Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Recent Entries
Rescue Me Cafe
Ron DeSantis' Emergency Response Efforts are Proceeding Crisply While FEMA is Short-Staffed Due to Providing "Services" For Illegal Aliens at Harris and Biden's Dissolved Border Quick Hits Folie a DUH: Studio Scrambling to Figure Out Why a Movie That Was an Undisguised "F*** You" to Its Fans Failed to Find an Audience In Bizarre Attempt at Viral Vote-Getting Stunt, Governess Gretchen Whitmer Feeds Doritos to an Influencer on Her Knees In Offensive Mockery of the Giving of the Holy Eucharist Elderly Internet Spinster Taylor Lorenz Repeatedly Lied to Her Bosses, Says NPR Hit Piece CBS Owner Shari Redstone Backs Reporter Tony Dokoupil Over His Woke Inquisitors The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 10/10/24 Absent Friends
Bandersnatch 2024
GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« A Hard Day |
Main
| Sadr Sues for Peace »
March 30, 2008
More Doomsday PredictionsRick Moran riffs off of this NY Times piece to speculate about the dangers of scientific progress. First, let's talk about the Times' article and then we'll get to Rick's comments. It's really quite simple. A couple of guys think that CERN's nearly completed Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland might cause the destruction of the Earth when it is activated. They think our options are either being sucked into a black-hole or fused into one big lump of strange matter, Ice-nine style. Their solution is to sue the Department of Energy and Fermilab (both of which are alleged to contribute to the project) for failure to file an environmental impact statement. That should be enough, they think, to derail the collider. They included CERN as a defendant, but it's doubtful the federal courts have jurisdiction over a European physics lab. Fear about supercolliders is nothing new. In fact, one of these guys tried this particular strategy before: This is not the first time around for Mr. Wagner. He filed similar suits in 1999 and 2000 to prevent the Brookhaven National Laboratory from operating the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. That suit was dismissed in 2001. The collider, which smashes together gold ions in the hopes of creating what is called a “quark-gluon plasma,” has been operating without incident since 2000. Which is not to say that there won't be an incident. It's just that I'm much more likely to believe, y'know, actual scientists who tell me that the risk is low or nonexistent than I am a lawyer and a self-described "researcher on time theory" (the example of global warming "consensus" notwithstanding). My own reading on the subject leads me to conclude that these fellows have some things in common with the folks who fear Gray Goo and genemod organisms and artificial intelligence. The complaint is always "We Just Don't KNOW!" They want us to bury our heads in the sand since the mere act of scientific inquiry may result in the destruction of humanity. The problem is that they always end up labeling as "propaganda" scientific evidence that so-called existential risks are small or nonexistent (as the plaintiff told the Times reporter in this case). That indicates to me that they aren't going to be satisfied regardless of what science uncovers which therefore makes them particularly unqualified to judge the risks involved. That brings me to Rick's post, where he gives far too much leeway to crack-pot naysayers for my taste: The fact that scientists are not laughing at the idea of destroying the earth as a result of an experiment shows the wisdom of taxpayers like Wagner questioning everything – even though his expertise and knowledge may fall short of those he is criticizing. I would hope the same holds true for some bio-medical research that has the potential to loose upon the planet something that could destroy life as well as those working in the artificial intelligence field who some have theorized could end up being quite unfriendly to their creators. He's giving Wagner (the plaintiff in this case) too much credit. Wagner isn't "questioning everything." Even as a philosophical exercise, "questioning everything" hasn't been all that successful a strategy; contemporary philosophy has been stuck in a rut ever since Descartes, trust me. What we really need to be doing is seeking answers, something that Wagner is doggedly opposed to. He's already made up his mind. We shouldn't be glorifying neo-luddism, Rick. Bonus: For those who are interested in this kind of thing, the complaint in this case is here (PDF). If you guessed that this fellow was representing himself, you guessed right and you know what they say about lawyers who represent themselves. This is the type of stuff they hand out to 1L research and writing classes to spot the problems. On the other hand, if this thing is going to destroy the world, do you think we could get that done before the last week in July? I'd just as soon not take the bar exam if I don't have to. | Recent Comments
Romeo13:
"180 Also the other day, the National Park Service ..."
Soothsayer: " [i] I don't think Tiffany is even 30 yet. If she ..." [/i][/b]andycanuck (CEzQx)[/s][/u]: "Our CAGW intellectual superiors in action... In ..." Sebastian Melmoth: "I think the number of hurricanes predicted each ye ..." Tom Servo: "154 Also last week, some CO hikers found a skeleto ..." AZ deplorable moron : "Tiffany was born in '93 to Trump's 2nd wife 'Marpl ..." Grudge Harbor: "Why does a single genetic Clone (Trooper) up and d ..." Don Black: ">BREAKING: Diddy’s trafficking trial will be ..." NaCly Dog: "For the source of my science update, go to https:/ ..." Soothsayer: " [i]It's been planned for months already, but my ..." bluebell: "Soothsayer, I don't think Tiffany is even 30 yet. ..." Ben Had: "NaCly, my business partners family owned the gra ..." Recent Entries
Rescue Me Cafe
Ron DeSantis' Emergency Response Efforts are Proceeding Crisply While FEMA is Short-Staffed Due to Providing "Services" For Illegal Aliens at Harris and Biden's Dissolved Border Quick Hits Folie a DUH: Studio Scrambling to Figure Out Why a Movie That Was an Undisguised "F*** You" to Its Fans Failed to Find an Audience In Bizarre Attempt at Viral Vote-Getting Stunt, Governess Gretchen Whitmer Feeds Doritos to an Influencer on Her Knees In Offensive Mockery of the Giving of the Holy Eucharist Elderly Internet Spinster Taylor Lorenz Repeatedly Lied to Her Bosses, Says NPR Hit Piece CBS Owner Shari Redstone Backs Reporter Tony Dokoupil Over His Woke Inquisitors The Morning Rant: Minimalist Edition Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 10/10/24 Search
Polls! Polls! Polls!
Frequently Asked Questions
The (Almost) Complete Paul Anka Integrity Kick
Primary Document: The Audio
Paul Anka Haiku Contest Announcement Integrity SAT's: Entrance Exam for Paul Anka's Band AllahPundit's Paul Anka 45's Collection AnkaPundit: Paul Anka Takes Over the Site for a Weekend (Continues through to Monday's postings) George Bush Slices Don Rumsfeld Like an F*ckin' Hammer Top Top Tens
Democratic Forays into Erotica New Shows On Gore's DNC/MTV Network Nicknames for Potatoes, By People Who Really Hate Potatoes Star Wars Euphemisms for Self-Abuse Signs You're at an Iraqi "Wedding Party" Signs Your Clown Has Gone Bad Signs That You, Geroge Michael, Should Probably Just Give It Up Signs of Hip-Hop Influence on John Kerry NYT Headlines Spinning Bush's Jobs Boom Things People Are More Likely to Say Than "Did You Hear What Al Franken Said Yesterday?" Signs that Paul Krugman Has Lost His Frickin' Mind All-Time Best NBA Players, According to Senator Robert Byrd Other Bad Things About the Jews, According to the Koran Signs That David Letterman Just Doesn't Care Anymore Examples of Bob Kerrey's Insufferable Racial Jackassery Signs Andy Rooney Is Going Senile Other Judgments Dick Clarke Made About Condi Rice Based on Her Appearance Collective Names for Groups of People John Kerry's Other Vietnam Super-Pets Cool Things About the XM8 Assault Rifle Media-Approved Facts About the Democrat Spy Changes to Make Christianity More "Inclusive" Secret John Kerry Senatorial Accomplishments John Edwards Campaign Excuses John Kerry Pick-Up Lines Changes Liberal Senator George Michell Will Make at Disney Torments in Dog-Hell Greatest Hitjobs
The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Margaret Cho: Just Not Funny More Margaret Cho Abuse Margaret Cho: Still Not Funny Iraqi Prisoner Claims He Was Raped... By Woman Wonkette Announces "Morning Zoo" Format John Kerry's "Plan" Causes Surrender of Moqtada al-Sadr's Militia World Muslim Leaders Apologize for Nick Berg's Beheading Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Milestone: Oliver Willis Posts 400th "Fake News Article" Referencing Britney Spears Liberal Economists Rue a "New Decade of Greed" Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility Intelligence Officials Eye Blogs for Tips They Done Found Us Out, Cletus: Intrepid Internet Detective Figures Out Our Master Plan Shock: Josh Marshall Almost Mentions Sarin Discovery in Iraq Leather-Clad Biker Freaks Terrorize Australian Town When Clinton Was President, Torture Was Cool What Wonkette Means When She Explains What Tina Brown Means Wonkette's Stand-Up Act Wankette HQ Gay-Rumors Du Jour Here's What's Bugging Me: Goose and Slider My Own Micah Wright Style Confession of Dishonesty Outraged "Conservatives" React to the FMA An On-Line Impression of Dennis Miller Having Sex with a Kodiak Bear The Story the Rightwing Media Refuses to Report! Our Lunch with David "Glengarry Glen Ross" Mamet The House of Love: Paul Krugman A Michael Moore Mystery (TM) The Dowd-O-Matic! Liberal Consistency and Other Myths Kepler's Laws of Liberal Media Bias John Kerry-- The Splunge! Candidate "Divisive" Politics & "Attacks on Patriotism" (very long) The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) |