Tech update in Star Trek

[T'Girl]

NCC-1701-B wrote:

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But then again that episode forgets the eugenics wars ever happened...

Nothing says that the Eugenics War directly affected the United States. It certainly didn't seem to be affecting la ciudad de Los Aŋxeles.

[Lighthammer]

So on the topic of Space Travel, a friend posted this on Facebook tonight:
http://news.discovery.com/space/warp...ss-120917.html

It looks like Warp seems more likely now, but the question is viable is Warp compared to Space Folding technology?

I do have to admit, a lot of things in this thread I think could be retconed away --- except Warp. Without Warp Drive, it just doesn't feel like Trek. I could see Space Folding in the Star Trek universe and an explanation how they moved from one technology to another if Space Folding seems more viable.

[C.E. Evans]

Warp drive is just another name for a FTL drive. The full intricacies of how it works have remained vague onscreen, although later Trek shows have often mentioned "subspace fields" or "warp fields," but otherwise it's just a device to get our heroes where they need to go.

In other sci-fi universes that have used fold engines, they tend to be near-instantaneous jumps from one part of the Galaxy to the other, but Trek has already played around with such means of FTL propulsion with transwarp and slipstream drives. In that sense, it's a case of Trek terminology winning over perhaps a more proper scientific term.

[Ryan8bit]

Realistically, Star Trek isn't the way to address these things. At this point, without a pretty severe reboot, it's probably not going to happen.

Some things that I think Star Trek could address:

AI and the technological singularity
Lots of super smart AI were shown, so why were they unable to create smarter AI? Ignoring silly predictions based on Moore's law, Data was smart enough that he should have been able to create a more stable version of Lal, who in turn could have made an even smarter being. If this wasn't a possibility, then they should address why it's not.

Transhumanism
Certainly this is addressed to a degree with Khan. But the supermen were only genetically engineered for strength and intelligence. Other things we should see would be drastic reduction of aging, hair loss, obesity, and disease. Another thing worth considering is the whole mechanical aspect. Someone mentioned Geordi should have been more the norm than the odd man out. There's certainly a larger possibility for cybernetic implants.

Increased brain knowledge and devices that support this
This might be part of the transhumanism, but there is research being done today to suggest brain activated computers. Whether it's something as clunky as a VISOR or more discreet like contacts with a HUD. People are going to need to have better access to their devices. And in general, there should be no secrets about the brain. I find it more likely that we'd figure out the brain before we'd be warping around the galaxy. Things like Picard having Irumodic Syndrome shouldn't really be an issue.

Quantum Computing
It's possible that Star Trek already uses this. They've always been purposefully vague when it came down to this sort of thing, but I don't think it would hurt to mention quantum computing, maybe even as something that's outdated. Things at least need to move away from the isolinear rods and such. Voyager at least had a start toward this with the gel packs.

Synthetic organs
If they're not using devices that actually enhance the organs, they should certainly be into synthesizing organs for surgery. Picard should never have had an artificial heart and blood should have been able to be easily created. And the surgical methods should be far cleaner or less invasive. Transporting a fetus was a pretty wild idea. You have to wonder what other medical applications there could be.


There's probably a lot more that could be here.


And in general there is a large problem with these that you might have already seen. A lot of these make existing stories not possible. While they may be opening up doors for new science fiction style stories, they're closing the door on us being able to identify with the characters.

To be realistic, the future in a few hundred years should be scary and very foreign. As someone from 1712 would probably flip out if here today, we should probably flip out in 2312. That takes away from the general idea of Star Trek where everything is more or less the same as today, just with all sorts of cool technology and socialism that somehow works. The people who showed up in "The Neutral Zone" weren't really that terrified because the people were like those in the 80's just placed in a fantasy future setting.

Audiences don't really care about what it ought to be or if it's really hard science fiction. Star Trek has always been very light, and they might throw some plausible sounding science words in to make it seem believable, but ultimately it's not the franchise that's ever going to care about such things.

[Mr. Laser Beam]

NCC-1701-B wrote:

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But then again that episode forgets the eugenics wars ever happened...

The US wasn't involved in those wars, so the episode didn't ignore anything.

[Lighthammer]

C.E. Evans wrote:

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Warp drive is just another name for a FTL drive. The full intricacies of how it works have remained vague onscreen, although later Trek shows have often mentioned "subspace fields" or "warp fields," but otherwise it's just a device to get our heroes where they need to go.

Star Trek (at least TNG and later) very clearly defined the theory behind the technology. We've seen a ton of on screen footage and images demonstrating it, but the nitty gritty is also outlined in pretty much every official tech manual.

Someone actually put together a very good Youtube video explaining a while back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fPmCKt48Zw

[Lighthammer]

You can off set this by the idea of space folding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxl6TOLxvuI

Clearly two different technologies.

[C.E. Evans]

Lighthammer wrote:

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Star Trek (at least TNG and later) very clearly defined the theory behind the technology. We've seen a ton of on screen footage and images demonstrating it, but the nitty gritty is also outlined in pretty much every official tech manual.

But not so much onscreen, though, which is what I said earlier. Sure, some technobabble terms are bandied about in dialogue, but Trek has--and perhaps correctly so--avoided going into full-length dissertations about it onscreen in lieu of just getting on with whatever story was at hand.

[Lighthammer]

Star Trek (more so in TNG) actually made a point to consult some of the biggest minds in theoretical physics to get their facts straight and tried to act, in part, as a side board for education. Heck, some stations actually ran TNG back in the late 80s as an E/I show (No, I wouldn't call it that necessarily, but some of the things that got counted *IS* ridiculous).

TNG sure didn't go into the detail the various tech manuals did, but you betcha it was generally the basis for what they squeezed into the show. Given, some writers were much better at using it, some writers just threw out terms that sounded cool and some used it as a crutch even when it didn't make sense.

I guess what I am saying is SOME OF THE TIME, they tried to make it accurate based on what was the current days understanding. How often is "some of the time" --- I'd need to do a ton of research to give you an answer =(.