In Defense of Han Solo

So, I watched Blue Harvest again recently, and got to thinking about the oft-lampooned scene in the original Star Wars in which Han Solo notes how fast the Millennium Falcon is by stating that it made the Kessel Run in “less than twelve parsecs.”  The most notable mockery of the supposed physics faux pas comes from the parallel scene in Blue Harvest, and can’t escape the unwavering glare of cultural heavyweights like science comedians.  Of course, the obvious “error” is that the Star Wars writers seem to be implying that a parsec is a unit of time when, in fact, it is a unit of distance about 3.26 light-years in length.

However, I would like to make a case that making the Kessel Run in a shorter distance could actually imply higher speed (and maneuverability).   Suppose a flat, two-dimensional surface with two points, A and B, on opposite sides of an enclosed area on said surface.  Now, suppose the interveining “open” area is littered with static obstacles.  Or, instead of simply supposing it, look at this example:

There, I suppose, and infinite number of paths one might take from point A to point B, but consider two:

and,

Obviously, the second option is considerably shorter than the first.

Now, you’re probably wondering what the hell this has to do with the Kessel Run.  ”Taking the shorter route requires no greater speed,” you might say.  And you would be right — on a static, two dimensional surface.  Now, imagine a similar situation in three dimensions, with all objects moving chaotically, exerting gravity on each other and your ship.  (I couldn’t easily draw this scenario in Paint, so that’s why you get the simpler versions seen above.)  In a slow ship, you’d have to travel through the least dense areas of, say, the asteroid field.  Because you couldn’t easily dodge or out run small, fast-moving asteroids, you’d end up having to take the long way around (presumably, since the Kessel Run would probably not be well known if the easiest route was also the most direct), plodding around the big asteroids and avoiding the chaos of the inner parts of the asteroid field.

Since Solo felt no need to explain what the Kessel Run was, it seems obvious that he presumed that Luke and Obi Wan were familiar with the Kessel Run and would be impressed by his claim.  Since neither Luke nor Obi Wan ask for further clarification, we can also therefore assume that they did indeed understand the implications of his claim.

This all means that despite the fact that Solo did indeed use a unit of distance, it is plausible that he was still communicating information about the speed of his ship, only the reference is lost on the audience because, unlike Luke and Obi Wan, we don’t understand the contextual significance of such a run.

I'm Han Solo, bitch

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