Why do some scientists rip into Star Trek and say it is all rubbish while others say a lot of the stuff in it could be possible?

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answers:
Jeffrey K say: Star Trek is fiction, of course. Most stuff in the show is beyond our technology right now. Some might be impossible. But predicting future technology is very hard. Nobody foresaw the internet or cell phones a hundred years ago.
Real physicists are talking about warp drive, although most think it is impossible. They are doing quantum teleportation now, but that is far from a Star Trek transporter. We already have computers we can talk to. Our cell phones have exceeded their communicators. We are working on a real replicator and quantum computer. But our manned space flight abilities are quite a bit behind Starship Enterprise technology.
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Ronald 7 say: Well Light Speed (Warp Factor) has shown to be just about impossible
Only Photons can go that speed because they lack Mass
Obviously a big lump of Machinery like the USS Enterprise would need a lot of pushing to break E = Mc^2, Even with Dilithium Chrystals !!
I find them hard enough to digest
They give me awful wind problems
I went to the Doctor to see if he could give me something
He gave me a Kite !!
Though the Communicators they used do resemble flip up Mobile Phones and we have Speed Dials
Transporters have has a limited success with Light Beams
I would love to have a go at Lieutenant Spock's 3D Chess game or play a tune on his Lute
The sound it produce were real NOW Man !!
It was only a show but I grew up with it, I wanted to be Captain Kirk
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Poseidon say: It is very possible that some of the technical things portrayed in Star Trek and other sci-fi movies and TV series will become reality once we have developed the intelligence and technology required.
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Raymond say: There are things in Star Trek that are rubbish. There are things that are not. It depends what you ask.

Some "scientific things" were simply invented without any reference to how the real world works, simply because the story would not be believable without them.

The Enterprise can go from 0 to faster than light in a matter of seconds. In real life, the first time the ship would try that, everyone on board would go "splat" against the back bulkhead, due to acceleration (thousands of times you own weight).
So Gene Roddenberry invented the "inertial dampener", which keep inertia from acting, when the vessel undergoes great accelerations. When asked "How do these inertial dampeners work?" Gene simply answered: "Very well. Thank you."

The inertial dampeners are "pure rubbish", but the story would not work without them.
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YKhan say: Depends on what's asked about it. Certain ideas from it have already started to become reality, such as cell phones, medical tricorders, even transparent aluminium of all things! Other things such as faster-than-light travel or time travel may never become possible. Other things are in an in between state, such as teleportation: the type of teleportation shown on it, where entire crewmembers are dematerialized and rematerialized elsewhere may not happen, but it's being done to some extent at the sub-atomic scale right now.
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Sherwood Forrester say: Rubbish or not, a fair number of real scientists were inspired to enter the field because of their appreciation for science fiction. Isaac Asimov invented the word 'robotics' -- now it's a legitimate field of research and engineering, and his writing inspired AI researchers, including the late Marvin Minsky.

More on point, Miguel Alcubierre directly credited Star Trek with inspiring his mathematical research into General Relativity that led to the mathematics of the so-called Alcubierre drive. And at the flight test of the Space Shuttle Enterprise, writer/fan Bjo Trimble reported more than one NASA technician opening their jackets to reveal buttons reading "Closet Trekkie".
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ReductioAdAstronomicus say: It IS a science FICTION series and a bunch of Hollywood fantasy movies after all. The emphasis is on funny hairdos, oddball dress sense and makeup applied with a trowel, along with generally lame plots and lots of excruciating incidental music.

Rubbish? I wouldn't go that far. Entertainment for those who are into high camp theatricals it is, but there is no reason to believe that ANY of it is actually possible. Just look at it as a fantasy adventure in the same vein as LOTR or Shrek and you are probably in the right ballpark.
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G. Whilikers say: In a nutshell, that's basically what's going on in science. There are those who look at the math underneath oddities like black holes and see the possibility of wormholes and warp drives. And there are those who look at it another way and wonder just where FTL and time travelers are going to find the seemingly infinite energy it would take to cross those barriers, even if it was possible.
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Robert say: Star Trek found a way to solve the problem of safely transporting people through the Van Allen belts.
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Nancy say: Because a lot of it is rubbish. It's just made up words that are strung together to sound like they make sense but don't.

Yet, Star Trek is credited with the invention of the laser. The inventors of the laser got the idea from Star Trek, so science and scientists to give props to Star Trek for that.
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August say: We all can "Klin-On" to our thoughts and dreams so why make a mockery of it. One day we will be able to travel from Jupiter to Earth in 27 minutes but I won't be around in 1,000 years. Here are some of the goodies from Star Treck that have made it here today:-
Multi Touch Table
One-person autogyro complete with guns, rockets, air mines, rear-mounted flamethrowers, and infrared-guided missiles
Cloaking (developing)
Amphibious vehicles
Robot dog
Mobile phone
Jet packs
Tablets
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duke_of_urls say: Like almost all good science fiction, Star Trek was about morality; what aspects were similar, and what aspects were different, among the races of the galaxy. Such concepts were explored. The 'sciency stuff' was simply the 'situation'.

So, scientists either ripping or defending the science fiction of Star Trek are just missing the point of the show.
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Zardoz say: Even sociologically it's rubbish. It's still fun though, so go with the flow.
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CarolOklaNola say: Because a lot of the science in Star Trek is REAL science is why. MANY scientists BECAME scientists BECAUSE of Star Trek and GOOD science fiction. Mr. Spock was a role model for me. So was Scotty. I am an Original Old School, Trekkie, NOT a rerun baby.

How long has it been sin e you used 3.5 inch floppy drive? That is now OUTDATED technology.
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