Treknobabble is a portmanteau of "Star Trek" and "technobabble" (itself a portmanteau of "technology" and "babble"). It has been suggested that blend (linguistics) be merged into this article or section. ... Star Trek collectively refers to an American science-fiction franchise spanning six unique television series (which comprise 726 episodes) and ten feature films, in addition to hundreds of novels, computer and video games, fan stories, and other works of fiction — all of which are set within the same fictional universe... Technobabble (a portmanteau of technology and babble) is a form of prose using jargon, buzzwords and highly esoteric language to give an impression of plausibility through mystification and misdirection. ...

It is used humorously by fans of the various Star Trek television series, and disparagingly by its critics, to describe the infamous amount of pseudoscientific gibberish packed into many episodes of these television series. The term has escaped Star Trek fandom (and anti-fandom) and has become more commonly used in contexts where useless and incorrect "technical" explanations are given, typically in situations involving various pseudosciences or in science fiction writing. Piller filler is a synonym, a derivative of producer Michael Piller's name. Phrenology is regarded today as being a classic example of pseudoscience. ... Science fiction is a form of speculative fiction principally dealing with the impact of imagined science and technology, or both, upon society and persons as individuals. ... Michael Piller (born May 30, 1948) is an American television and cinema screenwriter. ...

Some fans of the show feel that treknobabble devices and phenomena are increasingly used as dei ex machinis in Star Trek, to the detriment of plot, drama and characterization. For example, an emotionally difficult problem such as whether or not to sacrifice the captain to save the ship is bypassed by a "focused tachyon field" which allows both to escape. Reportedly, writers on The Next Generation and later series would add the tag "<tech>" to portions of the script where they needed some jargon inserted, which would then be assembled by a different set of staff, though this theory is disputed[1]. This somewhat undermines the traditional role of science as the inspiration for plot in science fiction, although the show was always intended to be primarily drama in the space opera style rather than straightforward science fiction. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... It has been suggested that Elements of plot be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into theatre. ... Characterization is the process of creating characters in fiction, often those who are different from and have different beliefs than the author. ... A tachyon (from the Greek ταχύς takhús, meaning swift) is any hypothetical particle that travels at superluminal velocity. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... Space opera is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes romantic adventure, exotic settings, and larger than life characters. ...

Another increasingly common use of this term has it applied to any in-depth discussion about Star Trek-related matters among fans.

Examples of treknobabble

There are two possible sources for treknobabble: use of the actual item in the show itself as well as use of the term outside of its place of origin. Both are provided below.

Examples from episodes

"Okay, Morta. The Enterprise computer system is controlled by three primary main processing cores cross linked with a redundant melacortz ramistat and fourteen kiloquad interface modules. The core elements are based on FTL nanoprocessor units arranged into twenty-five bilateral kelilactirals with twenty of those units being slaved to the central heisenfram terminal. . . . Now this is the isopalavial interface which controls the main firomactal drive unit. . . . The ramistat kiloquad capacity is a function of the square root of the intermix ratio times the sum of the plasma injector quotient. . . ."

• In the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "Rascals", Commander Riker 'describes' the functioning of the ship's computer to—and intentionally confuses—one of the Ferengi who commandeered the ship.

"We've learned that if we uncouple the transporter's Heisenberg compensators and allow them to rescramble randomly, we can beam a holodeck object... or a person... off the grid."

• In the TNG episode "Ship in a Bottle", Captain Picard simulates technobabble to fool Professor Moriarty.

Sometimes there are references to totally unrelated scientific terms, e.g. The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D), in the Star Trek fictional universe, is the Galaxy class starship It is the fifth Federation starship to bear the name Enterprise. ... A computer system is the synthesis of hardware and software. ... Faster-than-light (also superluminal or FTL) communications and travel are staples of the science fiction genre. ... In mathematics, a function is a relation, such that each element of a set (the domain) is associated with a unique element of another (possibly the same) set (the codomain, not to be confused with the range). ... In mathematics, the principal square root of a non-negative real number is denoted and represents the non-negative real number whose square (the result of multiplying the number by itself) is For example, since This example suggests how square roots can arise when solving quadratic equations such as or... In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the warp drive is a form of faster-than-light (FTL) propulsion. ... In mathematics, multiplication is an arithmetic operation which is the inverse of division, and in elementary arithmetic, can be interpreted as repeated addition. ... Sum redirects here. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, starships have a power core that takes up most of the height from the roof to the floor of the engineering section of the vessel. ... In mathematics, a quotient is the end result of a division problem. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... After a transporter malfunction Captain Picard,Guinan,Ro and Keiko are children. ... William Thomas Riker is a character in the Star Trek universe played by Jonathan Frakes, who appears in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and all the movies focusing on the TNG characters. ... Ferengi on Star Trek: The Next Generation The Ferengi are a fictional extraterrestrial race from the Star Trek universe. ... In the fictional Star Trek universe, the Heisenberg compensators are part of the Transporter system. ... A holodeck on the Enterprise-D; the arch and exit are prominent. ... Moriarty and Picard in Ship in a Bottle Ship in a Bottle is the 138th episode of the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation. ... Jean-Luc Picard is a character in Star Trek, the commanding officer (having the rank of Captain) of the USS Enterprise-D and the USS Enterprise-E. He was played by English actor Patrick Stewart in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation (TNG) and resulting films. ... Professor Moriarty, illustration by Sidney Paget which accompanied the original publication of The Final Problem. Professor James Moriarty is a fictional character who is the best known antagonist of the detective Sherlock Holmes. ...

• In an ENT episode "Canamar", a planet is called Keto-Enol, ostensibly after its two intelligent species, but is really a term in organic chemistry.

The starship Enterprise (NX-01) Star Trek: Enterprise is a science fiction television series set in the Star Trek universe. ... In organic chemistry, keto-enol tautomerism refers to an equilibrium between a ketone and an enol. ...

Examples from books

"If we interplex the comm systems in both suits, we might be able to create a phased carrier wave. Voyager would read the signature and know it's from us." — Star Trek: Voyager, "Day of Honor" by Michael Jan Friedman and Jeri Taylor.

Some may consider all or part of various reference works, like the Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual, as Treknobabble. Apollo 15 space suit A spacesuit is a complex system of garments, equipment, and environmental systems designed to keep a person alive and comfortable in the harsh environment of outer space. ... The USS Voyager (NCC-74656) is an Intrepid class starship in the Star Trek fictional universe. ... The starship Voyager (NCC-74656), an Intrepid-class starship. ...

Examples from other sources

This web site contains the following sentence when describing a presentation made by a telephone company, very clearly establishing use of the term in a situation which does not even peripherally involve Star Trek.

"Treknobabble about the future of communication spews from concealed speakers [...]"

This MUCK introduction page, in giving an example of providing an object description says:

"@desc sample thing=Upon looking at the Sample Thing you see that it is quite an intricate device. It consists of a subspace jargon emitter attached to a small phased matter rerouter, and you can count at least five Treknobabble modulation units around its perimeter."

Of particular interest in this example is the use of the term "treknobabble" in the middle of a block of text containing examples of what could plausibly be "treknobabble" from the television series itself, if, perhaps, a little over-the-top.

In Parody

The folk singer and songwriter Voltaire often writes songs about Star Trek, as he is a huge fan of the show. One song, "The U.S.S. Make-Shit-Up", is entirely dedicated to Treknobabble and how incredibly inane it can be. Voltaire, whose stage name was chosen based on the pen name of a French Enlightenment writer François-Marie Arouet, is a musician in the goth scene who was born 1967 in Havana, Cuba. ...

External links

• The Deeper Side of Trek: Technobabble — illustrates both uses of the term.
• Jay's Physics and Star Trek Page — perhaps the platonic ideal of someone trying to rationalise treknobabble.
• The Particles of Star Trek — "So tiny, you can't tell it's a deus ex machina!" A humorous look at the negative aspects of treknobabble as a plot device.
• Random Technobabble Generator — a treknobabble generator.