A Star Trek Review... Of Sorts.

November 16th, 1974. Dr. Frank Drake and Carl Sagan et. al., release the Arecibo Message (pictured) into the cosmos on the pretense that intelligent civilizations may one day receive, decode and respond to it. While it's problematic for humans to picture invisible radio waves traveling through space in single file, we much more quickly grasp the point when such a message is transformed into a pretty picture. More accurately, as humans are keen visual learners, this colored pictogram is merely an abstract visual expression of their simple radio frequency released into intergalactic space. But what does it say I wonder?

Take a good long look at this picture.

It's a metaphor of our collective human brain. It represents in every fundamental way, that which is provable human knowledge. As a species, we have just barely ascertained that math is the language of the Universe, and this, our first word into the cosmos, is effectively saying, "Me".

Can you read it? I'll give you a clue: it's written in binary code.

Let's get stupid simple real quick. You can't begin to appreciate the value of a mathematical equation, {10 > 2}, unless you first learn the basic ten digit system {0, 1, 2...8, 9}. It is only when you first describe the individual building blocks, that it becomes possible to show your work; proof that a qualitative judgment is rationally correct. So, like, what? How does this factor into a Star Trek review? I will show you if you would please bear with me.

The Arecibo message has been able to summarize the complete and total understanding of our collective human knowledge within 1697 repetitions of two characters: 1 and 0. Each colored square is "on". Each black square is "off". This is as simple as it gets. It will take 25 thousand years to reach its destination and twice that length for us to receive a response, if at all. Instinctively, this gesture then appears to be more symbolic than prudent from its very inception. Regardless, the message is a fascinating way to look at ourselves from an outside perspective. Like a brightly lit computer icon, made to be double-clicked, it opens a vortex of organized logic. By it's design alone, it represents the deeper meaning of rational thought. However, where the code ends, so too do we. Allow me to explain.

Here's a quick breakdown of its symbolism from the top down:

1. In WHITE: The numbers 1 to 10 in binary code. This is like the decoder key.

2. In PURPLE: The atomic numbers for DNA. Hydrogen = 1, Carbon = 6, Nitrogen = 7, Oxygen = 8, Phosphorous = 15.

3. In GREEN: The molecular formula for nucleotides. This describes the chemical compounds for sugars and bases in nucleotides.

4. In WHITE & BLUE: The number of nucleotides and the double helix structure of DNA. This number is actually incorrect, but it makes the point symbolically nevertheless.

5. In RED: A picture of a Human with the numbers for average height and global population. We recognize ourselves as the intelligence processor.

6. In YELLOW: Our solar system. Earth is elevated to denote the message's origin.

7. In PURPLE: The Arecibo radio wave telescope to denote the method of transmission.

That’s it.

Do you see its significance? The human stick figure stands on the pixel meant to denote Earth; his head opens into the strand of DNA. Do you see how this picture summarizes the most fundamental components of our physical understanding, in the simplest way we know how? I repeat, this picture is a snapshot of our rationally descriptive knowledge. It is US.

Similarly, Star Trek is very much a cultural attempt at the Arecibo code. It breaks itself down into the basic parts, only to rebuild itself before our very eyes. It shows us the best of us, working together, to accomplish a goal of meaning. The analogy may sound stretched, but I believe they are one and the same; two sides to the same coin, if you will.

I'm going to boldly go where no movie review has gone before. But stay with me, there's a worthwhile point.

Most of our science fiction assumes each planet will have it's own intelligent ambassador species: Vulcan, Wookie, Robot, etc. and they will SPEAK a language similar to that of our own. This is an unlikely and subjective window into the future. In actuality however, if we are to communicate with another civilization in any meaningful way, the narrow scope of razor sharp mathematical expression will be our only tool. So for instance, an alien race would attempt to describe themselves as simply as they could to their level of understanding (just like we have with the Arecibo message), and we would inevitably learn from their sophistication of the mathematical language, how much further advanced they were from us. Simple.

From an omniscient perspective however, you would not see a group of "humans" talking to a group of "aliens". You would only see one blue planet projecting its logical thought pattern out towards another planet very, very far away. If the language of the Universe is math, then a planet speaks with radio waves, and we the humans are merely assimilated into the Earth's thinking architectural structure. From a cosmic perspective, we are so small that we cease to have units for measuring; we become an integral part of the wholeness of Earth's attempt to project logic into space. As Star Trek would have you believe, once an alien civilization is discovered it will be all chitchat. In one way, the primitive use of telegraphing logical code through space using simple binary digits is an amazing achievement of life, but in another, it is just an otherwise infinitesimal step on a journey across the expansive universe. Regardless of how you choose to view this attempt at speech, what else could we say about ourselves? How else could we do it? As it stands, this picture is the best thing we've got. So far.

Imagine a baby trying to utter her first phonemes in stark contrast to the incredible syntactic complexity she will attain as an adult human. Think of this picture of the Arecibo message as that first sound. This is language: to take some simple markings and line them up a bunch of times over. Both literally and figuratively, the coded radio wave message is Earth's first attempt at intelligent speech. To copy ourselves in some meaningful and organized way. Hmm, what does that remind me of?

I'm inclined to draw a comparison between that of primitive cave drawings and this message. We understand primitive drawings instantly, because they are so perfectly representative of the basic building blocks of our own knowledge. Cave drawings are a mirrored reflection of their documenter's self-awareness. We also see their limitation, and in so doing, obtain a sense of history of how our knowledge has progressed over time to become more and more complex. We can infer what they lacked, for example, by the absence of their ability to depict three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. We've learned to describe depth and perspective from our human painters, and this in turn has added to the incremental complexity of our self-description. So how does our "space message" fall into the category of primitive cave drawings?

The Arecibo message lacks three-dimensional depth, so to speak. It is flat. And despite our vast specialized knowledge found throughout our daily existence, this amounts to all we can actually express outwardly. We don't have mathematical formulas for the expression of philosophical concepts, intimate to the human perspective. You could argue that with each successive step in refining an art, you refine a form of communication to be ever more precise. In which case, early cave drawings capture, abstractly, that particular time period's peak achievement in expressible thought. It was the best way they knew how to describe themselves at the time. And so following the analogy forward in time, this colorized code reveals our limitations on a cosmic scale, of just how far our self-descriptive language has to go. Earth is just a baby.

Just out of curiosity, how would you communicate an abstract thought through binary code? With all the poets of history, we can barely articulate the true nature of "love" to ourselves, much less through the formulation of mathematical abstraction. That is not to say such a description is impossible, just that we don’t possess the knowledge to do so right now. Therefore, we are defined equally by our lack.

Perhaps including a picture of us as individual, and separate from the earth is an inadvertent signifier of our lesser understanding. Based on the notion that we are separate from the Earth, perhaps an advanced race could extrapolate from their own history, at what stage of development we are currently in. Or, they may be surprised to find out just how irrational we can be considering the message we sent was purely rational. Math in its narrow window of focus, does not allow us to express many of the things we consider to be most human. In stark contrast to our current methods, an advanced species would be forced to express themselves purely through mathematics in order to be understood by the rest of the universe. Until then, this pretty Nintendo picture will do just fine.

Finally, the basic premise of Star Trek has and always will be successful for no other reason than it exemplifies a primal message about our strongest impulse: curiosity. By this factor alone, it was an intelligent franchise to reboot. In the wake of Batman Begins, Star Trek has boldly chosen to back up, rewind, clear the slate, and start from the beginning and breakdown the essence of its theme into the most basic parts. In so doing, you may then come to understand it's greater purpose, and this idea of showing your work as proof, is at its most basic level, a sign of respect for the audience. So you know what J.J. Abrams? Thank you.

Thank you for showing me each character the moment BEFORE they became assimilated into the U.S.S. Enterprise. Thank you for showing me what each character brought to the table by their own talent, intellect, specialized knowledge, whatever. It is only in understanding the delicate ballet of dynamic human interaction, that you can then pull away to reveal the sleek spaceship as a symbol for something more complex and purposeful. Hmm, that sounds like the Earth. I had never looked at it this way until seeing this movie. Essentially, the Enterprise is nothing more than a beautiful machine made by humans; it can do no better then they can. However, the heart of the machine is found only in its human center; the control bridge where decisions are made, probabilities weighed, and warp-speed engaged. The ship is only made valuable by understanding first, the complex interactions that must take place on a human level in order to function as a whole. In this way, Star Trek's narrative strategy succeeds.

Thematically speaking, what I take from the movie is a celebration of our pioneering spirit into new lands and ideas, AND the collective strength we require to do it. To borrow from a friend, “strong communities yield strong individuals, and strong individuals make up strong communities”. If we're going to go exploring, we may as well do it together, because it tips the scales in favor of our statistical success. Discovering the New World was once our greatest ambition as a species and today it has expanded to a galactic scale. If nothing else, Star Trek highlights our forward-thinking, goal-seeking future existence: To boldly go where no ONE has gone before. That much I knew already, but this movie explains HOW we will get there: US! The type of people they are, some serious, some with sense of play, how they reason, the rules they choose to follow or break, whatever. Of all things, that reaffirms my hope in humankind. I feel good now. Check please.

In terms of actual film specifics, the only comment I will make is a suspicion that Apple had a hand in designing the revamped bridge. If you don't think that's the cleverest, intentionally ambiguous product placement idea since the two-hour FedEx commercial that is Cast Away, I hasten to remind you, the only food Kirk is ever seen eating.... an apple. In the bridge. Done. Congrats you sneaky bastards. Anyway.

Arecibo Code. Star Trek. They are both a symbolic message to us as a tribe of learning animals. They are both a cosmic projection of what we understand ourselves to be. A call to arms. A celebration of life and its expansive property. While one message is codified in precise, calculated math and literally sent out to space, the other is codified in analogy, metaphor and ideals, projected on a screen in front of us. I asked above how we could describe an abstract concept to another civilization. Well, movies like Star Trek are the building blocks to that goal. We must first be able to describe our goals, and how we are to achieve them abstractly, to OURSELVES, before we can reason out the way of proving it. In so doing, we can prove who and what we are to anyone else listening. While Star Trek seeks to project an outward image of our inevitable future, the Arecibo message stands as a more sobering example of how far we have actually come. It's not nearly as impressive as we may like to think, but I say it's good to know where we stand. The verdict is in: We are fucking primitive.

So go see the damn movie and learn something about yourself.

Thanks for reading. D.