For decades fans of Star Wars and Star Trek have debated over which one is better. With plenty of opinions on either side the internet often turns into a battleground on this subject.
Many would say that Star Trek is the logical choice. Among their reasoning, is the fact the Star Trek includes issues of science, diversity, religion, ethics and more into its storytelling. There is evidence in our culture that Star Trek has made huge contributions by influencing changes in our technology and how we treat one another. Just to name a few of Star Trek's influences, NASA continues to try and develop faster than light travel, Qualcomm helped to develop a real tricorder, and Nichelle Nichols performance as Uhura broke social boundaries in television. On top of that this series has highly intelligent villains, like Khan Noonian Singh, that threaten the lives of the Enterprise crew with well thought out plans and motivations. In addition, Star Trek includes heroes, like Captain Picard, that must think their way out of dangerous situations rather than using force. How can anything be better than that?
Another opinion on the matter is that Star Wars is a much better fiction. In a galaxy far far away we are told stories of what it means to be good, evil, and conflicted. Characters in this universe are confronted with issues of destiny, prophecy, temptation, friendship, hope, faith, harmony, love, duty, and honor. In Star Wars it doesn't matter exactly how the engines of a Star Destroyer work. It matters who is on board and where they are going. Fans are at the edge of their seats waiting to see if the heroes will lay down and let darkness spread over the innocent or will they stand and fight against overwhelming odds. All of that has its own impact on our society. Star Wars teaches us that sometimes the forces of evil can gain great power over the innocent and in those times we must cling to hope and continue to fight and do what is right rather than what is easy.
As fate would have it, this question was on the mind of the good people from PayScale Human Capital and they decided to do something about it. Back in April, they conducted a survey of over four thousand people. I put the results in the infographic below and let's just say that the results were fascinating.
Agree or disagree with the results? Let us know what you think in the comments.
To learn more about our friends at PayScale visit their website.
