# Star Trek Tech Questions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 19, 2009, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889 "2009-12-19T21:26:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 11
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/201 "2010-01-02T18:27:19Z")
> [@Jolly\_Roger](#): > > Speaking of SF medical, one of the flimsiest reasons for Dr. Crusher to be missing in (was it season 2 or 3?) and replaced temporarily by Dr. Pulaski was a throwaway line by Picard at the start of the season about her being chosen to head up SF Medical. Really? She was Commander! There aren’t any, you, know FLAG officers that can do this? Thats like choosing a compoany commander here at Bragg to be on the Joint Chiefs. > > Wow…I think about this stuff too much…🙂 I don’t think it was her miltary rank that would have been the main factor, surely it would have been her prowess as a doctor that would be more important? To be fair she was good enough to be ship’s doctor on the fleet’s flagship so it wouldn’t surprise me that she could be head of SF medical too. As you say though, we’re overthinking this as it was just a line to explain the actress being away to have a baby. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/202 "2010-01-02T18:37:50Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Troi should have taken up jujitsu or gotten herself a cool, extendible sword or something, instead of standing around saying things like, “I sense apprehension, Captain.” Or a pump-action shotgun. “Captain, I sense that they are in need of an ass-kicking.” ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/203 "2010-01-02T19:00:20Z")
Worf: A direct hit. Our aft shield is down to 25 percent. Troi: Captain, I sense great anger… Picard: Oh, do you REALLY? ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/204 "2010-01-02T19:10:58Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > I don’t think it was her miltary rank that would have been the main factor, surely it would have been her prowess as a doctor that would be more important? To be fair she was good enough to be ship’s doctor on the fleet’s flagship so it wouldn’t surprise me that she could be head of SF medical too. > > As you say though, we’re overthinking this as it was just a line to explain the actress being away to have a baby. I thought that there was a line somewhere that said she was working on curing the common cold. I remember the line about heading SF medical, but maybe it was a research team or something. Maybe they rotate. “Hey, it’s Dr. Crusher’s turn to be in charge for 8 months. Dr. Zimmerman will be in charge in February.” ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/205 "2010-01-02T19:41:25Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > Wesley sucks. They should have just let him get executed on that planet with all the hot, sexy people in togas. Am I the only one who noticed that just about everyone on that planet was white and blond-haired? I called it the “Aryan Paradise Planet.” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/206 "2010-01-02T19:49:29Z")
> [@thirdname](#): > > Am I the only one who noticed that just about everyone on that planet was white and blond-haired? I called it the “Aryan Paradise Planet.” It couldn’t be worse than that all black people matriarchal society planet with lots of chick fighting. ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/207 "2010-01-02T21:36:26Z")
I just watched BOTH of those episodes last night! I have to say that the blonde planet with people who RUN every where (WTF?) made no sense. I mean the plot of the show made no sense. Picard spends most of the show bemoaning the fact that they can’t upset the Prime Directive, only to do so at the end, with NO consequences to himself from “god”. :rolleyes: And I truly didn’t get the black people planet where women are not valued, but somehow, somehow, the woman gets to choose which man wears the special necklace and she owns all the property. How does that work again? 😕 :rolleyes: And Lt Yar is one irritating character. Either she’s traumatized from her childhood in the rape camps or not. She seems (how shall I put this?) “good to go”, except for those pesky PTSD flashbacks. And yes, another :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2010, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/208 "2010-01-02T23:32:05Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > And I truly didn’t get the black people planet where women are not valued, but somehow, somehow, the woman gets to choose which man wears the special necklace and she owns all the property. How does that work again? 😕 :rolleyes: No, that episode made absolutely no sense. It’s no coincidence it’s named as one of the worst of the series by Wil Wheaton in his blog. And you’re right about the Aryan planet too, it’s pretty much like Sweden. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/209 "2010-01-05T17:57:50Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > I just watched BOTH of those episodes last night! I have to say that the blonde planet with people who RUN every where (WTF?) made no sense. I mean the plot of the show made no sense. Picard spends most of the show bemoaning the fact that they can’t upset the Prime Directive, only to do so at the end, with NO consequences to himself from “god”. :rolleyes: The main question here would be whether Star Fleet would be up in arms about it. My take on it is that the eloquence of Picard with Riker putting in his two cents swayed the quasi-deity. An unlikely climax to the episode? No doubt. But if “the planet” conceded, it wouldn’t be too much to expect of Star Fleet to dismiss any questions it had about it. It still would have been very interesting to view the hearing, or questioning. (With the conspiracy episode, Picard was “confronted” with having raised quite a few P.D. issues in his missions. This no doubt made him uncomfortable, since apparently all of them had been sufficiently answered. If they had not, he probably would no longer have his rank and position. Of course the grillings of Picard and crew were _really_ to test whether they had been compromised by the aliens and lacked normal recall of past events.) This seems to me a comparatively small problem for a very problematic series, especially the first season. _But keep in mind that I like to look for solutions for these things._ Your other points were well taken. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2010, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/210 "2010-01-05T18:26:53Z")
> [@True Blue Jack](#): > > The main question here would be whether Star Fleet would be up in arms about it. My take on it is that the eloquence of Picard with Riker putting in his two cents Riker’s ding-a-ling is worth two cents? That explains a lot. 😃 > [@](#): > > swayed the quasi-deity. An unlikely climax to the episode? No doubt. But if “the planet” conceded, it wouldn’t be too much to expect of Star Fleet to dismiss any questions it had about it. It still would have been very interesting to view the hearing, or questioning. > > (With the conspiracy episode, Picard was “confronted” with having raised quite a few P.D. issues in his missions. This no doubt made him uncomfortable, since apparently all of them had been sufficiently answered. If they had not, he probably would no longer have his rank and position. Of course the grillings of Picard and crew were _really_ to test whether they had been compromised by the aliens and lacked normal recall of past events.) The use of the Prime Directive in TNG is odd, to say the least. On one show they were sneaking around a technologically advanced planet, not making their presence known, (until Riker screwed up) which seems to make sense. In most other cases they interfere by contacting the natives, which never seems to cause the kind of shock it would do for us. In TNG they even apply it to more or less advanced civilizations, which is like us not putting a USIA office in Ghana to not interfere. Respecting their laws makes a lot more sense, and it seemed a rigid rule for SF until it wasn’t. I’ve been watching TNG in order, since I missed quite a few, and the Nordic Goddess show was a particular mess. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/211 "2010-01-13T19:41:38Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Riker’s ding-a-ling is worth two cents? That explains a lot. 😃 > The use of the Prime Directive in TNG is odd, to say the least. On one show they were sneaking around a technologically advanced planet, not making their presence known, (until Riker screwed up) which seems to make sense. In most other cases they interfere by contacting the natives, which never seems to cause the kind of shock it would do for us. In TNG they even apply it to more or less advanced civilizations, which is like us not putting a USIA office in Ghana to not interfere. > > Respecting their laws makes a lot more sense, and it seemed a rigid rule for SF until it wasn’t. I’ve been watching TNG in order, since I missed quite a few, and the Nordic Goddess show was a particular mess. Yeah, maybe the best thing said about the P.D. was by (I believe) David Gerrold, referring to what the writers no doubt eventually thought: (Paraphrased.) \<\\> 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/212 "2010-01-13T23:08:48Z")
> [@Illuminatiprimus](#): > > …And you’re right about the Aryan planet too, it’s pretty much like Sweden. 😃 Not quite. On the plus side, it has better weather. On the negative side, it has, um, a more draconian criminal code. And its inhabitants all speak English, I mean Federation Standard. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/213 "2010-01-14T07:44:40Z")
My experience of Sweden is that everyone there speaks English too - what am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/214 "2010-01-14T08:16:02Z")
If you follow USN traditions, the chief medical officer should be a Vice Admiral. Then again, there are USN medical officers ranking at Captain and both levels of Rear Admiral. Then again , Starfleet doesn’t always follow USN or RN traditions. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/215 "2010-01-14T14:33:22Z")
Has it ever been established when Vulcans, Klingons, or Romulans achieved warp speed? I assume the Vulcans had to have done it a very long time ago to be related to the Romulans. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/216 "2010-01-14T15:34:22Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Has it ever been established when Vulcans, Klingons, or Romulans achieved warp speed? I assume the Vulcans had to have done it a very long time ago to be related to the Romulans. From Memory Alpha: [Warp drive | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Warp_drive) > [@](#): > > Cultures in the galaxy have discovered warp drive at their own pace and rate of development. The Vulcans, who were an interstellar civilization by the 3rd century, had reached the level of warp 7 by 2151. Klingons had a capability of warp 6 by the same year. (ENT: “Judgment”) It is unclear when their first experiments with warp drive began. However, it was the rapid progress of Humanity which led to the wide-scale exploration of the galaxy and the formation of the United Federation of Planets. It is not clear in this article (nor in the one on Memory-Beta) when the Romulans developed it. In the TOS episode “Balance of Terror”, the Romulan Warbird was are shown to NOT have warp drive. Later in the series, in the episode “The Enterprise Incident”, the Romulans were shown to be using Klingon D6/D7 type battlecruisers. Many fans assumed that the Klingons gave the Romulans warp drive theory and technology in exchange for cloaking technology, and a temporary alliance. ---
**Author:** ![Find\_Friends](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@Find\_Friends](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Find_Friends)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/217 "2010-01-16T15:27:04Z")
> [@cerberus](#): > > Then again , Starfleet doesn’t always follow USN or RN traditions. Agreed. I had no idea how far away from USN traditions it was until I did a little online research a few weeks ago. Until then, I just assumed that they played a little fast-and-loose with what USN folks were used to, but were essentially following along. I was aware of a few “complaints” made by folks in person or online. But I was really surprised when I looked up Executive Officer and First Officer. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/218 "2010-01-16T16:15:14Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > From Memory Alpha: [Warp drive | Memory Alpha | Fandom](http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Warp_drive) > > It is not clear in this article (nor in the one on Memory-Beta) when the Romulans developed it. In the TOS episode “Balance of Terror”, the Romulan Warbird was are shown to NOT have warp drive. Later in the series, in the episode “The Enterprise Incident”, the Romulans were shown to be using Klingon D6/D7 type battlecruisers. Many fans assumed that the Klingons gave the Romulans warp drive theory and technology in exchange for cloaking technology, and a temporary alliance. Fanwanking time! The fact that the Romulan warbird in BoT did not have warp drive doesn’t mean the Romulans as a whole did not. Clearly they had to have had faster-than-light travel to have established colonies so far from Vulcan that the Vulcans entirely lost track of them. I’ expect that the warbird had been detached from a mothership with FTL drive of some sort. (This isn’t entirely my idea, but one that comes from a Trek novel. I would specify which if I remembered the title or author, but, obviously, I don’t. It was one of the Pocket Books “giant” novels–the one with Jim Kirk considering leaving the Enterprise after the Keeler incident as a frame story, and the main tale being about George Samuel Kirk’s forgotten adventure on the Enterprise twenty years earlier.) ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/219 "2010-01-16T22:17:44Z")
Why does it look like they’re passing all kinds of stars when they go into warp? Zephram Cochrane went into warp in First Contact and, as usual, it looked like he was passing all kinds of stars. When he pulled out of warp, he looked back and wasn’t that far from Earth. I could see if it was just the light from the stars being skewed as they approached the source of light, but they actually pass the stars. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889/220 "2010-01-17T05:55:45Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Why does it look like they’re passing all kinds of stars when they go into warp? Zephram Cochrane went into warp in First Contact and, as usual, it looked like he was passing all kinds of stars. When he pulled out of warp, he looked back and wasn’t that far from Earth. I could see if it was just the light from the stars being skewed as they approached the source of light, but they actually pass the stars. Maybe it was particulate space matter reflecting the glow from the warp nacelles? That, or sub-atomic tachiardic cosmic rays being red-shifted into the visible spectrum by the high relative increase in newtonian velocity? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889.md?page=10) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/star-trek-tech-questions/521889.md?page=12)