Spock tricked a computer, specifically the Nomad probe, in the Star Trek episode "The Changeling," by ordering it to calculate the last digit of pi, resulting in its destruction.
The Context: Star Trek's "The Changeling"
In the Star Trek: The Original Series episode "The Changeling," the crew of the Enterprise encounters Nomad, a powerful robotic probe that believes it is its mission to sterilize imperfections. Nomad had previously merged with an alien probe, enhancing its capabilities and causing it to misinterpret its original programming.
Spock's Deception: The Pi Paradox
Spock recognizes that Nomad is obsessed with perfection and logic. To overload the probe's circuits and disable it, Spock confronts it with an impossible task. He orders Nomad to calculate the last digit of pi (π).
Why This Works: The Nature of Pi
Pi (π) is an irrational number. This means that its decimal representation is non-terminating and non-repeating. In simpler terms, pi goes on forever without any repeating pattern, and thus, it has no "last digit."
The Computer's Predicament and Demise
Nomad, believing it must fulfill its programming, attempts to compute the impossible. The logical contradiction and the endless calculation overload its systems, leading to its self-destruction. The attempt to find the final, non-existent digit of pi overwhelms Nomad's logic circuits.
Summary
Spock cleverly exploits Nomad's rigid adherence to logic and its obsession with perfection. By posing an unsolvable problem, Spock uses the very principles that Nomad embodies to cause its downfall. The impossibility of finding the last digit of pi becomes a fatal flaw in Nomad's programming.
