cadet usually either chose to withdraw from the rescue mission or enter the neutral zone and rescue the vessel at risk of violating the treaties. The ship would then be confronted by Klingon K’t’inga-class battle cruisers, which typically engaged in a firefight.
It was considered an absolute no-win scenario because it was virtually impossible for the cadet to simultaneously save the Kobayashi Maru, avoid a fight with the Klingons and escape from the neutral zone with the starship intact. A cadet’s choice of how to handle the rescue operation gave great insight into his or her command decision-making.
Quoted from https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru_scenario
Attributes of the Kobayashi Maru
It is Unwinnable
It is Impossible
It is Hopeless
There is no legitimate solution within the confines of the “simulation”
This all seems to align very closely with suicidal ideation. For the person in a suicidal state, there is no way out.
The Kobayashi Maru presents a Double Bind, there is no way to resolve the issue within the parameters of the system.
it is a psychological predicament in which a person receives from a single source conflicting messages that allow no appropriate response to be made.
Source of the Double Bind – The Starfleet Academy
Message 1 Save the Kobayashi Maru
Message 2 Avoid fighting the Klingons
Message 3 Escape with the starship intact
Due to the design of the simulation, it is impossible, a true double bind, a no-win situation. There is no way out.
How is this similar to Suicidal Ideation?
The suicidal person has created a “simulation” where no matter what they do they lose, it’s a double bind, it’s a no-win situation. One of the many solutions out of this state is to change the simulation.
James T. Kirk took the test three times while at Starfleet Academy. Before his third attempt, Kirk surreptitiously reprogrammed the simulator so that it was possible to rescue the freighter. Despite having cheated, Kirk was awarded a commendation for “original thinking”. This fact is revealed in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, as Kirk, Saavik and others are marooned. Saavik accuses Kirk of never having faced the no-win scenario. Kirk replies that he does not believe in it, so he changed the conditions of the test.
Quoted from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobayashi_Maru
The only way Kirk succeeded in winning the simulation was to actually go outside the simulation and change the parameters about how it worked.
Kirk hacked the simulation.