“I am now programming our computer...” Uh, no you’re not.

[Captrek]

A little pet peeve of mine:

“Captain, the intruder has been attempting to communicate. Frequency more than one million megahertz, and at such high rate of speed their entire message lasts only a millisecond. I am now programming our computer to transmit linguacode at their frequency and rate of speed.”

I’m thinking, “No, you are not now programming our computer. You are now sitting with your back to the computer interface and slowly explaining the situation to the captain.” As the survival of the ship is at stake and every second counts, this is not logical behavior, especially for a multitasking-capable mind like Spock’s. If this were the TV series, he would be flipping switches and pushing buttons while saying those lines.

Either nobody on set pointed that out, or Wise considered the idea and rejected it, and I can’t think of a good reason. Comments? More useful comments?


BTW, another pet peeve is the phrase “rate of speed,” but that’s hardly unique to TMP.

 

[Shatinator]

Perhaps he was conveying to the Captain that he had programmed the computer and it was / was about to transmit. I know he should be appearing to do something given the sitch or already transmitted. However given the pressures of that production this is a continunity error I for one can over look.

-The Shatinator

 

[Therin of Andor]

If this were the TV series, he would be flipping switches and pushing buttons while saying those lines.

I always took it that Spock had already created the little program he needed to do the job (on the science console's computer) and that the new code was now running, and reprogramming the ship's main computer (as he spoke) to do what was needed.

 

[SRFX]

He's Spock, he can do anything geez.

 

[Captrek]

Spock does not finish programming the computer before telling the Captain about it. When he finishes telling the Captain, he turns toward the computer interface, starts working, and continues working until the last moment, getting the transmission off with just seconds to spare. I suppose he could be “waiting for a compile” and speaking to the Captain during that unavoidable break, but is that what they were thinking when they shot it in 1979?

 

[FormerLurker]

They were probably thinking "He needs to be facing the camera so we can properly sync the ADR because these projectors are so damned loud."

 

[Doug Otte]

So, when someone tells you they're doing something, you think the statement is false if they're not simultaneously performing that action at the exact moment they speak? I find that a bit ridiculous.

Doug

 

[Psion]

You don't write a computer program without first considering the algorithm. You need to think about what you want to accomplish, which libraries, variables, constants, functions, objects, classes, etc. are necessary to accomplish that task. There's some research and planning that needs to go into a program before you start pounding away at the keyboard. Spock could well have been doing this while addressing Kirk. For that matter, he might well have been visualizing the entire program mentally, writing and testing it in his imagination before actually committing it to whatever passes for an executable space on the ship's computer.

 

[Therin of Andor]

is that what they were thinking when they shot it in 1979?

They were thinking that Spock needed to be facing Kirk for those lines to be delivered. But there's nothing inaccurate in what Spock said.

I had a plumber here the other day, installing a new toilet. He was on the phone to the boss at one point, saying, "I'm here installing that new toilet and I've realised I need the ceramic collar, not the plastic one you sent me out with..." At that very moment, he wasn't actually installing the new toilet, so was he misleading his boss?

 

[Sky]

I’m thinking, “No, you are not now programming our computer. You are now sitting with your back to the computer interface and slowly explaining the situation to the captain.”

He has just typed 'make', pressed Enter and the code is compiling. HTH.

 

[Captrek]

is that what they were thinking when they shot it in 1979?

They were thinking that Spock needed to be facing Kirk for those lines to be delivered. But there's nothing inaccurate in what Spock said.

I had a plumber here the other day, installing a new toilet. He was on the phone to the boss at one point, saying, "I'm here installing that new toilet and I've realised I need the ceramic collar, not the plastic one you sent me out with..." At that very moment, he wasn't actually installing the new toilet, so was he misleading his boss?

Read the OP. The stated concern was not “Under a certain parsing of the words, the statement is not literally true.” It was, “As the survival of the ship is at stake and every second counts, this is not logical behavior, especially for a multitasking-capable mind like Spock’s.”

The plumber wasn’t misleading his boss. But if, after getting off the phone, he started working on the toilet and barely finished in time to avert the destruction of the toilet, himself, you, your home, and the entire planet Earth, then he probably shouldn’t have taken a time out for the phone call.

I suppose he could be “waiting for a compile” and speaking to the Captain during that unavoidable break

He has just typed 'make', pressed Enter and the code is compiling. HTH.

Thanks for the H.

 

[Basill]

If this were the TV series, he would be flipping switches and pushing buttons while saying those lines.

I always took it that Spock had already created the little program he needed to do the job (on the science console's computer) and that the new code was now running, and reprogramming the ship's main computer (as he spoke) to do what was needed.

Yeah. Maybe he was waiting for the computer to reboot or something. Installations can be a pain. Of course, he then required Cmd Decker's assistance to complete his task and get the transmission sent. Granted time was of the essence, but V'Ger had not yet launched its second squealy plasma ball, so tensions weren't yet fully ramped. Maybe since Spock was somewhat "in-tune" with the intruder, he was able to better sense how long they had to toy around.

Read the OP. The stated concern was not “Under a certain parsing of the words, the statement is not literally true.” It was, “As the survival of the ship is at stake and every second counts, this is not logical behavior, especially for a multitasking-capable mind like Spock’s.”

Actually, doesn't the original series provide an excellent example of that multi-tasking mind without buttons being pushed? I can't remember the episode or the exact context, but I seem to recall an argument between Spock and someone on the bridge or in the transporter room (probably McCoy) where they ask him (paraphrased) "Shouldn't you be off working on those equations?" He simply arches an eyebrow and replies, "I am." Can anyone name that episode? The Tholian Web maybe?

If all else fails, do what I do and just try using your imagination to hear "will" instead of "am" the next time you watch it.

 

[Dukhat]

I'm wondering for the life of me why this is such a big deal.

 

[number6]

It's all JJBermageidbergettberry's fault.

 

[Ablative_Oberth]

Right now I am typing this message.

 

[Jeyl]

Should have been Uhura's job.

 

[Basill]

^ Probably would have been if she'd bothered to check the millisecond-messages-at-over-one-million-megahertz frequencies.

 

[Jeyl]

^ Probably would have been if she'd bothered to check the millisecond-messages-at-over-one-million-megahertz frequencies.

Which would have been cool if they had written her character of doing that. It's not like if she had done Spock's bit during that sequence that Nimoy would be left with nothing throughout the rest of the film.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Spock is a well known job hog.

 

[jgdst]

^ He's also known across the galaxy for his famed two-hand-clasp computer smashing techniques. Second to none, I tell thee.