Category Archives: Philosopher’s Log

What are Cardassia’s Responsibilities to Bajor?

Author’s Note: What makes science fiction unique as a genre is its ability to frame complex, uncomfortable social issues in a context where we can safely engage with them. Certainly, other kinds of literature make social commentary, but the thread of scientific plausibility in science fiction is what says to the reader “this isn’t justContinue reading “What are Cardassia’s Responsibilities to Bajor?”

The Ship of Tiberius

In the Star Trek universe eight starships bearing the name Enterprise have appeared on screen or been referred to in some way (a count that does not include ships in or from alternate realities or universes).  In our actual world (between the year 1704 and the present) there are over more than two dozen commissionedContinue reading “The Ship of Tiberius”

Yes, Data would pass the Turing Test. So, What Does This Mean Exactly?

Note: The thesis of the Turing test says that if a computer can fool a person into believing it is a human (what percentage of the time or to what degree of certainty depends on who wrote the rules for any particular testing session) we have reason to say the computer is a thinking thing.Continue reading “Yes, Data would pass the Turing Test. So, What Does This Mean Exactly?”

Is the Transporter a Murder Machine: The Transporter, John Locke & Personal Identity

The transporter has been part of Star Trek since the filming of the first pilot, The Cage, in 1967.  Originally the transporter was created as a cost saving device since it eliminated the need for costly effects shots of shuttlecraft taking off and landing. In the nearly sixty years since, there has hardly been anContinue reading “Is the Transporter a Murder Machine: The Transporter, John Locke & Personal Identity”