Why Star Trek Matters

I can't believe I didn't see this earlier. That article is excellent and so true. Yes, I do wish we were further along because I remember thinking while watching the original series that I could be living and working on the Moon and at the time that's what I wanted to do. Having dreams are great....I wonder if the new movies will kick start that feeling again. I hope so.

Buzz Aldrin is completely confident that we are one generation from having outposts on Mars.

If by 'one generation' he means 25 years from now, I would say that it would be technically possible but the main problem is that we have no political leadership in sight who could get the ball rolling with their own prestige and get the funding and companies started on the project. Because of that I think that 25 years is very optimistic. Remember when Kennedy proclaimed that "we will have a man on the moon within this decade". It happened, he had the prestige and of course beating the Soviets was a big motivator. No such motivation exists today and we will probably be content to watch the Chinese.  Too bad....

Despite the mini-skirts of the original series, they have done some very innovative gender stuff......no, not "despite" the mini-skirts, why did so many teenage boys become fans ...? Think about it.... 



There are some ways in which I think we’re living the dream but the physical transportation of people out between star systems is still hundreds if not thousands of years out. She may be right. If Einsteinian theories ( and they have always withstood all tests) hold true then there will be no practical way for intersteller travel. Even a "hyper drive" may be impractical unless you specify many, many times the speed of light. Star Trek's "10 times light speed", if I recall correctly, won't cut it. Only some sort of "short cut", wormholes, etc. would make travel over interstellar distances practical within a human lifetime, even within our own Galaxy.

Ever wonder where the Enterprise began?

https://www.facebook.com/ClaudiaChristianFanPage/photos/a.204384153580.130999.56489788580/10152034252933581/?type=1&theater

That's a nice model. Too big to make a flying model, but many smaller flying models have been made over the years. Here's one of the better ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQs5VQsggYs