Science Fiction, or Too Much Time On Hand?

One of my first posts here at Fish & Bicycles was titled Science, or Too Much Time On Hand?.

I’d read a post by a blogger at Wired.com on the science of peeling eggs.

Yes, you read that right, the science of peeling eggs, which prompted me to question whether this was science or simply the product of someone with WAY too much time on their hands.

I was reminded of that 5-year old post today when I came across a post at io9.com, with this title and opening paragraph:

Top 10 Biggest Design Flaws In The U.S.S. Enterprise

Star Trek broke new ground by having a spaceship without fins and rockets, and by consulting with the RAND Corp. on its design. And the Enterprise is indeed a beauty. But the Federation’s coolest starship isn’t flawless, by any means. Here are the 10 biggest design flaws in the U.S.S. Enterprise.

Now, I love Star Trek. I really do, and I’m no stranger to becoming enamored of something enough, most often, in my case, music, to get lost for periods of time in obsession, and so I’m really just gently poking fun here.

It just struck me as funny to come across this io9.com post — written nearly 50 years after the original Star Trek TV show was on the air — evaluating the design of a fictional spaceship, and it made me wonder whether this was evidence of the enduring power of science fiction or simply the product of someone with too much time on their hands.

Then again, to paraphrase what I admitted five years ago: Here I am spending (wasting?) time blogging about a blogger who blogged about a 50-year old design of a fictional spaceship.

It’s an embarrassing paradox.