‘Star Trek’ Adviser Dr. Erin Macdonald Talks Sci-Fi’s Real Science #SciFiSunday

‘Star Trek’ Adviser Dr. Erin Macdonald Talks Sci-Fi’s Real Science #SciFiSunday

Time Stamp: August 27, 2023 6:07 PM
Source Node: 2238453

“Science fiction often involves some basis in science fact,” is something people say. But how does that work exactly? When some crew member of the Enterprise or the Defiant or the other Enterprise or the Excelsior or the other other Enterprise starts a long-winded jargon-filled explanation as to why the dilithium crystals failed to power the warp core, what relationship do those words have to science fact? Maybe Dr. Erin Macdonald, a science advisor for Star Trek, can explain. Here’s more from NASA:

But how do the laws of physics apply in a sci-fi show known for its warp drives and phasers and transporters? “The way I kind of advertise my science advising is that I do a ‘yes, and’ approach,” Macdonald said. It’s important to find ways to integrate actual science when it’s appropriate “and being able to bend the rules and say, ‘Let’s just not explain it,’ when we can,” she said. “The main rule for me is to make sure nothing is said in the show that is explicitly wrong.”

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