# Star Trek tech features that logically should exist but didn't seem to **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted, star-trek-paramount\ **Created:** [March 18, 2021, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193 "2021-03-18T16:30:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/122 "2021-04-06T03:28:09Z")
1. Surprised that anti-ageing tech is still not a thing 300+ years in the future. 2. Fake windows. Seeing “white dots on black background” is going to get as old as the starfield screensavers did in the 90s. I think a ship spending that much time in space would want to have fake daylight at least some of the time. Regardless, they’d probably be switchable, like the viewscreen on the bridge. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/123 "2021-04-06T07:03:49Z")
> [@TheGunIsMightierThanThePen](#): > > In the _DS9_ episode “Body Parts”, it is implied, but not explicitly stated, that Bashir beamed Keiko’s unborn baby into Kira’s womb Wasnt that done by the space god of the week becuase she was losing the baby or something …? ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/124 "2021-04-06T07:12:51Z")
No space god required. It was Bashir’s medical genius that saved the3 baby. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/125 "2021-04-06T10:54:14Z")
How about a cure for baldness? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/126 "2021-04-06T11:04:52Z")
Reminds me of a line I once saw in fanfic “Spock” (says Kirk, after waking up) “I had that dream again where the Captain of the Enterprise is bald!” ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/127 "2021-04-06T12:42:42Z")
> [@Mijin](#): > > Fake windows. Seeing “white dots on black background” is going to get as old as the starfield screensavers did in the 90s. I think a ship spending that much time in space would want to have fake daylight at least some of the time. The “starry” backdrops really do take me out of the proceedings, to a certain extent. Real stars are point light sources, not vague white blobs all about the same magnitude (and TOS at least mixed in a few red giants here and there). Yeah, likely difficult to replicate on a slim budget, but still. No nebulas or clusters, no Milky Way. No sense of the _immensity_ of space. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/128 "2021-04-06T12:47:40Z")
They did use three layers of stars: stationary, moving slowly, moving faster. So there was some sense of depth. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/129 "2021-04-06T14:24:52Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > How about a cure for baldness? Apparently a question asked by a fan at a convention once. Gene Roddenberry said in the future people don’t care about curing it. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/130 "2021-04-06T14:43:47Z")
I think he should just say it’s a fashion choice. If baldness was “cured” then at first you’d never see male pattern baldness, then it might become cool for a minority of men to deliberately replicate that look. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/131 "2021-04-06T15:07:49Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > How about a cure for baldness? “We’ve learned not to fear hairloss. We no longer judge.” > [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Spock” (says Kirk, after waking up) “I had that dream again where the Captain of the Enterprise is bald!” On the other hand, toupee, or not toupee, that is the question! ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/132 "2021-04-06T15:24:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I think “smart” force fields should be possible. One could theorize that turning gravity on and off locally might be a technical problem (seeing as how we know more about how warp drive works that artifical gravity, who can say?), but force fields sure. I wouldn’t even think it would need “smart” ones. Just in any sort of shaft where the artificial gravity is specifically turned on (i.e. you could fall down it), all you’d need would be some of the sensors that identify where people are, along with some small tractor beam emitters that would catch and slow that person before they hit anything. Or even just a force field that would be a continuation of the floor. We’ve already seen they use those to hold the air in, why not use them to keep people from falling into turbolift shafts or Jeffries tubes? > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > . When someone gets abducted by whomever, the computer should immmediately alert the bridge, “Captain Picard is no longer on board.” Why not have it monitor certain vital signs as well as location, and then if there’s some reason to suspect injury, alert the medical staff and transport them directly to some sort of triage area? Too much of Star Trek seems to be technologically glossed-over Age of Sail stuff. Physically bringing wounded to sick bay, exploding panels, etc… are all probably intended to evoke that sort of Horatio Hornblower/Jack Aubrey Napoleonic-era ship combat where the ships slug it out, and the more crafty or bloodthirsty captain wins. In reality, it would be a very stealthy, submarine-like game where the one who gets in position and fires first, wins. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/133 "2021-04-06T15:43:01Z")
> [@bump](#): > > it would be a very stealthy, submarine-like game where the one who gets in position and fires first, wins. And that’s why The Enemy Below is probably the third best Star Trek movie (behind Forbidden Planet and Captain Horatio Hornblower). It was so good at being Star Trek, they made an episode out of it! ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/134 "2021-04-06T15:53:29Z")
I take issue with your list. Everyone knows that _Galaxy Quest_ is the greatest _Star Trek_ movie of all time. 👽 ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/135 "2021-04-06T16:03:45Z")
It’s the best ST:TAS movie. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/136 "2021-04-06T16:06:00Z")
> [@bump](#): > > In reality, it would be a very stealthy, submarine-like game where the one who gets in position and fires first, wins. “The Wrath of Khan.” ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/137 "2021-04-06T16:09:47Z")
Exactly- the Mutara Nebula fight is pretty much how it would always be, not just a plot twist. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/138 "2021-04-06T16:17:48Z")
In modern air warfare, dogfights involve blips on the radar. No one needs to “get into position” and the planes never even see each other. They just launch a sidewinder thing from several miles away and watch the other bogey vanish from the display. No reason to think a space battle would be any different, and disabling the other ship would only take one good hit, because those things have so many vulnerabilities. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/139 "2021-04-06T16:23:17Z")
In addition to the fact space combat should logically be more like modern naval combat - fought at very long range and with stealth and detection being a huge part of it - the literal impact of a weapons hit should be catastrophic. “Wrath of Khan” does that well. IIRC, Reliant is hit just three times in the entire movie; ones in the first battle, twice in the nebula battle. The first hit literally disables her weapons and shields and forces her to flee. In the second battle, the first hit seriously damages her and the second dooms the ship. These weapons are incredibly powerful; once the shields are defeated the ships should be at least crippled by a hit. In most Star Trek shows and movies, there’s no logic or coherence to it at all, which is why, honestly, most episodes or movies with space battles suck and the best ST episodes don’t have space battles. Wrath of Khan is a rare exception. In other movies and episodes, phasers and torpedoes fly all over the place and seem to have no consistent effect; the battle scenes at the end of ST: Discovery Season 2 (dear Christ) or several of the new Star Trek movies, are just incoherent jumbles of CGI effects where you can’t actually tell how the battle is going, or why. At the end of Star Trek VI, a photo torpedo literally punches THROUGH the saucer section of USS Enterprise. So, like, huh? I guess its shields failed? If that’s so, why did the ship not fucking explode? Isn’t a photon torpedo, like, REALLY explosive? That’s how they work, right? They are literal matter-antimatter bombs; if your canon is that a working shield can repel one, sure, okay, but a ship with no shields should be blown to smithereens by one, right? Why did it just punch through? Why would they even have a weapon that does that? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/140 "2021-04-06T16:32:37Z")
A missing feature on the bridge: Brightness control on the main viewscreen. Quite a few times (usually when something on screen is blowing up), it’s too bright for the crew to look at, and they have to shield their eyes with their hand. A VDU that can blind people looking at it seems like a poor design. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2021, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193/141 "2021-04-06T16:45:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Reminds me of a line I once saw in fanfic > > “Spock” (says Kirk, after waking up) “I had that dream again where the Captain of the Enterprise is bald!” And did Spock reply “Yes, I believe your hairpiece _is_ in need of adjustment”? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-features-that-logically-should-exist-but-didnt-seem-to/938193.md?page=8)