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The Computers of Star Trek is the Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg 1999 nonfiction examination of the technology in the Star Trek franchise, working through the various incarnations of the show with attention to the computer systems (the original-series ship computer, the TNG holodeck, Data's positronic brain, Voyager's bio-neural circuitry). The book asks how each technology would actually work, why the show's explanations sometimes fail, and what the contemporary computing field has actually produced that compares.
Gresh and Weinberg's strength in The Computers of Star Trek is the careful balance of fan-attention and scientific rigor. The book treats the franchise's technical material with respect rather than condescension while staying honest about the engineering. The Data chapter, in particular, is excellent on the artificial-intelligence question. Fans of Lawrence Krauss's The Physics of Star Trek will recognize the careful pop-science-meets-fandom register.
The book is now somewhat dated (the smartphone revolution has moved past many of its 1999 contemporary comparisons) but the core engineering analysis holds up.
Four stars. A genuinely thoughtful pop-science book. Recommended to Star Trek fans and to readers of computing history. The Computers of Star Trek Lois H. Gresh book works best as a companion to Krauss for the cleanest overview of the franchise's technical aspirations.
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