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Showing posts with the label Star Trek

Piece #88 - Android or Asperger

I'll never forget Star Trek: The Next Generation when they had a new kind of character called Data. Data was an android and that created a lot of controversy among the crew because there has never been an android officer before. On the show, the crew clearly sees Data as an outcast because he is unlike any other life form they're ever had to deal with. In many cases, the crew gets in to situations where they just don't know how to handle the android. In some ways, crew members have a tendency not to even try to know or understand how Data ticks. Data so desperately tries to understand how humans work; in their emotions, rational thinking and unpredictability. We know that Data was an android, but I often wonder if he were human with autism...would there be any real difference between the two. Of course there are other movies that feature androids, but Star Trek seems to come first to my mind because Data seemed to really strive to try to be human; almost like Pinocchio...

Piece # 33 - Science Fiction

Other than superheroes, the one thing that has stuck with me my entire life has been Science Fiction. You've probably noticed me making different references to many different Sci-Fi shows in my previous blogs. The earliest thing I can remember that first captivated my love of science fiction has to be Doctor Who. It was one of the first shows I got to see on television...aside from Star Trek (original). Tom Baker was the actor who played the title role at the time and he was so quirky and funny, I naturally got sucked in. I guess in many ways, I could identify with the Doctor because he seemed to be a lot like me. (The Doctor with Asperger's? That might explain a lot!) Growing up, I would join in on fan clubs from America and Canada; then every once in a while, I'd get to go to a convention. I have to tip my cap to Doctor Who because it was that series that got me reading books. I was never a big fan of all-print books, but when I found out that they had printed Dr. Who ...