TOS Future Advances: What they imagined, what they didn't

[Elle Lyn]

I was just rewatching the TOS episodes The Menagerie part one and two yesterday at a friend's house (I'll make a Trekker out of him yet!) and was amused by their crime-solving skills. I know a lot of what we can actually do with technology like facial recognition and DNA matching is much more limited in real life than is displayed on TV shows like CSI, but we've still got it and our advances there are actually quite impressive. In the show, at one point Kirk is looking at a picture of a younger man, and an older man he suspects of being the same man side by side. With today's technology, we could use software to measure length of the nose, length between the eyes, things that don't change with age and can be used as unique identification. In the 60's, they had never imagined that. I guess you could get cynical and say it's out of the human habit of killing each other that we developed these things, but really, I still see it in a positive light that we can still invent things that sci-fi hasn't seen coming for years.

I also think it's amazing how much they really inspired things to be invented. Please discus, I want to hear your own observations.  

[xXSuperWhateverXx]

Yeah I'd have to agree with you on that one. I also saw a video of how so many inventions were inspired from star trek.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQG6n2HasBk <- the video  

[Frogr1701]

Imagination is a wonderful thing.

In another time General Electric sponsored an attraction at Epcot in Disneyworld called Horizons. Pretty much as Star Trek as Disney could get with a happy, hopeful glimpse of the future. Inside the attraction GE had a great message imprinted on the wall and spoken throughout the ride, something along the lines of:

"If we can dream it, we can do it."

Horizons opened in 1983 and was finally closed in 1999. The ground is now home to the Mission: Space ride.  

[Dust Dancer]

I talked to my science teacher just before school came out. I told him how I was aspiring to become a geneticist and he said "Good good, could you tell me why?" I, quite shyly, answered, "Because of science fiction." I thought he would be a bit taken back that such a student as I was interested in things of fantasy, but he just chuckled and gave me a long speech about how the imaginations of such people, especially sci-fi writers, are what creates the amazing things we have now.

Now, I think there have been some books and documentaries about how Star Trek has influenced the technology we have today. I watched one doc (god I wish I can remember the name!) that had an interview with the creator of the cellphone. He said he was inspired by TOS's communicators! Also, the "flip" part of the phone was added also as homage to TOS! Whenever someone tells me off for being a nerd for Star Trek, I always answer with "If it weren't for Star Trek, you wouldn't have that cellphone right now."

I mean, look at me! I was inspired to get a career in the science field because of entertainment like Star Trek! (I swear I won't make little Khans though sweatdrop )  

[xXSuperWhateverXx]

xD I hope not

Yeah It was Star Trek that inspired these gadgets, but we have to thank the nerds who watched the show who actually created them.  

[vegito61283]

I wonder if any of you even take a moment to think about how much it had inspired many of the daily items used in the medical field. think about it, the portable devices they take around to measure bp, temp, o2. the way they can administer some meds with a push of air through your skin as well. all of that plus probably close to a million other things that the military also uses.

Star Trek takes most of the ideas that NASA scientist use as ideas to play with and puts them on tv. That is from a Star Trek documentary that I saw once that Jonathan Frakes hosted.  

[alethea_angel]

I think each series built on the knowledge and theories of its time- although I don't know about Enterprise.

But they all have the same premise: Each invention should work toward the betterment of human existence. They don't discuss phasers and torpedoes as weapons for hurting people, but tools for protection (and cutting open doors!) to be used only when necessary. Although the fact that phasers later seem to be set to kill (how many times did Riker order people to set their phasers to stun?) as the normal function is a little off-putting.

Of course you have your bad guys and their bad-guy technology, but that's plain real life interjecting itself into utopian ideals. I mean, the Federation doesn't even make alcohol anymore. Except for wine, apparently. Which is weird when you consider that red wine can be good for your heart, but that wasn't found out until AFTER TNG.

I don't know if we could form the Federation, or anything like it, but it certainly has given us some good ideas.