As you may well know, my favorite television show of all time is Star Trek: The Next Generation, and I love all of the other Star Trek series as well. One of the franchise’s many hallmarks is its use of scientific terminology and jargon, often lumped into what’s informally known as “technobabble.”

This is commonly used by detractors as a way to shit on the show; opponents claim that instead of telling a solid story, Star Trek writers would always throw in some long, made-up words instead. (I’ve actually heard Doctor Who fans denigrating Star Trek for its technobabble. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black!)

Star Trek enthusiasts are well aware that technobabble includes plenty of fictional stuff, to be sure; the warp engines in particular are the crown jewel. But without them, the show wouldn’t go anywhere, now would it? (No pun intended.) More importantly is the fact that Star Trek‘s technobabble includes just as much (if not more) real world science. Sometimes it’s technology already in use here in the modern age (e.g., fiber optic communication, touchscreens, solid state data storage). In other instances, it’s stuff that’s theoretical or in the very early stages now, but ends up being commonplace in the future era in which the various Star Trek series are set (e.g., soliton waves, wormholes, faster-than-light travel, directed energy weapons).

This makes perfect sense, as our scientific achievements grow every day. I don’t think I need to elaborate on the stuff created for Star Trek that became science fact in the real world as a direct result of the show, like communicators (cellphones), padds (tablet computers), replicators (3D printers) voice-activated computers, et cetera. Science fiction becoming science fact is nothing out of the ordinary, and Star Trek is a much larger contributor to that than most people realize.

Don’t get me wrong, when the technobabble on Star Trek is overdone, the plot often goes off the rails. But claiming that it’s all fictional, and Star Trek‘s sole claim to fame, is just a blatant lie.