WilliamShatner.com :: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

WARP DRIVE AND MORE
Posted by: Admin on Wednesday, October 16, 2002 - 10:21 PM

	Since Lisabeth has written about my love of technology, I thought I should mention exactly why I find the subject matter so fascinating.
Since Lisabeth has written about my love of technology, I thought I should mention exactly why I find the subject matter so fascinating. To me, technology is the essence of tool making, something which has been hard-wired into our beings since the dawn of mankind. Even now we see chimps using tools to eat. And so it was with man. We?ve been developing our ability to use the things around us to our benefit, and now almost to our own destruction. It is of intense interest to me (and others, I hope) how our curiosity will manifest. Is it a blessing or a curse? Watching the technological story unfold is compelling, heartbreaking, and hopeful all at the same time. As far as Star Trek goes, perhaps the technological development I find the most fascinating is warp drive. (If you saw THE VIEW, you know I said I liked the cloaking device best. I?ve since reevaluated, on the advice of my wife and daughter!) My basic understanding of the subject goes something like this: warp drive means that, in effect, you are warping time and space. Such a maneuver would take up a vast amount of energy. So the idea of ?warp drive? is really more theoretical than practical. Still, I find the idea of taking a ?shortcut? to faraway points thrilling. I guess it appeals to my imagination more than my logic. Don?t tell Spock! Some of the other Star Trek devices do have a more modern application. Communication devices, the medical bed, and the tricorder are supposedly made up devices for a TV show, yet we can already see evidence of their existence in the form of cellphones, computers, and other medical devices. These items might be in their technological infancy, but they are well on their way to resembling Star Trek?s vision. Such is the power of technology to inspire in our imagination and our hearts. My hope for the future is that we can condition our insatiable curiosity to push man on a road of creation, not destruction. Plus, this stuff is just plain cool

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Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by joains on Oct 29, 2002 - 06:18 PM
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I just had a chance to read some of it and , as always, I like your writing. I can not wait til a transporter becomes an everyday item for everyone to use.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE by ovenboy on Nov 10, 2002 - 07:59 PM

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by Corinne on Oct 29, 2002 - 09:14 PM
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Hello Bill!

After years of being a fan I find this site today - how wonderful! Thank you for your sharing!

I enjoyed this post and found myself fathoming the technological future that lies ahead.

On a somewhat different thought, the 'concept' that struck me most through it all was living in a time where there is no 'currency'. To imagine a time and place where people had what they needed ... well, this would be something. While there's been the use of credits and depictions of different classes through episodes, generally the focus was far from this. Is this something you've given thought to in your reflections of Roddenberry's vision?

Best Regards,
Corinne Pratz

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by Roeth on Oct 29, 2002 - 09:52 PM
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Nice website. Thanks for stopping by Michigan recently Bill, was real nice actually getting to see you in person.

Ive got my fingers crossed my wife will buy me 'Mind Meld' for xmas :)

Cheers

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by ROBOT on Oct 30, 2002 - 02:55 AM
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Fave TREK TECH device? I like 'em all, ofcourse! Best of all, some are fast becoming reality. Who would have imagined today's MRI [Magnetic Resonance Imaging] or cell phones a hundred years ago? Technology is advancing faster and farther each year. STAR TREK is the most positive example of how our future can be- if we can manage not to blow ourselves up first.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

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by jrinck on Oct 30, 2002 - 07:42 PM
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I tend to agree with Einstein (and Bill), and that is that "warp drive", or speed that approaches light, will have consequences to both the traveller and to those he or she leaves behind.

Here's a snippet of Relativity in a nutshell:

Suppose I take off from earth travelling at the speed of light, waving bye-bye to my 19 month old son. I travel at this speed for about an hour or so, then turn around, and come back at the same speed. Upon returning to earth I am about two hours older than I was before I left, but my son will now be an old man.

This has to do with how how time is affected relative to where you are in observing an object travelling at light speed. You on earth will notice (if you could) that the person travelling at light speed seems to be in super-super slow motion. The person doing the travelling, however, won't notice anything different about him or herself. If the traveller could monitor earth, he or she would see time speeding up rapidly.

So if warp drive, or travel at the speed of light (or near it) ever becomes possible, we should be VERY careful in how we use it!

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by markgreen on Oct 30, 2002 - 08:58 PM
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Ah if only, maybe one day it will happen. In a weird way star trek has led science, or at least pre-empted it.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by judy on Oct 31, 2002 - 03:58 PM
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Warp drive was definitely a great technological leap forward. However, the Universal Translator made it possible for humanity to communicate with the (non English-speaking) species it found. I would say that that made it just as important as the invention of the printing press on Earth which allowed people to learn about one another from great distances through the written word.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

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by judy on Oct 31, 2002 - 04:05 PM
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Warp drive was certainly an iportant invention. However, I think that the Universal Translator made it possible for humanity to communicate with the (non English speaking) species it encountered, making it just as important as the invention of the printing press on Earth wich allowed people to communicate with one another over great distances through the written word.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

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by GREGPARADINE on Nov 03, 2002 - 08:49 AM
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I think ,even though STARTREK is fantasy,it may very well become reality.Imagine ,standing in your house and calling someone to beam you onto a spaceship ,as it is docked, in a space station!

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by Dominic on Nov 04, 2002 - 07:13 PM
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Mr. Shatner,

I'm a fan of yours well since the first Star Trek movie. I have read your Star Trek novels. I remember reading Garden of Eden. I couldn't put it down because it was so good. It was another star trek adventure for me.
The idea of the first cell phone came from Kirk's communicator. Being able to fold. The palm pilots were more Next Gen. a concept called Personal Access Display Device or P.A.D.D.. That would be great if mankind can travel faster than the speed of light. How much of the universe can be explored in a short amount of time. I think Star Trek is pretty much an idea of how mankind;s future will look.
Best regards.

Dominic Handl

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE by AldoPerdomo on Nov 08, 2002 - 08:35 PM

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by wellnow1101 on Nov 11, 2002 - 02:23 AM
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Just a quick note to say (as a new member) that the one most important things Star Trek did that made it so special was to slap you in the face and say "Look what is possible"!

That in of itself opened the eyes and imagination of millions in a way that was on par with the renaissance. The only obsticle is our imagination. There is always a way. It just takes time to reach the set goal. Look how long it took man to take to the sky on wings.

I sometimes think i was born 2-3 hundred years too soon. Ahh well, look at what we are experiencing before our eyes now! Incredible isn't it!

Thanks Bill for your part in that.

Tom

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

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by Lamar on Nov 11, 2002 - 04:41 PM
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Hallo William,

My favourite device is a medical bed. The people are dying everydays, they don't need new weapons. The medical advanced is necessary.
I'm sorry,but I don't speak English well.
LLaP
Lamar

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by sambow42 on Nov 12, 2002 - 09:48 AM
(User information http://sbowman.freehosting.net)

I just want to see I had a chance to meet you once when I was a young kid you were involved in the tv series Police Story and was filming an episode at the 9th street bowling Alley in San Pedro, Ca and I got a chance to shake your hand then and also was able to sit inside the bowling alley and watch you as they were filming you bowl.. it's nice to see your still the same nice person you were then and unfortunately I lost the autograph I got from you back then sigh wished I had it now for it would be a good peice of memorabilia for you..
Sam Bowman
Las Vegas, NV

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

(Score: 1)
by capt_heffner81631 (capt_thomas_heffner@alltel.net) on Nov 17, 2002 - 08:44 PM
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Sir;

Yes, I too am facinated with technology, believing that so much more can be developed for the benefit of man. It is true that many of the devices now in existence are mirror images of those in the Star Trek universe, many more is yet to come. However, what I personally would like to see re-created from Star Trek is not a technical device, but the mind set of the people and those who populate the Federation. We need above anything else the atitudes, behavior, and advanced mental states portrayed in Star Trek. Understanding, consideration for all people and species, acceptance no matter what the race, belief, or sex, a deep caring for those in need, and the ability to allow people to be themselves without interferring in their personal choices with hostile intent are a few of the things needed in order for us to use the new technology in ways that can only bring man to our fullest potiential. More than the advancement of technology, we need the advancement of the human mind and spirit.

Re: WARP DRIVE AND MORE

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by Boats_10 on Jan 03, 2004 - 08:13 AM
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Bill,
I have read your thaughts on modern technology and it made me look around my ship to see technology of today, and imagining it as technology of tomarrow. Something as simple as a telephone can be imagined to something even more spectacular. Such as the miniature view screens in the private quarters of Captain Kirk, and the other officers and crew of the USS Enterprise. When I was in middle and high school, I was awed by the intercom system we were epuiped with. It was a two way comunications system. My baracks in Navy Boot Camp had a similar system. Thus adding fuel to the thaught of haveing the same system on Naval vessels someday. there woudn't be much need for telephones on ships with the ecception of emergencies.
Oh, and by the way, as you have discribed him in his older age in Avenger, I'm not sure that Spock would mind you using your imagination once in a while. At 143, I'm sure he has learned to use his. Wrather the old vulcan would admit it or not. How else would he have gotten away with knowing that James Kirk is still alive without a logical reason?

Boats