Friday 17 August 2012

The New Messiah in Star Trek


Overheard in the Caravan:

It is 10:30 am and No.1 Son has just woken.

No.1 Son: "Dad, I can't remember - do the Jews worship Jesus at all?"

Chairman: "No - they believe the prophesied Messiah has not actually arrived yet."

No.1 Son: "In that case I could be what they are looking for."

Chairman: "Quite possibly, but you'd have to get up a damned sight earlier than 10:30 in the morning to fit the bill, for verliy it is written that the Messiah shall be an early-riser, for the early bird doth catch the disciple."

How is it possible for a teenager to remain asleep till 10:30? I simply couldn't sleep beyond daybreak as a teenager. Never have been able to.

Here's a conundrum: in Star Trek (The next Generation), Data is the only sentient android (aka computer) in existence, yet lacks the full range of human emotions. Star Trek Voyager, which follows on almost immediately from Next Generation in the Star Trek universe timeline, has a computer hologram doctor who displays all manner of highly evolved human emotions and attributes, such as frustration, anger, sadness, acerbic wit, etc. How is this possible when they are both computers and the ECH (aka doctor) has no positronic brain or emotion chip (the one developed by Dr Soong specifically for Data)?

Nice little spoof Olympic commentary follows:

2 comments:

Alan Burnett said...

Answer : the ECH's emotions have been stultified by current NHS management and its brain has been negativised by the requirement to wander forever through patient-experience pathways

Geo. said...

CB, I suspect your commendable early rises as a teen may have had the advantage of being bugle assisted...