He lived long and prospered

[Mynock]

Science fiction often inspires science fact. The kids who grow up watching star trek become the adult engineers who one day say "Wouldn't it be cool if that really existed?" Cell phones and lasers exist because of death rays and space communicators.

[gluednylonfeet]

I was doing okay dealing with Leonard Nimoy's death. Then somebody posted a meme with Spock telling Scotty "One to beam up" and Scotty saying "It'll be a pleasure t' have ye aboard, sir." At which I remembered that Jimmy Doohan really is "up there" at the transporter controls. Must be the dry air or something.

Our local paper mentioned in an article that he had written an autobiography in 1974 defiantly titled "I am not Spock!" And then twenty years later, he wrote a second, titled "I am Spock" where he gave up and admitted it. In it, he wrote: "Hardly a day goes by that I don't hear that cool voice in my head, commenting on some aspect of the human condition." I think that applies to a lot of us.
Maybe it's just a Star Trek Fan thing, but I wonder how many times a day somebody looks at a situation, raises (or attempts to raise) one eyebrow, and says "Fascinating. . ." So many more of Spock's classic sayings have made their way into my family's vocabulary; "Illogical, Captain." "Random events seem to have operated in our favor." "Curious how humans use a metabolic poison as a recreational drug." Beyond Spock, how many classic Trek lines have been woven into American popular culture?

But I think the greatest legacy of Star Trek may be in hard, real-world science fact. Right now, some of our most brilliant scientists are working on both a massless propulsion system (aka a "Vacuum Propeller" similar to Trek's impulse drive) and- believe it or not- warp drive.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_vacuum_plasma_thruster

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White%E2%80%93Juday_warp-field_interferometer

I wanted to be Spock so bad as a kid I practiced that left eyebrow raise, and now it just happens naturally. And I've seen the info on those 2 propulsion systems - imagine all we could do if NASA got just 1/3of the Pentagon's budget!

[Lomax]

Beyond Spock, how many classic Trek lines have been woven into American popular culture?

Delete "American" - replace with "World."

"It's life, Jim, but not as we know it." An all-purpose one. My first attempt at cookery at university was met (I swear) with, "It's a spaghetti Bolognese, Jim, but not as we know it."

"The engines cannae take it, Captain." Used a lot of my first car.

"I cannae change the laws of physics." Which I used at school. My physics master overheard and (because he thankfully had a sense of humour) replied, "How would you know? You don't seem to understand any of them."

[YerK]

I will miss Mr. Nimoy. He seemed a really fun person. The world is a bit less of a wondrous place without him. Happily, we have memories.

[jagfiles]

I remember when Star Trek The Motion Picture was being filmed there was one scene where Mr. Spock was at a control panel being all business when the crew played a prank on him. His son came running on the set wearing Vulcan ears, stopped and said "Hi Daddy" and took off. Lenard Nemoy had a laughing episode like you would not believe.
When Lenard Nemoy appeard on Star Trek Next Generation the story was usually when the cast of The Next Geneation was filming and had a break between scenes they were usually clowing around on the set. However when Lenard was on the set the cast of the Next Generation was on their best behavior.

[nachtjaeger]

I had forgotten those. The former (or a variant thereof) gets used a lot by me. I think the version from the Animated series goes "I can'na give ye any any more, Cap'n- th' Dilithium crystals 're peelin' like orranges!"

Beyond Spock, how many classic Trek lines have been woven into American popular culture?

Delete "American" - replace with "World."

"It's life, Jim, but not as we know it." An all-purpose one. My first attempt at cookery at university was met (I swear) with, "It's a spaghetti Bolognese, Jim, but not as we know it."

"The engines cannae take it, Captain." Used a lot of my first car.

"I cannae change the laws of physics." Which I used at school. My physics master overheard and (because he thankfully had a sense of humour) replied, "How would you know? You don't seem to understand any of them."

[Lomax]

Godspeed, sir, and well done.

Minor claim to fame - I've met the (now late) piper who dubbed for James Doohan.

[rhinodynamo]

I bought the first season of Star Trek TOS a week before his passing. I'm still sad about it.