www.ditl.org

An inference is more legit, if it seems to follow any evidence or seems to correlate with established cannon in related fields, so for example if starfleet operatives design starfleet warpcores and the united federation of planets is distinctly wholesome and apparently a moral torchbearer, we could thus assume a premise on this inferences; that starfleet might develop its own weapons and doesn't pilfer weapon technology from hostile powers, at least not overtly or en masse.
I don't know anything about warp cores, but was merely illustrating inferences.

Well it could have been developed by civilians too. A lot of military equipment is developed and produced by civilian companies.

I was just pointing out that with so little information, something like Starfleet steal...borrowing ideas without permission could be suggested.

yeaps!!
and i wasn't saying otherwise, all i was saying is that an inference is more likely to be true, if we have some supporting evidence and/or the inference correlates with established cannon regarding a related field.

Starfleet does design their own weapons. From BoBW Pt 1:

SHELBY
(acknowledges)
We've been designing new
weapons... but they're still on
the drawing board.

That means they design some not all. They could very well use contacts like our military do. It creats competition which drives development.

And that may only apply to anti-borg weapons. Many militaries develop stuff with classified technology, or technology that civilian companies can't afford.

Nevertheless that was a good catch Seafort.

#1 - Blackstar, your comment on the lack of definition in the chain of command in a civilian enterprise reinforces my point - Starfleet personnel obviously don't have this confusion.

#2 - Yes, many private enterprises perfrom mil-spec R&D and production... at the bid, behest, or patronage of a military organization. I'm not talking about Beretta, or someone else creating sporting weapons. McDonnel Douglas doesn't design a warplane unless the armed services create a bid!

Thats because it costs to much money to create with out need.

Earth has no money thus they can create all the useless crap they need.

So you're saying that someone invented the quantum torpedo, for example, beacuse they needed a hobby?

BTW, did a woman in Wellington really call the police because someone stole her marijuana plants?

So you're saying that someone invented the quantum torpedo, for example, beacuse they needed a hobby?

Maybe.

BTW, did a woman in Wellington really call the police because someone stole her marijuana plants?

Thats happened more than once.

Teaos wrote:Thats because it costs to much money to create with out need.

Earth has no money thus they can create all the useless crap they need.

I just watched ST IV: Voyage home this weekend. When they get to SanFran Kirk mentiones "They still use money" and then goes to sell his glasses. Him and Spock then try to get on a bus and walk off saying "What is 'exact change'"? Cute stuff.

Here's a new little angle, and I'm not saying that it provides proof for this argument one way or the other - just something to ponder:

In TOS: Bread and Circuses, the lost ship was mentioned as the SS Beagle, explicitly described as a survey ship. Then, by the taxonomy "SS" and by the fact that her captain, R.M. Merrick, was an academy drop-out and a member of the "merchant" service, it is patently clear that she was NOT a Starfleet vessel. Obviously "merchant" would take on a different definition without the context of a money-based economy, but it is still clear that the Beagle was some sort of civilian vessel.

With no Federation/human-based commercial enterprise, why would there be a survey ship outside of Starfleet? That's not rhetorical; I'd like to hear a good explanation.

P.S. I'm not even considering the ideat that she was a specifically biological research vessel based on the name Beagle.

I expect a lot of the apparent contradictions regarding the organisation and economy of the Federation can be explained as TOS/TNG differences. During TOS Starfleet was a lot closer to modern militaries, with non-Starfleet entities doing most of the civilian work - like the Beagle. This was also the time of a capitalist economy, with people like Merrick, Cyrano Jones and Harry Mudd selling goods and services for a profit. By the time of TNG the new Marxist Federation had taken control of pretty much everything, with such organisations as the Federation merchant service, the Federation Science Council, etc, controlling trade and scientific endeavours.

An excellent explanantion. However, if the TOS era was in fact one of commerce and therefore some sort of money, why would Kirk have been so befuddled in STIV, as Jim pointed out?

Mikey wrote:An excellent explanantion. However, if the TOS era was in fact one of commerce and therefore some sort of money, why would Kirk have been so befuddled in STIV, as Jim pointed out?

Quite simple - Kirk wasn't confused by the existence of money per se, but by its form. It's likely that physical cash has been replaced completely by electronic transactions. With no experience of handling transactions except by a retinal scan/thumbprint/PIN, perhaps without even a bit of plastic, it's understandable that he'd be confused by people demanding he had over bits of metal or paper.