Fig. 1a:It’s silly.
Oh, Interwebs. How you give me such joy.
Star Trek fans (note: I am one) recently lost their minds when articles from respected publications like Wired ran articles that posited a new change in Warp Drive theory that said:
NASA scientists now think that the famous warp drive concept is a realistic possibility, and that in the far future humans could regularly travel faster than the speed of light.
And they overlooked something very important. They were so obsessed with pointing out the Star Trek connection they missed another.
People on The Tweeter declared their reborn love of life and science, and Star Trek fans just about blew out their underpants with joy. They saw it has validation that dressing like a Klingon was not, in fact, silly. (See Fig. 1a)
But even I will admit to a certain thrill at knowing we no longer needed to generate the mass energy of a giant planet in order to tear the fabric of space–time asunder and get our pizzas in less than thirty minutes again. I mean, I miss those days.
And then I read a few more articles (always a good idea when dealing with news reporting science) and noted another bit. I’ve taken this from an article via the Discovery networks, THE WARP DRIVE COULD BECOME SCIENCE FACT:
Fig 44f: OK, so I’m beginning to think I’ve seen this design before…
An Alcubierre warp drive would involve a football-shape spacecraft attached to a large ring encircling it. This ring, potentially made of exotic matter, would cause space–time to warp around the starship, creating a region of contracted space in front of it and expanded space behind.
Now, I’m not going to dwell on the fact that the whole “it might be possible” thing still hinges on the fact that “[t]his ring, potentially made of exotic matter…” smells kinda fishy. What do they mean by exotic matter? Recycled cat litter? Crushed eagle beaks?
But let’s brush past that and look at the design.
So granted, it doesn’t really look like the Starship Enterprise. I think we all knew that Hydrogen scoops and nacelles weren’t necessarily going to be our future. It’s more important to know that at some point, someone will be able to cross the galaxy very quickly.
Hooray!
And then I looked at the picture a second time and I realized that Star Trek isn’t the only series that has posited faster–than–light travel.
Fig. 4e133: Huh. That sure looks like…Aha! I WIN!
On that second look, I realized that Star Trek actually had it wrong!
Another venerated franchise had it right.
One that had saved Star Trek in the first place through its great success and vision. In fact, without it, Star Trek would have remained on the dust heap of history, a forgotten curio that people would have talked about in convention back rooms but not much further.
I speak, of course, about Star Wars!
For when you look at that warp simulation (Fig 44f), what do you see?
I’ll give you a hint. It’s to the left of this paragraph. See Fig. 4e133.
Game, set…match.
Ooohhh….. So close.
January 2002, “Star Trek: Enterprise” episode 12, titled “Silent Enemy” had a Suurok-class Vulcan cruiser that had a ring shaped engine structure.
“Attack of the Clones” was not released until May 2002.
Hey welcome back! My FB post proves my point that you *were* too lazy to keep up without the links being hand delivered. :-p
The design of the Jedi Starfighter was approved and already released by the beginning of 2002. Lucas released photos as part of the “Selects” series for Hyperspace Members of the site as the film was being created.
I think it’s far more likely that, much like anything remotely successful having to do with Star Trek (Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country, Reboot), they managed to subtly rip off the superior franchise.
Further, your point would hold water if – if – they hadn’t established the whole nacelles thing for about 40 years beforehand (including the show itself). And as far as Enterprise – if a tree falls in the forest and no one watches it, does it still get cancelled?
And then to bring the better argument back over from FB:
“And then I thought of a better point that still supports mine! *The Suurok class violates the shape/ring containment* – so who cares who’s first, it’s about who’s more accurate.
P.S. Dance, puppet. Muwahahahahahahahaha.”
“And as far as Enterprise – if a tree falls in the forest and no one watches it, does it still get cancelled?”
I’m sorry… I almost couldn’t hear you over the sound of the long-running and very successful “Droids” and “Ewoks” series.
Ewoks? droids? what? never happened. No idea what you’re talking about. :-p
Where’s my copy of “Caravan of Courage”?
Sent from a mobile device. Please forgive any misspellings.
i agree with tony on this one. i might add that his strong showing right out of retirement is reminiscent of one randy couture. i believe trekkies, trekkers and star trek conventions existed long before there were any ‘celebrations’.
Wow. What a surprise. Are you guys in a support group or something?
I could not stop laughing. Bravo sir, bravo.
I will forever hate you, you bald son of a bitch (with all respect to Uncle Tommy).
You feel that sting, pretty boy? That’s pride, f*in’ with ya.
I warned you! :-p
I’ve always been a Star Wars fan, so I’m glad the tech from Star Wars is actually possible nowadays. And besides, I think the world of Star Wars is cooler anyway than the world of Star Trek.
A ploy worthy of the Borg. What Trekker could resist the slap in the face of your title? The glove had been thrown to the FreshPressed ground! May you Live Long and Prosper with Readers.
Ha Ha, thanks! As a fan of both, I enjoy being able to poke either fanbase in the eye every so often. They have beheld the enemy and they are me!
I liked and enjoyed your article…
you made it
I find it interesting to go back and read early Science Fiction. So many things that the early writers dreamed up are now reality. Of course, many are not but you have to admire the creativity and forethought of some of the writers.
Who ever would’ve thought that “Just make something that looks completely alien!” would have led to potentially accurate future designs… Damn you, Star Wars!
LOL. Even a blind squirrel can find a nut…
I still remember reading that when they were creating the sequence for the opening of Revenge of the Sith, a rendering error made the missiles look like they had flapping wings. Lucas toyed with keeping them. The animators said it was an error and that it would make no sense in physics. To which Lucas replied, “It’s Star Wars physics.” Still love that.
Neither should supplement textbooks though!
Game, set, match you say? Well then laugh it up fuzzball!
I really, really dig your blog.
Thank you!
ok, ok…please stand aside…i would like to introduce myself…i am the biggest start trek fan…ever, period! star wars? pah! ive always had a sneaky suspicion that most of what gene roddenberry thought of, would one day become fact…and so it has…cellphones, microwave cookers, cloud computing, etc etc….warp drive? transporter decks? gee, yes, of course…one day it will be so (!). by the way, youve just gained a lifelong follower!
Roddenberry dreamed up very little. His team of writers did the heavy lifting, he just took the credit! :-p (Actually, that’s sadly true.) He even admitted that transporters were just a way to avoid the effects budget necessary to show ships landing (true!) – so he wasn’t really predicting anything so much as giving himself an out.
And thanks – I look forward to provoking you in the future!
hehe! yep…ill be hovering around on my hover-board…!
Roddenberry still had some great ideas, especially for his time. He insisted on having a crew composed of people from various cultures and ethnicity, and that was daring during the cold war and in the aftermath of the civil rights movement. Actually in 67 that movement and other important social movements were gaining strenght and he wanted to move in that direction. Plus didn’t he get some of his ideas stolen from the creators of lost in space? Give him some cred.
Love your analysis! Awesome. Thanks for sharing. http://www.segmation.wordpress.com
Bloody Star Wars, my second beloved franchise but still far off from the awesomeness of my number one Star Trek. Star Wars designs look too odd and at times feels as if the ship would break up at high speed (weird architecture).
Also, 10 times past light speed is equal to how many G’s for the guys inside? and how long to Alpha-Centaury? hehe To PC gamers, refer to Sword of the Stars, human ships.
Hey, if Star Trek can have “inertial dampers” and “structural force fields” dreamed up after the fact, so can my Star Wars.
Also, if you’re warping space, you’re not necessarily moving all that fast. You’re moving space around you really fast and so relatively speaking, you’re standing still while everything runs past you.
Oh shit, the first time I read about it a week ago I saw that donut and the football and couldn’t stop thinking “Yes, Star Trek got another one”. But then I started to picture how ships would look like and all I could think of was dildo in a donut sort of design. Kinda wish Enterprise (the ship, not the other stuff) would have it’s parts more close together (still sectioned). That way wouldn’t look as if would break apart. In Star Wars, the imperial warships were basically the only “normal” and plausible ships in my opinion.
Cheers mate, don’t provoke my fellow trekkies too much
really? i did not know that. i used to watch star trek but stopped watching it. i have only seen 1 episode of star wars.
I didn´t know this, but I guess it is possible. So many things were shown on Sci-fi books and movies that have turned out to be a reality! For instance, the iPad.
Crushed eagle beaks could put Alaska at the forefront of space supply technology… this could change everything.
Great post! This was really interesting!
And congrats on being Freshly Pressed!
I miss watching Star Trek after school, that was the highlight of my day!
I feel you!!! I watched two episodes of star trek everyday after school during high school. Hurray for the Space channel!!!
I always found star wars cooler star trek was like a space show for old people thats how i viewed it anyway :p
The next question is which will humans be able to do first: Use the force to change people’s minds, or perform a Vulcan mind meld.
I for one, find the Vulcan death grip handy… until I’m attacked with a lightsaber.
I thought of that too!! It’s pretty great though, that the idea is possible. Probably not anytime soon, no matter what the definition of soon is, but it is possible! Personally, I want a transporter and a lightsaber.
Reading this hurt my soul – I hate Star Wars. Live Long and Prosper. Better get back to my mini corner of the blogosphere.
Amen.
Fiction definitely plays a part in driving reality, and it’s always so cool to see stuff like this. I mean, warp drive? Heck yes! Both franchises are fantastic and inspiring; I wonder what awesome thing from either one will become a reality next. Thanks for the interesting read!
I’m a convert. I was raised on Kirk and Tribbles (they are just so cute!), but the day came when that would no longer be the case. I met my husband playing SWG and I’ve been a Wookies girl ever since. We ever had music from the Episode VI medal ceremony at our wedding ceremony.
I loved this post. Of course, I mostly love the science behind it all and dont particularly care whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first. I’ll have to shoot the link to my husband, so he can check it out in his downtime downrange.
And tell him thank you for his service too. There are those of us that appreciate it deeply.
You have to love the war between Trek and SW. I personally like Trek better but they’re both good. Does that make me a traitor of some kind? Great post!
You’re no traitor. You’re in the ground floor of an ideal society where we remind Trekkers to stay humble!
I am a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars (and everything else sci-fi). Can’t we all just get along? I enjoyed your analysis!
I’m a fan of both too…and never!
Yeah, let’s share some geek friendship! I started watching star trek tng when I was a little kid and got the figurines for Christmas when I was 7. I saw star wars for the first time at the age of 9 and have been a hugh fan ever since. Why is it that fans from each franchise are so often as odds wich each other. They are not incompatible, very different, but both awesome!!!
I grew up with Star Trek– the original series. When TNG first came on the air,I refused to watch it, thinking it could never replace my beloved original. Finally, my sister talked me into it, and I fell in love. I loved the Enterprise series, too. My dad took me to see Star Wars in the theater when I was a teenager, and I was hooked. In my eyes, it’s all good!
Oh TNG is the best. It reminds me of my childhood and despite the 90′s feel to it, it aged very well. I never got into Enterprise, and once the storyline switched to a terrorist hunt I stopped watching it. I’m glad the franchise is back to life with the new movies, I was afraid when Enterprise got cancelled it would be the end of Star Trek. Glad I was wrong, and it keeps me hopefull for Stargate too (bring back SGU!!!)
Ooooo, I really liked Star Trek: Enterprise despite it’s flaws. http://gsllc.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/why-i-love-startrek-enterprise-scifi/
Stop trolling for Enterprise. I won’t stand for it, good sir! (And we’re on for Thursday)
Even with warp speed in the future, I am sure I will still be late to work. What I need are clones of me to do decoy work.
Great post.
Thank you!
And the real break will be that everyone can telecommute via subspace!
Until 200 years from now when they realize Star Trek was more accurate. lol. Oh, science!
Will they still split infinitives? :-p
Personally I don’t regard either Star Wars or Star Trek as having any particular ‘science’ about them. Great stories – absolutely. Entertaining – totally. Fun – definitely. Real science? Meh. But then, movies built around real physics would be boring to watch, and Hollywood knows that.
Leave it to a good old Star Trek v. Star Wars debate to finally get KESSEL JUNKIE some serious activity on his site. Too bad his argument is so terribly wrong. Lightsabers? Asteroid moons? Just because some random ship design turns out to be the (current) likely design for a ship doesn’t mean the Jedi are coming. Star Trek will always be closer to the truth because it cares to be.
Mars has an “asteroid moon.” And you’d think they’d have better toupees by the 23d Century. And a better OS. And a less infuriating computer voice.
Sorry. Not sure how that happened. I meant “asteroid worms.” And even for a language nazi such as myself, split infinitives are infinitely preferable to incest.
How do you know there are no asteroid worms? There was recently an animal (forget which) that survived hard vacuum. And it’s only incest if your privates touch.
“And it’s only incest if your privates touch.”
Oh yeah? Tell that to your brother. He kissed my sister on the lips when they were 5 years old. See if they’re willing to discuss it.
Reblogged this on Frylock's Gaming & Geekery and commented:
Finally, Kessel Junkie gets the nerd rage going on his blog. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that he’s gotten more comments on this post than any of his prior posts. It’s a ridiculous argument, of course — most topics of nerd rage are — but it’s worth reading.
I liked and enjoyed your article
One step closer to warp drive!
When I read the title to your post, I couldn’t wait to read the comments! I knew they would be epic and I was right! You enjoy teasing people alright! The funny thing about your comment is that Star Wars really doens’t try to be scientific-looking (except maybe for that stupid horrible mediclorian thingamabob), so if it ever proved to be more accurate than Star Trek and all of its techno bable, it would be very ironic. Tahtmsaid, zimstill feel if were took the time to compare both franchise, star trek would get more wins on the technology and science levels, especially as they improve. In the end I guess we gotta wait for the 24th century to really know!
Damn typos. As a fan of both Star Trek and Star Wars (equally but for different reasons), I really enjoyed this post and the comments!
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Reblogged this on 42 Webs.