Captain Picard Day: Validation insights from Jean-Luc himself

As a distinguished leader, diplomat, and explorer in the Star Trek universe, Captain Picard's legacy extends far beyond the realm of science fiction enthusiasts. In 2007, fans decided to bring a piece of Star Trek lore into reality: Captain Picard Day.

This 'holiday', first introduced in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Pegasus," is an annual celebration observed on the Enterprise by its youngest crew members.

The date mentioned in the episode is Stardate 47457.1, which translates to June 16.

Though initially met with reluctance by Captain Picard, the celebration soon becomes a tradition aboard the starship.

Beyond his commanding presence and captivating adventures, Captain Picard is renowned for his wisdom and eloquence. Throughout the Star Trek series, he often gives insightful and inspiring quotes that resonate deeply. Many of his words offer valuable lessons and guidance, serving as poignant reminders of the values and principles we should strive for.

Captain Picard's quotes touch upon a wide range of subjects, from the importance of diplomacy and peaceful coexistence to pursuing knowledge and preserving personal integrity. His firm belief in the power of reason, tolerance, and understanding inspires fans around the globe.

Today we'll focus on the ones that relate to address validation*.

False positive geocodes

First, let's talk about Picard's thoughts regarding false positives in your database.

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not weakness, that is life."
— Jean-Luc Picard

Sometimes the data in your database is just bad. Even if you've done everything right, there's a possibility that your data won't be 100% correct. But you won't know if it has errors if your address validation or geocoding tools deliver false positives.

A false positive geocode occurs when the address is marked as successfully found, but the provided geocode matches the wrong location. Behind the scenes, false positives happen when geocoders make guesses on no-match addresses.

False positives are one of the most dangerous forms of bad data because they indicate success despite actual failure. Making sure that your geocoding and address validation tools are smart enough to let you know when there's a no-match rather than a false positive is important. After all, a no-match is 'not weakness, that is life.'

Processing speeds

Picard knew that address validation and geocoding speeds might have been limited in the past, but what was once impossible will one day be possible.

"Things are only impossible until they are not."
— Jean-Luc Picard

Historically, address validation and geocoding tools have been slow and clunky. You would often hear people say that processing so many records at once was impossible.

But we know that speed is no longer a problem. Smarty can process addresses and geocodes at ludicrous speeds that were previously impossible. Once again, Picard's wisdom has shown its grit.

Ensuring clean data

The Captain of the Enterprise-D ran a clean ship. They never showed it on screen, but there must have been some sort of dusting robots that cleaned the place up.

When it comes to preventing garbage data into your database, the captain had this to say.

"The line must be drawn here! This far, no further!"
— Jean-Luc Picard

Draw the line on allowing bad address data into your database. With address autocomplete, you can validate addresses on the fly to ensure that only good addresses are accepted.

Finding the right tools

Picard believed in the human spirit and our ability to find truth.

"There is a way out of every box, a solution to every puzzle; it’s just a matter of finding it."
— Jean-Luc Picard

If you're struggling with address validation or geocoding problems, have you looked to the Smarty solution? Smarty is simply the best solution for USPS and international address validation, as well as geocoding. We offer top-notch APIs, list-processing tools, and autocomplete solutions.

Get out of the bad address data box and try the Smarty solution with a free trial!

Captain Jean-Luc Picard Quotes Disclaimer
While each of these quotes is an actual quote given by the character Jean-Luc Picard in the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation, he didn’t, unfortunately, say these things about address validation tools. In fact, when he captained the Enterprise, he was more involved with discovering new addresses rather than validating old ones. We hope you can find it in your heart to forgive our fun and games. After all, it is Captain Picard Day.