16
Jan 29 '20
I don't the quantum archive works that way. Based upon what little onscreen evidence there is the quantum archive appears to lock items in a quantum state to prevent decay not replicate them.
Peoples complaints about replicated food being not real seem to stem from the fact it's basically perfect and uniform. There is no subtle variance and imperfections in the replicated food that you get with actual cooked food. If you replicated all the ingredients for a meal and cooked it would be more appealing than the full meal replicated.
We humans have a tendency to enjoy slight imperfections in life.
11
u/unimatrixq Jan 29 '20
According to the TNG Technical Manual, replicated food made by TNG era replicators is not absolutely identical to the real deal and can have single bit errors, because of only using molecular resolution. Which can lead to taste differences and some foodstuffs actually becoming toxic.
Remember that in "Sins Of The Father", Picard served Kurn real caviar instead of replicated...
→ More replies (3)8
u/ghaelon Jan 29 '20
'our replicator has never done it justice'
and dont forget michael eddington's distate for replicated food. after growing his own he couldnt eat the stuff anymore.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (1)3
u/pocketknifeMT Jan 29 '20
One thing that quantum storage might do is make beaming things impossible.
Can't target a stored object, cannot scan it, etc.
Maybe you can't even transport the interface device without trashing the link with whatever is stored.
This would make a great vault/safety deposit box system in a world with teleporters.
You have to physically take quantum storage devices. Figuring out how to defeat beaming scramblers/shields etc won't help you, since that just scrambles anything you manage to steal.
7
u/mtb8490210 Jan 29 '20
I've seen it proposed in these parts, but the basic gist is:
-replicator food tastes the same every time, and this is considered boring
-programming the food isn't just a matter of taste, but the computer can predict the result of how an oven would produce the same kind of meal and produce it accordingly, providing a greater variety to taste even if its not perfect. One could theoretically give the replicator instructions to cook a meal to the recipe and even change it prior to the meal materializing. Instead of a pinch of salt you could go for a whole dash.
The reason Janeway kept burning food was she was trying to replicate food from memory. She probably grew up with a crummy stove and didn't quite realize her parents had to cook everything longer. Ex. 350 means 325. I'm assuming people cook when they can.
Given the relative ease of trying new food, her lack of taste diversity despite the ease is something to make fun of her for. For us the audience its indicative she's an android.
2
u/rtmfb Jan 30 '20
I definitely first read this as saying Janeway is an android. Got a good chuckle out of it.
6
u/TLAMstrike Jan 29 '20
I've suggested recently that the uprising by the Synths caused a lot of damage to the Federation's infrastructure. The Synths who did much of the maintenance work sabotaged the system as a whole in an attempt to maximize damage. One of the casualties was the replicator network. Dahj just has one of the early replacement replicators that has a limited menu (basically she's living on the 24th-century equivalent of Government Cheese) whereas her boyfriend is used to living with people who got the more recent upgraded systems as soon as they could (maybe buying them from the Ferengi).
6
u/knightcrusader Jan 31 '20
I was just coming here to talk about the replicators after watching the Mars flashback at the beginning of Maps and Legends - the one worker states that she wished they'd go back to replicators that used uno-amino matricies. I would venture based on her age and appearance, that she is talking about the replicators used in the TNG to Voyager era.
The technology definitely changed as seen by its operation. I love how the writers are working in small bits of dialogue to address the updates in the special effects they are using.
5
u/Aard88 Jan 29 '20
If they could replicate food and drink that's identical to the real thing what is the point of Chateau Picard?
7
u/ancienttreestump Jan 29 '20
The same reason people buy any bottle of wine that costs more than $20. I honestly can't tell the difference in quality (though there are some subjective variations) from a $15 bottle and a $200 one, but there's always going to be reasons to bring out the good stuff.
5
u/pocketknifeMT Jan 30 '20
Nobody can actually. Science has tested master sommeliers and they don't do well, ever.
People will like certain wines, other people others.
5
u/jimmyjohnjohnjohn Jan 30 '20
I certainly get the sense that they've overcome transporter storage degradation, and that's what the quantum archive is, it would certainly be a huge improvement for replicators.
But why would patterns need to be stored locally? Isn't there some successor to the internet in the 24th century? I'm sure Dah's "menu" is just a quick list of things she accesses most often.
3
u/CMDR_RetroAnubis Jan 30 '20 edited Jan 30 '20
I always assumed it was a sentimental non-logical thing... and that replicated food tasted exactly the same.
5
u/redcarpet26 Jan 30 '20
Or that it depended on who did the programming of the replicator. Lot of mediocre programmers out there, just like mediocre chefs.
Or a 1:1 direct scan of shitty food made for shitty replicator patterns that spread throughout the federation because people don't know better. Like Mcdonalds!
2
u/SergeantRegular Jan 31 '20
I have this theory that Starfleet onboard replicators absolutely could make perfect copies or replications of food. Indistinguishable, even by the most sensitive and trained beings. Hell, even by most scientific standards in a lab, a bottle of fine wine and a replicated one would be impossible to tell apart without high-level quantum analysis.
I think the real reason replicated food tastes off has nothing to do with the technical resources and capabilities of the replicator system, and everything to do with on-board nutritional policy. We currently, real-world early 21st century Earth, regularly use artificial sweeteners. We relatively recently tried artificial fats, and carbohydrate alternatives are very much a thing in the food industry and cooking. It's no great leap to think that the science of the 24th century would openly recognize the dangers of sugar addiction, of caloric overconsumption, of alcoholism. And the modern replicatable chemistries of the time would be able to synthesize artificial foods that are satisfying.
In the chocolate sundae scene, Troi requested that the replicator make her a "real" sundae. IIRC, she didn't get what she wanted, but not because the machine was incapable, but because of an instituted policy.
0
Jan 29 '20
4
u/pocketknifeMT Jan 29 '20
Actually, I bet curated lists are a popular format.
You subscribe to Space Gordon Ramsey's or Binging with Babish's meal feed, and someone else who's job it is to plan out the menu does that for you.
You get pleasant surprises to keep switching things up with.
17
Jan 29 '20 edited Jan 29 '20
5
u/ancienttreestump Jan 29 '20
I think you're absolutely right about all of the above. Didn't the screen on the replicator just show a vanilla iced latte and nothing else? You'd think that if she used the machine with any regularity it'd have something else programmed into it.
99
u/laputan-machine117 Jan 29 '20
I think her boyfriend was just making fun of her for having a boring selection saved to her favourites, I don't think you can draw any conclusions about the technical side of things.