What tropes in science fiction annoy you?

[Graham]

Take the EU as an example, the Germans and French share a common currency and border and yet the French are still French and the Germans still German.

Sure - for now. But if you could step into a box in France and walk out of it 5 seconds later in Germany... how long would that last?

And that is the way it should stay.

Hmm, I don't know that there is an "ought" here.

The only way humans become like fictional, monolithic Vulcans (whose motto is IDIC, what a contradiction) is if there is a genocidal World War that destroys everywhere on Earth except some small village in Cornwall, who are then left to populate the planet.

I disagree with that. I think technology will inevitably erase cultural differences, as it is already doing.

Actually there's even more historical precedent. A couple of hundred years back almost everyone lived their entire lives within 20 miles of where they were born. At most, you'd marry and move to a place a couple of villages over. Cultural differences were much more pronounced as a result, because practically every town was isolated from every other. Look at what roads and cars have done to that!

In order to abandon all cultural differences which cultures are abandoned and which culture ascends?

Whichever are the most popular. Cultural changes aren't something people in authority decide on - they just happen. Who decided that Hollywood would largely destroy the British film industry? Nobody made that conscious decision - but everybody who paid to see a Hollywood movie instead of a British one caused the shift to happen collectively.

That's how it will be if we ever have mass teleportation. Languages already evolve and mix right now - that'll accelerate a hundredfold when people from all over the world can and do freely intermix. So will every other aspect of culture.

 

[Forbin]

Not sure how you get to racist.

Everything's racist nowadays, didn't you know?

 

[2takesfrakes]

This is why they joined Starfleet to escape paternity court and avoid alimony credits

Riker even got tricked by a kid into thinking that he was Riker's long, lost son when, in fact, he was a young grasshopper ...
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Barash?file=Barash.jpg

There is no end to the long, lost kid trope in STAR TREK! Believe me, when I tell you that.

 

[Nyotarules]

Who decided that Hollywood would largely destroy the British film industry? Nobody made that conscious decision - but everybody who paid to see a Hollywood movie instead of a British one caused the shift to happen collectively.

And yet British folks today are still British, they might be different from their great grand parents but not even present day Americans are like their ancestors, this does not make them less American. Ease of travel and sharing entertainment will change cultures but I doubt it will destroy them. The British culturally add to what they have, they do not discard what they have for something new, perhaps being an old culture their attitude is different compared to a 'new' nation like the USA. (Assuming you are from North America)

Sure - for now. But if you could step into a box in France and walk out of it 5 seconds later in Germany... how long would that last?

I can step on a plane in London and be in Paris in 45 minutes, try telling the French they are no longer French due to ease of travel to London.

 

[Nyotarules]

Riker even got tricked by a kid into thinking that he was Riker's long, lost son when, in fact, he was a young grasshopper ...
http://memory-alpha.wikia.com/wiki/Barash?file=Barash.jpg

There is no end to the long, lost kid trope in STAR TREK! Believe me, when I tell you that.

At least Riker was married to the pretend mother and claimed the boy lol

 

[arch101]

I would have said - why does everyone in SciFi know how to fly a spacecraft? But, JJ fixed this one in TFA with Finn.

 

[Samurai8472]

That ONE part of a spaceship with an unexplained death trap designed into it

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I don't know. Would Star Trek The Wrath of Khan's reactor scene be one?

 

[Graham]

And yet British folks today are still British

"It hasn't happened so far" isn't really a reason why it won't happen under very different circumstances in the future.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

This is why they joined Starfleet to escape paternity court and avoid alimony credits

Oh haha I love that. Maybe its true for some people

Another annoying one "tech is easy" and well any joe with a minimum of intellect can fashion a high tech device almost in their own garage, as in Ironman 2 and the bad guy made those laser whips in his own workshop. Like it's that easy. I find that kind of thing annoying.

Sure - for now. But if you could step into a box in France and walk out of it 5 seconds later in Germany... how long would that last?

Or better yet stay home and enter a box and a clone of you pops out the other end and does all the stuff you want and then they return to the pod and get and recycled and you get the memories of that outing as if you were there. That's "Transfer 2 Transit" as used in Dark Matter and I love it.

 

[Nyotarules]

"It hasn't happened so far" isn't really a reason why it won't happen under very different circumstances in the future.

You seem certain it will happen, based on past and present human behaviour, I see no reason for that certainty. And neither of us will be around to find out who was right.

 

[Graham]

You seem certain it will happen

Yes. Both because it makes logical sense to me, and because it's the continuation of a trend that has already been happening for the last century.

And neither of us will be around to find out who was right.

One could say as much about any aspect of Star Trek past First Contact in 2060 or so. But it's fun to talk about, yes?

 

[Nyotarules]

Yes. Both because it makes logical sense to me, and because it's the continuation of a trend that has already been happening for the last century.


One could say as much about any aspect of Star Trek past First Contact in 2060 or so. But it's fun to talk about, yes?

yes it is!

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

I just wrapped up a rewatch of The Six Million Dollar Man and its sister series The Bionic Woman and oh boy that brought back memories. Still fun to watch for the most part.

A couple of things though that really bug me.

Both of them can run really fast, like really fast like 60 mph for a mere human that's fast without super powers. Anyway sure if the bionic legs can do that what about the hip joints, those were not designed by nature to work at those speeds so would their bones be reinforced with some metal or such? The TV show never made it clear if the legs are bionic from the hip joint down or such but they did little computer graphics in the show intro that suggests they start below the hips and that bugs me just a little. I have never read the novel that both shows were originally based on so have no background information either way.

Also the things they do with their bionic arm you'd have to think they did something to the upper part of their skeletons too to reinforce that or much pain would happen. Again I don't think they go into that in much detail in the TV shows, not to mention Steve's eye is a long thing that goes from the his eye socket right to the back of his head.

 

[Gov Kodos]

That ONE part of a spaceship with a unexplained death trap designed into it

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I don't know. Would Star Trek The Wrath of Khan's reactor scene be one?

On a similar note, the lack of handrails along precipitous drops. The higher the fall the less likely handrails seem to be used in too many films. I blame Forbidden Planet, or more specifically, folks not paying attention closely enough. The Krell Machine had handrails all over, no doubt made to Krell Osha standards.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

On a similar note, the lack of handrails along precipitous drops. The higher the fall the less likely handrails seem to be used in too many films. I blame Forbidden Planet, or more specifically, folks not paying attention closely enough. The Krell Machine had handrails all over, no doubt made to Krell Osha standards.

Or Star Wars they had catwalks all over the Death Star with no handrails. Everyone else copied that too.

 

[USS Firefly]

Or Star Wars they had catwalks all over the Death Star with no handrails. Everyone else copied that too.

But Star Wars is a long time ago, maybe they didn't have handrails yet

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

But Star Wars is a long time ago, maybe they didn't handrails yet

You got me there. Well played sir

 

[Forbin]

The one that irks me is the cliche of the newborn baby with accelerated growth, so they can skip over 5-10 years of the kid just being taken care of instead of contributiing to the plot. Killjoys, an otherwise reasonably original show, just dropped that one on us this season.

 

[Timewalker]

The one that irks me is the cliche of the newborn baby with accelerated growth, so they can skip over 5-10 years of the kid just being taken care of instead of contributiing to the plot. Killjoys, an otherwise reasonably original show, just dropped that one on us this season.

This has been a common thing for decades. In the soaps it's called SORAS - Soap Opera Rapid Ageing Syndrome.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

This has been a common thing for decades. In the soaps it's called SORAS - Soap Opera Rapid Ageing Syndrome.

Young And The Resless and The Bold have used this one many times.