#the ethics of science

[brisingr-sword]

used to be afraid to stand up for what i believe in bc i was like… what if people treat me weird, do not trust me, do not let me be involved in the intellectual pursuits i am interested in because of my politics,

but then i watched oppenheimer and learned how that man distanced himself from his politics for his career and so he could do something horrific and just… i don’t want to be that. i don’t want to let myself lose my conscience, my knowledge of what is right and wrong just because i really like physics and engineering.

it’s BAD to be a physicist, to be an engineer, to be whatever without being true to what you know is right and what is wrong, because that is exactly what leads to superweapons and cold wars and watching your creations be responsible for death. science and engineering is not meant to be used for death, it should be used to expand our knowledge of the world, to help people, to feed that natural curiosity of ours.

i never want to lose sight of that.

[prokopetz]

What I really appreciate about The Talos Principle 2 is that big chunks of its writing genuinely read like they were written by someone who's personally had to justify the discipline of philosophy to a STEM major. "There exists an implicit moral algorithm in the structure of the cosmos, but actually solving that algorithm to determine the correct course of action in any given circumstance a priori would require more computational power than exists in the universe. Thus, as we must when faced with any computationally intractable problem, we fall back on heuristic approaches; these heuristics are called 'ethics'." is a fascinating way of framing it, but then I ask why would you explain it like that, and every possible answer is hilarious.

[st-just]

The reason I can tell that on some bone-deep and fundamental level I am temperamentally a liberal is that, like -

Even if all the wonky neo-trad arguments about the declining marriage rate and the collapse in church attendance/thick inherited community obligations and etc etc were entirely correct on the object level and (to the first approximation) everyone really would be happier and more fulfilled if we ended no-fault divorce and brought back shotgun weddings and arranged marriages -

My incredibly powerful visceral reaction is no, not worth it. The dissolution of all unchosen bonds is a terminal value to be pursued for its own sake. You are a citizen of a the world and a cousin to every living soul, all else is (should be) as fleeting and contingent as your passions and whims. Concessions to reality on this are purely temporary and pragmatic.

[quantummechanics]

Saturn has 83 moons. 63 moons are confirmed and named, and another 20 moons are awaiting confirmation of discovery and official naming.

This is their dynamic visualization while they travel with Saturn through space

[linddzz]

If anyone was wondering whatever the fuck happened with that "shark-ray or stingray Jesus" pregnant stingray, the answers are:

-That poor thing is STILL "pregnant" 4 months past her gestation time

-they admitted ON THEIR OWN LIVESTREAM that they don't know how to read ultrasounds

-The "aquarium" (which is a non-AZA accredited, privately owned sideshow in a storefront) was blocking aquarium experts, which they deny, but the blocked people gave the reporter receipts

-They haven't given any indication of actually having a vet examine her and get REALLY SHADY if asked.

-They called the cops on a reporter and the director tried to have her booked for trespassing and this shit is bonkers!!!!!

-They obviously seriously annoyed said reporter with that stunt and the result is a hilariously scathing article all put in the most professionally journalistic language.

"This was my second dust-up with police in 15 years of journalism. The last one was reporting on neo-Nazis in Germany. This one was about a stingray."

Like you know you really pissed off a journalist when this is the quote they highlight after asking another expert about your shitshow

[10-porgs-in-a-trenchcoat]

Oppenheimer Girlfriend and Barbie Boyfriend

(they’d do the double feature but they each have a clear favorite)

[nando161mando]

[floral-ashes]

New publication with my best title yet! Using CRISPR gene editing as an anchor, I offer reflections on high-tech conversion practices, high-tech medical transition, and the ethics of hype.

Link to the paper here.

Link to an audio version here.

[unbfacts]

[orb-the-watchman]

Here’s a swap I haven’t seen that often surprisingly

[savagechickens]

Method Madness.

And more genetics.

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

I woke up a few mornings ago and decided it was time to find out what George Karizaki was about.

[kafkasapartment]

Earth is an island of meaning in an ocean of 400 billion suns @profbriancox

[angie-the-hobbit]

Fan art for the Cass Apocalypse Series by @somerandomdudelmao which I have a very normal level of feelings about.

Donnie is definitely going to science his family back from the dead, but in my heart he busts into the afterlife like the Koolaid Man, sucks his family’s ghosts into a vacuum cleaner, and calls it a day.

[laurelnose]

anyways hypothetically. if someone were to miniaturize the tech. do you think they could put a mothdrive harness on jedao two

[partangel]

me 🤝 symbolically adopting the foster teens who participate in my study by coming just to chat with them outside foster home