It's never going to happen this way...is it?

I mean really, flying around in spaceships wearing uniforms (especially the TWOK ones ) firing laser beams?

Captains? Port and Starboard?

The Bridge?

If we ever get into space exploration,(which I can't see in the next 300 years) it won't be anything like Star Trek. It will be something we can't possibly conceive of right now.

Even if we could go faster than light (which we can't) it would take years to reach the nearest star....at the speed of light We wouldn't even survive the journey.

Transporters? Bumpy heads? Pointy ears?

Its all just a metaphor isn't it?

Discuss.

 

I'm not sure what to answer without going into great details, it may be just a matter of openness and conviction based on our current culture and knowledge.

I can live with a lot of things like the same military ranks, a bridge, weapons such as spatial torpedoes and lasers (or other kinds of beam weapons), and warp drive. I believe we'll get around warp drive long before teleport. I also think it won't be long before we get AI in computers and robots, even androids. It's only a matter of processing power to emulate a human brain.

As for alien life, I think it will be truly alien, not some kind of humanoids a bit different than us. Well, it is possible we'lle meet humanoids but so many humanoids? Nah. Evolution on another planet is sure to be different. Possibilities are endless in my opinion.

I'm sure our adventure in space will be quite different than the one depicted in Star Trek.

 

It's only 300 years. Things don't change -that- much when it comes to some things. Star Trek assumes that the anglosphere is the dominant culture behind Star-Fleet considering the ranks, standard language, etc. Captains were around 300 years ago, command areas around 300 years ago, 'port' and 'starboard' were around 300 years ago... sort of. Port wasn't, but its predessesor was. Those terms have survived for 300 years because they work, they're ingrained in tradition. A very, very large shift would need to occur for 300-year-old, now near worldwide traditions to be replaced. If we go into space exploration, it's going to be military first. If there's one thing I think odd about Trek is that the military model is based on the Navy instead of the Air Force. I mean, the Air Force is what's in NASA right now, and Roddenberry was Air Force himself...

 

I'll settle just for the "work to better ourselves and rest of humanity" thing, you know instead of the "make money, money, money and more money so I can have more money route."

 

Well, the beauty of the future is that we have no idea what's going to happen.

Personally, I think that 300 years from now will be a mix of Trek-inspired things (we already have cell phones and bluetooth headsets) and other things we can't even imagine right now. But aside from that, there's really nothing that we can predict. Maybe we will destroy ourselves with our greed, or maybe we will have some big realization and start working toward bettering ourselves.

You never know...I like to think that our future will be something like Star Trek. It's certainly a better thought than most science fiction writers' predictions of the future.

 

Captains and port and starboard are happening right now!!!

 

If any vessels are ever built to carry people in bulk, they won't be going further than the rocky planets in this system. They certainly won't have weapons.

 

No, it isn't. The human race will kill each other long before the 24th century.

 

Will the future be exactly like Star Trek? Probably not. But we really have no idea what advances will be made over the next few hundred years. Look out how far we have come just in the last 100 years. Things that seem impossible today may not be impossible tomorrow. There is just no way to tell what will happen.

 

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."

Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. patent office, 1899 (attributed)

 

Well, Starfleet does operate ships, you know. True, they are ships that fly around in space. But they're still ships! And that's what the Navy is for.

Plus, not all NASA astronauts are Air Force.

 

Why not use the navy? Currently airforce vessels tend to have fairly small crews, right? So our only model currently for large vessels carrying personnel is a ship.

As for the main topic...we have NO IDEA how it will happen, assuming that it does, although it's a pretty safe bet that when we do start meeting aliens, at least some of them won't be humanoid. But that's not the important thing, at least right now. Why not imagine it using whatever tools we have handy? Even if that involves an awful lot of bipedal, English-speaking lifeforms.

 

You know, I actually imagine a future space civilization being very similar to what we see on BSG, the new one.

 

Not with that attitude.

 

Here's the best way to explore:

1. develop virtual reality to such an extent that it is indistinguishable from real reality

2. develop slower-than-lightspeed spaceships to travel as fast as possible and not harm their all-technological AI crew (no organic beings involved will allow faster speeds and much longer trips - and the trips can be one-way)

3. have the all-tech AI based exploration ships simply send the data back to the scientists on earth, who can "explore" alien worlds in the safety and comfort of a virtual reality stage

4. scientists will be able to make use of data without having to "be there" (why do scientists need to be there? NASA scientists are doing great work exploring Mars right now without having to set foot on it) so the VR stages will end up having more entertainment/PR value, to keep the space program popular and the funds rolling in

All that is a lot more plausible than FTL travel. The only problem with space exploration now is the lack of longevity and hardiness among humans. So take the human weak link out of the equation.

Space exploration will be basically what NASA is good for now: 1) science, 2) entertainment/PR value, 3) national prestige. I don't expect the military to factor into it until/unless there are human colonies to fight with.

And then the real fun starts!

 

The problem is, we have mostly only seen BSG's fleet post-holocaust. We've never seen them in their prime, as it were.

 

Why do scientists need to be in laboratories now, rather than working remotely to control automated facilities?

 

If things go this way, I am going to hack into their VR and simulate an attack by Klingons. That'll show 'em.

 

In theory it sounds great.... until the AI's rebel from their slavery and attempt to wipe out the humans. I think we should call the AI slaves... ummm... errrr... how about Cylons?

That'll show 'em, Dale!

 

*sigh*

Never heard of Devil's advocate?