If You Grew Up on STAR TREK...

[ZapBrannigan]

If you started watching STAR TREK as a child, did it expand your vocabulary and often make you sound like the smartest kid in class?

I was a child of TOS, and Spock alone had a huge effect on my vocabulary and general knowledge. And it wasn't just in elementary school that I sounded smart due to STAR TREK. Once in a high school social studies class, the teacher was talking about the Black Death in Europe, and I casually mentioned that the plague reached Constantinople in 1334. That was a great moment because people assumed I knew all about it.

How about your experience with the effects of STAR TREK on childhood development, or just sounding smarter than you were?

 

[BillJ]

The only thing I learned watching Star Trek as a kid is this: if you try to fight like Captain Kirk, you're going to get your ass kicked.

The flying butt-chop does not work!

 

[C.E. Evans]

The only thing I learned watching Star Trek as a kid is this: if you try to fight like Captain Kirk, you're going to get your ass kicked.

The flying butt-chop does not work!

You just didn't do it right.

But I did the hand-chop to the neck like Kirk did in a fight in the fourth grade and it was surprisingly effective (landed me in detention afterward, but it was worth it).

 

[Gaith]

Being a Trekkie didn't hurt, but I went to a private school of pretty smart tykes, so I didn't especially stand out, either. And I have a fairly vivid memory of once realizing that my daring X-Wing maneuvers, complete with hand-goggles and a capella sound effects, were being observed by a few classmates one recess, who burst into laughter once I noticed them.

There did come a time in second or third grade, however, when we were assigned to do invidual reports on a planet of the solar system. I was all, "heck, that's kindergarten stuff", and did my report on black holes instead. I think that impressed my classmates for all of a few minutes on the day of the presentation...

 

[indolover]

Not really, but Trek has made me appreciate philosophy and deeper social issues.

It really is the thinking man's science-fiction lol..

 

[Use of Time]

I grew up on TNG but I was late to the party. Started watching Trek in 94 right after Generations. TNG was shown twice a day from what I remember so I was able to catch up quickly. I would say that TNG had a positive effect on my vocabulary but I think that it made me more articulate for my age as well.

 

[Ssosmcin]

My vocabulary skills didn't come from Star Trek, but from Marvel Comics. I owe my use of big word to Stan Lee.

The only thing I learned watching Star Trek as a kid is this: if you try to fight like Captain Kirk, you're going to get your ass kicked.

The flying butt-chop does not work!

I am amazed at how many of us did this! I'm amazed that anyone else but me even tried it.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

No, because I speak French and I was watching Star Trek in German.

 

[Forbin]

I think it just made everybody think I was a dork.

Another sad result - I guess it was more than just from Trek, but TV and the movies had lead me to believe that the way Kirk, Bond, James West et al got a different woman every week was the way real life was supposed to work. As I progressed thru high school, I was disabused of this misconception. BIG time.

 

[bbailey861]

I am a product of TOS but Star Trek didn't really do anything to improve my vocabulary. Initially, I don't think it was anything more than a really cool science fiction show with neat aliens, gadgets and bad-guys I wanted to take down. As I got older and started watching the episodes over I came to realize it was that and more. It was a really smart science fiction show and I was happy when I realized there was more to it than the 'coolness' - and I could understand it more on a different level. Didn't necessarily agree with everything - but it did expose me to a lot and gave me something more to think about.

 

[mos6507]

Reading Tolkien expanded my vocabulary--with archaic words like "whence" and "thither".

Trek did make me think about various concepts, which I think was good for me, but it didn't expand my vocabulary beyond "affirmative". I also knew what a "folsom point" was due to the Galileo 7.

 

[Shawnster]

In 8th grade Literature class a discussion came up about the Nazi Regime. I mentioned how the Nazi government was the "most efficient state Earth ever knew" I immediately got shouted down by my teacher.

I learned that, unlike on Ekos, the Nazis were never to be spoken of with anything resembling favor or respect.

 

[Pavonis]

Did your teacher shout you down for talking about Nazis, or for citing a tv show as a reference?

 

[Greg Cox]

Growing up, people occasionally commented on my vocabulary, but I think that, in general, that had more to do with being an omniverous reader than any one particular TV show, movie, novel, or comic book.

STAR TREK surely contributed to my vocabulary, but so did THE TWILIGHT ZONE, THE OUTER LIMITS, DARK SHADOWS, comic books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, H.P. Lovecraft, Sherlock Holmes, Doc Savage, etc.

 

[feek61]

I had one of those moments. It was in 7th grade; sitting in the back of English class. While I was looking out the window I heard the teacher say "does anybody know what "Obsession" means?" Well, you can guess what happened next. It was like Spock was speaking through me. The teacher was really impressed especially since I hadn't said two words the entire 9 weeks, lol

 

[Chrisisall]

I was with Star Trek TOS from age 7, it expanded not my vocabulary, but my view of the world and mankind's place in it. It also introduced me to logical thinking. When I was having trouble with the bullies in 6th grade, I surmised the only logical solution was to train in martial arts. Then I became the dork who'd hit you back. I found this to be a satisfactory solution to my confrontation-filled social dilemma.

 

[erastus25]

Star Trek definitely shaped my education quite a bit. A few examples:

After reading The Physics of Star Trek I moved on to A Brief History of Time and became the only 13 year old at my school to have a conceptual understanding of what a "black hole" really was. From there I became interested in Brian Greene and I continue to read "pop astrophysics" to this day.

I also learned quickly that Star Trek character names and episode titles were often based on literary and/or historical figures. That lead to some really interesting times with the old Encarta and there have been many times that I've been able to follow conversations about Shakespeare, Greek myths, etc. solely b/c of my knowledge of some TOS episode.

In college I found myself drawn to humanist philosophy and also had an immediate appreciation for anthropology and it's ideas of cultural relativism. Probably not a coincidence...

Last month I started a talk at a professional conference by deadpanning a quote from "Leonard H. McCoy, MD - 1967." Most of the audience paid little attention, but a few smirked knowingly. Somewhat surprisingly nobody said anything.

 

[scotpens]

If you started watching STAR TREK as a child, did it expand your vocabulary and often make you sound like the smartest kid in class?

Actually, it made me sound like a geek.

. . . I guess it was more than just from Trek, but TV and the movies had led me to believe that the way Kirk, Bond, James West et al got a different woman every week was the way real life was supposed to work. As I progressed thru high school, I was disabused of this misconception. BIG time.

I suppose at some point you entertained the possibility that a room full of science fiction books and spaceship models wasn't exactly a chick magnet.

 

[Pondwater]

I watched a lot of TNG as a kid but I was actually behind the curve, so I guess not. However, I was a good speller, reader and creative writer at that time, so maybe. Although, I do credit Trek for interest in the Sciences.

 

[Paper Moon]

TNG and DS9 definitely helped, I think. My parents and grandparents are all pretty educated, so I'm sure a lot came from them, and I did read and watch PBS a lot as a kid.

But my speaking style was definitely influenced by Trek, especially Data and Picard. That had its benefits and drawbacks during childhood, but overall, I think it was a good thing.