Yes, I agree, and it was pointed out in one episode of TNG that TECH might appear as magic to societies not advanced enough to understand it.
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Techno Babble Help Please!
- Thread starter KobayashiMaru13
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Yes, I agree, and it was pointed out in one episode of TNG that TECH might appear as magic to societies not advanced enough to understand it.
The problem is, the AUDIENCE is smart enough to understand it. It's a point I brushed on in many a fanfic: primative pre-industrial peoples might be so easily fooled, but others--ourselves, for example--can see technology at work and think "That's amazing!" but we know that it IS technology. We therefore think there's something funny going on when a particular device seems to have a zillion different functions that the engineer literally made up off the top of his head.
Put this another way: we know what technology is, and we know there's a difference between technology and magic. We also know that technology doesn't work like magic, so when technology appears to work that way, it raises a few eyebrows.
Your point is well put. I know that TNG drew from a pool of well known and respected scientists and engineers for most of their ideas, but some of their tech ideas came up a little short. Another suggestion would be to research all current advancements being made in the field of study that he is trying to encompass and go from there. I had to do something similiar with an article on religion and it turned into a two year project. I guess answers like this aren't very simple.
I would say keep study to a minimum and stick to what you know. There's an old writer's fault that pops up in sci-fi literature, the trap of "I've suffered for my art, and now it's your turn." You can do TOO much research and then feel pressured to add it into the story; the reader ends up feeling like he's been very cleverly transported into a college lecture in the middle of the story.
Your point is well put. I know that TNG drew from a pool of well known and respected scientists and engineers for most of their ideas, but some of their tech ideas came up a little short. Another suggestion would be to research all current advancements being made in the field of study that he is trying to encompass and go from there. I had to do something similiar with an article on religion and it turned into a two year project. I guess answers like this aren't very simple.
But I reiterate: stick to what you KNOW, and most importantly, avoid making things up to fill the gaps of what you don't know. Half the shit on McGuyver is improbable enough even when it's based on real science; now imagine McGuyver using a pair of neodynium magnets and a box of crackers to construct a laser beam whose primary effect is to unlock the door to a safe.
Using allegory can be a rather simple way to invent pseudoscience that is still governed by certain fundamental laws. Anything can be used as a base; then - through the continued use of synonyms - later mutated into something that fits the bill of what you are trying to say.
New York City can be broken down into; Lower Manhattan, Upper Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. "New York City" is the inspiration for my invented tech device for present purposes.
It is located within a System (Nation), represents a network of metropolitan zones, and is commonly known for its core (The City Itself). Thus, I am going to call my device the "System Network Core" (SYNC). Next, I'll think up an allegorical name for each of the city's main boroughs, make them components, and move forward from there:
SYNCs possess 5 Power and Communication (PAC) Channels which interface each of its primary operating systems (POS). POS-1 is a data processor (Lower Manhattan); POS-2 is a matter converter (Upper Manhattan), and POS-1, 2, and 3 serve in a data storage capacity (Residential Zones).
The SYNC device is fueled in part by airborne energy particles (Airplanes) which are collected through three primary reciever units (Airports) and secondarily through solid power couplings (Freeways) which connect it to secondary hubs. SYNCS is an imbedded non-mobile device native aboard all C1 Starships...
...well, heck - I could go on forever writing loot like that. Whenever I want more details, I just go back to the model of New York, pull some real fact out of the hat, give it a symbolic title, and voilà. As fake as it is, since it is based allegorically off of something that is real in some fashion, it naturally retains at least a residue of coherency.
New York City can be broken down into; Lower Manhattan, Upper Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens. "New York City" is the inspiration for my invented tech device for present purposes.
It is located within a System (Nation), represents a network of metropolitan zones, and is commonly known for its core (The City Itself). Thus, I am going to call my device the "System Network Core" (SYNC). Next, I'll think up an allegorical name for each of the city's main boroughs, make them components, and move forward from there:
SYNCs possess 5 Power and Communication (PAC) Channels which interface each of its primary operating systems (POS). POS-1 is a data processor (Lower Manhattan); POS-2 is a matter converter (Upper Manhattan), and POS-1, 2, and 3 serve in a data storage capacity (Residential Zones).
The SYNC device is fueled in part by airborne energy particles (Airplanes) which are collected through three primary reciever units (Airports) and secondarily through solid power couplings (Freeways) which connect it to secondary hubs. SYNCS is an imbedded non-mobile device native aboard all C1 Starships...
...well, heck - I could go on forever writing loot like that. Whenever I want more details, I just go back to the model of New York, pull some real fact out of the hat, give it a symbolic title, and voilà. As fake as it is, since it is based allegorically off of something that is real in some fashion, it naturally retains at least a residue of coherency.
^ Yeah, that'll work. Stick to what you know and invent as little as necessary.
Okay, Joshua, but what happens when say "newtype alpha" asks, "whats its function?" Technobabble is technobabble still, isn't it? Though I like your model. I guess it boils down to the age old question of sci-fi: is it science based on fiction or fiction based on science. My guess is either works.
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