Data’s Brain: What Positronic Means In Star Trek

The android Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) became one of the most beloved characters to come out of Star Trek: The Next Generation, and his positronic brain made him incredibly unique, even in the futuristic world of Star Trek. Data was created by cyberneticist Dr. Noonian Soong (also Brent Spiner), who spent his life in the pursuit of creating sentient artificial life. Although Soong built other androids, Data was his most successful creation, a triumph of technology and human achievement. Soong pioneered the use of positronic technology in creating Data’s brain, and his descendants would continue to improve upon his work.