Why TECHNOBABBLE?

[Wonderlust King]

Because sometimes they really did need to reverse the polarity.

 

[jimbtnp2]

When my boss tells me she needs an org chart done for a meeting in a hour, I don't reply, "I'll do my best, ma'am. I'll activate my 3GHz Dell Pentium 4 PC, launch Microsoft Powerpoint, access the standard corporate presentation template stored on the Company Intranet Graphics site and use the INSERT/ORG CHART menu item to create the basic chart! From there on, of course, it becoms more difficult... I'll need specific peoples' names and titles, and need to determine their managerial heirarchy. I"ll also need to know the department requesting this job for purposes of charging my time.

The real conversation:
HER: "HR needs an org chart. Here's a sketch."
ME: "Okay."
Boss goes about her business, 15 minutes later I turn in the finished chart and jot down the time on my time sheet with the Human Resources charge number that I know so well.

Amen, thank you.

Not only that but MOST people in Command (or management in your example) don't want to hear because THEY don't care and/or understand all the technical stuff.

Let's be clear about Technobabble - It was used as a filler and crutch for BAD writing and poor story telling - PERIOD

As I watch any Modern Trek (MT) - It is almost impossible to watch anymore due to the use of Technobabble - its so annoying and mind numbing, it totally turns me off

 

[Michael]

As I watch any Modern Trek (MT) - It is almost impossible to watch anymore due to the use of Technobabble - its so annoying and mind numbing, it totally turns me off

Now you are exaggerating.

 

[Wonderlust King]

As I watch any Modern Trek (MT) - It is almost impossible to watch anymore due to the use of Technobabble - its so annoying and mind numbing, it totally turns me off

The original series had its fair share of technobabble coming from Scotty. I guess you just chose to ignore that then?

 

[Balthier the Great]

I never understood why people though there was too much technobabble. The show was set in the FUTURE! What did you want them to do, turn a few screws with a wrench? I can do that now, I like Trek because it's futuristic

Just because it's in TEH FUTURZ doesn't mean that you need to explain every single step of the way exactly what is going on. I'll point to CSI as an example of good use of technical stuff. Yes they do a lot of techno-wizardry and weird tests. But they rarely if ever discuss how the tests work -- they usually say run X-test, or run that through trace, etc. and go pretty much straight to the results. Basicly they show without telling all the time. It's a lot more dramatic that way, because it's actually MORE realistic.

Yes, Star Trek is the future -- to YOU. To the characters that populate that environment, the technology is actually modern to slightly outdated. They would no more explain why "reversing the polarity" is a good idea than you'd explain "defragging your hard drive." It's just the background noise of the world. And your automechanic doesn't necessarily explain to the other mechanics exactly what he's doing as he's doing it.

Honestly, it's padding and false drama. The drama should come from the situation. It should be dramatic because the engineer has 10 minutes to do a 20 minute job and it's a delicate opperation where a mistake could cause an explosion. Not because the engineer is randomly shouting technical words while punching buttons.

Yeah, but isn't CSI a bad example. Yes, the science is real but it's done in a ridiculus time frame. DNA tests take weeks not hours. Fingerprint comparisons take days not minutes. Getting and searching phone records doesn't happen with just a phone call (yes, that was meant to be funny). Star Trek technoevents happen super fast. Everything is over before a human could normally even form a plan. The need to maintain an exciting pace makes for an unrealistic time frame.

I've never yet seen a show that has tests take a reasonable amount of time. It's drama, and having the results take three weeks isn't going to help the story. But as far as technobabble, CSI gets it about right. It's perfectly fine to use jargon, tech terms, etc. just don't use that stuff to bloat a scene farther than necessary. Cut back and forth beween the bridge and the engineer. just don't have him shouting tech stuff because you have nothing more to say.

 

[S'kai]

I voted that it was way out of hand.

OTOH, some of us can never get enough, so we make stuff up.

 

[jimbtnp2]

As I watch any Modern Trek (MT) - It is almost impossible to watch anymore due to the use of Technobabble - its so annoying and mind numbing, it totally turns me off

Now you are exaggerating.

I exaggerate to clarify

 

[jimbtnp2]

As I watch any Modern Trek (MT) - It is almost impossible to watch anymore due to the use of Technobabble - its so annoying and mind numbing, it totally turns me off

The original series had its fair share of technobabble coming from Scotty. I guess you just chose to ignore that then?

You've got to be kidding me.

Don't confuse the use of a ship problem needing to be solved that is used to enhance the drama - with technobabble. Not even comparable

 

[Kira Nerys]

Re: Why technobabble

It was a futurasitc show.Technobable never bothered me

 

[drasche]

I voted out of hand. I love TOS and it didn't need technical twists to make the story interesting.

However, I must admit I like the fact that I understand the warp flight basics (and I mean real basic, I'm no physician).

 

[Cyke101]

Scotty never said more than he had to. Spock never said more than he had to. And if Scotty and Spock were talking to each other, they'd use technospeak, not technobabble.

I remember Star Trek VI, when Spock and McCoy were working on the torpedo. Spock would simply recite the parts of the torpedo, but he never explained how the thing work. Same thing in TMP, Scott and Spock got the warp engines working, and the most ever said was "intermix." It worked back then, and it wasn't complex nor was it a crutch.

Hell yeah technobabble got out of hand near the end of Trek. Poor Doohan in Generations...!

That's another thing about the second option in this poll: half the technobabble said wouldn't make sense, and sometimes even contradicted each other, thereby negating any sense of realism yearned by the viewers or writers, especially after Trek stopped hiring scientific consultants. So, no, technobabble rarely added realism, either. If anyone was inspired to pop open a book because of a few words of technobabble, then good for them, BUT they'd quickly find that the episode didn't use those words correctly. Quite slapdash!