The Computers of STAR TREK
Reviewed by Robert Pritchett
Introduction
The depiction of computers on the various "Star
Trek" series has ranged from lame to breathtakingly imaginative. This book
covers the gamut, and makes lucid and entertaining comparison of these
fictional computers with those that now exist or are likely to inhabit our
future. Throughout its history, "Star Trek" has been an accurate
reflection of contemporary ideas about computers and their role in our lives.
Affectionately but without illusions, The Computers of Star Trek shows how
those ideas compare with what we now know we can and will do with computers.
What I Learned
What a cool book! I didn't realize that Star Trek was so
"last century" when it came to computing. Time and again as the authors discussed various episodes,
I kept thinking; "Yeah, I remember that!" or, '"Yeah, why DID they do that?'.
This was one fun read for Father's Day and quite a blast
form the past. I would bet most Mac users are also Trekkies of one kind or
another.
There are 8 chapters in this little book covering footsteps
into the future, a 24th-century mainframe, security issues,
navigation and battles, artificial intelligence, Data (the guy, not the stuff
in computers), the Holodeck and missing bits.
There is discussion of nanoprocessors and isolinear
optical storage chips, how much
they do. The thought crossed their
minds regarding why certain folks needed to go into Jeffries tubes to work on
circuitry instead of letting the system self-heal. OR why if ships could zip
through space why a battle line of Dominion ships could not be end-runned or
how ships could stay in one place and take k hits, if they could let the
computer systems do the fighting without voice-commands to protect themselves
in auto-mode.
And then there was the discussion about self-aware
holograms.
We now have 'Smart-shirts" that can create data bout
the health of the wearer for $30 each (remember this was in 2001!) that can
also monitor bullet wounds. Why not let shirts like that heal the wearer 3
centuries into the future?
And the book ends with a discussion of DNA computers –
something we have already. But what we don't have and is still a challenge is a
Universal Translator an intergalactic Rosetta Stone that can bring different
languages together understandably and without cultural mistakes. Now wouldn’t that be cool?
I think it would be called the Adamic language from the
planet Kolob, but that would be a different book….
Conclusions
Have some fun letting your bran wrap itself around some
interesting thoughts on STAR TREK computing technologies and where we were a
few years ago.
Recommendations
"Make it so…"
