The Erroneous Reasoning Research Academy (or ERRA for short) is a Space Corps facility introduced in the Series X episode "Entangled".
Based on the assumption that great genius can be discovered when two previously disregarded theories are merged into one, the staff of ERRA were handpicked for their ability to be mistaken; for their gifts in fallacious analysis and defective reasoning.
They were all outstandingly good at being consistently incorrect. There were a lot of referees, television critics, and weathermen who were then re-educated in the sciences to develop extraordinary new but erroneous theories that would then be combined together to produce works of great genius. The whole idea turned out to be wrong, and the man behind the idea was so depressed that he attempted suicide. Naturally he failed, and he went on to live into his nineties.
Their facility consisted of a large space station built in such a way as to reflect the underlying concept of ERRA. For instance, lifts will only go up when the user indicates for them to go down, and vice versa. Arnold Rimmer found himself to be incredibly at home here. The lead scientist at ERRA was one Irene Edgington, better known by her nickname "Professor E", whose many exploits included de-evolving herself into a chimpanzee through the misuse of her own equipment and the invention of a groinal exploder.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The model used for the ERRA station was not created for Red Dwarf X but was instead a model that Bill Pearson had already made prior to becoming involved with the series.
- A sign in the lift on the ERRA set reads "We understand that personal space is a priority and apologize for designing such a small elevator."