We've created an animal.

And it was awesome.

Excellent.

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

This can only end badly...

I am now known as Flyboy.

IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am...

I foresee genetically-engineered worms that sweat expensive medicines and excrete cheddar-ranch dipping sauce in our future.

Furthermore, I think Guantanamo must be destroyed.

How can it end badly, USAF?

edited 11th Aug '11 12:29:31 PM by GameChainsaw

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

Well, worms aren't a problem. Start applying it to more complex things, and we're going to end up like InGen and/or Andrew Ryan. Genetics are nice, but there's a line between "helpful" and "For Science!!"

edited 11th Aug '11 12:33:32 PM by USAF713

I am now known as Flyboy.

How d'ya know? Most examples of science going horribly wrong are in fiction, those aren't representative of how things happen in reality. What usually happens is progress, i.e. all the technological and medical comfort we have around us. The (mostly fictional) bad examples only stick out in our minds because we take the rest for granted.

Point that somewhere else, or I'll reengage the harmonic tachyon modulator.

Then it needs to be regulated properly. And for the sake of the Gods, keep it out of the militaries hands!

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

Not going to be done effectively, and not going to happen period. Hence why it won't end well...

I am now known as Flyboy.

FOR SCIENCE

If everyone says that then it will become a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.

The technology is out there now. Its how to make use of it that is the question. This stuff could potentially solve a lot of our resource problems if we could make an organism that created certain compounds.

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

Of course it's a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.

Technology has no moral value inherent to it. It's the fact that humans destroy every ideal they touch that makes technology immoral. And this... this has the greatest potential for abuse of any human invention since the nuclear weapon...

edited 11th Aug '11 12:48:30 PM by USAF713

I am now known as Flyboy.

Humans destroy every ideal they touch is also self-fulfilling.

Also: SCIENCE.

... are you being serious? A couple dinosaurs aren't going to end civilization. I haven't played any Bioshock so I can't comment on that directly, but I doubt we're going to end up with superpowered beings that can't be brought down with guns and/or bombs.

Now something like in The Andromeda Strain, maybe. But biowarfare's been around a long time, odd time to start complaining about it.

edited 11th Aug '11 12:53:37 PM by Merlo

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am...

The nuclear weapon put an end to Japanese atrocities in Asia - ask anybody in Korea, China, the Philippines, Vietnam or Indonesia if they think dropping the bomb was a crime. I chalk that as +1 for science and technology.

The threat of the bomb may also have reduced the intensity of war between the US and the Soviet Union, though that effect is much less clear.

edited 11th Aug '11 12:53:12 PM by SlightlyEvilDoctor

Point that somewhere else, or I'll reengage the harmonic tachyon modulator.

Everything humanity has ever invented that could be a weapon has become a weapon. Why would this be any different.

And if not a weapon, then another tool used to proliferate class inequality. The rich get better, faster, and stronger, as genetics get better, while the poor are left to suffer. It's a worm now, but in 10 or 20 years, it could be people...

The nuke was the right choice to end World War Two, but it's nothing but problems today. Sure, war is over, but we nearly destroyed ourselves with brinkmanship, and come any kind of good anti-missile system and nukes won't be off-limits anymore...

edited 11th Aug '11 12:54:19 PM by USAF713

I am now known as Flyboy.

We managed to get a moratorium on chemical and biological warfare.

The term "Great Man" is disturbingly interchangeable with "mass murderer" in history books.

Everything that could be transformed into a game, or a piece of art, or medicine has been too. Humans are good at this technology thing.

The rich getting richer while the poor stay where they are is still better than everybody staying where they are, which is what we had for most of human history (Also, things also got much better for the poor in the West than they were centuries ago).

edited 11th Aug '11 12:55:34 PM by SlightlyEvilDoctor

Point that somewhere else, or I'll reengage the harmonic tachyon modulator.

Being good at something doesn't mean it's a good thing.

Did the Soviet Union or United States sign it? If not, it's nothing but a piece of paper with meaningless words on it, and even then, it's probably still totally ineffective...

edited 11th Aug '11 12:55:42 PM by USAF713

I am now known as Flyboy.

Physical strength isn't going to exacerbate class inequality, when's the last time you got a white-collar job based on how much you can benchpress?

Intelligence and looks could be the issue but I have no problem with letting the super intelligent be in charge of things.

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am...

Sweet! Granted it's just mere baby steps...but hopefully we can start playing around with more complex coughhuman embryoscough organisms and see what we can learn from it.

And keep the church the **** away from this discovery as much as possible...send them false newspapers, anything to make sure they never find out about this.

You watch too much Art Major Biology movies and play too much Bio Shock...

As I said repeatedly, all the fears people have are based mostly on fiction and paranoid conservatives.

Technically it woulda ended with or without the nukes...one could say the nukes avoided a lot of civilian deaths, but try to remember what people were making those justifications to use it.

---

While weaponization is definately a problem, nuclear bombs, drones, etc., almost anything can be weaponized, that doesn't mean we should let a bunch of trigger happy meat heads be the cause of scientific progress being halted.

If it were up to me...have all governments be closely monitered, and the moment a country is found to be hiding military secrets of any sort, have all the countries launch missiles at that country to make an example out of that country...of course you know that'll never happen.

edited 11th Aug '11 1:08:00 PM by Signed

"Every opinion that isn't mine is subjected to Your Mileage May Vary."

Merit shouldn't be based on whether you can pay to be better.

That, and the Andromeda Strain doesn't sound very appealing, either, and you know damn well the governments would militarize this in a heartbeat...

I am now known as Flyboy.

Better is better. Do note that for all practical purposes merit is already something you pay for (nutrition and education).

Personally what worries me most is what happens when this technology starts to interact with patent laws. Oh yay, now your kids can't be immune to cancer or AIDS because you haven't paid licencing fees!

What's wrong with the church knowing about it? I'm a christian and I think this is way cool.

There's no need to turn every technology discussion into a religion bash.

"You fail to grasp the basic principles of mad science. Common sense would be cheating." - Narbonic