#044 - Treknology with Ethan Siegel

Captain’s Log, Stardate 11708.05. The Trolling with Logic crew welcomes aboard Dr. Ethan Siegel, an astrophysicist with expertise in cosmological perturbations. He has reported on his journeys “Beyond the Galaxy” in his book carrying that title, published two years ago. We have invited him on board to brief us on his latest research endeavor, an upcoming book entitled “Treknology: The Science of Star Trek from Tricorders to Warp Drive.” The question we are trying to answer: Are the technological advances that make possible the universe inhabited by millions of Trekkies an impossible pipe dream, or is such technology becoming more and more achievable with every forward step in understanding and harnessing the physical world? From tricorders, hyposprays, replicators, and Synthehol to warp drive, holodecks, and the ethical conundrums we must face if we ever get our transporter working, we explore just how blurry the line between science fiction and science is becoming. Is our crew in for a hard awakening, or will Dr Siegel convince us that the next generation of technology is closer to home than any of us realized?   Links: Ethan Siegel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StartsWithABang Ethan Siegel’s Forbes column “Starts with a Bang”: https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/ Ethan Siegel’s “Starts with a Bang” podcast: https://soundcloud.com/ethan-siegel-172073460/ Ethan Sigel’s book “Treknology” available for pre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/Treknology-Science-Star-Tricorders-Drive/dp/0760352631 As always, many thanks to our patrons. Your support has helped with our web domain and podcast hosting! Our Patrons: Avinash Kumar Josh, Society for Advancement of Science https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVXF–HIS6h1KBqlntnzc-Q MicroBlogganism: https://www.youtube.com/user/MicroBlogganism