(January 22, 2016 at 12:57 am)Stimbo Wrote:(January 19, 2016 at 2:41 am)Tiberius Wrote: To Lucas' credit, he explained this one in commentary. In the Star Wars universe, ships can't travel through hyperspace in straight lines because they have to avoid collisions with objects (planets, moons, stars, etc). The Millennium Falcon's navigation computer was superior to other ships of its class, and could plot shorter routes between the same two points via hyperspace. So the boast that the ship can make the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs is basically a boast that the ship can get through hyperspace faster than most ships because it can calculate shorter routes. The Kessel Run isn't a set route via hyperspace, and presumably most ships have to fly more than 12 parsecs in order to complete the run.
There's an alternative explanation in the expanded universe which states that the Kessel Run is a popular route for smuggling operations, and is usually 18 parsecs long, because you have to navigate around a cluster of black holes and pilots don't want to fly too close to them. Solo's boast is a way of telling people that he is such a daring (and skilled) pilot that he managed to shave over 6 parsecs off the route by flying dangerously close to black holes.
There's a simpler explanation in the shooting script. After Han boasts about the parsecs thing, there's a stage direction to the effect of "Ben reacts at the obvious disinformation". You can see Alec Guinness doing this in the scene; he gives a sort of "I can't believe you just said that" look.
I think it's ironic that people who wouldn't bat an eye at sounds in vacuum, the misrepresentation of distance and relative speeds of flying and fighting in space, and reflexively adopt a total contempt for most basic physical concepts like action/reaction, and conservation of momentum, should quibble about whether a somewhat esoteric unit of distance had been misapplied to measure time.
