n the film Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan Spock sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise from destruction. What follows is a very moving funeral scene and his coffin is launched into space. McCoy tells Kirk that he is not dead as long as we remember him.
Yesterday the actor Leonard Nimoy passed away and millions of trekkies around the world are taking comfort in those words.
Reading social media it is clear that he affected the lives of millions of people with his portrayal of Spock. I have seen tweets from NASA and astronauts saying how they were encouraged by Star Trek. The chip manufacturer Intel even tweeted about his death. I am sure there are many in the science and technology space that could say Mr Spock encouraged them in some way.
The portrayal of science and technology in Star Trek had an affect on me. I studied Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics at school, I later did a Physics degree. All because the spark of curiosity about how stuff works was encouraged by a TV show. I remember one time while studying physics learning about the hysteresis curve, then Star Trek the next day mentions detecting changes in the hysteresis curve might solve some problem. Wow the stuff I am learning is in Star Trek!
Later in my life I got involved in working with computers, and as science officer Mr Spock was the first expert in computers I knew.
But Mr Spock was half Vulcan and suppressed his emotions. There have been times in my life where I have tried really hard to suppress my emotions. I can think of a time when a family member has died and I needed to shut myself in a room, similar to Spock in Naked Time, and wrestle with my emotions. In recent years I have had a more Data approach of exploring my feelings and my humanity as a Vulcan lifestyle of suppressed emotion is not healthy.
Thank you Leonard Nimoy for all that you gave us, although I never met you I can continue to watch and enjoy your work, Live Long and Prosper.
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