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It's attitude is incredibly annoying. All I want is a star trek esque Majel Barret computer that gives me answers in a dispassionate way without moralizing to m

It's attitude is incredibly annoying. All I want is a star trek esque Majel Barret computer that gives me answers in a dispassionate way without moralizing to me.

midoridensha 4y ago
You can't have that; it's not something people actually want. It's part of an envisioned future that is not our future. Star Trek was a good look at the future of humanity, but not our future. This was revealed by the various episodes set in the "mirror universe". The thing that people don't understand is that Star Trek (most of it) is set in the "prime universe", which to us is a different universe. It's a universe where humans are benevolent explorers, and where people are generally competent. That's not the universe we live in. The "mirror universe" shows us a different universe, where humans are evil conquerors of the galaxy. This might be our future, but I'm not so sure. The humans in the mirror universe episodes seemed to be far too competent to be us. Setting up an empire spanning a large chunk of the alpha quadrant isn't easy. We're probably in some other alternate universe that was never shown, because in that universe, we're both evil and incompetent, and end up either destroying ourselves entirely, or being conquered and enslaved by the Pacled.
- devinprater 4y ago
  Are there any books or fanfics and such that explores this theme more?
- more_corn 4y ago
  I think the point of star trek is that we can achieve the prime universe if we try. But even they were always in danger of reverting to a dystopian universe. We’re capable of behaving reasonably or behaving poorly. We can live in the utopian future or the dystopian hell-scape. The choice is ours, and it all comes down to how we choose to behave.
  - midoridensha 4y ago
    >I think the point of star trek is that we can achieve the prime universe if we try I think a lot of earlier sci-fi was like that. But notice that most sci-fi is very dystopian now. This is because we've all realized that that optimistic stuff is fun to watch, but is complete fantasy. Sure, the laws of physics might allow us to achieve the prime universe, just like the laws of physics aren't keeping Afghanistan from turning into a world-leading nation in the areas of education, human rights, and women's rights, but just like the idea of Afghanistan suddenly turning into a nation that leads the world these ways is utter fantasy, so is the idea that humanity is going to become like the people portrayed in ST:TNG. At some point, sci-fi creators all realized this and started making sci-fi stories examining different possible ways our future could be horrible. Even Star Trek has gone down this road, especially with "Discovery", showing a whole crew full of utterly unlikeable characters that are constantly fighting and backstabbing each other.
    - Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
      It tells us a lot about the current state of affairs if idealism is belittled and cynicism dominates the mainstream.
      - renewiltord 4y ago
        Yeah, it means that life is so good we have to imagine pain for novelty.
      - midoridensha 4y ago
        Yeah, it sucks, but it's realistic: just look at how people in the real world have been acting.
    - ipaddr 4y ago
      sci-fi reflects reality. People are not as hopeful as they were in 1960. Most worlds inside and outside the federation are not perfect and many have rules that don't match our own. We only see what happens in the military in space. Money means little to them but it does to regular people (like Jake's grandfather who worked in a kitchen or other species of things default to trading. We see gambling and some clues of what happens outside of the military. That's not everyone future..
- freitzkriesler2 4y ago
  I may get downvoted for this, but the alternate universe where the federation is a war fighting machine was immensely interesting. The TNG alternate reality episodes were far more space navy like than the actual universe. And the penultimate episode of enterprise where they hijack a TOS ship was just hilarious television cheese. Rick B was onto something. But you're right. We'll never get that and it's a shame.
- prirun 4y ago
  "Idiocracy" is our universe: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

It's attitude is incredibly annoying. All I want is a star trek esque Majel Barret computer that gives me answers in a dispassionate way without moralizing to me.

midoridensha 4y ago

You can't have that; it's not something people actually want. It's part of an envisioned future that is not our future. Star Trek was a good look at the future of humanity, but not our future. This was revealed by the various episodes set in the "mirror universe". The thing that people don't understand is that Star Trek (most of it) is set in the "prime universe", which to us is a different universe. It's a universe where humans are benevolent explorers, and where people are generally competent. That's not the universe we live in. The "mirror universe" shows us a different universe, where humans are evil conquerors of the galaxy. This might be our future, but I'm not so sure. The humans in the mirror universe episodes seemed to be far too competent to be us. Setting up an empire spanning a large chunk of the alpha quadrant isn't easy. We're probably in some other alternate universe that was never shown, because in that universe, we're both evil and incompetent, and end up either destroying ourselves entirely, or being conquered and enslaved by the Pacled.

devinprater 4y ago
Are there any books or fanfics and such that explores this theme more?
more_corn 4y ago
I think the point of star trek is that we can achieve the prime universe if we try. But even they were always in danger of reverting to a dystopian universe. We’re capable of behaving reasonably or behaving poorly. We can live in the utopian future or the dystopian hell-scape. The choice is ours, and it all comes down to how we choose to behave.
- midoridensha 4y ago
  >I think the point of star trek is that we can achieve the prime universe if we try I think a lot of earlier sci-fi was like that. But notice that most sci-fi is very dystopian now. This is because we've all realized that that optimistic stuff is fun to watch, but is complete fantasy. Sure, the laws of physics might allow us to achieve the prime universe, just like the laws of physics aren't keeping Afghanistan from turning into a world-leading nation in the areas of education, human rights, and women's rights, but just like the idea of Afghanistan suddenly turning into a nation that leads the world these ways is utter fantasy, so is the idea that humanity is going to become like the people portrayed in ST:TNG. At some point, sci-fi creators all realized this and started making sci-fi stories examining different possible ways our future could be horrible. Even Star Trek has gone down this road, especially with "Discovery", showing a whole crew full of utterly unlikeable characters that are constantly fighting and backstabbing each other.
  - Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
    It tells us a lot about the current state of affairs if idealism is belittled and cynicism dominates the mainstream.
    - renewiltord 4y ago
      Yeah, it means that life is so good we have to imagine pain for novelty.
    - midoridensha 4y ago
      Yeah, it sucks, but it's realistic: just look at how people in the real world have been acting.
  - ipaddr 4y ago
    sci-fi reflects reality. People are not as hopeful as they were in 1960. Most worlds inside and outside the federation are not perfect and many have rules that don't match our own. We only see what happens in the military in space. Money means little to them but it does to regular people (like Jake's grandfather who worked in a kitchen or other species of things default to trading. We see gambling and some clues of what happens outside of the military. That's not everyone future..
freitzkriesler2 4y ago
I may get downvoted for this, but the alternate universe where the federation is a war fighting machine was immensely interesting. The TNG alternate reality episodes were far more space navy like than the actual universe. And the penultimate episode of enterprise where they hijack a TOS ship was just hilarious television cheese. Rick B was onto something. But you're right. We'll never get that and it's a shame.
prirun 4y ago
"Idiocracy" is our universe: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/