Has Star Trek taught you about culture?

[Ragitsu]

Good afternoon.

Has Star Trek ever been your first exposure to a particular element of culture, be it Western, Eastern or otherwise? Examples include Harry Kim recounting Odysseus' encounter with the sirens, Keiko O'Brien talking about a Japanese tea ceremony (or bonsai), Jean Luc Picard discussing the importance of Hamlet, Spock highlighting humanity's tendency to romanticize brutal figures in our history and so on and so forth. Perhaps it even influenced your choice of Major?

 

[Greg Cox]

I'm sure I must have absorbed a lot from TOS when I was a kid. (The latter-day series came along well after I attended college, so I was way past choosing a major by then.). But I can't immediately come up with a specfic example.

On the other hand, I'm pretty sure I first learned:

About evolution from an episode of The Outer Limits ("The Sixth Finger").

About the sinking of the Titanic from the premiere of The Time Tunnel.

About white blood cells from Fantastic Voyage.

About Freudian theory from Forbidden Planet. "What's a monster from the Id, dad?"

 

[bdub76]

I never finished Moby Dick.

 

[FredH]

Indirectly — I’m pretty sure the various essays in the old The Best of Trek books primed me toward becoming an English major.

 

[Greg Cox]

I majored in Chemistry, but eventually realized I was better at science fiction than real science, so I ended up writing Trek novels instead.

(I was a pretty mediocre chemist, to be honest.)

 

[Ragitsu]

I majored in Chemistry, but eventually realized I was better at science fiction than real science, so I ended up writing Trek novels instead.

(I was a pretty mediocre chemist, to be honest.)

Far better for a novel to blow up than a laboratory.

 

[tomalak301]

It got me interested in Space and Space travel when I was younger. Also, there was a time right after "The Killing Game" aired that I wanted to learn more about WWII. Not really sure if that answers the question, but it provided a motivator for interesting subjects.

 

[Richard S. Claus]

I learned what Hornblower is because of Star Trek. And Wagon Train for that matter.

I’ll ruminate on this, but it’s very likely I learned a great deal because of Trek.

 

[AtheistAntony]

I can quote passages of Shakespeare, and could do so from an early age, which is all down to Picard. I suspect Patrick Stewart would be chuffed by that. As an adult I've then seen it many many times.

 

[Set Harth]

I used to think Star Trek taught me the word "cyborg" but I was wrong.

 

[Nude Colonel Stuart]

I can quote passages of Shakespeare, and could do so from an early age, which is all down to Picard. I suspect Patrick Stewart would be chuffed by that.

To be, or not to be, that is the question. Is't noble to surrendereth thy ship whilst opening the pilot program to a soap opera actor wearing a funny hat?