Science and its boundaries

[Kekerusey]

What it got to do with science? Well in that case it's more about engineering and linguistics: The arrangement of keys in most keyboards is in a way, that back in the times of mechanical typewriters keys won't jam when writing in the language the keyboard was designed for. Today, completely irrelevant, as electronic keyboards can't jam. But there is some science behind keyboard layouts. And to bring that thread back on topic: There are brain machine interfaces developed, aiming to replace keyboards

Fair enough (good answer or rather, considering Yayo's reply, good come back, HRH)

In this case the boundaries by science are of an ethical question.

That, however, isn't ... no it's not an ethical issue. Science carries no moral (ethical) component, it simply informs and we humans use it for good or ill ... IOW it is us that decides whether something is ethical or not, science does not.

Keke

[Kerame Pxel Nume]

In this case the boundaries by science are of an ethical question.

That, however, isn't ... no it's not an ethical issue. Science carries no moral (ethical) component, it simply informs and we humans use it for good or ill ... IOW it is us that decides whether something is ethical or not, science does not.

The problem with Brain-Machine-Interface technology is, that it can, and it probably will be used in oppressing countries to forcefully extract information from people. Or even do the opposite: Use it to brainwash people very effectively. As an applicative scientst one has constantly to ask himself, in which ways your developments may do harm.

For example I'm studiying physics and I think I'm a quite able programmer, with an I think above average skill set on computer vision. 3 years ago, together with a few friends I built some robotic vehicle, I did all the electronics and programming stuff. And we added more and more features. Someday, just for the fun of it we added a paintball marker; we reduced the paintball marker to the bare barrel, air pressure regulator and valves, and built our own custom turret for it. Then put a small camera with a zoom lens to it. So far it was all fun, but then I wrote a programm that would automatically lock on targets and even took the vehicle's movement into account calculating the alignment. The result was very impressive: One could hit a target over 50m away within a 30cm dispersion radius, and that while in full throttle (~25 km/h). Effectively we'd recreated the military Talon robot, only that ours did shoot mere paintballs. But paintballs, bullets, what's the difference? Only a rather slight change in the ballistic profile parameters. It was the very first time that I eradicated some source code I've written in all it's versions from my storage devices. This is not the kind of thing I want to do. Yes it's fun and the math behind solving those targeting problems is very interesting. But if one realizes how it could be abused one has to take action.

[Kì'eyawn]

a slight tangent...



[/tangent]

[Yayo]

Ah, thank god for Tangents.

[Kekerusey]

a slight tangent...

Reminds me of what an engineer reputedly said about science when asked how he knew it worked ... he said, "because the bridges stay up".

Keke

[Kì'eyawn]

a slight tangent...

Reminds me of what an engineer reputedly said about science when asked how he knew it worked ... he said, "because the bridges stay up".

Hehehe.  I like that.  Although it's been my experience that, among scientists, engineers are the most liable to ascribe to fundamentalist religion—my guess being that engineering doesn't generally require that you accept that the Earth is billions of years old, or that natural selection is the process responsible for the diversity of life, etc.  Although there is that tricky bit about bringing down the walls of Jericho using only musical instruments that i'd love to see an engineer explain...

P.S. Back on topic, if you're not familiar with the case of Martin Gaskell (or even if you are), this blog post pretty thoroughly dresses-down all of his arguments about being the victim of prejudice...

[Vawm tsamsiyu]

 Although there is that tricky bit about bringing down the walls of Jericho using only musical instruments that i'd love to see an engineer explain...

Sappers underground digging a tunnel then putting some explosive in it then while everyones playing thir music boom down goes the wall

[Brainiac]

 Although there is that tricky bit about bringing down the walls of Jericho using only musical instruments that i'd love to see an engineer explain...

Sappers underground digging a tunnel then putting some explosive in it then while everyones playing thir music boom down goes the wall

VERY BIG INSTRUMENTS and vibration-activated explosives?

[Human No More]

P.S. Back on topic, if you're not familiar with the case of Martin Gaskell (or even if you are), this blog post pretty thoroughly dresses-down all of his arguments about being the victim of prejudice...

Well said... the problem is that they shout 'discrimination' when they aren't given special privileges but instead considered the same as anyone else. If someone does make such claims, then it does call their credibility into doubt. The same would happen with someone who claimed humans breathed ethane, for example, without any proof and in the face of all evidence to the contrary.

[Vawm tsamsiyu]

 Although there is that tricky bit about bringing down the walls of Jericho using only musical instruments that i'd love to see an engineer explain...

Sappers underground digging a tunnel then putting some explosive in it then while everyones playing thir music boom down goes the wall

VERY BIG INSTRUMENTS and vibration-activated explosives?

I was thinking like the ones on this history show about this ancient civilization that would dig tunnels under enemy walls then set the support beams on fire causing the wall to fall in the collapsing tunnel. Exept if the used explosives they could light the fuse and the others would start the music and since the enemy can't see the tunnel at all they jus see music followed by their wall blowing up for some reason