What's in YOUR 'head canon'?

[MAGolding]

In my head cannon asteroid miners have brought a small asteroid into Earth orbit and are mining it at the time of "The Paradise Syndrome". So Spock meant that the asteroid in question was almost as large as the asteroid that was Earth's temporary second moon and not almost as large as Luna, Earth's permanent moon.

In the original special effects the asteroid in "Paradise Syndrome" appears to be almost sphere shaped but with large bumps and hollows. Measuring it's image on my computer screen indicates the largest diameter is about 1.333 times the smallest visible diameter.

The dimensions of asteroid 10 Hygiea are about 530 x 407 x 370 kilometers, so the largest dimension is about 1.4324 times the smallest dimension. Hygeia has a mass of about 8.67 times ten to the 19th power kilograms.

The dimensions of asteroid 4 Vesta, one of the largest asteroids, are 572.6 X 557.2 x 446.4 Kilometers, plus or minus 0.2 kilometers. Vesta has a mass of about 2.59076 times 10 to the 20th power kilograms. Thus the largest dimension of Vesta is 1.28 times the smallest dimension.

The dimensions of Hyperion, or Saturn VII, are 360.2 x 266 x 205.4 kilometers, or 223.8 x 165.3 x 127.6 miles, with a mass of about 5.6199 times ten to the 18th power kilograms. So the largest dimension of Hyperion is 1.75 times the smallest dimension.

Deimos, or Mars II, is about 15 x 12.2 x 11 kilometers and has a mass of about 1.4762 X 10 to the 15th power kilograms. It's largest dimension is about 1.3636 times its smallest dimension.

Thus bodies in our solar system with approximately the same shape as the asteroid in "The Paradise Syndrome" can vary in mass by at least 175,501.96 times. But the "bumpiness" of the asteroid in "The Paradise Syndrome" indicates it is on the smaller end of the spectrum, otherwise each bump could count as a mountain taller than any on Earth.

In the remastered episode the asteroid seems to have a narrower shape.

It's shape seems to resemble Asteroid 433 Eros more. Eros has dimensions of 34.4 x 11.2 Kilometers, or its largest dimension is about 3.0714 times it's smallest dimension. Eros has a mass of about 6.687 times 10 to the 15th power kilograms. I'm sure that asteroids of similar shape should range vastly in size and mass.

in the episode it looked like the Enterprise was very close to the asteroid and the asteroid was only a few times the size of the Enterprise.

But:

SPOCK: Doctor, that asteroid is almost as large as your Earth's moon. Far enough away, the angle necessary to divert it enough to avoid destruction is minute, but as the asteroid approaches this planet, the angle becomes so great that even the power of a starship

Did Spock mean the asteroid is almost as massive or almost as large in diameter as Earth's moon?

It is certainly possible for another solar system to have an object classified as as asteroid that is almost the size of Earth's moon. But the asteroid is small enough to be lumpy and irregular in shape.

Earth's moon, Luna, has a equatorial diameter of 3,476.2 kilometers and a polar diameter of 3,472 kilometers, thus being almost perfectly spherical.

Earth's moon has a mass of about 7.342 times 10 to the 22nd power kilograms.

Wikipedia says:

Solar System objects more massive than 10 to the 21st power kilograms (one yottagram [Yg]) are known or expected to be approximately spherical. Astronomical bodies relax into rounded shapes (ellipsoids), achieving hydrostatic equilibrium, when the gravity of their mass is sufficient to overcome the structural strength of their material. Objects made of ice become round more easily than those made of rock, and many icy objects are spheroidal at far lower sizes. The cutoff boundary for roundness is somewhere between 100 km and 200 km in radius.[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Solar_System_objects_by_size

The moon's polar radius of about 1,736 kilometers is 8.68 to 17.36 times the cutoff boundary for roundness of 100 to 200 kilometers radius.

The moon's mass of about 7.342 times 10 to the 22nd power kilograms is about 73.42 times the mass sufficient to become spherical.

By "that asteroid is almost as large as your Earth's moon" Spock may have meant that it was about a tenth or a hundredth as large. Considering the vast range in size of solar system objects that would make it "almost as large as your Earth's moon" from a certain point of view. But would that be enough to make the asteroid as small as it looked in the episode?

So in my head cannon asteroid miners have brought a small asteroid into Earth orbit and are mining it at the time of "The Paradise Syndrome". So Spock meant that the asteroid in question was almost as large as the asteroid that was Earth's temporary second moon and not almost as large as Luna, Earth's permanent moon.

 

[KelisThePoet]

My point is that every real person has vast amounts of correct and incorrect information about the real world, but only a tiny amount of information about any fictional universe to base his image of it on. Thus to be fair to the readers or viewers almost all the information given by fictional characters in any fictional setting must be correct in order for the viewers or readers to gain even the most rudimentary picture of the fictional setting. Therefore a rule of writing and of interpreting fiction should be that unless there is an important plot requirement for specific characters to lie or be mistaken, almost every thing said by characters must be correct.

Sometimes fiction asks you to treat it like (an alternative) reality. Sometimes you have to shrug your shoulders and remember it's fiction in order to understand it. The trouble with your approach is that it makes it more difficult for viewers to do either.

Since real people err and misspeak all the time, assuming that fictional characters almost never do flies in the face of verisimilitude and reduces the believability of the story.

And since fiction writers err all the time, reading all their dialogue errors as truths spoken by the characters makes it impossible to shrug off obvious mistakes and move on with the story.

 

[Emperor Norton]

I believe in the idea of a galactic technological standard. Once a race gets out there, it begins to develop towards the average level of technology in the region, quadrant or galaxy due to interactions with other species. Certainly there are races more advanced than average, but the average number of races seems to develop to the average level of technology.

 

[Emperor Norton]

I don't believe it, but this is one if you are a TOS only canon person. The Klingons could be construed as cavemen who were transplanted from Earth in ancient times and evolved alternate to Earthers. In the expanded canon of the 70s, Klingons were already being portrayed as having thicker skulls, heavier musculature, broader eyebrow bones and the like in medical diagrams. It would be theoretical for them to be considered humans from another mother world.

 

[Phoenix219]

I also had a headcanon which real canon kinda crushed. That being that TMP took placed in 2279, for the obvious reason of 1979 and TOS just being 300 years after the actual date. It honestly does not make sense for TMP to take place in 2273, let alone 2271 or whatever they were originally thinking. People aged ten years and they look it. And there's other reasons. You could add another 5 year mission for Kirk (and I assumed TAS took place in 2273 and 2274) and everyone gets to wear the TOS uniforms instead of the horror of beige and drab blue.

I've always appreciated the thought of 3 5 Year Missions, one in each era... it still comes out to around the proper date around WOK, and then a 3rd one sets the dates and ages back to normal by TUC.

1 5YM in TOS Uniforms, the original ship, pre TMP.
1 5YM in (fixed/altered) TMP styles uniforms, on the refit ship.
1 5YM in the military maroons, on the "A".

A full set of adventures for each era, with each ship, and each set of uniforms.

 

[Phoenix219]

Two more pieces of headcanon:

I assumed that the Excelsior did not fail in it's experiment, but because Scotty sabotaged the ship, they all thought their transwarp experiments failed and gave up.

In order to make ENT more likeable, I have the fan theory that the Temporal Cold War future presented in that series is not the actual future of Star Trek and the future people are not actually from the mainstream Star Trek future. Instead, they are from an alternate/the original future, and by interfering in the past, they erased their history and created the timeline of the mainstream Star Trek universe. That way, they are not screwing up Star Trek history and changing things in all the convoluted ways time travel does, and ENT does not exist just in the context of the TNG era.

I assumed the opposite... that the Excelsior was successful, and by the time of TNG, it was so common, it was just regular "warp" again. All 24th century vessels are using what was once called "transwarp" as opposed to the old school "time warp."

 

[SPCTRE]

I assumed the opposite... that the Excelsior was successful, and by the time of TNG, it was so common, it was just regular "warp" again. All 24th century vessels are using what was once called "transwarp" as opposed to the old school "time warp."

that is the generally accepted assumption for a lot of people

 

[Phoenix219]

that is the generally accepted assumption for a lot of people

The old school "time warp" (Pike Era) was a completely different type of engine (all of TOS) then we see in TMP and onward (big cylindar thing). The physics it used is what caused the time travel in "Naked Time."

Transwarp was opening up the full potential of what was started with the TMP refit. The new technology came from info gained during the legendary 5YM. Kirk's adventures and contact with alien cultures is what caused the need for massive upgrades and refits before the movie era.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The old school "time warp" (Pike Era)

It's just a jump to the left. And then a step to the right.
Put your hands on your hips. And bring online the warp drive.
But it's the starship thrust that really drives you insaaaaaaaane

 

[Blamo]

Lets see, my headcanon.

The different eras of the show occur in parallel universes. Very much like each other, but with differences.

Money exists in the federation, but it's only needed for "luxury" goods, everything else is free (medical care, communication, basic transport, non-luxury foods, basic housing etc). Part of the reason for this will have little to do with wanting a utopia and more to do with necessity, what with the future having a high level of automation, wiping out low skilled jobs and leading to high unemployment rates (and as automation improves, more and more skilled workers will find themselves out of the job). Basically, these people need their lifestyles to be pretty much guaranteed, otherwise all hell would break lose.

Regarding the unemployed just sitting on their arses, one of the things the internet has shown is that, while people may be unemployed, there are many who turn their passions into a source of income (or just do it out of love), like art, writing(fanfiction and original), game development, game mods, free computer programs, emulators, youtube channels etc. So in the Federation you'll probably get a lot of people involved in passion projects, some of which may lead to actual innovations.

Regarding luxury goods - If you want to sit in a restaurant eating a meal cooked by someone, you pay for it (Since you're paying for the service). If you want a starship, you pay for it (though I suppose in the far future of the Federation that could be free also), because obviously that's going to require a lot of specialised materials and designs. Internal system travel will be free (likely automated itself), but interstellar travel will cost.

 

[Timewalker]

Lets see, my headcanon.

The different eras of the show occur in parallel universes. Very much like each other, but with differences.

Money exists in the federation, but it's only needed for "luxury" goods, everything else is free (medical care, communication, basic transport, non-luxury foods, basic housing etc). Part of the reason for this will have little to do with wanting a utopia and more to do with necessity, what with the future having a high level of automation, wiping out low skilled jobs and leading to high unemployment rates (and as automation improves, more and more skilled workers will find themselves out of the job). Basically, these people need their lifestyles to be pretty much guaranteed, otherwise all hell would break lose.

Regarding the unemployed just sitting on their arses, one of the things the internet has shown is that, while people may be unemployed, there are many who turn their passions into a source of income (or just do it out of love), like art, writing(fanfiction and original), game development, game mods, free computer programs, emulators, youtube channels etc. So in the Federation you'll probably get a lot of people involved in passion projects, some of which may lead to actual innovations.

Regarding luxury goods - If you want to sit in a restaurant eating a meal cooked by someone, you pay for it (Since you're paying for the service). If you want a starship, you pay for it (though I suppose in the far future of the Federation that could be free also), because obviously that's going to require a lot of specialised materials and designs. Internal system travel will be free (likely automated itself), but interstellar travel will cost.

And because Picard lives in his isolated Starfleet bubble, he thinks that nobody uses money, anywhere, and nobody ever wants more than they have, in terms of material possessions?

This addresses TNG, but as for TOS, I don't agree that it's a moneyless society. Cashless, sure. Our society is already rapidly heading that way. Even now, I only use cash for bus tickets, fast food, purchases at the coffee kiosk, or second-hand goods.

But every advanced society has to have an economic system and trade, or it collapses. The Federation must have an economy, just not one that is obvious to us yet.

 

[Kor]

My head canon includes all of Roddenberry's harebrained ideas from the Star Trek: The Motion Picture novelization.

Kor

 

[uniderth]

My head canon includes all of Roddenberry's harebrained ideas from the Star Trek: The Motion Picture novelization.

Kor

Moar Love Instructors!

 

[Six of Twelve]

But every advanced society has to have an economic system and trade, or it collapses. The Federation must have an economy, just not one that is obvious to us yet.

I think the thing is, that people don't have to work for basic survival needs - no one is homeless, hungry, sick, uneducated, naked, etc, because of the lack of money. Money may be required for luxury non-essentials, but not for a basic standard of living or to acquire the tools that allow one to compete in society.

 

[Timewalker]

I think the thing is, that people don't have to work for basic survival needs - no one is homeless, hungry, sick, uneducated, naked, etc, because of the lack of money. Money may be required for luxury non-essentials, but not for a basic standard of living or to acquire the tools that allow one to compete in society.

Define what's an essential. Food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care, right?

What about mental stimulation? People can live without books, but I would go insane if I didn't have reading material. People can live without pets, but there are days when the only reason I get out of bed is because the cats need food and water and their litter box changed.

How about vacations? Most people get at least one per year, when they can go somewhere else - visit people, see a new city or country... it's easy to feel really isolated when that's not possible, and forget that the rest of the world exists.

 

[Six of Twelve]

Define what's an essential. Food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care, right?

What about mental stimulation? People can live without books, but I would go insane if I didn't have reading material. People can live without pets, but there are days when the only reason I get out of bed is because the cats need food and water and their litter box changed.

How about vacations? Most people get at least one per year, when they can go somewhere else - visit people, see a new city or country... it's easy to feel really isolated when that's not possible, and forget that the rest of the world exists.

Oh, I'd give a pretty wide definition of essentials. Non-essentials would be stuff like owning your own spaceship, having your own transporter pad, and the like - you'd have to pay money for those.

 

[Vandervecken]

In my head canon, Gary Mitchell is still alive--he was injured badly, but managed to stop the worst of the tombstone's crushing impact with telekinesis, and then a super healing factor repaired all his injuries--and eventually became capable of personal transwarp, at which point he found, conquered, and became a god to the Kelvan Empire, which, not giving a damn about any deal Rojan made, turned its attention back to our galaxy--this time, with supertranswarp courtesy of Mitchell.

Ok all that stuff is a little far afield. But he definitely survived in my personal head canon.

 

[Blamo]

My head canon includes all of Roddenberry's harebrained ideas from the Star Trek: The Motion Picture novelization.

Kor

I'm sure I remember mention of Kirk having a cybernetic implant. That would sort of make sense, given the universal translator.

 

[Shawnster]

Define what's an essential. Food, clothing, shelter, education, and health care, right?

What about mental stimulation? People can live without books, but I would go insane if I didn't have reading material. People can live without pets, but there are days when the only reason I get out of bed is because the cats need food and water and their litter box changed.

How about vacations? Most people get at least one per year, when they can go somewhere else - visit people, see a new city or country... it's easy to feel really isolated when that's not possible, and forget that the rest of the world exists.

Well, as there are currently free avenues now for the list above, I don't see why that would change by the 24th century.

No charge to go to the library or borrow a book or a movie or music from a friend, acquaintance, classmate, workmate, etc...

You can walk or get a ride to a new city or country. If transportation isn't free then there are affordable alternatives like the bus. Ride a bike. I visit friends now for no charge. Yes, gasoline and car payments exist but most of us handle those things now and the ones of us that don't have alternatives.

 

[Timewalker]

Well, as there are currently free avenues now for the list above, I don't see why that would change by the 24th century.

No charge to go to the library or borrow a book or a movie or music from a friend, acquaintance, classmate, workmate, etc...

There are no free libraries in my city. Both the public library and the college library charge to borrow books (although people are allowed to sit there and read as long as they don't take the books with them when they leave). I used to be able to use the computers for free at the college, but that's probably changed by now. The public library will not allow anyone to use the computers there (exception for the card catalogue) unless they've paid for a membership.

I suppose a computer would be considered an essential item in the 24th century, but there are an awful lot of people in the 21st century who think a computer and internet access is an unnecessary luxury for people on social assistance or disability benefits... even considering that many things that people used to take care of in person, over the phone, or via snailmail are now only possible online (or strongly encouraged to be done online).

You can walk or get a ride to a new city or country. If transportation isn't free then there are affordable alternatives like the bus. Ride a bike. I visit friends now for no charge. Yes, gasoline and car payments exist but most of us handle those things now and the ones of us that don't have alternatives.

I'm guessing that you live in a heavily populated urban region where buses are available and transit fares are cheap. Not everyone has that benefit. I can go pretty much anywhere in town inexpensively (by bus), but on my budget, visiting the nearest major city is a major expenditure.

I've noticed that in some Star Trek stories, public transporters exist and the stories differ as to whether they're free to use or if there's a charge.