Commentary

Geordi La Forge To SXSW: Art + Science = Culture

by Joe Mandese @mp_joemandese, March 11, 2013

Okay, so it wasn’t actually Geordi, but it was actor LeVar Burton who played Liuetenant Commander Geordi La Forge on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” who said that during the “100 Year Starship: Interstellar Travel & Beyond” panel during today’s SXSW Interactive sessions.

Wise words, and Burton used it to sum up some key insights discussed on the panel that it’s not just science and technology, but how human beings apply them, that defines who we are.

Then, amazingly, the panel turned to some audience Q&A and one of the questions came from an audience member who showed an obligatory black box, which he said (pitched) developed that was capable of sensing the data in the world around us.

“It’s pretty much Geordi’s visor,” he gushed, looking at Burton, and adding, “It analyzes spectrum.”

I’m not entirely sure what that means, or what it does, but I do know that getting up and making that statement in front of SXSW just made one nerd’s day -- and maybe even made one start-ups venture.