Is Telepathy Next?

Is Telepathy Next?

            Indeed, everything we need to know we learned on Star Trek. The notion that what is science fiction now is the reality of the future can be no more exemplified than how we have adapted the models from the voyages of the starship Enterprise.

            With this in mind, I am filled with great hope for the future of telepathic communication. As far as I know, other than a choice few who claim to be able to read the minds of others, we have come no where close to harnessing this skill and surely seem years away from this replacing the spoken voice as conveyance of ideas.

            However, I am heartened by the progress we have made; that being the plethora of technological advances that have put us on the rudimentary doorstep to telepathy.

            There were certainly episodes of Star Trek that dealt with aliens who possessed the skill to communicate telepathically. At times, they even exchanged ideas over great distances of space in seconds.

            This is encouraging to me because of the many devices we have developed which were merely fantasy at the time the shows were first broadcast in the 1960s.

            The first that pops into mind is the communicator, or, as we call it today, the cell phone. A handheld device that allowed us to speak to anyone over great distances, it flips open and requires no wires. What is especially hopeful here is that we have gone beyond to include Internet, texting, camera, global tracking, news alerts, and a host of media downloads (here I might add that refreshing disclaimer of anyone writing about technology: “this technology will probably be outdated by the time this is published.” Another note to the speed of progress: I am writing this on Word 2003 and my spell check is not recognizing the word texting).

            The cell phone, which now is an obsolete term because it does far more than just a phone, has entered and suffused our society in wide-ranging ways. Cheaper now than a moderate addiction to cigarettes, or a daily latte for that matter, cell phones permeate our supermarkets, offices, schools, and virtually wherever one is gathered. The other day, I was in my local Safeway browsing for the cheapest microbrew. A voice interrupted my perusal: “They have good prices on Deschutes beer today.” Although the words interjected into my thoughts, I did not look up toward the voice, or even think about a response. Why? It was probably someone talking on a cell phone. To my surprise though, there was a follow-up: “Have you tried the Buzz Brown Ale?” At which point, an index finger appeared in front of a six-pack.

            “Uh, no,” I said as I collected my thoughts and adjusted haphazardly for a possible conversation. “Actually, I like the Inversion better – it’s the same price.” The man, about my age and of the type who seemed to enjoy a fine beer as well as me seemed to be in a good mood and want to exchange opinions on various beers. But I had some  discomfortable with a person striking up a conversation with me in a supermarket, because it just did not happen too much anymore. So I took the Inversion, wished him luck with his selection, and went on.

            When I got to check-out, I wondered if I could have learned more about beer from the man. But then the woman in front of me was telling one of her children to calm down, so I deemed it more interesting to eavesdrop on her conversation than think about beer; even though I could not hear what her child was saying on the mom’s cell phone.

            Another  breakthrough we seem to be in the initial stages of is the Star Trek concept of beaming each other around. On election night, November 4, 2008, CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer talked to a holograph image of reporter Jessica Yellin. She was hundreds of miles away, but Wolf was able to talk to her image, a few meters to the left on stage, in real time as if she were there. Holographic technology has been around for decades, but I wonder if my teenage children would not longer have to bicycle, or drive to their friends houses but instead just invite them over “holographically.” They could talk, eat, watch TV, and possibly even play chess with each other, all the while, being apart.

            Though, we may have to wait until actual whole humans can be teleported because kids nowadays can already have a full visit with a friend without even being there. Again, Star Trek has given us the model. In many episodes, when Captain Kirk wanted to talk to an alien leader, the communication would start with Kirk saying, “on screen.” A two-way, real time conversation then took place between the two. In recent years computers have come with webcams where you can see and talk to a person thousands of miles away. Teens nowadays can view the same web site, type to each other, and virtually “hang-out” for an entire evening without having to leave the comfort of their own bedrooms.

            Critics would say that kids today are missing out on the exercise; especially when X-Box Live has allowed you to “play” a sport, via the Internet connected to the TV, against someone in a far-off country. “Why not play basketball in the driveway?” critics will lament. However, there is an answer to that too.

            We can now enjoy exercise via Nintendo’s Wii. The game simulates actual games such as golf, tennis, boxing, and baseball (to name a few) with persons holding the controller. For example, you can swing the controller like a tennis racquet and a cartoon character on the TV screen will duplicate your stroke and the ball will go over the net (depending on your ability) and the other player then hits it back, or not. These two people could be in time zones warp speeds apart. One can remember the episode of Star Trek where Kirk was getting punched by an invisible force, but Kirk figured out how to punch back and defeated his enemy. Again, thanks Gene Roddenberry.

            So, kids are able to communicate, see each other, hang-out with each other, even play a physical game with each other, and not even be in the same climate zone.

            And as I think back, I realize how fortunate kids are today. I often walked a mile to the nearest field or park where all the guys were meeting for a game of football or ice hockey. We did not even have cell phones. Most of the time, people knew gametime was “about an hour after school.” We came home with dirty and ripped clothing, had large appetites for dinner and talked about what fun it was. We couldn’t text our friends or get on My Space, or sit in front of a monitor and “play” a stranger. What we could do, though,  before we went to bed, was watch Star Trek and dream of a better future.