Sunday, July 08, 2007

Next: the Vulcan Death-Grip*...

The medical tricorder from Star Trek is no longer just a nerd dream. Like much of the science-fiction we all laughed at, reality and time fleshes out dreams.
Two recent scientific discoveries mark the latest steps toward the ultimate medical-diagnosis technology: the tricorder.

Bones McCoy made Star Trek's portable black box famous by using it to diagnose ailments without ever touching a patient. Now, studies show that the tricorder is closer to becoming reality, because of new medical-imaging technology and a new state of matter. [More]

While I make jokes about my own adolescent (under 60) fascination with Star Trek, there are worse things to occupy idle imaginations than the belief in a hopeful future and man's ability to manage his actions and environment rationally.

*(Snort) Of course, as all Trekkies know, there is no Vulcan Death Grip.

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