Playing God

Science does need to chill out in some areas. Not because knowledge is bad, but because the world just isn't ready for some advances.

Example: we're maybe a few years from being able to create viruses that can target certain cells depending on genetic markers contained in those cells. The good? A potential cure for certain illnesses like HIV. The bad? One could weaponize a virus to target specific ethnic groups or races.

In a world where we still have issues like women being considered sub-human in many counties and where wars over ethnicity are still common I don't think we're quite ready for it yet.

"you were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you never stopped to think about if you should."

Sparta"you were so preoccupied with whether or not you could, you never stopped to think about if you should."

hahah watching that right now

???????

VinnieFScience does need to chill out in some areas. Not because knowledge is bad, but because the world just isn't ready for some advances.

Example: we're maybe a few years from being able to create viruses that can target certain cells depending on genetic markers contained in those cells. The good? A potential cure for certain illnesses like HIV. The bad? One could weaponize a virus to target specific ethnic groups or races.

In a world where we still have issues like women being considered sub-human in many counties and where wars over ethnicity are still common I don't think we're quite ready for it yet.

Is stem cell research still controversial?

Science doesnt hurt the world. Bad people who use that science for evil hurt the world.


thats actually accepted as a rational thought in this Country, huh?

californiagrownScience doesnt hurt the world. Bad people who use that science for evil hurt the world.

Not necessarily. Science, with good intentions, might make a horrible mistake and it could cause a catastrophe. Granted these are complete works of fiction, but they do point out that noble intentions in science could lead to horrible consequences: Terminator, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, I am Legend, etc. All of those stories begin with science making a noble leap forward but it can lead to disaster. I'm not saying they are going to become true and we need to abandon science, but I think it would be a mistake to say that only bad people hurt the world. I'm not saying that a cancer treatment will turn us into zombies, but there is the possibility of us trying to create something that could lead to a pandemic. It's not impossible.

There is the possibility that science could unlock something that could be inherently bad for us, without a bad person causing it to be bad. The premises of these fictional stories are not too far-fetched and who knows, something similar could be a possibility in the semi-distant/distant future.

One of the few areas of science I think needs to chill a bit is artificial intelligence. Something about the idea of creating something that is going to make purely logical decisions (without the emotion or morality of humans) is pretty scary.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/07/28/technology/ai-weapons-robots-musk-hawking/index.html

VinnieFScience does need to chill out in some areas. Not because knowledge is bad, but because the world just isn't ready for some advances.

Example: we're maybe a few years from being able to create viruses that can target certain cells depending on genetic markers contained in those cells. The good? A potential cure for certain illnesses like HIV. The bad? One could weaponize a virus to target specific ethnic groups or races.

In a world where we still have issues like women being considered sub-human in many counties and where wars over ethnicity are still common I don't think we're quite ready for it yet.

The last thing this planet needs is a cure to more deadly viruses and diseases...

this is all it made me think of. It would be dope

onenerdykidNot necessarily. Science, with good intentions, might make a horrible mistake and it could cause a catastrophe. Granted these are complete works of fiction, but they do point out that noble intentions in science could lead to horrible consequences: Terminator, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, I am Legend, etc. All of those stories begin with science making a noble leap forward but it can lead to disaster. I'm not saying they are going to become true and we need to abandon science, but I think it would be a mistake to say that only bad people hurt the world. I'm not saying that a cancer treatment will turn us into zombies, but there is the possibility of us trying to create something that could lead to a pandemic. It's not impossible.

There is the possibility that science could unlock something that could be inherently bad for us, without a bad person causing it to be bad. The premises of these fictional stories are not too far-fetched and who knows, something similar could be a possibility in the semi-distant/distant future.

haha i was using the gun analogy "guns dont kill people, people kill people".