We have all heard the phrase “Beam me up.” Well, we have Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek to thank for this and other things in our lives and culture. I will just give examples, since a detailed list might well be long and cumbersome.
Cultural Influences
- “Beam me up.”
- “Resistance is futile”
- “Live long and prosper”
- Various references on television shows, in books, in the media, etc.
Technological Influences
- While some of these may not be influenced directly by Star Trek, they are close to the visualization in the serie(s).
- The MRI preceded Star Trek: The Motion Picture by 6 years so this is a toss up as to who copied who – Tricorder, Diagnostic Bed in ST:TMP
- Cell phone – Communicator
- Palm Pilot, Handspring, IPad, IPod – PADD device
- Universal Translator – TRANSTAC, US army’s former English-Arabic translator
- Sliding doors with no pressure plates
- Touchscreens
- Biometrics – Various scanners and remote sensing
- Various needleless injection technologies - Hypospray
Work is being done on a viable transportation technology, as well as a phaser-like weapon and other Star Trek technologies.
Ken's Musings 