Star Trek star urges developers to keep dreaming

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Developers are the dreamers of our culture, according to Star Trek star LeVar Burton, who took to the stage today to speak at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco.

After being unveiled as the surprise special guest, Burton, who played Geordi la Forge on Star Trek, compared the television of the future set up on stage to the “bridge of the Enterprise.”

He said he "firmly believed" early episodes of Star Trek helped spur children watching the show to take up science and inventors to come up with new ideas. "I believe that kid became a scientist, an engineer," he said.

He added: "How many people have used one or seen someone use a flip phone? Human beings are manifesting machines, it’s what we’re hardwired to do."

Burton added that "what if" were two of the most important words in the English language.

"You developers are the dreamers in our culture," he told the assembled developers and engineers.

"I encourage you to not be afraid to dream that dream. What if?” he added. "What are you going to contribute to our present that becomes our future?"

Quoting his former show, he said: “Make it so.”

Click here for more news from the Intel Developer Forum 2009.

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