# Obsolete Star Trek technology **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 17, 2011, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709 "2011-04-17T07:50:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/101 "2011-04-20T13:11:10Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > The real answer to a lot of these sort of questions is, “because it’s a work of fiction where the narrative has to be discoverable to the audience, and entertaining to them.” The same applies to Shakespeare and Hemingway and just about everyone else worth reading, but that’s never stopped a single over-analytic paper or debate. (You can make the argument that Shakespeare is better than Star Trek, and you’d be right, but I doubt that’s the grave you want to shove the entirety of English Lit into.) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/102 "2011-04-20T13:26:25Z")
Shakespeare is best in its original Klingon. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/103 "2011-04-20T13:36:02Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > [Retinax V](http://memory-alpha.org/wiki/Retinax_V). In _Wrath of Khan_, McCoy tells Kirk he would ordinarily prescribe Retinax V for his presbyopia, or age related farsightedness, but Kirk is allergic to Retinax. McCoy gives Kirk reading glasses instead. Presbyopia is now correctable through LASIK surgery, which will probably have advanced even further by the year 2285. I’d say that _is_ a significant advancement. Why would you want to undergo eye surgery when a few drops of Retinax V (from Pfizer, as your doctor if Retinax V is right for you) can fix you right up? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/104 "2011-04-20T13:40:06Z")
> [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](#): > > I’d say that _is_ a significant advancement. Why would you want to undergo eye surgery when a few drops of Retinax V (from Pfizer, as your doctor if Retinax V is right for you) can fix you right up? Because you’re allergic to it. Surely McCoy could replicate a LASIK device for Kirk. ---
**Author:** ![gregorio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/fbc32d/32.png) [@gregorio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gregorio)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/105 "2011-04-20T14:00:14Z")
I mean, these are probably in every corner store, right? [http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20060414/do-it-yourself-laser-eye-surgery-kit-for-100/](http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/20060414/do-it-yourself-laser-eye-surgery-kit-for-100/) > [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Because you’re allergic to it. Surely McCoy could replicate a LASIK device for Kirk. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/106 "2011-04-20T14:24:07Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > I have trouble with discussions of this sort. Yes, apparently you do. There’s no fanwankery going on in this thread at all. We’re just listing inaccuracies. We’re accepting that it’s just a show, and this sort of thing happens. If we were fanwanking, we’d be trying to make everything work. But, even if we were fanwanking, it shouldn’t be that hard to comprehend. We know that it’s just a show, and we know there are inaccuracies, and we know why. But it’s fun to pretend we don’t know any of this, and try to make it work. It’s a fun mental exercise: we aren’t looking for truth. EDIT: I take that back. There is some fanwankery that happened since I was gone. But it doesn’t impede talk about the original subject. It’s just that there are a few contentious examples. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/107 "2011-04-20T14:26:33Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > I have trouble with discussions of this sort. > … Then by all means post to this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/108 "2011-04-20T14:44:09Z")
Fanwankery? Don’t mind if I do! Actually, I can think of two reasons Bones wouldn’t use, or would not want to use, LASIK on Kirk. One, there’s no guarantee the technology would still be available. In canon, human civilization barely pulled itself through the 1990s and was struggling for a long time thereafter. Things get lost when a culture does that. Two, Starfleet medical culture seems to be distinctly non-surgical. They seem to have a lot more drugs and rays to rely on and not nearly as many blades or even endoscopes. It’s entirely possible Bones would view even minimally-invasive procedures as ‘barbaric’ when he has pills that can cause humans to regrow kidneys. Of course, the real answer is that the glasses are a nice bit of business to represent age, loss of youthful vigor, and impending death. But only the dull belabor the obvious. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/109 "2011-04-20T15:40:37Z")
> [@NoClueBoy](#): > > Shakespeare is best in its original Klingon. You jest, but it is [available on Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Klingon-Hamlet-William-Shakespeare/dp/0671035789). Here’s the product description: > [@The Klingon Hamlet](#): > > ]For too long, readers throughout the Federation have been exposed to The Tragedy of Khamlet, Son of the Emperor of Qo’nos, that classic work of Klingon™ literature, only through inadequate and misleading English translations. Now at last, thanks to the tireless efforts of the Klingon Language Institute, this powerful drama by the legendary Klingon playwright, Wil’yam Shex’pir, can be appreciated in the elegance and glory of its original tongue. > > This invaluable volume contains the complete text of the play, along with anEnglish translation for easy consultation and comparison. In addition, an incisive introduction explains the play’s crucial importance in Klingon culture, while copious notes illustrate how the debased English version diverges from the original, often distorting and even reversing the actual meaning of the verses. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/110 "2011-04-20T17:00:38Z")
It’s hard to believe that in fifty years we’ve surpassed the technology of a show supposedly set 1,000 years in the future. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/111 "2011-04-20T17:11:32Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > It’s hard to believe that in fifty years we’ve surpassed the technology of a show supposedly set 1,000 years in the future. Actually, 23rd and 24th centuries. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/112 "2011-04-20T17:13:37Z")
> [@A Monkey With a Gun](#): > > You jest, I NEVER jest about Klingons! ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/113 "2011-04-20T17:50:51Z")
As I recall, in Star Trek II, Kirk was able to send a wireless command to the Reliant to lower her shields, something that it was implied any Starfleet vessel could do to any other Starfleet vessel. It was implied that the only thing keeping the Romulans or Klingons from doing the same was that each ship required a unique command code to allow this to happen. I’m not sure what the benefits of even having such a capability would be, other than perhaps regaining control of ships whose crews have been incapacitated. EDIT: This of course, in relation to the discussion of wireless communication in Star Trek. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/114 "2011-04-20T18:28:11Z")
> [@Raguleader](#): > > As I recall, in Star Trek II, Kirk was able to send a wireless command to the Reliant to lower her shields, something that it was implied any Starfleet vessel could do to any other Starfleet vessel. It was implied that the only thing keeping the Romulans or Klingons from doing the same was that each ship required a unique command code to allow this to happen. > > I’m not sure what the benefits of even having such a capability would be, other than perhaps regaining control of ships whose crews have been incapacitated. > > EDIT: This of course, in relation to the discussion of wireless communication in Star Trek. The specific bit of dialogue is Kirk: You have to know why things work on a starship. Spock: Each ship has its own combination code. Kirk: To prevent an enemy from doing what we’re attempting. To use our console to order Reliant to lower her shields. I take it as an indication that it’s possible to spoof another ship’s computer into thinking that commands from your console are being entered locally. It suggests that the link between the consoles and the computer is wireless, and that the consoles are all compatible, so if you amplify the signals from your console enough, it could override the input from the other ship’s console (which is probably pretty low-power to start with). For that matter, it’s not inconceivable that you could get accidental crosstalk if two ships were extremely close together for some reason. In the scenario I picture, the “combination code” isn’t so much a password as it is an IP address and port. You put it in the header of each command message to tell the computer, “Hey, I’m talking to you.” The security aspect is security through obscurity: the address is secret. I suppose it could be a backdoor designed into the system deliberately for emergency situations. In your scenario, with the entire crew of a ship incapacitated and its shields up, it would obviously be advantageous to have a way to remotely lower the shields in order to beam medics aboard or to beam the crew off. I just think the dialog supports my “exploit the mechanics of the control system” interpretation a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/115 "2011-04-20T18:48:58Z")
> [@Kim\_o\_the\_Concrete\_Jungle](#): > > I have trouble with discussions of this sort. > > There’s a very good reason why Star Trek doesn’t show people sitting around watching movies on the box, or doing social networking on their iPad XXIVs. It’s because Star Trek is a television show/series of movies. People sitting around doing things on little hand-held electronic boxes is neither an appealing visual image nor a suitable means of presenting drama. well, except they’ve had lots of opening shots of picard just reading a book, or just riker looking whistfully at his trombone (not actually playing it), etc. you don’t have to devote an entire episode to non-interactive media… just have it in the background. maybe an opening scene where Troi gets paged while in the middle of a movie screening, and a roomful of ensigns booing and throwing popcorn at her… picard reading from an IPad instead of a book, etc. just remembered the [redlettermedia.com](http://redlettermedia.com) plinkett’s review brought up something: photo album. picard leafs through a photo album instead of hopping on say… facebook. or a slideshow viewer. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/116 "2011-04-20T18:57:39Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > maybe an opening scene where Troi gets paged while in the middle of a movie screening, and a roomful of ensigns booing and throwing popcorn at her… picard reading from an IPad instead of a book, etc. I read this three times before I realized you didn’t write “pegged.” ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/117 "2011-04-20T21:35:31Z")
> [@Patty O'Furniture](#): > > I’d say that is a significant advancement. Why would you want to undergo eye surgery when a few drops of Retinax V (from Pfizer, as your doctor if Retinax V is right for you) can fix you right up? > [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Because you’re allergic to it. Surely McCoy could replicate a LASIK device for Kirk. Exactly. Even assuming that Retinax is a “one time drops in the eyes” sort of deal rather than having to remember to take your eyeball pills every day for the rest of your life, they appear to lack a alternate surgical treatment in the future that do fairly routinely today. If they have transporter technology that can reassemble you at the molecular level a great distance away, surely they can arrange to leave a few molecules of your corneas behind. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/118 "2011-04-20T23:33:06Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > picard reading from an IPad instead of a book, etc. There was an episode where O’Brien read a story to Molly using an iPadd. It was the one where the station was terrorized by… Rumplestiltskin. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/119 "2011-04-21T00:52:23Z")
I thought they had McCoy specifically say that _until they had time to schedule the eye surgery_, the glasses were a tempory fallback. Of course why LASIK or it’s future equivalent would take more than fifteen minutes including recovery, I don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709/120 "2011-04-21T02:25:10Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > I thought they had McCoy specifically say that _until they had time to schedule the eye surgery_, the glasses were a tempory fallback. > > Of course why LASIK or it’s future equivalent would take more than fifteen minutes including recovery, I don’t know. For that matter, LASIK or a future equivalent might be a specialized skill that would be low-priority (and thus not learned) if you’re a doctor on starship duty – it’s the sort of thing that wouldn’t normally be needed, and even then wouldn’t be needed **right now** (as opposed to “next time you get back to a starbase or major Federation planet”). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obsolete-star-trek-technology/578709.md?page=7)