Stephen Hawking Einstein Newton Poker
In the episode I was playing poker with Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton and Commander Data on the Holodeck. Because the game was interrupted by a red alert on the Enterprise, I couldn’t cash in my winnings of 140 Federation credits. I approached Paramount Studios, but they did not know the exchange rate! Stephen Hawking was one of three great minds of Earth science —along with Albert Einstein and Sir Isaac Newton—that Data used to create holographic recreations with whiich to play poker and converse, for recreation. Hawking, considered one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists of 20th-century Earth, developed a quantum theory of. In 1993, he appeared on a Star Trek: The Next Generation episode playing poker with Data, Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton. (Hawking, holding four sevens, crushes Einstein.) (Hawking, holding four.
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….and in March of 1993, a release party was held to launch the home video version of Stephen Hawking’s biographical documentary film, A Brief History of Time, the title of the movie being taken from the book that was a gateway drug for so many of us. At the party, Hawking was introduced by none other than Leonard Nimoy. At the party Nimoy, finding out that Hawking was a Trekkie (a life-long fan of Star Trek) did the Mr. Spock-ish logical thing to do. He spoke to Rick Berman, executive producer of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and a guest appearance was written for Hawking. For, as with anything that Stephen Hawking loved – science fiction or pop culture – they loved him back.
Thus it came to be that in a historic Star Trek episode – Descent, Part 1 – Stephen Hawking played poker with Data, Einstein, and Newton on the Enterprise (watch the sequence here). Brent Spinner, who played Data, calls the event the high point of his days on Star Trek. To date, this remains the only instance of a person playing himself or herself, on Star Trek, ever. Hawking spoke about the experience, recalling, “I enjoyed my poker game with Einstein and Newton on the starship Enterprise. But I didn’t collect my winnings, on account of a red alert”, in just one instance of many where his wit shone through. While touring the set of Star Trek: TNG during the filming, Hawking is said to have paused on seeing the Enterprise’s warp engine, and said tongue-in-cheek, “I’m working on that!”.
And speaking of warp cores, Stephen Hawking has a faster-than-light propulsion system named after him: the Hawking Drive that is used by the starships in the Hyperion Cantos tetralogy, by one of the modern masters of science fiction, Dan Simmons.
Speaking of which, Masters of Science Fiction was also the name of the anthology series that Stephen Hawking hosted, introducing off-screen the episodes each of which was written by a well-regarded science fiction author, aired in certain countries as Stephen Hawking’s Sci-Fi Masters. It was due to these and many such appearances that made Stephen Hawking became as much a pop-culture icon as a well-known scientist. Pop culture brings to that phenomenon, the popular series in which he appeared many memorable times, The Simpsons, not least the episode where he has been patiently listening to Homer’s theory of a doughnut-shaped universe before concluding that the theory is certainly ‘intriguing’. Hawking once said that “…as many people know me through The Simpsons as for my science”. In fact, for a time many people thought Stephen Hawking was a character created for The Simpsons by Matt Groening.
Speaking of whom, Matt Groening’s other animated series, the futuristic sci-fi comedy, Futurama also saw Stephen Hawking make quite a few appearances, most notably as a member of the Vice Presidential Action Rangers, a group of ‘top nerds’ tasked with guarding the space-time continuum.
Speaking of the space-time continuum, how can one not talk about time travel? Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity laid the groundwork for the possibility of time travel, and it was something that Stephen Hawking believed could be theoretically possible. But, ever the scientist, Stephen Hawking made a plan – or rather conducted an experiment – to (dis)prove that time travellers exist, by throwing a party for them, complete with a special invitation, balloons, hors-d’oeuvres and champagne (Krug, mind you), in the hope that a ‘future Ms Universe would step through the door’. But there was a twist.
The invitations for the party – which called it a ‘reception for Time Travellers’ – were sent only after the event was over. Here’s a short video about this elegant experiment! The theory, Stephen Hawking explained, was that only someone from the future would be able to attend. Hoping to catch the attention of future time travellers, Hawking published the invitation later in his mini-series, Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, to advertise the party.
And speaking of Stephen Hawking and advertising, in 1994 his voice and words were featured in a British Telecom advertisement about keeping the world talking. If his voice as a chart-topper sounds familiar this is where it is from. Because one of the of the people who cried to this commercial was a gentleman called David Gilmour, who at that time happened to be in a band called Pink Floyd. Describing the commercial as ‘the most powerful piece of television advertising that I’ve ever seen in my life’, Gilmour decided to use Hawking’s voice for Keep Talking – in what is perhaps the best Pink Floyd album in the post Syd Barrett/Roger Waters era – Division Bell. The song was famously covered by the British rock band Anathema, in a live performance that featured Stephen Hawking on stage, and speaking (performing?). Keep Talking was a #1 hit for Pink Floyd, and The Division Bell would reach number one in the USA and UK.
Speaking of The Division Bell, it was not until the last minute – so to speak – that the album name was decided. The working titles were, or those being considered included – amongst many – Down to Earth, and Pow Wow. The person who finally suggested the name for the album, The Division Bell, was a science fiction writer called Douglas Adams, the author of a mostly harmless trilogy (in five parts) called The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which had started life as a radio series in 1978. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of this cult broadcast, BBC Radio 4 decided to bring it back – with a new series called Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy: Hexagonal Phase, first broadcast early this month on 8th March. The Guide Mark II in this new series had a new voice – that of a long-time H2G2 fan. Yes, Stephen Hawking! In the sequence – which you can listen here – Hawking announces himself as “the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy… Mark II.” Trillian says that he sounds awfully like a certain famous scientist, and just as she’s about to say a name, ‘the Guide Mk-II’ cuts her off, saying, “Others knew me in different forms. I have been quite popular in my time. Some even read my books.” This would be his last performance in this world. But there’s still a world in which Professor Hawking still lives. In Earth-616, the prime world of the Marvel comics universe, Stephen Hawking is still alive, having made his first appearance in Amazing Spider-Man in 2012 as a character “created” by Dan Slott and Stefano Caselli.
Speaking of creators, there was one aspect of his work that Stephen Hawking wished would be more understood. In an interview with John Oliver (yes, the very same one where he delivered that superb burn to Oliver), Stephen Hawking said, “Imaginary time…It’s the one bit of my work that science fiction writers haven’t used…”. (Sci-fi authors, here’s a challenge for you!)
Speaking of science fiction writers, Stephen Hawking has himself co-written a sci-fi story for film, along with his long-time friend, fellow physicist Kip Thorne, and Lynda Obst. And as Kip Thorne told me in a quick chat, the treatment note for the movie is ready, and it may be coming out in about 3 years. When I pressed for more details about the subject, all he told me was that it will involve a “different physics”. Would that be ‘Imaginary Time’? Time will tell. And when the movie – that I eagerly await – finally does come out, it will not be the first that Stephen Hawking’s name and story has been up on the big screen, starting with the first biographical documentary film about Hawking that came out in 1991.
Speaking of which, the movie was received well enough to warrant a special VHS home video version, and in March of 1993…
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Stephen Hawking Einstein Newton Pokerstars
Thread Rating:
I hadn't paid attention to the poker play in this episode, but did this time and noticed this scene, like many others in TNG, has nonsensical poker procedure. It's so rife with error that I won’t even bother explaining it. I will say that it certainly *sounds* like a rousing game of poker! Here's the action:
Clockwise at the poker table from Data are holograms of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Sir Isaac Newton.
—Einstein recalls that Hawking raised Data 4. He mistakenly calculates that the bet is 7 to him.
—Newton corrects Einstein by saying the bet is 10 to him. The sound of a clinking of chips indicates that Einstein calls.
—After some discussion, Newton says the action is to Hawking, who now raises 50.
—Newton and Data fold.
—Einstein, sensing a bluff, calls.
—Hawking shows quad 7s.
During the poker craze of the 2000s, my friend and I watched with more scrutiny over what the crew of the Enterprise-D was doing in the episode Cause and Effect. Yes, I know it's television and the writers are just trying to tell their story for the non-poker-playing masses (for extra flair, they often make the obligatory string bets). They're even playing 5 Card Stud for goodness' sake! I don't fault them for errors, but I would have been really impressed had the show got the game right. (One pet peeve was always that Worf turns over his hole card for all to see—definitely a poker faux pas!)
Because this is the Internet, here's an overanalysis of their game from an unedited transcript of the emails my friend and I exchanged. You're welcome!
So I'm watching TNG right now with a deck of cards....
Data: _ 4 9 6 9 (I'm assuming everybody has a rainbow)
Riker: _ 8 10 J 7
Worf: 3 A 7 4 J (yeah he did turn over his hole card
right before turning everything face down)
Beverly: _ Q Q 2 8
1 rd, no bet
2 rd, Bev opens with 10, everyone calls
3 rd, Bev leads with 20, Will raises 'and 50 more',
everyone calls
4 rd, Bev leads with 20, Data folds, Will raises, Worf
folds, and Bev reraises, Will reraises, and Bev calls.
Data shows a pair of 9s, I doubt he has 2 pair since
he didn't go against Bev's 2 Q's at the end, unless he
thought Bev had a Q in the hole. Why did he call
Will's first raise when he only had the first 9? If
he had a 9 in the hole, why fold at Bev's rd 4 lead?
Worf should also have folded with Will's raise, but
Klingons have gaul, so I can see him staying in.
Will was bluffing one of 2 9's (gut shot straight
draw), since Data was showing the other 2 9's. Bev
could have had either of the 2 other Q's (3 Q's), or
one of the 3 2's or one of the 2 8's (2 pair); or not
and just a pair.
My response was:
You watched that in quite detail. I wonder if the writers had each round of betting scripted. I doubt it, though.
Data's betting doesn't make much sense. He woud have needed either an A or K in the hole, and hope he pairs one of those to beat Crusher's pair of queens after the second up-card. It's possible data had a 4 in the hole, in which case he would stay in hoping for a 4 to make three-of-a-kind. But since Worf got one of his 4s, he was facing long odds to win the hand. Perhaps Riker's raise put enough money in the pot to make the 'pot odds' correct for him to try for the last 4, but I doubt it. If he had 9s and 4s after the last round (he definitely didn't have three 9s) he would have at least called Crusher on the last round, even with Riker's straight draw showing. With 2 pair, calling a bet of 20 with a pot that big is the correct play, and calling Crusher would also prevent Riker from trying to bluff *two* players.
Dr. Crusher definitely should have reraised Riker's raise of 50. At that point, he was without question trailing Crusher's 2 queens, and the correct strategy would be to make it expensive for him to try for his straight.
His response:
I would think the betting was scripted; and then the
cards were then scripted to match the 'action'. The
important part was the play between Will and Bev.
Leading to Bev calling Will's bluff; because she
'remembered' what he had. When we first see the poker
game, the Enterprise had already exploded once
onscreen.*
And since Worf and Data ultimately folded, their hands
weren't important. Come to think of it, Worf should
have lead out with the first A (bluffing that he had
an A in the hole).
*I come up with about 46 times through the causality
loop. Worf says that their chronometers are off 17.4
hours. I assume the poker game was at 9pm and the
crash occurred just after the 6am morning meeting
(9.078hr loop).
Wait, it could be *47* times (the loop being 8.88
hrs)! Owing to the inside joke about 47 with the TNG
writers!
My response:
excellent analysis!
did you notice how Data's cards are neatly lined up in front of him, while everyone else's cards are just kind of piled about? (though, he *is* the dealer and would more likely place the cards, rather than drop them)
one last poker note: usually in stud games (5-card, 7-card), the last card is dealt face-down.
His response:
Didn't notice the neatness, but it fits Data's
character. I did notice that Data looked at his hole
card right before he folded. Not like he can forget
what card he had...
I was wondering about the amount of face up cards!
Hard to bluff when the rest of the table knows 4/5 of
you hand!
But it moves the story along much faster. A 7 card
game would have taken longer to 'play', and only
showing 3 cards would have made it harder to show that
Will was bluffing a straight. Although they could
have given him an open-ended draw. And with Bev
showing her pair [chuckle] and two hole cards, I think
it would be harder to bluff.
Also, Troi is normally at these games. I'd think she
was omitted for time.
My response:
Yeah, I remember him looking at his hole card, as well. That's probably a cultural sub-routine, where he's observed that although players clearly remember their hole card(s), they look one more time to admire their hands before folding.
Yep, they made a simplistic game even simpler with that 'house rule.' Probably not much of an exciting game in the long run.
And finally, I agree for storytelling purposes they probably kept the poker table simple. It usually takes 5 or 6 people to make poker interesting. Good poker players will fold most of the time, so 4-handed, it'll be rare to get a good pot going. Unless everyone calls like in this scene.
His response:
I'm surprised I haven't found any analysis of ST poker
games online.
[Editor's note: you have now!]
But good analysis. Well done.
As far as Data looking at the cards he would obviously have memorized, you're right in that it's a specifically programmed sub-routine. It's been mentioned throughout the series that Data has been programmed to act more human and do things he doesn't need to do to better fit in with people around him.
Before the poker boom in the early 2000's, I never played in a casual game where betting was consistent or made sense as far as raises and re-raises and all of that. Even nowadays when I (rarely) play, outside of a tournament setting or for any real money, nobody really pays attention to that stuff. Super-casual poker players like me don't think about odds or pot odds or check-raising or any of that other poker math that constitutes 'good' play, so I guess that's why I never thought the poker scenes in TNG were all that unrealistic. Keep in mind they're not playing for money, and they rarely play at that (I think Picard says in one episode something like he hasn't played in months).
As far as Data looking at the cards he would obviously have memorized, you're right in that it's a specifically programmed sub-routine. It's been mentioned throughout the series that Data has been programmed to act more human and do things he doesn't need to do to better fit in with people around him.
Picard only played in the game once, in the last scene of the finale!
Picard only played in the game once, in the last scene of the finale!
That's right... I forgot about that! So he played even less than I remembered...haha...Mission146
Picard only played in the game once, in the last scene of the finale!
Stephen Hawking Einstein Newton Poker Table
Yeah, but he, 'Should have done it a long time ago.'
AcesAndEightsYeah, but he, 'Should have done it a long time ago.'
I do always get a bit dusty at that scene...
Stephen Hawking Albert Einstein Isaac Newton Poker
DJTeddyBearI love the Hawking scene too. It’s the only time in ST that a cameo appearance is of someone who is playing them self.
Troi: I seem to remember her mentioning at one of the poker games, the telepath thing is something she can turn on and off, and promises to keep it off during the games. They’re all friends and such, it was accepted, and that was that.
5 card: Remember that this was before the poker boom. Most people haven’t heard of Hold Em, in fact most people haven’t heard of a game that has more than five cards. So, for an unsophisticated TV audience, 5 card makes sense.
Stud: I remember poker scenes in other episodes that were draw. Don’t know why the game in the original post was stud. In the Hawking episode it kinda makes sense since we don’t see anyone putting cards in his card holder.
Splashing the pot: Again, it’s a friendly game. Also, wasn’t it a relatively small table?
String bets: Now that’s a whole other can of worms. And again, it can happen in friendly games. And, yeah, it’s almost required whenever there’s a poker game on a TV show.
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As some of you may remember me saying, I am a dealer in a pub poker league. So I have to respond to a lot of these kind of issues. I tell new players that although they see it all the time on TV, you’ll never see it on a poker show. Bottom line, when you say “I see your bet, and...” there’s no ‘and’.
Rounders: Rounders is often held as an example of a dramatic, but realistic, presentation of poker.
The biggest example of rules being broken is at the judge’s game. When Mikey starts betting for the dean, that’s two man on a hand. Absolutely forbidden.
And there are string bets. I can think of a couple But the way they did them, the way the scenes played out, they were perfect example of string bets that could have happened in real life.
There were the games vs Teddy KGB, particularly the last hand. (Everybody remembers this one.) Not only is KGB splashing the pot, he is doing it one stack at a time, string bet, while saying, “I ... bet ... it ... all.” Of course Mike isn’t gonna object, he has the nuts!
In the scene where the opponent says “I bluffed the big ringer!” Right before that he says “You’re raising me $300? I call your $300. How much is in there Whites?”
Whites replies, “Um, $1,500”
“$1,500? Here’s $1,000... $500... I bet the pot limit, kiddo.”