Star Trek: 10 Secrets Of The Original Enterprise You Need To Know
2. The Enterprise Was A “Ship Of Theseus”
The Ship of Theseus is a thought experiment. It goes like this. If, over time, you replace every component of a ship, the sails, the rigging, the hull, etc- is it the same ship you started with?
It's a rhetorical question. Philosophers have debated it for centuries and there's no real answer... but no. It isn't the same ship.
As mentioned earlier, the Enterprise underwent a major refit during her service. This was an 18-month process overseen by Captain Decker. Here is everything replaced during that refit.
The warp nacelles. The warp nacelle pylons. The plasma transfer conduits (whatever those are). The matter/ antimatter reactor. The secondary hull. The impulse engine deck. The deflector dish. The connector between the primary and secondary hulls. The torpedo bays. And, the entire freaking bridge!
Well, was this even the same ship anymore?
It’s almost like the studio wanted to justify using all-new ship models and sets for their movie.