Best uses for a holodeck

[resonant]

Canonical Trek characters use the holodecks for sports you can't do on a starship (Klingon martial arts, skiing), going to bars, and that kind of amateur-theater-type entertainments that this introvert cannot fathom enjoying. Fanfictional Trek characters also use them to have sex with unavailable co-workers. All perfectly plausible.

But holy crap, you could have a holomassage twice a week.

Other things I would use a holodeck for if I had one:

• "Computer, create some models with my same body measurements, but not my same face, because that's creepy. Now let's try a range of clothing suitable for this interior climate, six outfits at a time. Prioritize freedom of movement. I don't look good in yellow."



• In a similar vein, trying out hairstyles. Glasses. No, wait, in the Trek future there are no glasses.



• Physical therapy.



• Dancing lessons.



• A personal trainer. (In my case, dancing lessons and a personal trainer would probably look pretty similar. "No, your left foot. Left. Left.")



• Music rehearsal. Multiple overlapping metronomes and scrolling sheet music. The best accompanist in the sector. A rhythm guide for tricky syncopations. One soprano, one tenor, and one bass. A few carefully selected instruments that you need to time yours to. A whole entire choir and/or orchestra. An ensemble with such sophisticated AI that it could improvise with you.



• Language lessons with someone whose lips you could read. Assuming the speakers of that language had lips. And someone who would converse with you.



• If you have a long, physically tedious computer task to perform, you could holocreate yourself an input device that required you to move your whole body so you wouldn't get repetitive motion injuries. Trackpad? No, I'm using this rowboat.

And think of the things you and your friends could do together other than solve mysteries! Contradancing. Karaoke. D&D. Hell, you could be circus acrobats.

I can't promise that I would never use the holodeck to summon up a fictional character to hug me.

(This line of thought inspired by AxeMeAboutAxinomancy, who is charming me by writing Paris/Kim in 20-for real-21.)

Comments

[resonant]

Ooh, nice.

I wonder -- in a world where holodecks were common, would there be a problem where people got used to doing dangerous things on Easy mode? Like, I enjoy rock climbing with the setting that makes every fall only 4 feet high. I enjoy scuba diving with the settings set up so that I don't actually need to take lessons and follow safety protocols. Spelunking. Etc. Which is all fine until I get shore leave somewhere and decide I want to do the real thing and then I die.

[out_there]

But in a world with medical tricorders and tjose sickbay beds, and the ease of beaming someone back to the ship, its pretty unlikely that crew would actually die.

So we probably have a whole bunch of crew left in medbay after every shore leave, people who'll claim "but I'm an expeet, I do that dangerous thing all the time (on easy mode)"... 🤣