Stargate - Season 3, Episode 5 - "Learning Curve"

SG-1 participates in a cultural exchange with the people of Orban. Daniel and Teal'c are staying on the planet to learn from an important archaeological dig site and a young girl named Merrin, who is going to teach Samantha Carter about the functions and construction of a Naqahdah generator, travels to Earth.. The children of Orban are highly intelligent due to the administration of nanites into their brains during infancy. These nanites serve as additional brain synapses allowing them to learn vast amounts of knowledge much quicker than what is humanly possible. Back on Orban Daniel and Teal'c learn that once these children reach the age of twelve their nanites are removed from their brain and distributed equally throughout Orbanian society so others can benefit from the knowledge. This causes a serious moral quandary with Earth as the children become infant like after the process. The Orbanians care well for the children but do not engage in teaching them new things. This act is foreign to the Orbanians who only know of attaining knowledge through the implantation of nanites. Jack and Samantha try to convince Merrin to seek amnesty at the SGC so she can avoid undergoing the process. She refuses, trying to make Jack understand that to be chosen is a great honor and the removal of her nanites will help her people. Jack takes Merrin to a school where she learns the concept of playing and art. However, she still refuses to stay on Earth and returns to Orban to undergo the process of having her nanites removed. Having no other choice, they allow her to return. Sometime later a transmission is received from Orban requesting that SG-1 come immediately. When they arrive they find that the Orbanians have learned the concept of teaching, fun, and art through the distribution of Merrin's nanites. Merrin knew that undergoing the nanite removal process would spread this new found knowledge amongst her people. The Orbanians now understand the importance teaching and fun and will now teach the children who undergo the removal process new things. The episode ends with Jack understanding the culture a little bit more and even though Merrin no longer remembers him he settles with the fact that they can get to know each other all over again.

Jack had no right to try so hard to get the Orbanians to conform to Earth's way of thinking. The process through which they shared knowledge and progressed may have been foreign to him but was not inherently wrong. This is an issue that Star Trek deals with time and again. The right we have as space explorers to interfere with another culture's natural development or way of life. Although his intentions were good he was on the verge of pushing his beliefs onto an entire society. He was a bit of a dick about it. But he seems to understand a little more now. It'll be interesting to see if the Orbanians return in future episodes.