Culture A culture was a shared experience and philosophy between a group of beings . They might be rated on the Richter ' s scale of cultures . ( ) According to Kes , cultures could not have evolved without compassion and tolerance . They would have fallen apart without it . ( ) Common characteristics in cultures . According to Seven of Nine , most humanoid cultures were hostile . ( ) There was also an unfortunate tendency in many cultures to fear what they did not understand . ( ) The use of gesture s and hand signals predated the spoken word in most cultures , the major exception being the Leyron s of Malkus IX . The concept of four cardinal compass directions was quite common in many different cultures . ( ; ) Countless cultures had produced thousands of types of music . Some cultures , among them certain Vulcan offshoots , used musical note s as words . ( ; ) Animal s were worshiped in many cultures . ( ) It was not uncommon in ceremonial cultures to find royalty symbolized by a sun . Furthermore , many ritual istic cultures incorporated the idea of balance in their belief system . ( ) Arranged marriage s had been the basis of political alliance s in many cultures , including that of Human ity . ( ) Certain cultures considered perfume an aphrodisiac . ( ) At least several cultures gave thanks for their food . ( ) The Federation had data on funerary customs of at least five thousand cultures . Some cultures considered an appropriate burial to be a sign of respect . ( ; ) Several cultures , including the Sheliak , preferred that their body temperature was identical to the temperature of the room in which they were . ( ) Some cultures described ferocious creature s in an attempt to lull children to sleep , a practice that was alien to Vulcans . ( ) Some primitive cultures considered gold dust to be quite valuable . ( ) In many cultures , suicide was acceptable , and in and of itself could not be used as evidence of mental illness . ( ) In Human cultures . A number of Human cultures , including the Egyptian , Maya and Aztec cultures , had been shaped in different ways by a single alien , Kukulkan . ( ) Some cultures in Human history had come to the conclusion that the pursuit of technology led them astray , and chose to isolate themselves to find themselves again . ( ) In the 24th century , a few Human cultures engaged in bloodsport s , killing lower species for pleasure , though the practice was much reduced from the situation a number of centuries before . However , no Humans would consider hunting a sentient being . ( ) In many Human cultures , the thirtieth birthday was considered a sort of landmark : the end of youth and the beginning of the slow march into middle age . ( ) Culture in the Federation . The Federation was made up of many cooperating cultures . ( ) Unsurprisingly , tolerance and respect for other cultures was a core value , and the exploration and appreciation of them a major interest . A Starfleet security officer , Tuvok , was trained in the martial arts of many Alpha Quadrant cultures . ( ) The starship contained a full library of the Federation ' s finest literature , originating from dozens of diverse cultures . ( ) In 2266 , the Starfleet ship " " agreed to an exchange of information and culture between the Federation and the First Federation . Its captain , James T . Kirk , believed that this might benefit both cultures . ( ) In 2377 , Naomi Wildman , a young child , prepared a report on proto - humanoid cultures for her palaeontology class . ( ) Captain Kathryn Janeway once said that she had always been taught to be tolerant of other cultures and points of view , and later she taught Icheb , an alien passenger from a non - Federation world , to respect other cultures ' law s . However , Captain Janeway considered there to be a difference between respecting the spiritual beliefs of other cultures and embracing them yourself . ( ) An important part of the Starfleet entrance test assessed how candidates dealt with other cultures and species . ( ) However , Starfleet officer s were sometimes considered to fall short . Spock once accused his ship ' s doctor , Leonard McCoy , of applying Human standards to non - Human cultures . ( ) And after Tom Paris tried to explain to his captain that he and Harry Kim had gotten in trouble as a result of wanting to broaden their understanding of alien cultures , Captain Janeway dismissed him , claiming they had just wanted to find a bar . ( ) The Federation also had a strict policy of non - interference in other cultures , considering it their highest law and Prime Directive . ( ; ; ) This included involving themselves in the political machinations of other cultures , and leaving technology in their hands . ( ) This non - interference was already preached by the Vulcans before the creation of the Federation , and began to become adopted by Earth ' s Starfleet ship in the 2150s . The Vulcans encouraged the objectification of cultures as a means of knowing when to interfere or not . ( ) However , sometimes the " Enterprise " captain or his officers felt they had to interfere even if their Vulcan officer , T ' Pol , did not approve . ( ) Ultimately though , for the " Enterprise " crew , meeting new cultures was a key objective , even if it was challenging at times , and keeping an open mind was encouraged . ( ) Indeed , despite this caution , seeking out new cultures was also a major goal of Starfleet in general . According to Neelix , the Starfleet ship USS " Voyager " was always interested in learning about other cultures . ( ) Aboard Deep Space 9 , good relations with other cultures were considered the highest priority . ( ) Starfleet officer Keiko O ' Brien tried to set up a school on Deep Space 9 , even though she would have to deal with children of different cultures and philosophies . She believed she could manage with an innovative program , and convinced a Ferengi , Rom , to send his son , Nog , to the school by selling him on the advantages of learning about other cultures and how they did business , negotiated , and ran their economies . ( ) The EMH , a holographic doctor designed to serve on Starfleet ships , was programmed with the medical knowledge of three thousand cultures . ( ) ) As for general Federation culture , Jean - Luc Picard described his own culture as driven by freedom and self - determination . However , the Federation cultures were criticized by the Borg as archaic due to being authority driven . ( ) The Klingon s contrasted themselves with the Federation by conquering rather than embracing other cultures . Tellingly , the half - Klingon half - Human Federation operative K ' Ehleyr felt herself trapped between two cultures , while Deanna Troi , child of two Federation member worlds , felt no such thing and tried to experience the richness and diversity her situation offered . ( ; ) Cultures under threat . The Preservers passed through the galaxy rescuing primitive cultures which were in danger of extinction and seeding them , so to speak , where they could live and grow . ( ) The Borg were described as bent on the violent assimilation of innocent cultures . Indeed , their entire existence was centered around acquiring cultures and technology . ( ; ) The Doctor , while posing as Seven of Nine , claimed to have assimilated thousands of cultures throughout the galaxy during her time in the Borg Collective . ( ) The Na ' kuhl leader Vosk claimed his opponents in the Temporal War to be a tyrannical sect imposing their will on countless cultures throughout history for their own needs . Unlike them , he believed societies and cultures could be improved through careful manipulation of historical events . ( ) Cultures had been destroyed in every forced relocation throughout history . ( ) Other information . It was theorized that , just as biological organism s have evolved in many cultures , mechanical life could have done the same in others . Iden ' s Rebellion hoped to develop their own holographic culture that was distinct from " organic cultures " . ( ; ) Cultures might have a hard time dealing with each other . Daled IV had developed two disparate cultures , which was a major source for war s . A group of former Borg stranded on a planet in the Nekrit Expanse found they were living among other cultures they didn ' t understand , which was a factor in an outbreak of violence . ( ; ) The Kyrian s and Vaskan s for centuries had a cold relationship at best , until events during the 31st century helped them find a new respect for their divergent cultures and tradition . ( ) Unlike his parent s , the Denobulan Phlox tried to teach his children to embrace other cultures . ( ) Some Gamma Quadrant cultures had histories dating back millions of year s . ( ) Several cultures in the sector containing Arkaria had extremely similar etymological histories . ( ) After the Suliban homeworld became uninhabitable , most Suliban became ic , but a few assimilated into other cultures . ( ) In trying to interpret dream s he was having , Data tried cross - referencing symbols with a number of cultures . ( )