BOLDLY GOING:

The Science of Star Trek (Chad Cohen, December 13, 2002, National Geographic Today)

Star Trek: Nemesis, opening today in the United States, features alien species at every turn, enemy ships vaporizing in bursts of light and space ships traveling at "warp speed."

In the 24th century it all makes perfect sense—and also in the 21st. That's partly because Star Trek, from its first incarnation as a U.S. television series in 1966, has relied on real, or at least plausible, science for verisimilitude.

"One of the keys to the success of Star Trek is the fact that it is grounded in scientific credibility," says Andre Bormanis, a writer for UPN's Enterprise—the fifth Star Trek television series—who has a master's degree in science policy from George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

Now, though, science fiction and fact have thoroughly commingled as scientists pursue advances in alternative energy sources, artificial intelligence, cloning and interstellar travel.

As Brian, who sent this, says:

It always cracks me up when they talk about how Star Trek the Next Generation is based on real science. From the rumbling ship sounds in the vacuum of space to the high voltage sparks flying out of the control panels (whenever the ship is hit) to the 18th century combat tactics (line the soldiers up in rows and exchange fire), the show takes great liberties with reality. The biggest fiction is that sometime in the future, ship crews won't want to be paid anymore. (This was the deal on Captain Janeway's ship.)

That last is the most interesting to me. They do seem to assume some rather fundamental changes in the science of human nature, don't they?
Posted by Orrin Judd at December 17, 2002 3:02 PM