I’ve always had an interest in Star Trek, mostly the movies and TV series across different timelines. I wouldn’t call myself a hardcore Trekkie, definitely not a collector (that honour goes to my elder brother). For me, it’s never been about memorabilia or fandom labels, but about the ideas.
Star Trek may be fiction, but the engineering theory behind many of its ideas was always sound. What once looked like imagination just needed time, better materials, stronger computing power, and the right scale. Today, technologies like cloud computing, AI, blockchain, and even quantum computing are no longer theoretical, we’re already living with them.
This was no accident. Star Trek didn’t rely purely on imagination. It drew on advice from some of the best scientific minds, including NASA, physicists, engineers, medical experts, and computer scientists, ensuring many concepts were grounded in real science rather than fantasy.
And beyond the technology, Star Trek also instilled naval-style discipline, intelligence-type protocols, etiquette, and governance principles. The structure of Starfleet, chain of command, accountability, ethics in decision-making is part of what makes the universe believable and inspiring.
At this age, especially in Malaysia, having interests like sci-fi often invites quiet ridicule. Some see it as childish, outdated, or something we were “supposed to outgrow.” Perhaps it’s also because Star Trek culture here was never as visible not many conventions, not much mainstream discussion even though Trekkies do exist.
What often goes unnoticed is that Star Trek technology is no longer fiction. We’re already living with many of its ideas:
a) Communicators = mobile phones
b) PADDs = tablets and e-readers
c) Talking to computers = Siri, Alexa, and other voice assistants
d) Video calls = now everyday life
e) Non-invasive medical scanners = rapidly evolving
f) Real-time language translation = no longer science fiction
g) Holographic images = we may not have enough photons and forcefields to generate a real-time holodeck, but this technology is already emerging through the feeling of AR, VR, and MR, using only headgear. It’s no longer fictional for modern-day architects, designers, aeronautics engineers, training simulations, and gamers, and these devices are getting smaller and more accessible every year.
Star Trek didn’t predict the future, it normalized it. It made people comfortable imagining a world where technology serves humanity, not the other way around.
I don’t need everyone to like Star Trek, and I’m not trying to convince anyone to. But I do think imagination, curiosity, and the ability to see beyond the present shouldn’t have an expiry date. Sometimes, interests don’t make you immature, they just mean you never stopped thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment