Editorial

Abstract

Science fiction (SF) is ubiquitous and it has also been utilised for the purposes of teaching since it has replaced legend, myth and fable. This is especially the case for Star Trek (ST) which has become an integral part of popular culture, even for those who do not follow SF. In this Best Practice Guideline (BPG) we will engage topics that ordinary readers of EHD might not normally come across, but may well find interesting. We will review the individual doctors in ST from the viewpoint of a medical doctor, and will demonstrate the ways in which the medic in the various series (which spans decades, since 1966) reflects the zeitgeist. A second BPG will provide an assortment of ST cautionary tales which range from nanotechnology, to The Holocaust, to artificial intelligence. SF is famously "extravagant fiction today, cold fact tomorrow" and takes us "where no man has gone before". The imaginings of SF authors (some of whom are scientists and doctors) should be taken seriously for potential detrimental effects/events that may befall the medical profession or the human race, and that might be avoided with the foresight provided by SF.