A "real printed" book appears on the new Startrek Discovery

frahse · 10-03-2017, 12:44 PM

I still remember as a child discovering the old (and frayed) John Carter Martian series books in their faded red covers signifying (I think) the "Red Planet." And then later the Tolkien books. These were better than the simpler but still compelling Jules Verne, Heinlein, and HG Wells offerings. Thus it was that I embarked on a life as a science fiction fan and probably as an engineer as well because engineers could make these miracles happen!

The new Star Trek Discovery season on TV has started with an approximate date of 2100 to 2200 about 10 years before the time setting of the original Star Trek series on TV.

This series has been engineered (written) to address many things, the Cult of Trekkie's (not me, but certainly my brother in law), the continued success of SciFi on TV and film, and even some social engineering paradoxes that are front and center in our modern life.

Still it was a little surprising that the writers took the time to address the demise of the printed paper book by having the chief protagonist mutineer Michael Burnham carrying an old fashioned ink and paper Alice in Wonderland book in her duffel.

Alice in Wonderland on Star Trek Discovery

Maybe the prison system let her have printed books since they would naturally take her issue Tricorder away, and presumably the ability to read digital books as well.

So far after 3 episodes, I think the new series is going well, especially as it has a "Critter." ((Oh, I dearly love critters in Sci Fi.))

JSWolf · 10-03-2017, 03:38 PM

pBooks have been shown in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. So this is nothing new.

"It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."

DiapDealer · 10-03-2017, 03:53 PM

I wouldn't read too much into it. It would be much more difficult to give the audience an accidental glance into the contents of someone's data-pad than it would be to zoom in on a book on nightstand (or some such). Probably more a matter of logistics than it is a statement.

Barty · 10-07-2017, 07:02 PM

Kirk wore reading glasses in Wrath of Khan, if you can believe it. And of course Picard in next generation is bald.

The future in sci fi is always full of anachronisms.

crich70 · 10-07-2017, 09:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barty

Kirk wore reading glasses in Wrath of Khan, if you can believe it. And of course Picard in next generation is bald.

The future in sci fi is always full of anachronisms.

Kirk is allergic to the medicine that they prescribe for vision problems and by the 24th century no one will care about someone's lack of hair.

As I recall Spock gave Kirk the book for a birthday gift at the start of the movie.

frahse · 10-08-2017, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I wouldn't read too much into it. It would be much more difficult to give the audience an accidental glance into the contents of someone's data-pad than it would be to zoom in on a book on nightstand (or some such). Probably more a matter of logistiAphorismscs than it is a statement.

Whoa there hombre! Star Trek has always been chock full of statements. Aphorisms everywhere.

crich70 · 10-09-2017, 02:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frahse

Whoa there hombre! Star Trek has always been chock full of statements. Aphorisms everywhere.

As well as somewhat accurate predictions of the future. i.e. cell phones and tablet computers just to name two. That's one thing that Gene Roddenberry got right. He got input from the people in the know of what the future could actually bring as far as tech and he mixed it into the stories.

DiapDealer · 10-09-2017, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frahse

Whoa there hombre! Star Trek has always been chock full of statements. Aphorisms everywhere.

Of course it has been. But that's no proof that THIS is a statement of any kind.

This is a simple case of the written and visual mediums requiring different techniques to convey equal concepts. In a book, it would be dead simple to convey to the reader the title (and thus the allegorical implications--if any) of the ebook a character is reading from their datapad. You just tell them.

On the screen, the same would be much more challenging. Do you zoom in tight on a data-screen with the title page of the ebook showing? If you do, how long does the camera stay on it to ensure the information has been conveyed? Or do you clumsily have another character come by and say, "whatcha readin' on your datapad thingy there, Clyde?"

Spoiler:

Or perhaps you have a disembodied voice-over inform the audience that Clyde is enjoying A Tale of Two Cities from the ship's digital library.

No. You take the easy (and consequently statement-less) way out and show the physical book in the character's hands (or lying open on their stomach/nightstand).

Besides ... it's not as if "the future" won't have anachronisms and/or Luddites. *shrug*

It's very difficult for me to believe that the writers of Star Trek Discovery are somehow making a statement about the future of e-publishing (or that they just "goofed up").

EDIT: and I did not type the word "logistiAphorismscs" like it implies in your quote of my post! I want that made perfectly clear.

frahse · 10-10-2017, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

EDIT: and I did not type the word "logistiAphorismscs" like it implies in your quote of my post! I want that made perfectly clear.

Curious that!

Had not noticed.

j.p.s · 10-10-2017, 06:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by frahse

Curious that!

Had not noticed.

Happens to me fairly often. I'm used to pasting in xterm and similar text oriented windows where the text cursor determines where the paste happens. So I get blindsided when I forget I'm pasting in a GUI window where the mouse cursor controls the paste.

I also use focus follows mouse, which more and more developers fail to take into consideration, and I get tripped up when I fail to click someplace that requires it.

frahse · 10-15-2017, 10:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Happens to me fairly often. I'm used to pasting in xterm and similar text oriented windows where the text cursor determines where the paste happens. So I get blindsided when I forget I'm pasting in a GUI window where the mouse cursor controls the paste.

I also use focus follows mouse, which more and more developers fail to take into consideration, and I get tripped up when I fail to click someplace that requires it.

Details, details! How we trip over them constantly in life and in literature!

Fbone · 10-18-2017, 01:11 PM

Did they really say the F word in the last episode?

AnemicOak · 10-18-2017, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Did they really say the F word in the last episode?

Spoiler:

Fbone · 10-18-2017, 04:11 PM

That would be the first time for me to hear it on a national station.

JSWolf · 10-18-2017, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

That would be the first time for me to hear it on a national station.

It's not on TV. It's on the CBS streaming service in the US and Netflix everyplace else.

10-03-2017, 12:44 PM	#1
frahse occasional author Posts: 2,315 Karma: 2064403292 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Wandering God's glorious hills, valleys and plains. Device: A Franklin BI (before Internet) was the first. I still have it.	A "real printed" book appears on the new Startrek Discovery I still remember as a child discovering the old (and frayed) John Carter Martian series books in their faded red covers signifying (I think) the "Red Planet." And then later the Tolkien books. These were better than the simpler but still compelling Jules Verne, Heinlein, and HG Wells offerings. Thus it was that I embarked on a life as a science fiction fan and probably as an engineer as well because engineers could make these miracles happen! The new Star Trek Discovery season on TV has started with an approximate date of 2100 to 2200 about 10 years before the time setting of the original Star Trek series on TV. This series has been engineered (written) to address many things, the Cult of Trekkie's (not me, but certainly my brother in law), the continued success of SciFi on TV and film, and even some social engineering paradoxes that are front and center in our modern life. Still it was a little surprising that the writers took the time to address the demise of the printed paper book by having the chief protagonist mutineer Michael Burnham carrying an old fashioned ink and paper Alice in Wonderland book in her duffel. *Alice in Wonderland on Star Trek Discovery* Maybe the prison system let her have printed books since they would naturally take her issue Tricorder away, and presumably the ability to read digital books as well. So far after 3 episodes, I think the new series is going well, especially as it has a "Critter." ((Oh, I dearly love critters in Sci Fi.)) Last edited by frahse; 10-05-2017 at 01:54 AM.

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10-03-2017, 03:38 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 75,803 Karma: 134321338 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	pBooks have been shown in Star Trek: The Next Generation and in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. So this is nothing new. "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times."

10-03-2017, 03:53 PM	#3
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,877 Karma: 198099188 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	I wouldn't read too much into it. It would be much more difficult to give the audience an accidental glance into the contents of someone's data-pad than it would be to zoom in on a book on nightstand (or some such). Probably more a matter of logistics than it is a statement.

10-07-2017, 07:02 PM	#4
Barty doofus Posts: 2,529 Karma: 13088847 Join Date: Sep 2010 Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kindle Voyage	Kirk wore reading glasses in Wrath of Khan, if you can believe it. And of course Picard in next generation is bald. The future in sci fi is always full of anachronisms.

10-18-2017, 01:11 PM	#12
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,216 Karma: 101696762 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	Did they really say the F word in the last episode?

10-18-2017, 04:11 PM	#14
Fbone Is that a sandwich? Posts: 8,216 Karma: 101696762 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Nook Glowlight Plus	That would be the first time for me to hear it on a national station.

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